ZAGREB, December 4, 2018 - The Conflict of Interest Commission on Tuesday said that Croatian MP Ivan Pernar of the opposition Živi Zid party is obliged to deposit a watch given to him by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, among state protocol gifts, as it is valued more than 500 kuna.
One of the commission's members, Tončica Božić, said that this was a gift to an office-holder and that that matter is regulated by the Conflict of Interest Act which specifies that gifts of that nature could create some form of obligation by that official to the person who has given the gift.
Officials can retain symbolic gifts with a value of up to 500 kuna and anything exceeding that amount is considered to be a protocol gift to the state, Božić said.
The wrist watch Pernar received is estimated to cost 32,000 kuna.
Pernar also asked the commission whether he was allowed to give the emir a gift valued at more than 500 kuna without being in conflict of interest, i.e. without attempting to influence the emir's decision in doing so.
Božić said that the commission is not familiar with Qatar's regulations and that if Pernar intends to give the emir a gift he should check Qatar's regulations.
Recently Pernar had asked the Conflict of Interest Commission to give its opinion on whether the wrist watch he received from the Qatari emir as a gift could be treated as a gift that could influence the decisions he made as a parliamentary deputy.
Pernar told a press conference in Zagreb in late November that he had received the gift, valued at about 32,000 kuna, from the Qatari emir, who was recently on an official visit to Croatia, because he was "the only lawmaker in the Croatian parliament to raise his voice for the Palestinian cause".
"If the Commission believes that the Qatari emir wants to exert in this way influence on me as a lawmaker, and de facto bribe me, if they believe that he the emir stooped to that level, then they can tell me: 'Mr. Pernar, we suspect that this could be a way to influence you'," Pernar said then.
"In that case, I will give the watch to the Commission theatrically," the opposition MP told the press on 28 November.
The gifted watch was an act of deep respect, the Živi Zid official added.
The Qatari emir Al Thani visited Croatia on 19 November.
For more on the Živi Zid party, click here.
