On Wednesday, an investigative committee for Agrokor is being established and constitutional judges are being elected

The presidents of the parliamentary clubs of HDZ, Branko Bačić, and SDP, Arsen Bauk, confirmed on Tuesday in the Croatian Parliament that they have reached an agreement on the establishment of an investigative committee for Agrokor and the election of three members of the Constitutional Court.

>>>Živi zid will not support the committee for Agrokor in which it does not have its own person

– We have agreed to proceed with the election of judges of the Constitutional Court and the establishment and appointment of members of the investigative committee for Agrokor tomorrow. First, we will discuss the amendments proposed by SDP for the committee to start working on October 30 and to determine the composition of the investigative committee, Bačić told reporters.

The president of the investigative committee, Orsat Miljenić

He confirmed that, at the proposal of SDP, the president of the committee would be Orsat Miljenić. After that, they would vote on the amendments and the decision to establish the committee, as well as the amendment from the Constitutional Committee regarding the assumption of office by the judges of the Constitutional Court, given that the existing decision states the date of July 21. The new amendment would define that the judges of the Constitutional Court assume office the day after the decision is made in the Parliament, Bačić explained.

After that, we will vote by name on each of the three candidates for constitutional judges separately, which would conclude the seven-month process of electing judges and allow the Constitutional Court to operate in full composition. We have agreed that we will have at least 110 votes from representatives for both agenda items, said Bačić.

>>>Dalić sued Todorić

Bauk confirmed Bačić’s words and expressed satisfaction that the Parliament will enable the uninterrupted work of an institution such as the Constitutional Court and establish an investigative committee starting Wednesday.

When asked if it was difficult to reach an agreement, given the months of delays, Bauk replied that they agreed not to respond to questions to avoid provoking further debates. After we conduct the voting, there will be time for everyone to explain their political positions, said Bauk.

Bačić agreed with his words, emphasizing that it is important that they managed to secure consensus on these two topics, and that it is good to achieve party consensus when electing constitutional judges, given that a two-thirds majority is required for that. Perhaps we could have achieved this earlier, but the most important thing is that we have enabled the judges of the Constitutional Court to continue working before the end of their term, he said.

Investigating all circumstances from the establishment of Agrokor to today

Bauk dismissed the interpretation that they agreed on the investigative committee due to the publication of the revised report for Agrokor, in order to avoid negative public reactions, asserting that they reached an agreement before the report was published.

They confirmed that the investigative committee for Agrokor, as stated in the decision on its establishment, will investigate all circumstances from the day of the establishment of the group until today, and the method and dynamics of work will be determined by the investigative committee, which, by law, must conduct the investigation within six months and propose conclusions to the plenary session.

Bačić and Bauk expressed hope that, due to the seriousness and importance of the situation, the committee will take its task seriously and perform it responsibly.

>>>‘Shocked’ suppliers of Agrokor refused to write off old claims greater than 15 percent

In response to a journalist’s statement that “the two of them are now acting as good partners, which is completely surreal,” Bačić replied that they speak on behalf of the two largest clubs in the Parliament that have, despite certain problems in the past few months, agreed on the election of constitutional judges and the investigative committee and “nothing more or less than that.”

In order to elect everything they have agreed upon tomorrow with a two-thirds majority, it is better for them to argue less today, so that no harsh word disrupts the agreement, Bauk added. This is good and bad, he explained, good because we are aware of the seriousness of the situation, and bad because it may be fragile, so it is better to choose words carefully.

HDZ and SDP will continue to argue with unrestrained intensity

– Tomorrow we will have an investigative committee and constitutional judges, and after that, we will continue to argue with unrestrained intensity, as we have until now, Bauk promised.

When asked if this is a victory for SDP, Bauk said that a positive answer could jeopardize the agreement, and he would not want that because it is more important for institutions to function than who in this chess game has drawn a stalemate or who has won.

>>>Todorić: Not a single euro has remained in my private account from private loans

Bačić emphasized that HDZ did not give in, as it was important to them from day one to elect constitutional judges, for which they needed a partner, meaning that colleagues from SDP also needed to vote for constitutional judges.

He recalled HDZ’s announcement that if no agreement was reached with SDP, they would proceed alone with the election of members of the investigative committee, concluding that “everyone has won because judges have been elected and the committee has been established, so he sees neither a loser nor a winner.”