ZAGREB, 20 May 2022 - The Conflict of Interest Commission on Friday unanimously determined that Defence Minister Mario Banožić, who had served as the state assets minister, abused the entitlements when he adopted three decisions including one in which he granted himself an official apartment.

Banožić was fined HRK 7,000 for the breach.

Breaches were identified in three decisions he approved; the decision to grant himself a state-owned apartment of 30 square meters, then a decision on the right to accommodation in an apartment for state officials, and thirdly, granting himself an apartment in Gundulićeva Street in the center of Zagreb.

"When office-holders find themselves in situations when they should decide on matters concerning themselves, they cannot be included in the decision-making. Those situations need to be identified and office-holders need to be excluded from the decision-making and delegate that to another person," the said the commission. 

The commission examined the case after media reports in March this year which was followed by a complaint.

Banožić told the commission that he initially agreed to the smaller apartment because it was the only one available. Later he was informed by the State Real Estate Agency that the apartment in Gundulićeva Street would soon be available and based on the criteria of the 2013 regulation, he could occupy it.

The 2013 regulation notes that first category officials are eligible for a three-room apartment (60m2) and an additional 10m2 for every other family member. In his application for an apartment Banožić noted that his spouse and two children visited occasionally however, the commission said that his family was never registered in Zagreb.

The fact that they occasionally visited did not mean that he was eligible for a larger apartment, the commission's president Nataša Novaković explained.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 2 Dec 2021 - Conflict of Interest Commission chair Nataša Novaković said on Thursday she would be surprised if GRECO, the Council of Europe's anti-corruption body, gave a positive assessment of the conflict of interest bill currently in the first reading in parliament.

Speaking to the press, Novaković said she would be surprised because the bill did not show that Croatia had acted on GRECO's recommendations.

"Those who know how to read GRECO's report and the bill think it's quite clear that the essential recommendations haven't been complied with. Whether they have or not, we'll see when we get the report."

Novaković said that as far as she knew, GRECO was expected to assess if Croatia's new conflict of interest bill was in line with its recommendations today, and the assessment would be forwarded to the Conflict of Interest Commission.

"The bill is between two readings and it would be a bad message if later on, we were to receive a message from GRECO that the law we passed in the meantime is bad."

Novaković was speaking after a meeting of the National Council monitoring the implementation of the Corruption Prevention Strategy, whose chair Nikola Grmoja said GRECO insisted on principles of conduct and that the bill was a big step backward.

For more on politics, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 17 Sept 2021- The Conflict of Interest Commission on Friday stated that it had suspended proceedings against Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and other senior officials after the High Administrative Court and other administrative courts ruled that the Commission could not act on Article 5.

The said article of the Conflict of Interest Act refers to rules of conduct and stipulates, among other things, that office holders are expected to perform their duties in a honorable, conscientious, fair, responsible and impartial manner.

The suspended case dubbed "Lex Agrokor" included Plenković, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić, the Bridge party leader Božo Petrov and a former economy minister, Martina Dalić. The case was opened against Plenković due to a lack of transparency in communication towards the general public during the process of the adoption of the so-called Lex Agrokor law.

The Commission's chairwoman Nataša Novaković said that the suspension was temporary.

In the event that the commission's proposal to the state prosecutorial authorities (DORH) is granted, the cases could be re-opened, however, she admitted that it could not happen soon.

Court rulings pertaining to such cases nix the decisions made by the Conflict of Interest Commission.

The administrative courts have overturned the Commission's decisions in the case of the appointment of Croatian ambassador Igor Pokaz to the U.K., after this case was raised by the Commission due to the fact that Pokaz was Plenković's best man.

The Zagreb-based Administrative Court also ruled in favour of PM Plenković in the case dubbed "Flight to Helsinki", after the Commission accused the premier of failing to provide it with the requested documentation on a visit to Helsinki.

The court also quashed the Commission's ruling against former SDP leader Davor Bernardić, who was granted a scholarship in the amount of HRK 263,000 from a private college in 2014 when he was a parliamentary deputy and the leader of the SDP Zagreb branch.

Novaković said that the Commission had requested extraordinary reviews after its decisions were quashed and the Supreme Court would have the final say.

For more on politics, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 13 July, 2021 - The Conflict of Interest Commission has yet to examine all the circumstances of the disputed donations concerning the Zagreb Mayor, the commission's head, Nataša Novaković, told the commercial N1 broadcaster on Tuesday.

Two conflict of interest cases were opened against Mayor Tomislav Tomašević after media reports, and it is now up to the commission to explore the circumstances and decide whether or not to launch proceedings against the mayor.

On Monday, the commission opened a case against Tomašević after media outlets revealed that one of the newly appointed members of the Srebrnjak hospital's steering council, Tomislav Lauc, was one of the major contributors to Tomašević's campaign, as he donated 10,000 kuna to Tomašević's camp before the elections.

In mid-June, the commission opened the first case against Tomašević on suspicion that some appointments of officials in the Zagrebački Holding company were against the procedure.

Commenting on the latest case, Novaković said that two contributors of the election campaign were reportedly appointed by the new administration to the said council of the hospital.

"This is what we have to investigate," Novaković said adding that the commission needs to establish whether the donation was connected with the subsequent appointment and business relations.

She also elaborated that membership of the steering council was not interesting only because of the monthly reimbursement of 750 kuna (€100) but also because of possibility of exerting influence as a member of that body.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 9 July 2021 - The Conflict of Interest Prevention Commission decided on Friday not to take action against Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and ministers Oleg Butković, Nikolina Brnjac and Marija Vučković since they were found not to have violated the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act.

The Commission met today to look into a complaint claiming that Prime Minister Plenković, Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Butković, Minister of Tourism and Sport Brnjac and Agriculture Minister Vučković had travelled across the country during the recent campaign for local elections at the expense of the state budget.

Tončica Božić, the rapporteur on the case, said that Plenković and his ministers had visited Split to attend a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the formation of a Croatian Army brigade and to meet with the mayor for talks on the tourist season, COVID-19 vaccination, and infrastructure improvement.

Božić said that Plenković and his aides had also visited Rijeka, where they met with representatives of the 3. Maj shipyard and visited the building site of a new hospital, and Koprivnica, where they discussed the construction of a second railway track.

"Prime Minister Plenković was performing his official duties and was accompanied by his aides, his cabinet ministers," Božić said. "The fact that they expressed their support to their party colleagues or potential candidates of their party during the campaign for local elections in these cities is not a question for this Commission, but for the Electoral Commission," she added.

The Commission also took no action against former minister and MP Tomislav Tolušić, MP Josip Đakić and Virovitica mayor Ivica Kirin. 

For more on politics, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 18 June 2021 - The Conflict of Interest Commission did not instigate proceedings against Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Friday because it did not establish that he had exerted influence on the appointment of an advisor at the Croatian Embassy in Moscow.

It has been established that Plenković, as an office holder, did not participate in the appointment of the advisor, who was appointed by the then foreign minister Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Commission said.

The Commission fined Homeland Movement MP Davor Dretar HRK 2,000 for failing to transfer management rights in two firms after stepping into office.

For more on politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated politics section.

ZAGREB, 16 June, 2021 - Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević said on Wednesday that the decision on new management and supervisory boards in the Zagreb Holding utility company was legally valid and in accordance with the law on local and regional government and the Companies' Act.

The Conflict of Interest Commission has launched a case against Tomašević, the commission's president Nataša Novaković said on Tuesday, who underscored that the case was opened due to a possible breach of Article 15 of the Conflict of Interest Act, after staff were appointed in Zagreb Holding contrary to normal practice. 

Tomašević noted that the decision has already been registered in the Commercial Court register.

"With reference to launching the procedure before the Conflict of Interest Commission for an alleged breach of procedure, we assessed that the situation in Zagreb Holding warranted immediate action and so we decided to adopt decisions according to valid laws and the usual practice. We need to underline an additional circumstance, that until the representative body is constituted, it cannot propose new members to management and supervisory boards," Tomašević said in a press release.

The mayor's office recalled the Conflict of Interest Commission's opinion in 2013 in which it notes that "in cases where collision between the provisions of Article 15, Par. 2 of the Conflict of Interest Act and the provisions of Article 48 of the Local and Regional Self-Government Act occur, the provisions of the law that enter into force later are applied - lex posterior derogat legi priori - hence the provisions of Article 48 of the Local and Regional Self-Government Act."

Based on that article, mayors and county prefects appoint and relieve representatives of local government in local companies in which the local government holds a stake or ownership shares.

After the signing of a coalition agreement between Tomašević's We Can! party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), SDP leader Peđa Grbin said that the Conflict of Interest Commission had reacted to an article in the law that until yesterday it had called to be erased, considering that the 2012 law on local government regulated the issue of appointing members to management and supervisory boards in companies owned by local government in a different way.

"With due respect to the Commission and to the excellent work it does in numerous spheres, this isn't its duty but that of the legislator," said Grbin, who called on the government to send amendments to the laws to parliament as soon as possible.

"I expect the government to forward amendments to the law on local government or to the law on the conflict of interest as soon as possible so that this issue is absolutely clear and unambiguous and to define how management and supervisory boards in companies in local government are to be appointed," added Grbin.

He urged that the amendment be brought urgently as this same situation could occur in other cities around the country and that a broad consensus should be reached on this matter.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 15 June, 2021 - The appointment of new members of the management and supervisory boards of the Zagreb Holding without a public call for the selection of applicants did not constitute a breach of the pre-election promise, the new Mayor of Zagreb, Tomislav Tomašević, said on Tuesday.

The multi-utility conglomerate Zagreb Holding's assembly on Monday relieved the supervisory and management boards of their duties, appointing Suzana Brenko Supervisory Board chair and Ratko Bajakić and Damir Topić its members. The provisional Zagreb Holding (ZGH) Management Board was appointed as well, with two new members, Nikola Vuković as Management Board chair and Ante Samodol as a member.

Tomašević said that the situation inherited from the previous local government forced them to react quickly and the direct appointment was the most responsible solution.

Commenting on ZGH's loss of HRK 305 million, Tomašević said that the current city administration had two options: to keep the incumbent management that obviously failed to put the situation under control or to dismiss them and leave the Holding without management several months for the duration of the public tender. 

Tomašević said that this was why he resorted to the direct appointment although in the run-up to the elections he and his party (We Can) promised the appointment of executives and management members of the city-owned companies only through public calls.

At a meeting held with Mayor Tomašević last Friday, the former ZGH management reported on the conglomerate's financial situation and losses incurred in 2020. An audited and consolidated report for 2020 shows that ZGH has for the first time in the last seven years incurred a loss of HRK 305 million, the mayor's office said on Monday.

Today, the mayor elaborated that the minimum number of members of the management and supervisory boards of ZGH were directly appointed and promised the advertisement of public calls for the remaining three members in the management board and the remaining members of the supervisory board.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 29 January, 2021 - The Conflict of Interest Commission on Friday launched proceedings against Tourism and Sport Minister Nikolina Brnjac for her failure to declare a speed boat her husband owns in her Declaration of Assets in a timely fashion.

The complaint notes that Brnjac and her husband obtained a valuable asset without a loan and failed to declare the Jeanneau Leader 805 speed boat registered in her husband's name on her Declaration of Assets.

The applicant of the complaint claimed that Brnjac's husband only declared a small vessel while failing to declare the new vessel purchased in 2018 that is valued at €85,000.

In an explanation to the commission Minister Brnjac presented a sales contract noting that she had omitted to note that the proceeds from selling the smaller vessel went to purchase the new boat.

The commission confirmed that in 2019 Brnjac reported the new vessel in her Declaration of Assets, which meant her declaration had not been adjusted to the real state of affairs for a year and a half.

Brnjac added that she did not intentionally fail to declare the vessel as she did not consider it necessary to declare the new vessel as its value was the same as the vessel sold.

ZAGREB, Sept 11, 2020 - The Conflict of Interest Commission found on Friday that FinMin violated the principle of good conduct by participating in a decision by the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) to grant a loan to a company owned by his friend Josip Stojanovic Jolly.

The procedure against Maric was launched in December last year due to the possibility of bias because, in his capacity as finance minister and president of the HBOR supervisory board, he did not excuse himself from the decision to issue a loan to Stojanovic's Olympia Vodice company, which was issued with an HBOR loan for the construction of a hotel even though he had made it clear in his statements to the media that Stojanovic was a friend of his.

The commission decided on Friday that Maric was not in conflict of interest but rather that he had violated the principle of good conduct, which is not subject to any penalty.

The commission also found that Maric had not violated the law by attending a World Cup match in Russia where he was seen in Stojanovic's company, as Maric provided evidence that he personally paid for his ticket.

In a second case, the commission found that Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic and members of parliament who crossed the floor and joined his parliamentary group had not violated the law.

The commission decided on each individual member of parliament who crossed the floor and joined Bandic's party and whether they were rewarded for that with some counter-favor. The commission found that no violation had occurred with regard to the Conflict of Interest Act.

The procedure involved Mayor Bandic and Members of Parliament Marija Puh, Mladen Madjer, Milanka Opacic, and Sinisa Varga who crossed the floor in parliament, as well as Deputy Mayor of Donja Stubica Luka Grabusic and Radoboj Mayor Andjelko Topolovec who too joined Bandic's party.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.