Plenković did not speak with Kuščević
The Office of the Chief State Prosecutor (DORH) has sent a request to the national parliament that a lawmaker, Lovro Kuščević (former Public Administration minister), be stripped of his parliamentary immunity due to suspicion that he committed an abuse of office and powers. Kuščević said that he is glad he would have the chance to disprove all the accusations against him. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković gave a Pythian answer: “I think we are still in the announcement phase of any conclusions that could be of any categorical character”. More on jutarnji.hr. But PM did not yet speak with Kuščević.
PM was very spirited in defence of the former minister when the scandal started.
During his talk with journalists, Plenković said regarding Milorad Pupovac (leader of Serb minority): "We met and we talked. Pupovac expressed his concern about these incidents, and I understand him as he is a representative of the Serb minority”. He added that he expected the perpetrators to be punished and that there was no climate of intolerance towards ethnic minorities in Croatia.
Very interesting is a statement by Tomislav Žigmanov, leader of Croats in Serbia. "Ethnically motivated violence against members of the Serb community in the vicinity of Knin prompted inappropriate statements on both sides and they weren't in the function of defusing tensions and finding solutions”. He said such a state of affairs suited some politicians in both countries because they thought this is a way to mobilise voters.
Unions win in the first step
The unions initiative against raising the retirement age, called "67 is too much", has collected a sufficient number of signatures for a referendum to be called about the Pension Act. Now the initiative question will go to Parliament for debate. And Parliament can ask Constitutional Court to decide if the question complys with the Constitution. EC welcomed the proposed Pension Act.
Boycott Mayor of Zagreb!
The Croatian Journalists Association (HND) asked Zagreb mayor Milan Bandic to apologise for a sexist attack on N1 Television reporter Matea Dominiković, calling on journalists and editors to boycott Bandić's public appearances. On Tuesday, Dominiković was asking Bandic about Zagreb's zoning plan and other topics and his response were: "You again. You nag. If only you knew how you excite me, how you delight me, how you entertain me." The response has been strongly condemned by the city's Gender Equality Commission and Gender Equality Ombudswoman Višnja Ljubčić, who called it sexual harassment. More on jutarnji.hr.
Interesting, PM Plenković said that “one of the TV journalists edited story from Osijek that almost alluded to me that I had done something like that”.
Government awarded oil and gas exploration permits
Four companies - INA, Crodux Derivati Dva, Vermilion Zagreb Exploration, all from Croatia and the Hungarian company called Aspect Croatia - were on Thursday awarded permits for hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation at six locations in northwestern and central parts of the country.
HEP can issue a corporate bond
The Croatian government gave its consent to the national energy company HEP for borrowing in the amount of 1.2 billion kunas (€162 million) through the issuance of a corporate bond, and it also approved a state guarantee for a €400 million loan for refinancing the debt of the HAC (Croatian highways), motorway operator. That loan that will be used to refinance another one whose maturity expires in September.
The financial scandal with promissory notes
The Zagreb County Office of the State Prosecutor on Wednesday filed 13 indictments against a total of 29 suspects for wrongdoings in 13 companies and according to media reports those indictments refer to executives in companies that were large suppliers to Agrokor (now Fortenova group) and Agrokor's founder Ivica Todoric.
The indictees who were presumably senior executives in Kraš, Sokol Marić, Tisak, Konzum, Agrofructus, AVT, Nexus and Granolio, are charged with forging official documents.
Novac.hr opens a story about the liquidity of Fortenova Group.
Dogus Group does not sell its assets in Croatia
Bloomberg published that Ferit Sahenk, Turkish billionaire and owner of Dogus holding is planning to sell €800 million of assets during reconstruction. Dogus group is active in the tourism sector in Croatia for ten years and invested €270 million. They say to Gordana Grgas, journalist of Jutarnji list (story in today’s print edition) that they do not plan to sell anything in Croatia. In March Dogus sell its 10,87% of ownership in ACI (Adriatic Croatia International Club that manages marinas.
Agreement to expand island port
Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butković signed in Sali on Dugi Otok island an agreement on the expansion of the town port worth HRK 56.76 million, of which 48.25 million will come from the European Cohesion Fund and 8.5 million from the state budget.
Slovenians most serviceable and kind in the region
According to research on the quality of services, Slovenia is a regional winner. The survey was conducted in June this year, and mystery shoppers in all countries visited a total of 800 outlets in various industries - car dealerships, banks, gas stations, supermarkets, telecommunication companies, hotels and restaurants to find out who has the best service in the region. Main criteria were GUEST: Greet, Understand, Explain, Suggest, Thank. Second is North Macedonia, Croatia is third. More on novac.hr.