The Croatian parliament on Friday ratified the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism which aims at facilitating mutual cooperation between member states and ensuring the efficient prevention and combatting of terrorism.

The protocol makes a number of acts, including taking part in an association or group for the purpose of terrorism, receiving terrorist training, travelling abroad for the purposes of terrorism and financing or organising travel for this purpose, a criminal offence.

By ratifying the protocol each party obliges to undertake the necessary steps for the timely exchange of all available and relevant information regarding persons travelling abroad for the purposes of terrorism.

With this protocol Croatia joins in international cooperation to prevent and sanction terrorism which today is a problem of global extent and is a direct threat to the freedom and lives of individuals.

Parliament adopted a report submitted by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic regarding meetings of the European Council over the past few months with 77 votes in favour.

The prime minister considers that the practice of informing parliament of these meetings is important for lawmakers and the public in general particularly considering that Croatia will be chairing the European Union in the first half of next year.

Plenkovic welcomed the fact that the new President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen chose Croatia as the third country to visit after she was elected to that position.