Parliamentary Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System agreed draft changes to the Constitution

Zagreb - The parliamentary Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System on Tuesday agreed draft changes to the Constitution regarding referenda and related amendments to the constitutional law on the Constitutional Court, which will be sent to parliament for a plenary.

"There are increasingly few outstanding issues and we are increasingly close to a joint solution," committee chair Dražen Bošnjaković (HDZ) said.

Under the draft changes, the decision-making quorum is reduced from 33% to 30% of all eligible voters when it comes to referenda on changes to the Constitution or organic laws.

Under the amendments to the constitutional law on the Constitutional Court, the Constitution would say that the selection of the court's judges requires a two-third majority in parliament.

The committee agreed to eliminate a provision under which a referendum would not be possible on issues that are solely in the remit of parliament, the government and the president, as well as a provision under which the Constitutional Court would check a referendum question ex officio. Instead, the Court will do so at the request of 15 MPs, the government or the president.

Sandra Benčić (Green-Left Bloc) said changes to the Constitution regarding abortion rights and the election law should also have been discussed and that issues which could not be regulated by referendum should have been defined. Lowering the census in order for a referendum to pass remains demanding given the election turnouts, she added.

Vesna Nađ (Social Democrats) said the draft changes were a step forward but that the requirement of 250,000 signatures for a referendum was too high, recommending 200,000.

Bošnjaković said 200,000 signatures were acceptable, but that defining everything that could not be decided in a referendum would lead to new traps. It is best that this continues to apply to human rights and fundamental constitutional values, he added.

Arsen Bauk (Social Democratic Party) said he would abstain from voting on the changes, although he gave them a passing grade.