ZAGREB, 6 July 2022 - Government spokesman Marko Milić said on Wednesday that Finance Minister Zdravko Marić would speak about the reasons for his resignation in greater detail on Thursday, before or after a government session, and that his departure had not shaken the government or the ruling coalition, which were stable.

In an interview with the N1 broadcaster, Milić said that Marić had informed Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of his plan to leave the government a few weeks ago and that he attended today's meeting of the inner cabinet and would address members of the parliamentary majority and HDZ party leadership later today.

"He had an emotional address before the government and said that his decision was difficult for him," Milić said, noting that with regard to the reasons and circumstances of his departure, Marić would be available for comment on Thursday, before or after the regular government session.

Milić said that the government would "continue to work as it has so far", adding that the choice of Marić's successor - Marko Primorac of the Zagreb Faculty of Economics, "is a message of stability and continuity".

He said that Primorac's appointment would be completed by the start of the parliament's summer recess, July 15.

Meanwhile, Minister Marić will travel to Brussels to attend a session of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), which will complete the process of Croatia's accession to the euro area. ECOFIN's decision is expected on 12 July.

Asked if Marić had told the PM the reason for his decision to leave the government, Milić did not give an explicit answer, calling for calming down and "not generating panic or chaos."

The government spokesman does not believe Marić's decision to leave is reason for an early election, adding that the Opposition "should pray God we do not go to elections" considering the state it is in.

He said that the government was grateful to Marić but that it had to move on because the challenges were big, with a difficult yet not cataclysmic autumn ahead.

Speaking of Croatia's having lost an arbitration case brought by MOL, which alleged that the Croatian government did not honour its obligations from a gas business agreement, Milić said the report about the loss of the case was not carried in its integral form and that a large part of MOL's demands had been rejected, that the potential financial damage of $1.1 billion had been reduced to €184 million, and that with interest it amounted to just above $200 million.

Milić said the government accepted the arbitration decision but would continue to use the legal instruments at its disposal and that the payment of damages to MOL would not pose a major problem for the state budget.

As for a possible new set of measures to help citizens and the business sector with rising prices, Milić said the government would "be with citizens and the business sector as long as necessary" but that it was not the only market actor and that others, too, had to shoulder some of the burden.

In that context, he announced the continuation of talks with small fuel distributors, describing their announcement that they would have to close down as an instrument of pressure.

The government's decree on fuel wholesale prices is not a blow to small distributors but will affect their profit, he said.

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ZAGREB, 12 March 2022 - The Social Democratic Party's Main Committee on Saturday supported the SDP parliamentary group in a motion to dissolve parliament, and concluded that the government cannot become better by changing a minister or two, that it is spent, does not govern well, and should step down.

Crises can no longer be an alibi for politically unsuccessful action, Main Committee chair Marija Lugarić told the press.

The committee concluded that the government's anti-inflation measures are not enough as they do not take into account the aggression on Ukraine and the war's impact on inflation. 

SDP president Peđa Grbin said the party was proposing to index pensions either with salary or inflation growth and to abolish VAT on fuel excises.

He said it was time to start talking about a new economic model which would not rest solely on tourism.

Commenting on a drone which crashed in Zagreb on Thursday night, Grbin said something was not working security-wise nor in communication with the neighbours. Hungary should have notified us that the drone had crossed their territory, he added.

Grbin said he expected the prime minister to say clearly what went wrong and how he would prevent such things from happening again. If it happens again, the reaction should be much faster and more organised, and citizens should be informed better so that there is no panic, he added.

Grbin said he expected NATO to investigate the matter and say clearly why the information system failed.

"If the drone ended up in Croatia by accident, that's not good because the warning system failed, and if it was by accident, that's very, very bad because it means that not only Croatia but NATO, too, have somehow been dragged into the conflict," he added. 

ZAGREB, 5 Feb 2022 - The former leader of the Istria Democratic Party (IDS) and current Istria County prefect, Boris Miletić, resigned from the party on Saturday after the new leadership launched disciplinary action against him for violating the party's code of ethics and statute.

"I regret this because of everything Miletić did as the party president and mayor of Pula. I think this is a hasty decision, and what it means in light of his position as county prefect, we will see and discuss within the party," new IDS president Dalibor Paus said.

Paus said that in light of the latest development the disciplinary action against Miletić had been suspended.

He would not say why exactly such action had been launched. "The IDS does not want to wash its dirty linen in public and bother the public with it, because there are much more important matters for Istria it should be dealing with."

Miletić joined the IDS in 1996.