PM says decision on Uljanik must be best possible for Croatia

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday that the government would not make a decision on the ailing Uljanik shipbuilding group, adding that once made, the decision would be the best possible for Croatia.

"(The decision) will not be known today, we have time" and "it most certainly won't be made on Friday", the PM said while answering reporters' questions about Economy Minister Darko Horvat's announcements that a decision on whether Uljanik would be restructured or sent into bankruptcy would be known by Friday.

"Decisions of that kind are not made without thinking twice," Plenkovic told reporters.

He also said that there were no problems in relations between Finance Minister Zdravko Maric and Minister Horvat.

"We have a very cautious, gradual and thorough approach to the problem. Our decisions must be responsible towards Croatian taxpayers, they have to provide for the possibility of keeping the shipbuilding sector operating," Plenkovic said, adding that it was no longer possible to give huge state subsidies for shipyards which despite that had ended up in financial trouble.

PM says has wanted to reduce polarisation in society since 2016

Commenting on the Independent Democratic Serb Party's (SDSS) view of the situation in the ruling coalition, which that party made public recently, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that it had been his ambition since 2016 to try and reduce polarisation in Croatia and that he wanted each member of any ethnic minority in Croatia to feel well.

Speaking to reporters on the margins of an event marking the 25th anniversary of the cooperation and partnership between Croatia and the World Bank, Plenkovic said that all outstanding issues would be discussed at a meeting to be held with SDSS leader Milorad Pupovac.

He added that his plan since 2016 had been to reduce polarisation in the Croatian society.

"Polarisation at the time was excessive for a society such as ours. I am working on reducing polarisation in my own way, gradually, but I don't have the impression that there is always understanding for what we do," said Plenkovic.

He said that at the time when he formed his government he wanted all minority representatives in the parliament to be a part of the parliamentary majority.

"That was my ambition because I think that it's good and healthy for our society. My hand is extended to all of them, I want them to live as befits the state of civilisation in 2019," he said.

He said that both this and last year the government had significantly increased funding to address minority groups' economic issues, housing construction and infrastructure issues.

"I want every Roma, Italian, Serb, Bosniak, Albanian, Czech, Hungarian and Slovak to feel well in Croatia. I want a society whose majority, because it is a majority, has the breadth, freedom and commitment to respect everyone living with us," he said, adding that not everyone on the political scene supported such a policy.

PM says Croatia open to possible delay to Brexit

Croatia is open to the idea of extending the deadline for Great Britain's leaving the European Union, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday, expressing dissatisfaction over the situation involving Brexit, saying it was an example of a referendum in the public sphere and for campaigning.

"We are open to extending the deadline---" Plenkovic said when asked if Croatia would be willing to accept an extension to the March 29 deadline for Britain's departure from the EU.

According to Plenkovic, delaying Bexit cold have two scenarios. The first one is a shorter deadline which would give a final chance for an orderly Brexit before the European election or by July 1 at the latest, while the second, longer deadline would raise a number of issues such as the make up of the European Parliament.In case of a need for the deadline extension, Plenkovic said he would prefer if the deadline was shorter.

"What is happening in the United Kingdom now is a very good example and it is very important for the Croatian public to understand the consequences of the misuse of a referendum in the public sphere of for campaigning," Plenkovic said.

Plenkovic said that ahead of the 2016 referendum, voters heard a lot of information which scared them and were fairy tales and lies, adding that because of that a majority of voters supported Britain's departure from the EU.

Plenkovic also recalled that the incumbent Prime Minister Theresa May as well as the then Prime Minister David Cameron were for Britain's staying in the EU, but Cameron made "a wrong political assessment by giving room to a man like Nigel Farage ... who had an agenda of destruction which unfortunately was successful."

Plenkovic said that the will of the majority must be respected, but that it is bad for the British people.

"Today they are realising that for the past two and a half years they were a country that dealt with only one topic and one topic alone. Great Britain is one of the the top five global economies, a permanent member of the Security Council, a nuclear force, a global free trade champion. They are self-centred." 

The Croatian PM said the European Union did its best to have an orderly Brexit.

Three years after Britain voted to leave the European Union, lawmakers have failed to agree on how to do so. Parliament rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's revised Brexit deal on Tuesday in a vote of 391 to 242, the second time she has suffered such an overwhelming defeat.

Parliament will vote on Wednesday on whether to leave the European Union on schedule, on March 29, without a deal -- a scenario that could create economic havoc for Britain and, to a lesser degree, Europe.

Plenkovic believes that lawmakers were very likely to reject Brexit without a deal and then the only thing left to do was to opt for a delay.

PM doesn't expect problems with Peljesac Bridge

Asked if he expected problems with the Peljesac Bridge project due to problems in the construction of access roads, Plenkovic said that he did not.

"The bridge will be built and will be a symbol of the first seven years of our membership of the EU," he said.

The state-owned road construction and maintenance company Hrvatske Ceste (HC) on February 28 decided that the Duboka-Sparagovici/Zaradeze road, leading to the Peljesac Bridge, would be built by the Greek company J&P Avax. However, the Austrian company Strabag and the Greek Aktor company have appealed that decision to the State Commission for Public Procurement Supervision about the choice of the contractor.

Text: Hina

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