The new distraint law will be faster, more affordable, and fairer, Croatian Justice Minister said on Tuesday, presenting the first draft of the bill.

The enforcement procedure is currently dispersed, and not overseen closely enough, the minister said.

“The procedure isn’t sufficiently monitored, and a lot depends on the debtor’s knowledge of the law, so we have only 20 percent debtors who submit complaints, and in the other 80 percent cases enforcements become final, which is followed by freezing the accounts and foreclosure,” Bosnjakovic said.

The bill envisages greater protection of debtors, and lower costs of the procedure, as well as expanding the category of those exempt from enforcement procedure, and prohibiting evictions during winter months.

“The bill offers a faster, simpler and cheaper system,” the minister told reporters.

The bill will not fully resolve the problems of people with frozen bank accounts, but it will introduce clearer regulations, Bosnjakovic said.

As of late May this year, there are over 320,000 citizens whose accounts were blocked due to unpaid bills, and their debt amounts to €5.9 billion.

The bill is expected to be completed and put forward to the government and the parliament by the year’s end.

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