The Croatian Parliament is currently reviewing new legislation aimed at making the spending of the public funds more transparent and orderly.
The new law on fiscal responsibility would oblige leaders of every institution that receives state money to submit a detailed yearly statement to the Ministry of Finances showing that the funds had been used as allocated and in accordance with the law.
The new regulations could also affect the Croatian Catholic Church, which has not submitted any such reports in the past 12 years, even though it receives state funding. The fourth agreement between Croatia and the Holy See currently in affect does not, however, obligate the Church to do so.
The Finance and Central Budget Committee chairman Goran Maric said that he agrees in principle with the new legislation and does not see why the Catholic Church would oppose such a disclosure.
"At the same time, when it comes to the Catholic Church, the regulations and the spirit of the agreement between Croatia and the Holy See must be respected," he added.He also reminded that all institutions receiving state money would be committed to providing detailed reports, including some civil society organizations which also may not be spending the state funds properly.
The state sets aside some 300 million kunas (40.5 million Euros) annually for the Church. This amount has gone down somewhat in the last few years to 266,500,000 (36 million Euros) this year. This is not the total, however, as the Church receives separate funds from various state Ministries and local governments, the daily Jutarnji List writes.
Source: Croatian Times Online News
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