Plenković: Quick transition and return of Ćorić, we continue the government's program

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that Tomislav Ćorić is experienced, professional and ready to immediately take over the Ministry of Finance and that the appointment has the unanimous support of the coalition.

Successful candidacies in European institutions

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković pointed out that in the past two weeks, two Croatian experts have been nominated for high positions in European financial institutions, which he considers a great success.

“Boris Vujčić's candidacy for the second man at the European Central Bank in a competitive process is a fascinating success for a country that has only been in the Eurozone for three years. This is not a routine matter, although it may be perceived that way,” said the Prime Minister.

He added that Marko Primorac was then nominated for Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank, a position that opens up to Croatia once every 15 years, for a three-year term.

“Given his almost four-year engagement in the Government, responsible management of public finances, raising the credit rating to investment grade, strengthening the investment climate and the processes of fiscalization and digitalization, this choice was logical,” said Plenković.

Rapid transition and Ćorić's return to the Government

In the context of such positioning of Croatia towards the European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank, the Prime Minister said that he decided to implement transition in the Ministry of Finance as quickly as possible.

“I spoke with Tomislav Ćorić, who was a member of my first Government and part of the second, and for the last almost four years the Vice Governor of the Croatian National Bank in charge of bank supervision. He immediately accepted the invitation to return to the Government,” said Plenković.

He stressed that Ćorić is a "mature and experienced politician", in full professional and intellectual strength, with experience working in the Government, the academic community and the Croatian National Bank. He stressed that "the job of Minister of Finance is not a job that requires a long adaptation. It must be a person who is professionally competent, politically engaged and ready to take responsibility".

Unanimous support and response from the opposition

The Prime Minister pointed out that Ćorić was accepted unanimously - first at a session of the Presidency and National Committee of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), and then at a meeting of the parliamentary majority. He also announced further procedural steps: tomorrow's presentation of Marko Primorac to the Committee for European Affairs and the presentation of Tomislav Ćorić to the Committee for Finance, where he will also be a candidate for Deputy Prime Minister.

In response to criticism from Social Democratic Party (SDP) MP Mirela Ahmetović, who said that by choosing Ćorić, Plenković showed that the HDZ is under-staffed and how low they have fallen, the prime minister replied that she is "a specialist in energy, especially in tying ropes in Omišalj". He added that he did not expect anything else and that everyone must be consistent in their stance, and Ahmetović practically represented, he said, the interest of the Russian lobby to never build an LNG terminal on Krk.

“The opposition, if it wants to vote for him, is welcome. If it wants to continue with criticism, that is their role. We will continue to implement the government's program,” said Plenković.

On Vujčić's successor around March 20

When asked about Vujčić's possible successor as governor of the Croatian National Bank, the prime minister replied that he would not propose anyone until the formal decision on Vujčić is completed at the European Council, which is around March 20.

Journalists also asked the Prime Minister about the engagement of former Chief State Attorney Mladen Bajić in the Ministry of Justice as an advisor for cooperation with Ukraine and whether, given his age, it could have been someone else. Plenković replied that he does not see age as an obstacle and that he does not divide people into old and young, but into those who have knowledge, energy and the ability to contribute to a process, mentioning that his advisors are academician Zvonko Kusić and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Mate Granić.

Plenković: Government's offer to unions is reasonable and fiscally sustainable

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that it is not certain that negotiations between the Government and unions on salaries for employees in the public and state sectors will end to mutual satisfaction, but he said that the Government is offering a framework that is realistic and sustainable for the state budget. He made the statement in response to questions from journalists about the progress of the negotiations.

Plenković stressed that the current government has significantly increased the material rights of employees in public and state services in recent years. He recalled that in the period from 2012 to 2016 there was no increase in the base, while in the past ten years the base has increased by almost 49 percent. In addition, he highlighted the salary reform in the public and state sectors that was implemented two and a half years ago, which brought an average salary increase of around 32 percent.

“When we take into account the new coefficients, but also additional rights that did not exist before, such as Christmas bonus, Easter bonus and child gift, this is a serious achievement that has realistically raised the standard of employees,” said Plenković.

The Prime Minister pointed out that a few months ago the government received a request from the trade unions to increase the base by 12 percent in one year, which, as he said, would mean an additional cost of more than a billion euros.

“That is not realistic. We cannot increase salary costs by a billion euros on this budget,” he said. He added that the government's offer is currently at an annual output level of around 271 million euros, which he considers the limit of fiscal sustainability.

Source: HRT