The Law on Strategic Investment Projects Adopted, Will Strengthen the Investment Climate

The Croatian Parliament adopted the Law on Strategic Investment Projects on Friday, aimed at strengthening the investment climate and simplifying and speeding up the preparation processes for investment projects. This law reduces the investment value threshold for project applications from the previous 150 million kuna to 75 million kuna, and for projects in supported areas and islands from 20 million kuna to 10 million kuna.

Changes are also made to the evidence of secured sources of financing. Investors previously had to deposit a dedicated deposit or bank guarantee amounting to 10 percent of the total project value; under the new law, this amount is reduced to 5 percent. A letter from a bank indicating its readiness to finance the project will also be recognized as a source of financing. The value of investments already made by the investor during the preparation phase will be recognized if that value constitutes five percent of the project value.

>>>Cappelli: Amendments to the law and regulations are not against private renters

The Croatian Parliament amended the Law on Obligatory Relations and sent a series of laws for a second reading, including a package of six judicial laws that foresee the merging of misdemeanor courts with municipal courts, a different method of electing the President of the Supreme Court and the Chief State Attorney, and public access to the asset declarations of judges.

These are amendments to the laws on courts, on the areas and seats of courts, on the State Judicial Council (DSV), and proposals for laws on the State Attorney’s Office, areas and seats of state attorney’s offices, and the State Attorney’s Council (DOV).

>>>Dalić: The task of civil servants is to achieve concrete benefits for entrepreneurs and citizens

The government describes these laws as a mini judicial reform, while the opposition claims they are merely cosmetic changes. The Parliament acknowledged the reports of the Management Board of Hina for 2014 and 2015 and accepted the report for 2016.

Jandroković: The government’s laws are a priority, nothing is being hidden

The President of the Croatian Parliament, Gordan Jandroković, announced that the Parliament will also discuss the reports of the Croatian National Bank and the DORH, and dismissed the opposition’s suspicions that something is being hidden.

– There are no hidden intentions, but the priority is the laws sent by the government, Jandroković responded to Ivan Lovrinović (PH) and Nikola Grmoja (Most), who asked why some points have been waiting for a year for discussion, such as the Most’s request to amend the Law on the Election of Representatives, or two or three, as in the case of the HNB and DORH.

>>>Petrov on the ruling party: They are protecting their positions, important topics are not being discussed

– During my term (since May 2017), many reports from 2014 and 2015 have been discussed, and so will the reports of the HNB and DORH; I do not feel responsible for what was not done during the term of my predecessors, Jandroković said, noting that the Parliament has discussed 35 points in the last ten days.

The dynamics with which the government, and even the opposition, proposes laws is such that we cannot discuss everything, he explained to the representatives.

On Friday, the Parliament supplemented its extensive agenda with 17 new points, including final amendments to the laws on defense and service in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia.