The Croatian Parliament on Friday adopted a new Agricultural Land Law, from which domestic farmers expect a lot; the law was passed with 78 votes in favor, 49 against, and three abstentions.
The new law introduces the principle of domicile, state land will primarily be allocated to local farmers, family farms, micro and small enterprises, livestock farmers lacking their own land, existing tenants who have duly fulfilled their economic program and respected contracts, and young farmers.
>>> Opposition: The Agricultural Land Law Favors the Large, Family Farms are ‘Fourth Priority’
The management of state land has been returned to cities and municipalities.
The authority to manage state land has been returned to cities and municipalities, and the agency established for these tasks will cease to exist. Local units will announce tenders for lease or sale, and the State Attorney’s Office, which has been excluded from this process for the last five years, will be involved in the control of the entire process.
State land will be leased for 25 years, and the lease could be extended for another 25 years if tenants realize the economic plan based on which they received the hectares.
>>> Smart: Amendments to the Agricultural Land Law Return Us to the System Abolished by Previous Amendments
The Parliament agreed to the amendments submitted by the Government after the parliamentary debate, which will enable a more transparent distribution, i.e., leasing of private land; all data about owners and tenants will be publicly available on the websites of the units where the land is located, and cities and municipalities will have to determine the maximum amount of land that goes for lease to each individual and legal entity in their management programs.
Members of the commission will not be able to participate in the tender for the lease and sale of land
To avoid conflicts of interest, members of the commission that will decide on leasing and selling will not be able to participate in the tender for leasing and selling agricultural land.
Due to this law and the regulations that will follow, there is concern that family farms will lose the land they have been using for about 20 years, say representatives from the HSS.
Tenants are obliged to clear neglected private agricultural land at their own expense within two years, and they are allowed to keep the timber mass that remains after clearing. If the land is cleared but not used for agricultural purposes, the lease contract will be terminated, and the tenant will be obliged to pay rent for the entire agreed lease period.
Although the Government has reformulated some of our amendments, the law will ultimately not be as announced and as farmers hoped, say representatives from the opposition parties HSS, Most, and the Living Wall.
The Government’s policy continues to favor large producers, assessed Ivan Sinčić (Living Wall). Due to this law and the regulations that will follow, there is concern that family farms will lose the land they have been using for about 20 years, say representatives from the HSS.
>>> Tolušić: There has never been more money in agriculture, never less production
The possibility of selling agricultural land to individuals and legal entities from the EU is opened, meaning we allow the sale of national interests, claim Most’s Tomislav Panenić and Miro Bulj.
The ban on selling land to foreigners will be extended for three years
State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Tugomir Majdak reminds that the ban on selling land to foreigners exists until 2020, and announces that the Ministry will timely submit a request to extend this deadline for another three years, until 2023.
Amendments from the SDSS have entered the Law, which protect inaccessible landowners and those of unknown residence in the case of leasing. The new law stipulates that neglected private agricultural land whose owners are unknown can be leased for up to 10 years, and the money from the lease goes into a special account if the owner comes forward.
>>> The moratorium on the sale of agricultural land to foreigners expires in 2020; Most for amendments to the law
The Parliament also adopted the Gas Market Law, which aims to ensure quality and permanent gas supply over the next three years, a period in which Croatia must adapt to the rules of the European gas market and the deadline set by the European Commission.
“Thus, 2021 is the final deadline for us to enter the market,” explained State Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Energy Mile Horvat in Parliament.
A National Consumer Protection Program from 2017 to 2020 was also adopted, and several legislative proposals were sent for a second reading.
