Komadina hosted local Živi zid and Most, expanded the front against the floating LNG terminal

At the meeting of County Prefect Zlatko Komadina with Members of Parliament from the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Tuesday at the county headquarters, attended by representatives of the SDP, Most of Independent Lists, and Živi zid, all agreed with the position of the County Assembly that the floating LNG terminal project near Omišalj on Krk is unacceptable, Komadina stated after the meeting.

“This project, with the planned technology and according to available knowledge, is unacceptable for Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the Municipality of Omišalj, so our representative’s position at the final session of the Environmental Impact Assessment will be negative,” said Prefect Komadina. He added that the project does not meet energy requirements, that gas is used in energy facilities, and that the DINA facility is being rehabilitated. He emphasized that they demand that the local community has an economic benefit due to lost tourism revenue because, as he assessed, it is certain that such a facility due to its size would cause permanent damage to tourism.

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In response to a journalist’s question about why HDZ Members of Parliament did not attend, Komadina replied that it would have been better if they had come.

“I know they are in a specific situation considering the possible scenario in the Parliament and party discipline and the thin parliamentary majority. In life, there often comes a situation when you have to have a stance as a person, not as a politician, and I think that time will come in the Parliament,” said Komadina, adding that with the response of the Members of Parliament to the meeting, an LNG coalition of the SDP, Most, and Živi zid was formed, and whether it will be a large coalition and whether others will join, we will see.

Most Member of Parliament Ines Strenja Linić called on representatives from the ruling coalition to support the position of the County Assembly.

EU Principle of Subsidiarity

SDP Member of Parliament Željko Jovanović assessed that the announced ‘lex LNG’ is not in the interest of the citizens of Omišalj, Krk, and the county. He added that it only satisfies the interests of certain groups and does not address the strategic issue of energy supply in Croatia. “This law violates all decisions of the Municipality of Omišalj, the County Assembly, provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, a series of legal decisions, and the European Charter of Local Self-Government,” he said.

“Local and regional self-government should be respected according to the EU principle of subsidiarity, and ‘lex LNG’ as ‘lex specialis’ would definitely not be in the principles of democracy,” assessed Živi zid Member of Parliament Marin Škibola.

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The meeting was also attended by the Mayor of Omišalj Mirela Ahmetović, who thanked the Members of Parliament, emphasizing that by their presence and stance, they showed that they perceive their duty as serving the interests of the citizens of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, not other interests.

“If Minister Ćorić considers the opinion of the citizens of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County completely irrelevant, then it is mature time to consider his resignation, and not just the resignation of those who, together with him, are pushing such a harmful project,” said Ahmetović, assessing that the minister’s dismissive statement ‘let them protest, the project goes on’ is unacceptable.

She emphasized that the Municipality of Omišalj has not yet received a response from any institution to which they sent a letter, and they have also written to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalić, and ministers and ministries of environmental protection and energy, tourism, and culture. “There has been no response to the request for the delivery of the feasibility study for the project, and I doubt that such a study even exists,” added Ahmetović.

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At the meeting, besides Ines Strenja Linić, Marin Škibola, and Željko Jovanović, there were also Members of Parliament Saša Đujić, Romana Jerković, and Ana Komparić Devčić from the SDP.

Invited Tomislav Klarić, Josip Borić, and Ivan Kirin from the HDZ, as well as the representative of the Albanian, Bosniak, Montenegrin, Macedonian, and Slovenian national minorities Ermina Lekaj Prljaskaj did not attend, while Nada Turina Đurić (GLAS), who could not participate due to health reasons, stated that the LNG terminal issue should be resolved by experts, not politics.