Mrsić appointed Government representative in the mediation process with unions

The Government today appointed Minister of Labor and Pension System Miranda Mrsić as the Government representative in the mediation process with part of the unions of public and state services, which have announced a strike for June 5.

In the mediation process, we will try to reach an agreement on preserving the status of state and public servants and employees, but we cannot return or pay for what we do not have, said Mrsić at the Government session.

I hope, he says, that we will have understanding from the unions during the mediation process.

By the decision to appoint Mrsić, the Government agreed that the mediator in this process would be Danica Lisičar.

The Government today accepted the Partnership Strategy with the World Bank and its corporations for the period from 2014 to 2017, which anticipates investments in Croatia of about 1.4 billion dollars.

According to Finance Minister Slavko Linić, the World Bank has so far mainly ‘moved away’ from financing projects in countries entering the EU. However, in negotiations regarding the new strategy, it was agreed that it would remain present in Croatia, both through project financing and advisory services.

Thus, the World Bank and its corporations (IBRD, IFC) would participate in public finance programs aimed at continuous fiscal consolidation, i.e., financing projects related to reforms, rationalization of budget expenditures, etc. They would also participate in projects to improve the competitiveness of the private sector, through IFC investments, and with advisory and financial support, they would help Croatia achieve greater efficiency in attracting funds from EU sources.

Linić also stated that the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank is expected to approve the Strategy by the end of June, after which it would come into effect.

The Government has authorized the Financial Agency (Fina) to perform support tasks for the monitoring system of gas oil (blue diesel) consumption for economic and public purposes in navigation, as part of the changes brought by the new Excise Tax Act, which allows shipowners to use blue diesel for navigation.

The Government submitted a proposal for amendments to the Hospitality Act to the Parliament, aimed at removing barriers to conducting this activity before the start of the main tourist season, said Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin.

A proposal for a law implementing the EU regulation on organic production and labeling of organic products was also accepted, which introduces a national sign for organic products and assigns the Agency for Payments in Agriculture the task of maintaining the register of organic production.

The Government has granted the City of Split approval for borrowing from Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank in the amount of 30 million kuna for the purpose of refinancing municipal bonds of Split.