Dujić remains at the helm of Croatian Forests at least until the conclusion of the European Commission’s investigation

Following the dismissal of former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Josip Dabra, the Government on February 6 of this year also dismissed the head of Croatian Forests (HŠ) Nediljko Dujić, as well as two other members of the Management Board – Ante Sabljić and Igor Fazekaš. However, this has not been implemented to date, so we asked the Ministry of Agriculture whether Minister David Vlajčić, who is affiliated with the Homeland Movement, plans to carry out the dismissal of the head of HŠ?

The Ministry of Agriculture responded that the current focus is on completing the response to the European Commission, for which the Government has also requested an extension of the deadline granted to it. This concerns, as they later confirmed, the investigation process opened by the European Commission (EC) regarding the assessment of state aid operations and their checks, to determine whether they are in accordance with EU legislation. This is a regular procedure, they explain, for the exchange of requested information and documentation when, due to the complexity of the process, additional time for alignment is requested and approved.

To recall, after receiving a complaint, the EC opened an investigation due to suspicions that the state company Croatian Forests and some Croatian wood processing companies benefited from state aid incompatible with the internal market. The aid was allegedly granted because HŠ did not pay the state the exclusive right to manage and commercially exploit Croatian public forests, which could be interpreted as state aid, or as providing an economic advantage to HŠ over private forest owners who must buy or lease forests to compete with HŠ. Non-market prices that HŠ offered to some Croatian wood processing companies when signing contracts for the purchase of wood are also being investigated.

– Given that this is an extremely complex and demanding process that requires in-depth knowledge of the system and all circumstances, we believed that it makes no sense to introduce a new head into a very complicated process, who at this moment is not in a position to handle the key information necessary for the successful conclusion of this process, which is in the absolute interest of Croatian Forests and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries – they stated from the Ministry.

Požgaj group reported irregularities

Incidentally, the report on irregularities in HŠ was sent by the Požgaj group, which has long believed that the redistribution of logs to the wood processing industry is contrary to the Letter of Understanding. However, the CEO Nikola Požgaj says he is not sure whether the current investigative actions are related to that company’s report, as he does not rule out the possibility that there were other reports as well. Nevertheless, he believes that the EC investigation should not be a reason for the dismissal of the HŠ Management Board not to be carried out, as a new person would not hinder the investigators.

And indeed, although the Ministry claims that the main reason the Management Board has not yet been dismissed is that the members are familiar with the process, one should ask whether it would not be more logical to dismiss them precisely so they do not influence the investigation. Admittedly, no indictment has been raised, no one has been arrested, but the impression is that something is being hidden. After all, as Požgaj says, the investigation can last up to two years, which means that in that case, the Management Board in its current composition would remain at least that long.

When the process will conclude, the Ministry of Agriculture could not answer, which means that for at least some time longer, HŠ will be led by Dujić, Sabljić, and Fazekaš. However, it is still unknown who will be the heads of HŠ after the ongoing process concludes. Namely, we asked the Ministry who could be appointed to the HŠ Management Board and its head position, but we did not receive that answer, nor did we receive a response from the Homeland Movement and Croatian Forests, which deepens the suspicion of part of the public that this change may not occur at all. Time will tell if that is indeed the case.