Members of Parliament will pay for parking in the garage at Tuškanac themselves starting from February 1, the parliamentary Presidency decided on Friday.
"It is pointless to introduce this now as we will have a break, but from February 1, members will pay for parking themselves," said the President of the Parliament Luka Bebić after a brief meeting of the Presidency.
Since September, the Parliament has rented 250 parking spaces in the garage, with a monthly cost of 1500 kuna per parking space. Following public criticism, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader announced the abolition of some parliamentary and ministerial benefits, highlighting free parking, which will remain only for Parliament employees.
At the very end of the session, without discussion, the Parliament ‘processed’ several legislative proposals, including a package of energy laws, while the proposal to amend the Gas Market Act was opposed by the clubs of the SDP and HNS. HNS member Željko Vincelj is convinced that these amendments will increase gas prices for end users, as they increase the number of participants in the process.
"Until now, we have perceived this process as a chain of INA – utility – consumer. The increased number of participants in this process – 13 of them – will certainly not bring cheaper gas. We will have to settle all these intermediaries, as they will certainly not work for free," said Vincelj. The Parliament will continue the session on Monday, when it will vote on the discussed proposals and on the amendments to the state budget for 2009, and Bebić is confident that all points will be completed by the constitutional deadline of December 15, and that there will be no extraordinary sessions. (H)
