Years pass, but some things never change in Croatian politics. The year which is about to end has again been full of drama and scandals, and just occasional good news. Remarkably, many of the same issues which you will read about here have featured prominently in our reviews for 2016 and 2017 as well, which just shows that most problems in Croatia are just swept under the rug and never solved. What follows is Croatian Politics 2018, a review of events which will be remembered from the past year, as reported by TCN.

The year began with tensions in the Bay of Piran, part of the Adriatic Sea which Croatia and Slovenia both claim. In late 2017, Slovenia decided to implement the decision by arbitration tribunal which awarded Slovenia most of the bay. However, Croatia has refused to accept the decision, saying that the arbitration process was compromised by Slovenian government representatives who were in collusion with a supposedly independent arbitrator. The tensions raged for a few weeks, with MEPs proposing military solutions and war veterans talking about organising a rather provocative regatta. Eventually, reason prevailed, and the tensions died down. However, the issue is still unresolved, despite assurances to the opposite, with Croatia calling for negotiations and Slovenia insisting on the implementation of the arbitration decision. You are sure to read about this dispute in our 2019 review as well, particularly given Slovenia’s decision to file a lawsuit against Croatia.

Relations with Serbia are always in the focus of interest, and this year was no exception. In January, the government was surprised to hear that President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović had invited Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić to visit Croatia officially. After a short argument over who is really leading Croatia’s foreign policy, Vučić arrived in Zagreb. While the visit mostly went well, the relations between the two countries deteriorated steadily throughout the year and the debate about whether Vučić should have been invited at all continued. Another turn for the worse took place in April when a Croatian parliamentary delegation’s visit to Belgrade was cut short after an incident in the Serbian parliament caused by a notorious Serbian MP and war criminal Vojislav Šešelj. Tension rose again in August when the anniversary of Operation Storm is traditionally celebrated, marking Croatia’s liberation of previously occupied territories in 1995. Serbian President Vučić gave a series of provocative statements, including comparing Croatia to Hitler.

As for the economy, January brought the first worrying signs about the future of Croatian shipyards, a low number of new orders, and about the government’s apparent unwillingness to continue to cover shipyards’ losses. Later in the year, the crisis in the Uljanik shipyard in Pula and its 3. Maj branch in Rijeka would feature prominently in our reporting. Workers spent months striking due to unpaid wages. As the year ends, the situation is still dire and “strategic partners” which the government hopes to find are nowhere to be seen.

“Reforms” is one of the most popular words of Croatian politicians. Every year in January we can hear officials saying that the year ahead is “the year of reforms” which will make Croatia much more prosperous. Needless to say, these promises are never fulfilled, and 2018 did not disappoint. The issue served the president well since she was able to attack the government for lack of reform efforts whenever it suited her.

Ideological debates and historical revisionism attempts continued in 2018 as well. In February, the government-appointed historical commission published its recommendations on issues related to the authoritarian regimes from Croatia’s past, but the conclusions did not satisfy anyone, except for the prime minister, who likes to pretend that the recommendations have solved the problem.

The year which is about to end has again brought us the problem of censorship, questions about media freedoms, warnings about the rise of the far right, separate commemorations held in Jasenovac, the parliament refusing to sponsor anti-fascism events, people destroying flower beds because they reminded them of communism, historical revisionism on the public television, assaults on journalists, satirists receiving death threats, “suspect” politicians being assaulted, photos of Tito slipping from under Croatia’s coat of arms, former prime ministers being sentenced for corruption, and media regulators receiving death threats.

The Catholic Church is undoubtedly part of the political life in Croatia, so it is no wonder that rumours about changes coming to its leadership draw considerable attention. While nothing has been confirmed, it is expected that the Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, could be replaced in the new year. In the meantime, the church has continued to receive vast amounts of money from the state budget, meddle in politics, as well as advise the government on the new abortion law, 

The demographic crisis continued, with high emigration and low birth rates bringing down the number of inhabitants. The president and the government argued about who and what was to blame. The president even presented her measures to solve the problem, which were soon forgotten, and demanded a special session of the government, which never took place. Proposals were presented on how to convince people not to move, as many sectors faced a lack of workers, while many schools started closing down. The extent of the crisis was such that even Serbian President Vučić became "worried." The only “good news” came at the end of the year when reports claimed that the emigration wave was calming down because everybody who wanted and could have left already did.

One of the issues we write regularly in these annual reviews is the construction of Pelješac Bridge, which will connect the Dubrovnik area with the rest of Croatia without the need for travellers to pass through a short stretch of Bosnian territory. After many years of delays, the project has finally moved into the implementation phase. Early in the year, a decision was made to award the tender for the construction to a Chinese consortium, despite protests made by Bosnia and Herzegovina that the bridge could not be constructed before the border between the two countries in the area is defined. The decision to award the contract to a Chinese bidder also brought about a marked change in relations between Croatia and China, which were later further improved by high-level meetings and visits.

Another perennial issue is the future of INA, Croatia’s national oil company, which is owned jointly by the Croatian government and MOL, Hungarian national oil company. In 2016, the prime minister announced that Croatia would buy back MOL’s share of INA. Two years later, nothing has changed. Earlier this year, the government selected financial advisors for the buyback, but the contract with them was never signed. One of the main issues is the future of the INA refinery in Sisak. While in January the relevant minister said he was optimistic about the refinery’s future, by the end of the year he apparently changed his opinion. Another issue is Croatia’s arrest warrant for MOL’s CEO, which Hungary does not want to implement.

Another year has passed, and the supposedly “strategic” project of an LNG terminal on the island of Krk has again gone nowhere. Multi-year delays have continued. The government announced two tenders trying to find out who would be interested in using the terminal once it is built (if that ever happens), but the results were dismal. Just two government-owned companies applied, presumably after receiving a nudge from officials to send their applications and help the government avoid a total disaster. While the project receives verbal support from foreign governments, no one seems to be interested in sending binding offers to use its capacity.

One piece of good business news was the apparently successful conclusion to the worst part of the crisis in Agrokor, one of Croatia’s largest and most important companies. The agreement between creditors was concluded, thanks mostly to Russian banks, although not without an accompanying scandal about high fees paid to consultants, some of whom actually took part in the secretive process of writing the special law which the government adopted to save the company from collapse. The scandal took out Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalić and government-appointed commissioner Ante Ramljak, who had to resign under pressure. E-mails were published which showed that the prime minister knew more about the dealings than he initially admitted, but he managed to escape more or less unharmed. Agrokor’s former owner Ivica Todorić, who fled earlier to London to avoid arrest, was extradited to Croatia late in the year, after multiple delays and court proceedings. Even Tony Blair’s wife could not help him. He has since been released on bail and is currently awaiting possible indictment. The legal proceedings are expected to last for many years.

Good economic news brought us the first upgrade in Croatia’s credit rating since 2004. Unemployment numbers were also down, although more due to mass emigration than to economic revival. Good tourism results, especially in the pre-season and post-season, helped Croatia achieve planned economic growth for 2018 (still among the lowest in the EU). Slightly more moderate growth is expected in 2019, with the lack of reforms being the main culprit. The budget recorded another good year, with spending and revenues being more or less balanced, while the public debt has continued to decline. The year ended with another round of tax cuts and pension reform. Croatia has also announced plans that it will adopt the euro as its currency. The process is expected to last many years.

The ratification of the convention on preventing violence against women, the so-called Istanbul Convention, somewhat unexpectedly turned into a crisis for the government in April when a large group of HDZ MPs decided to vote against the proposal, despite prime minister’s insistence that it should be ratified. While the convention was easily adopted thanks to opposition support, it turned into another attempt by HDZ’s right wing to weaken or possibly topple Plenković as party leader and prime minister. Just like several other similar attempts, it did not succeed.

A national security issue which has drawn a lot of media attention throughout the year is the acquisition of military fighter jets. The decision was first delayed for years, then it was supposed to be made in 2017, but again delayed first to early 2018, and then beyond. After much lobbying, the government finally decided to buy 12 F-16s from Israel. The questions about the deal persisted, with many asking why Croatia was “rejuvenating” its air force with ancient aircraft. By the end of the year, the contract for the deal has not yet been signed, amid disputes between the United States and Israel about what equipment Israel can legally sell to Croatia. Grand plans about “strategic cooperation” with Israel also appear to be on hold. Defence Minister Damir Krstičević has invested a great deal of personal effort in the deal, but the acquisition is still in question, and its final fate is yet to be determined.

As expected, the political circus took a break in June due to the World Cup in Russia. While the break was initially expected to last just a couple of weeks, until the Croatian national team is eliminated in the first phase of the competition as usual, its spectacular success extended the political break to a full month and more. Of course, leading politicians did not miss this opportunity to travel to Russia and have their picture taken with footballers and fans. Needless to say, even this occasion, which was supposed to unite the country, brought divisions, primarily due to an appearance by a controversial singer at the homecoming ceremony, which was attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

The Istanbul Convention ratification prompted one of this year’s two referendum initiatives to be launched. The other effort involved proposed changes to the election laws, which would substantially reduce the rights of national minorities to elect their MPs. The government was against the referendums, while the president seemed to be of a different opinion. While both initiatives claimed they had gathered enough signatures for the referendums to be held, the government checked the signatures and conveniently found enough irregularities to lower the number of accepted signatures below the required threshold. This was just one of several attempts to pressure the government from the right.

One of the rare reforms which have begun, at least nominally, is the reform of Croatia’s education system, the so-called “curricular reform.” The issue has caused conflicts between coalition partners, with HNS repeatedly threatening to leave the government if their proposals are not accepted. Their threats were not taken seriously by anyone since it is clear that early parliamentary elections would probably bring about an end for the party.

A scandal broke in September whose consequences are still unclear at this time. A ministerial driver was arrested under suspicion that he had informed a suspect about a police investigation against him. Interestingly, the driver is a close friend of Milijan Brkić, HDZ deputy president and Prime Minister Plenković’s chief intraparty nemesis. While Brkić has denied having any role in the scandal or leaking the information about the investigation, he has been conspicuously absent from public affairs in recent months. Other scandals involving Brkić have also resurfaced, prompting allegations that his opponents were trying to eliminate him politically. On the other hand, some potentially embarrassing documents about him suddenly disappeared. The scandal has even reached the president’s office, with the national security advisor resigning in December under still unclear circumstances.

Relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the connected issue of the status of Croats in the neighbouring country, were at the forefront of Croatia’s foreign policy efforts in 2018. With October elections looming, the year began with Bosnian Croats warning that the election law was unfair and that it could lead to a Croat representative in the Bosnian presidency being elected by more numerous Bosniaks. That is precisely what happened, with candidate Željko Komšić winning the post, although he apparently did not have the support of the majority of Bosnian Croats. This prompted Croatia’s government to launch a campaign within the EU to pressure Bosnia into changing its election law, which then brought accusations about meddling in internal affairs of the neighbouring country.

One of the potentially most explosive events of this year was a war veterans’ protest held in Vukovar in October. The veterans complained about the lack of prosecution of persons suspected of committing war crimes against Croats in the Vukovar area in 1991, which was a problem which they discussed earlier in the year as well. However, many believed that the protest was actually just a guise for a right-wing attempt to bring down the government led by moderate Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and replace him as HDZ president with a more extremist candidate. Plenković and his team appeared at first worried that the attempt might succeed, but with time they managed to limit its consequences. Once held, the protest passed without incident and has been more or less forgotten, except when occasional arrests in the area do happen, which then draw condemnation from local Serbs who say the police is arresting then just to satisfy the Croat war veterans. In the meantime, tensions in the town continue.

Throughout the year, rumours about impending ruling coalition reshuffle and/or early parliamentary elections continued. However, unlike in 2017, which brought about a change in the ruling coalition composition, with MOST being replaced by HNS, this year the government was more or less stable. One potential candidate for another reshuffle was Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, whose parliamentary group somehow manages to “convince” previously opposition MPs to switch parties and cross to his side. Numerous legal proceedings against him have not made him any less desirable patron. The substantial Zagreb city budget which he controls probably has something to do with it. In two years, he has managed to increase the number of his MPs from 1 to 12, with additional expansion of his parliamentary group expected early in the new year. The fact that people did not vote for his party did not discourage him at all. There are rumours that Bandić will use the increase in the number of his MPs, who are crucial for the parliamentary majority, to demand several ministerial posts in the new year.

As for the opposition, turmoil in SDP continued, with several attempts being made to topple the party president and “the leader of the opposition” Davor Bernardić. Fortunately for SDP opponents, these attempts have been unsuccessful, so Bernardić remains in his seat while his party’s popularity continues to plummet, with the latest polls showing it dropping to the third position, behind HDZ and Živi Zid. An increasing number of SDP MPs are leaving the party, with some of them joining the government ranks.

The migrant crisis continued, particularly on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the police employing ever harsher measures to control the borders and NGOs publishing increasingly critical reports about the alleged police violence and irregularities. The police have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, despite video evidence to the contrary.

The migration issue also brought us another controversy, this time with the signing of the Global Compact for Migration in December. President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who this year marked three years in office, initially supported the agreement, but then suddenly changed her mind, announcing she would not travel to Marrakesh where the UN conference was held. The government immediately said that Croatia would support the declaration nevertheless, which caused protests from right-wing circles. In the end, the non-binding resolution was supported by Croatia, but no-one really expects it will be implemented.

The final few days of the year brought us another major scandal, whose consequences will become clear in the following months. The president decided to dismiss her domestic policy adviser Mate Radeljić, who many believed had influenced the president to take a more critical position towards the government. After he was dismissed, Radeljić said he was threatened by a Security-Intelligence Agency (SOA) official not to try to damage the president politically after being dismissed. He was allegedly told that the agency was ready to run into him with a car if necessary. The president’s office and the SOA issued statements saying they had acted legally, but interestingly they did not outright deny all of Radeljić’s claims. It is expected that Radeljić’s dismissal will result in better relations between the president on the one side and the government and HDZ leadership on the other, just in time for the presidential elections next year.

Another exciting political year is ahead of us. It will include at least two elections (for European Parliament in May, and for president probably in December), and there is always a possibility the early parliamentary elections might take place. Stay with TCN for all the latest political and business news.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of December, 2018, Irena Weber, deputy of Fabris Peruško, the extraordinary commissioner for Agrokor, talked about what the company's plans for next year are, and whether or not Agrokor could become competitive on the market once again.

Has Agrokor survived the crisis, what are the plans for next year, and can the company become competitive on the market once again?

Irena Weber, deputy chief of the extraordinary commissioner in Agrokor, told HRT:

"We came to a rather complex situation, there was no time for adaptation and we immediately went to work and started communicating with the most important stakeholders in order to start the negotiation process as soon as possible, and for it to be completed by the legal deadline - July the 10th," Weber stated.

She pointed out that the results posted on a monthly basis show that all segments within Agrokor have good results. "This applies to the food sector, the agriculture sector, and to the retail sector. Each sector shows a strong recovery trend and we're expecting even better results in 2019," she said.

"Our focus until the end of the year is to set up the implementation plan in its entirety, and we have to carry out what our creditors have agreed and signed for, which means that it's necessary to transfer entire assets from the old group to a mirror society, to form a new group and to ensure that all operational processes are happening, to have a new group with new financial reports and a new ownership structure. The plan is to prepare a process that is in full swing by the end of the year and we expect the whole process to be completed in March 2019,'' the deputy extraordinary administrator said.

She added that all the suppliers were satisfied with how things are going as they had all now been paid.

"At present, the Agrokor Group has no outstanding and unpaid invoices, all have been paid in time in accordance with maturity dates, giving them [the suppliers] the freedom and ability to manage their financial statements," Weber said.

Make sure to follow our dedicated politics and business pages for much more on Agrokor's progress, doing business in Croatia, the domestic political climate, as well as the general business and investment climate.

As Jadranka Dozan/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 12th of December, 2018, with the final approval of the settlement by Agrokor's formerly embattled creditors, which was confirmed by the High Commercial Court back at the end of October, numerous recruited advisors involved in the process of extraordinary administration, from those dealing with restructuring to financial and legal advisors, were also entitled to compensation for such a welcome success.

There are a whole range of advisory profiles within the gigantic Agrokor Group, some of whom have been engaged since the very beginning of this long and arduous process, and some who arrived at the company only at the later stages, on the basis of the success of Agrokor's creditor's settlement, these advisors gained a handsome sum, amounting to 18.9 million euro or about 140 million kuna.

In addition their "regular" fees over the past year and a half have amounted to a massive 66.4 million euro, which is slightly less than half a billion kuna.

These figures were revealed by Agrokor's extraordinary administration team headed by Fabris Peruško, within the framework of the latest monthly report on Agrokor's operations, as well as the respective operations of key Agrokor companies, which has been accompanied by more detailed explanations for the high costs of these various advisors and consultants.

In the case of Agrokor, the huge sums paid to advisors were found to be at such a ''special volume'' primarily because of the political patronage that has dogged and shown a grim persistence in the entire process, coupled with the controversies that came to the very forefront of the formerly ailing company's chronic issues because of the total lack of transparency in the Lex Agrokor preparation phase.

However, according to the new monthly report, at the end of October this year, Agrokor d.d. showed that it had spent 726 million kuna on the company's total advisory and consultancy costs, with more than a tenth of that amount (11 percent or 10.4 million kuna) actually ending up in the state budget. Additionally, the total cost of the advisors, besides their already large fees and creditor's settlement rewards, also includes the accompanying material costs (two percent of the total amount), the report states.

Until the absolute completion of the settlement, which is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2019, and on which more than 350 people are currently working, these costs will rise by tens of millions of kuna.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated business page for all the information you need on not only Agrokor, but on doing business in Croatia, the current economic, investment and business climate, Croatian companies, products and services, and much more.

Click here for the original article by Jadranka Dozan for Poslovni Dnevnik

 ZAGREB, December 12, 2018 - Sberbank Croatia on Tuesday dismissed reports that Maxsim Poletayev, an advisor to Sberbank's Management Board chair, was leaving that Russian bank, saying that he would continue to perform his duties in his present post, along with his involvement in Agrokor restructuring.

Sberbank Croatia said that it had sent a denial also to some local web portals that published what it described as incorrect information.

The influential Russian daily Kommersant reported earlier that Poletayev was leaving Sberbank after spending 20 years in the biggest Russian bank and that he was joining the business system of oligarch Oleg Deripaska. According to a report published earlier by the Russian daily, Sberbank, Poletayev and Deripaska's representatives declined comment on Poletayev's transfer.

Poletayev is known in Croatia as the former first deputy to the Sberbank Management Board chair, who in June this year became an advisor to the Sberbank management board chair with the priority task of overseeing the settlement of the situation in Agrokor.

Sberbank is Agrokor's biggest creditor with claims in the amount of 1.1 billion euros. After Agrokor's creditors reached agreement in the process of the company's emergency administration, Sberbank could soon become the biggest stakeholder, with a 39.2% interest.

Last week, Poletayev told Reuters that Sberbank had started receiving bids from various funds, from the United States and Canada to Great Britain, for the sale of its stake in Agrokor.

“All will depend on the price, so far we are studying them,” Poletayev told Reuters.

More news about Agrokor, Croatia’s embattled business giant, can be found in our Business section.

Neither Prime Minister Plenković nor Zdravko Marić himself have come out and actually denied the rumours about the Croatian finance minister's potential departure from the government.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 8th of December, 2018, although no one has officially confirmed this, some claim that a quick analysis of the statements made by both Prime Minister Plenković and Zdravko Marić himself suggest that it is apparently ''almost certain'' that the longtime Croatian finance minister is set to leave his government position.

This information has begun circulating at a very inconvenient time and amid quite a bit of controversy, given the fact that Zdravko Marić's older sister has been promoted in HANFA, which is ironically the organisation investigating the finance minister for his activities during the height of Agrokor saga, which still isn't over. Good timing you say? You're right.

To quickly recall, this isn't the first time the Croatian finance minister has fallen out of favour in such a public manner. Marić used to work at Agrokor before taking on his government position, and as more and more came to light in regard to Agrokor's messy story, many began to suspect that he knew much more than he was letting on about the crimes which allegedly took place under the gigantic company's former owner, Ivica Todorić.

Despite having held strong to his statement of innocence and managing to survive this political test, ultimately retaining his position, the cloud of suspicion surrounding him never truly went away, it only engulfed Martina Dalić instead, the fomer deputy PM, who became a welcome distraction for the minister tormented by his past.

Regardless of the passage of time and the stepping down of Martina Dalić, the curse of the former Agrokor crisis has come knocking at Croatian finance minister's door once again, and this time it looks like he won't be getting off quite as lightly.

Upon being asked, Prime Minister Plenković's response has been scrutinised deeply, and for some it could be concluded that the Croatian finance minister's time is up, purely and simply because the he did not deny it when asked, writes Večernji list.

Similarly, Marić didn't deny it himself, either. The question now is not only who would potentially replace Marić in the government, but whether or not this could potentially be a chance for the reconstruction of the current government.

While unconfirmed, speculation suggests that Marić's departure from the government will take place next month, which would in itself be logical because he has already compiled a budget for next year.

The exact name of the person who either may or definitely replace Marić is still unknown, primarily because this information remains officially unconfirmed. But those speculating have suggested that it could be Tomislav Ćorić, the curent minister of energy and environmental protection, but sources close to the government claim that if he is doing his job well and that such a move would make no real sense. It would also be his third new ministry if it were to occur. So, it seems difficult to imagine Corić taking over Marić's job.

The speculation of potential names continues, despite the fact that the rumours of the current Croatian finance minister leaving his position early next year remain unconfirmed. 

Make sure to stay up to date on this situation and much more on the domestic and European political stage by following our dedicated politics page.

Ever since the Agrokor crisis threatened to sink the domestic economy, the Croatian market has been a rocky one, but despite that, Konzum is back on its feet and is even attracting purchasing potential.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 7th of December, 2018, Milo Ćurković, the owner and CEO of the popular shopping chain, Plodine, said that although he doesn't believe we that Plodine are the only interested party, he believes that they would be the most ready to take over Konzum.

In terms of revenue and income, Plodine is by far largest company in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, and when it comes to the top-list of retail chains in Croatia, they're in third place, with a share of between 10 and 20 percent, just like both Lidl and Kaufland, while the almighty Konzum is still gripping onto first place, according to a report from Novi list.

"The crisis in Agrokor was dangerous for the entire economy, however, everything was fine in the sense that the taxpayers didn't have to bear the consequences of it, and that's what is most important," said Ćurković for Novi list, revealing that Plodine is very much interested in purchasing Konzum.

''We absolutely are. The question is, of course, what the [Agrokor's] new owners will do. The new owners are bankers, creditors, and my estimate is that for the bank, this isn't their main business, so, as soon as the company is consolidated, they'll sell that part of the business, which we're ready for and want. I think the entire consolidation process will last two to three years, and we'll be further prepared in that period so that we're fully prepared for that potential acquisition at the right time. This will be the most interesting acquisition for all of us in this sector.

We're waiting to see how the situation in Agrokor will turn out. I don't believe that we're the only ones interested [in purchasing Konzum], but I believe that we're the most ready for the takeover of Konzum. This isn't just about finances. You have to be ready for personnel, organisational, logistical matters, and we've fulfilled those conditions,'' said Ćurković, adding that anyone who succeeds in buying Konzum will definitely be the main player on the Croatian retail market and that nobody would be able to do better.

"Our goal is to be the main player on the Croatian market," concluded Ćurković.

Make sure to stay up to date on the Croatian market, doing business in Croatia, and the domestic business and investment climate by following our dedicated business page.

You know that old British saying ''It ain't over til the fat lady sings''? Well, you could easily apply that to the ongoing Agrokor saga. Yes, things have calmed down enormously, with the company having made a miraculous turnaround from pre-bankruptcy to regaining its strength and operating normally, but the story isn't over yet.

Fabris Peruško, the current extraordinary commissioner leading Agrokor's administration, stated recently that Agrokor is finally back on its feet, and not only that, but that it still has all the potential to remain one of the strongest and largest companies in this part of Europe.

While Agrokor is expected to return to totally normal business next year, under a different name and with Russia's Sberbank as a majority owner, things still aren't all steady, and this is one of them. 

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 5th of December, 2018, Russia's Sberbank, one of Agrokor's largest shareholders, has already begun receiving bids for its huge share in the Agrokor Group.

Maxim Poletajev, advisor to the CEO of Sberbank, stated that Sberbank has already begun receiving bid for its share from various funds from the United States, Canada, and much closer to home in Europe, from the United Kingdom, according to a report from N1.

"Everything will depend on the price, we're currently considering offers," Poletajev stated very briefly. He also said that Russia's Sberbank was currently in talks with various investors who could potentially take part in refinancing Agrokor's debt.

Fabris Peruško should become the president of the board, Poletajev added.

As the Agrokor story continues to write its own pages and as its former owner, Ivica Todorić, pays a million euros in bail to leave prison and announce his entry into the Croatian political world, it's more and more difficult to predict exactly what will happen next, but in any case, follow our dedicated business and politics pages to stay up to date.

As 24sata writes on the 5th of December, 2018, Ivica Todorić, who was recently released from Remetinec prison following his eyebrow-raising payment of a million euros in bail, which he said was paid by friends, has decided to become politically active. On Wednesday, the 5th of December, 2018, he announced his political engagement once again and used the opportunity to criticise Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the Croatian Government, according to a report from N1.

We've translated his statement in full below:

''Dear all,

Today, following two years of Andrej Plenković's government, the Republic of Croatia is socially and economically completely destroyed, devastated, we have chaos and a dictatorship, we're seeing the destruction of institutions every day, we're the worst member of the EU, we're last on the list by all indicators, we're at the very bottom!

Today, the Republic of Croatia isn't a country of knowledge, it isn't a country [which respects] the rule of law, it isn't a country which cares about its demographic status, the economic position of its citizens, or the state itself.

At the same time, two years have passed since the launch of the plundering of Agrokor, a monstrous criminal project unseen in history in this part of the EU.

That is precisely the best example of corrupt antinational power, which has plagued the future of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia and has thrown the state on its knees.

I fought alone, and I'm still fighting [armed] with the truth and the facts about the crimes which were carried out over my company, my associates, and over me.

Throughout my life I've been giving to my homeland to Croatia, through the Agrokor project, building a modern, competitive industry that eventually became the largest in this part of the EU.

But now I look upon this dictatorship of Prime Minister Plenković, who pitilessly continues to inflict tremendous damage upon the Republic of Croatia, and who is destroying our homeland and its future.

Exactly because of the desire to change this catastrophic position of the Republic of Croatia, I decided to become politically active!

We in the Republic of Croatia need to gather all the potential of every individual to make the best use of our national wealth - forests, water, land, and our sea, in order to realise our national interests in the most functional way.

The Republic of Croatia must get started and become a country of knowledge that respects the rule of law. Severe, serious reforms and investment cycles need to be initiated literally overnight as [otherwise] it will be too late. Croatia needs to be transformed into the construction site for the future of our children and all citizens.

I'm sure that we will eradicate this corrupt, incompetent, dictatorial authority - to ensure a better future for our homeland of Croatia and for our children.

With respect,

Ivica Todorić''

Make sure to follow our dedicated politics page to stay up to date with the Croatian political scene and all of the former Agrokor boss' political moves.

ZAGREB, December 4, 2018 - The leaders of the parliamentary opposition parties GLAS, HSS, IDS and HSS told a press conference in Zagreb on Tuesday that Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Marić "must go" following Monday's decision by the Conflict of Interest Commission.

"Marić must go. However, it is also important to pass a new law on conflict of interest, but not in the way Public Administration Minister Lovro Kuščević would want. All institutions cannot be dependent on the (ruling) HDZ," the leader of the Civic Liberal Alliance (GLAS), Anka Mrak Taritaš, said.

"There already was a vote of confidence in Marić and the result was 75 votes in favour of his resignation and 75 votes against, which showed what we think about him," she added.

In May last year, Croatia's 151-seat parliament did not pass a no-confidence vote against Finance Minister Marić after 75 lawmakers voted for the opposition's motion for the dismissal of the minister whom they accuse of the conflict of interest in connection with Agrokor, and the same number voted against the motion, with one lawmaker abstaining.

Mrak Taritaš noted today that there was already speculation that Marić would resign after the New Year and that he had indicated that he had found a new job.

The Conflict of Interest Commission decided on Monday that former Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Martina Dalić and Finance Minister Zdravko Marić had violated the principle of holding public office in the case of the indebted Agrokor food and retail conglomerate. The violation does not carry any penalties.

The head of the parliamentary group of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, Branko Bačić, said on Tuesday that the Conflict of Interest Commission had found that in the case of Finance Minister Zdravko Marić and former Economy Minister Martina Dalić there was no conflict of interest in their actions while they were dealing with the crisis surrounding the privately owned Agrokor Group, and dismissed opposition calls for Marić's resignation.

"There is no reason for the opposition to demand the minister's resignation, and the minister will not tender his resignation," Bačić said, adding that the Commission had extensively interpreted the conflict of interest legislation when deciding on the cases of Maric and Dalić.

Bačić said that working in one's own interest constituted a conflict of interest, and that nobody proved that Marić acted in that way in this case.

Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said he would take legal steps to contest a Conflict of Interest Commission decision under which he violated the principle of holding public office in the case of the indebted Agrokor food and retail conglomerate.

Speaking to Croatian reporters covering his trip to Brussels, Marić said he had not received the decision in writing yet and that when he did he would "decide how to comment on it." He said he would "certainly" take legal action "to contest the decision because I believe I wasn't in a conflict of interest, which the Commission already confirmed once, nor did I violate the principle of holding public office."

"I saw that a manoeuvre was made, I don't know for what reason nor do I consider it justified or comprehensible, which was to combine my case with the others that followed, and I will file a complaint regarding this too. I gave a deposition which I signed and gave the Commission and everyone can see that I didn't initiate any of those meetings... but came to them after being invited," said Marić.

He said he did not take part in the creation of any solutions concerning Agrokor nor was he "some kind of operative contact, which I sharply reject." "I attended those meetings in the preliminary stage, when it was necessary to establish the state of affairs and analyse things based on publicly available data. After that, I wasn't involved."

Asked if he was closer to stepping down, as is being speculated in public, Marić said he "wouldn't connect these two things at all" and reiterated that he was doing his job as minister "professionally, responsibly and legally." He said he respected all Croatian institutions but that he had his rights, not just as minister but also as a citizen.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Marić should not resign, stressing that the Commission did not examine "the concept of conflict of interest" and that it did not find that either Marić or former economy minister Martina Dalić had been in a conflict of interest.

"It's very important that this message be understood clearly, based on what and about what exactly the Commission was deciding. The Commission examined solely... the principles of holding office," he told reporters when asked if Marić should resign, as demanded by the opposition.

"When you have a serious situation, an emergency, the responsibility of the person running the government is big, and this is something which, in all the ex post comments and analyses, those who aren't in that position can't perceive at all," Plenković said, adding that everything that was done to prevent a major economic crisis was not perceived as it should have been.

"The real problem is minimised, while an approach which someone imagines should be taken in a crisis situation is maximised. The reality is somewhat different."

Not one cabinet member has at any moment violated the principles of holding public office, which are conscientious, responsible and unbiased conduct, guarding one's own credibility and the dignity of one's duties, Plenković said.

"Our moves were responsible, we weren't at the level of petty politics and lack of ideas as were the members of then opposition or today's opposition who were then part of the government. But that's their responsibility and something citizens will evaluate when assessing the contribution of every one of us."

Plenković said it had never been as clear as now who in politics was doing their job seriously, responsibly and in the interest of the Croatian citizens and economy, and who saw politics entirely differently. He accused "some political parties" of filing complaints to the Conflict of Interest Commission "to see what it will decide so that (they) can use politically later on."

Asked if former minister Dalić had asked him if the public should be told who was in the informal group that drew up the law on Agrokor's restructuring, Plenkovic said the government could but did not have to form working groups for some matters.

"If you have a company which is on the market and, at that point, is exposed to everything to which the market... if it sees a problem, responds very quickly, then it's wise, responsible, credible and appropriate that everything you do to prevent a bigger problem for Croatian society should be discrete and done in a way which won't additionally destabilise that market. It was necessary to ensure fresh liquidity for the company and this was done in a short time. That's the most important thing," he said.

He said everything concerning Lex Agrokor was done legally by consulting experts who could help draw up a law "which prevented an economic and financial crisis."

For more on the Agrokor affair, click here.

ZAGREB, Dec 4, 2018 - The Conflict of Interest Commission decided on Monday that former Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Martina Dalić and Finance Minister Zdravko Marić had violated the principle of holding public office in the case of the indebted Agrokor food and retail conglomerate. The violation does not carry any penalties.

The Commission found that Dalić had violated the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act because, despite the great public interest, she did not give the names of members of the informal working group assembled by the government in dealing with the crisis in the company. In that way she failed to act transparently, Commission chair Nataša Novaković said.

Dalić recommended Ante Ramljak as crisis manager for the company although she was aware that he was a member of the informal group assembled to draft a bill on Agrokor, which was deemed failure on her part to act credibly and responsibly, the Commission said.

Marić was found to have violated the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act because at a meeting at which it was decided who the crisis manager for Agrokor would be, he failed to protect his own credibility and impartiality in holding public office, given that he had previously worked at Agrokor.

The Commission had renewed proceedings against Dalić and Marić after Dalić's deposition to the USKOK anti-corruption office had leaked to the public, showing that Marić attended more meetings regarding Agrokor than he had admitted.

For more on the Agrokor case, click here.