Moratorium on the Sale of Agricultural Land to Foreigners Expires in 2020; Most for Amendments to the Law

The Most Independent Lists welcomes the reduction of administrative barriers in the management of agricultural land in relation to the proposal for a new agricultural land law and believes it should be improved, opposing the sale of Croatian natural resources in any form to foreign companies and individuals, including agricultural land, said Tomislav Panenić, president of the Parliamentary Committee for Agriculture, at a press conference on Wednesday.

The key objection of the Most Independent Lists to this legislative proposal relates to the continuation of the policy of neglecting the issue of selling agricultural land to foreign citizens and legal entities, as it is possible that after the expiration of the moratorium in 2020, citizens and companies from the EU will be able to purchase agricultural land in Croatia, Panenić warned in the Parliament.

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He reminded that after the law passed in 2013 and after entering the EU, Croatia and its governments have not taken any action to make it more difficult or prevent the sale of agricultural land to foreign buyers after the expiration of the moratorium in 2020. Following the events surrounding Agrokor and the announcements of numerous foreign companies, especially those in agricultural production, show a real danger, Panenić believes.

– We are aware that according to the Accession Treaty to the EU, we would have to allow the sale of land after 2020, but we are monitoring trends and have noticed that, for example, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has prevented the sale of agricultural land to foreigners not only legally but also by changing the Constitution. Besides Hungary, Slovenia and Romania, the Baltic countries, and even Denmark as an old member have provisions in their laws that make it difficult or prevent the sale of land, said Panenić.

– I see no reason why we should not have an indication that with the adoption of a new law we will move in that direction in Croatia and that we will not allow ourselves to be influenced by European bureaucracy, but that we will, like others, incorporate certain provisions, added Panenić.

Slovenia, for example, has a provision that anyone wishing to purchase land must be a resident of Slovenia for at least five years or must have a registered agricultural business or certain restrictions related to the size of the land.

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– We welcome that the topic of agricultural land, as extremely important, is being placed on the agenda, and its importance is also indicated by the fact that the law has been amended and supplemented as many as 27 times, said Panenić. He added that despite the fact that the proposal, as such, was on the agenda of the relevant parliamentary committee meeting on Tuesday, the responsible minister Tomislav Tolušić was not present, which they interpret as the law not having full support from the Croatian government.

Parliament member Tomislav Žagar noted that the current minister stated that this legislative solution would return the management of agricultural land to municipalities and cities.

– However, this is not the case, as the final word on the proposed land management program is still given by the counties and the Agency for Agricultural Land with their consent. The possibility of allowing the conversion of agricultural land to construction land through manipulations in spatial planning and land quality is unacceptable, Žagar believes. This opens the possibility for the construction of, for example, golf courses.

He emphasized that it cannot be accepted that it is stipulated that the rent must be paid by the end of June this year, as this is too early, given that farmers do not have income at that time. Additionally, a provision has been included that the lease agreement is terminated if the tenant does not pay the rent by the end of September, which will complicate the operations of agricultural farms that only have their first income from the sale of wheat crops, Žagar reminded.

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He also pointed out the anticipated possibility of granting agricultural land for use without a public tender to companies whose founder is the Republic of Croatia or local and regional self-government units, and that these users are partially or fully exempt from paying rent. This opens the possibility for further political manipulation of agricultural land, Žagar notes, adding that the proposal for the revaluation of the purchase and lease price of state agricultural land is unclear.

The issue of the sale of agricultural land will also be discussed on Wednesday at the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Parliament, which represents a Study on the scale of illegal appropriation of arable land in the EU. They warn of the problem of the concentration of agricultural land in the hands of a small number of owners and the purchase of land by investment funds and banks, which is particularly pronounced in Eastern Europe. Tomislav Panenić will discuss this topic with them in the Croatian Parliament today.