Prime Minister Andrej Plenković stated on Saturday that he is convinced that Lex Agrokor was created in accordance with the Croatian Constitution, and he did not comment on speculation that Agrokor’s founder Ivica Todorić could sue Croatia over the law that introduced extraordinary administration into his company.
“It is difficult for me to comment on new information every day,” said the Prime Minister at the Police Day celebration at Lake Jarun in Zagreb, responding to journalists’ questions about the possible lawsuit by Todorić against Croatia.
“The government has had a clear goal from day one, which is to respond in a way that addresses the domino effect that was negative for the Croatian economy, our financial system, and with extraordinary administration to put the company in a position to operate well, to maintain jobs, and to bring the restructuring process to a stage where ultimately a settlement is reached and that this process we initiated in early April results positively for employees, the company, and the Croatian economy,” said the Prime Minister.
“The Monster Called Agrokor”
Regarding the constitutionality of Lex Agrokor, he stated that he is “sure it was created in accordance with the Constitution,” as a “large number of legal experts from the academic community and practice were consulted in the process of its creation. What is most important is that the law was drafted as the Government usually does, that is, the relevant ministries with the consultation of experts.”
In response to accusations from the opposition that HDZ has been “feeding the monster called Agrokor” for years, Plenković said it is funny to comment on that. “The song of the entire opposition and those who attacked us in the last six months was that we are saving Todorić, that we are doing everything for him, that the entire law was designed for him, that the entire law was designed to confirm that unbreakable bond between the government, HDZ, and Todorić, and now we see something else. A complete 180-degree turn by the same opposition that at that time reacted to such a situation with a few selfies in the cabbage.”
When asked why Minister Zdravko Marić does not want to talk about what was discussed at the meeting with Todorić, Plenković said that they “conducted a series of discussions in that process.”
“What is extremely important is that we reacted literally at the last moment and that we enabled those employed in Agrokor to receive their salaries before Easter, and that the supply of Konzum and other stores continues. Therefore, these insinuations are irrelevant to me,” asserted Plenković.
Continuous Dialogue with the Largest Creditor
In response to messages from the Russian ambassador who stated that he expects the problem to be resolved in mutual interest, which includes Sberbank, Plenković said that this bank is “one of the most important actors in the creditors’ council, in the context of extraordinary administration.” “There is a continuous dialogue with them,” said the Prime Minister, emphasizing that Sberbank, as a creditor, has all the rights as others.
He also added that Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalić is going to Russia soon in a different context, “our bilateral economic framework of cooperation with Russia.”
When asked whether Croatia could bear legal consequences if the audit report in Agrokor is “unfavorable,” the Prime Minister said he does not see “what such drama is about now.” “As far as I am informed, the auditing firm that is conducting the audit process of Agrokor and all companies in its system obviously needs more time to complete such a large and demanding job. When it is completed, it will present its opinion and its position, and after that, we will comment on it,” added Plenković.
He also stated that HDZ’s position regarding the formation of an investigative committee concerning Agrokor has been quite clear. “As far as we are concerned and as far as I am personally concerned, there is no detail that cannot be presented not only to the Parliament but also to the Croatian public. But what we absolutely wanted to reject is the blackmail from the opposition regarding the formation of an investigative committee with the selection of constitutional judges.
The task of the Croatian Parliament is to make decisions by a qualified majority, that is, a two-thirds majority, for the timely election of constitutional judges, and not to find ourselves in a situation where we have a truncated Constitutional Court.
That would not be the responsibility of HDZ but of those who tried to blackmail it and who have no solution but to comment very superficially and obviously change their positions in the absence of ideas,” concluded Plenković.
