Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic has said that the government will do its best to have a good debate on the forthcoming EU entry referendum in parliament, which is to start its first session on January 18, during which it is also expected to adopt a balanced and realistic budget.
We want the referendum to succeed and we believe in a good debate of all, both the proponents and the opponents of Croatia's EU entry, Milanovic said at the start of a government session on Thursday.
Commenting on a government-sponsored bill proposing the abolishment of privileged pensions, to be discussed during the first session of the new parliament, Milanovic said the government wanted government ministers and members of Parliament to have the same status as citizens who make pension insurance payments throughout their years of service and retire at 65.
"However, this is not the most important change awaiting us. There are also the EU entry vote and the adoption of a balanced, realistic budget that will enable development, stability, the confidence of international financial institutions, new jobs and the preservation of the existing ones," the PM said.
The government today decided to keep in force a six-percent fee for mobile telephony services until July 2013, when Croatia is to join the EU.
It also defined new terms for the use of official cars, mobile phones, business credit cards, airline services and entertainment funds and for official trips, to ensure that those perks are used in a more transparent way.
