"Energy policy is a policy of today and of the future. We want Croatia to be an active stakeholder in it, in close dialogue with the European Commission and other member-states, and we want all national decisions to be part of that broader framework of energy policy management at the EU level," Plenkovic told reporters on the margins of a panel discussion organised by the Jutarnji List daily.
He said that the government planned to adopt a new energy strategy for Croatia this year.
The LNG project is of strategic importance for Croatia, Europe and Croatia's partners globally. "I believe that with such a terminal we would have a much more important role in Europe's overall energy policy," Plenkovic said.
Asked if he had discussed with Primorje-Gorski Kotar County head Zlatko Komadina the adoption of a law on the LNG terminal, he said that the government pushed for partnership with local government units, notably counties, and that the LNG project was of strategic importance.
The relevant ministries will provide the county authorities and the county assembly with all information regarding the environmental impact study for the project, said Plenkovic.
Asked about talks Economy Minister Martina Dalic held last week in Budapest, Plenkovic said Dalic and Environmental Protection and Energy Minister Tomislav Coric visited Budapest to continue the dialogue with the Hungarian side, including representatives of MOL.
"They discussed the continuation of the process in Croatia, where consultants are being selected to help in the process of buying MOL's stake in INA, as well as the recapitalisation of Petrokemija, its restructuring and sustainability of its operations," said the PM.
Asked how the talks were proceeding, Plenkovic said that ways were being sought for Petrokemija, which is an important partner to all gas suppliers in Croatia, including INA, to be capable of regularly meeting its obligations and launching the restructuring process.
"I believe that those who have been making profit for years in partnership with Petrokemija have special responsibility," said the PM.
At an assembly held in mid-January, Petrokemija's shareholders decided on the company's recapitalisation to collect HRK 450 million (approx. EUR 60 million).
Petrokemija said earlier that it had received several binding bids for its recapitalisation. According to media reports, among the bids are those by Austria's Borealis, the Croatian companies INA and PPD.
Asked about changes in INA's ownership structure, Plenkovic said that in the case of national companies, it was important for changes to render those companies efficient and ensure that they were managed well.
"That is the key goal," he said, repeating that the Hungarian side wanted a fast and fair agreement on MOL's exit from INA's ownership structure.
Asked to comment on differences in the ruling coalition regarding tax breaks for citizens and the business sector, given that he has announced a lower VAT rate and that his coalition partners also want less taxes on wages and small businesses, Plenkovic said that he had promised to do his best to lower the standard VAT rate.
"With the tax reform, which is integral, we have already freed HRK 2.5 billion in the economic sector, and this year tax breaks will amount to around 1.2 billion," he said, adding that ideas about unburdening the economy and taxpayers were welcome but that one should take care of keeping the revenues side of the budget sustainable.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Tuesday said that Zagreb regretted that Slovenia was continuing pursuing its "unacceptable policy of unilaterally implementing the arbitration decision," and underscored that Croatia would respond in the same way to fines issued by Slovenia's police to Croatian fishermen.
"I am sorry that Slovenia is continuing pursuing its unacceptable policy of unilaterally implementing the arbitration decision from the process that Croatia withdrew from and the ruling that Croatia does not recognise," Plenkovic told reporters after a roundtable - "Croatia at the doorway to the energy union," organised by the Jutarnji List daily.
Plenkovic added that according to "international law, it is impossible to unilaterally implement a decision like that."
"This option of theirs to send misdemeanour orders to our fishermen is deeply incorrect. They are unilateral acts. We, as a serious country, have been prepared this entire time to reciprocate and will do so. As such, Croatian police will respond with the same measure to the trespassing of our territory by Slovenian fishermen so that we clearly demonstrate our firmness," Plenkovic said.
The prime minister stressed that Croatian fishermen would not pay the fines.
"We will find mechanisms how to help them legally and challenge these misdemeanour orders that the Slovenian police have sent," he said.
PM says Croatia has unequivocal attitude towards Holocaust
Responding to reporters in regard to deteriorating in relations with Serbia due to a contentious exhibition about the Ustasha-run Jasenovac WWII concentration camp in UN headquarters in New York, Plenkovic said that the Croatian government and Croatian society overall, had a clear stance toward the victims of the Holocaust and Jasenovac.
Referring to statements by Serbia's Foreign Minister, Ivica Dacic, about the exhibition in the UN, Plenkovic said: "Obviously there are some ministers who are not following events well, they don't see, don't hear what they are doing and are not hearing messages. They are trying to instrumentalise the topic with the exhibition in New York, and return relations to the period of World War II."
"Croatia will not be dragged into that episode. We know what our values are. We know how to relate to the past. We know how to clearly articulate condolence to the victims and condemn those who committed crimes," Plenkovic said.
"They who are doing these things have to ask themselves what was the policy of the former leaders of the party from which Serbia's foreign minister comes, for example at the start of the nineties when the Great Serbia policies pursued by Milosevic's regime launched its ruthless aggression against Croatia, against Bosnia and Herzegovina, destroyed Vukovar, resulting in 15,000 dead in Croatia. These same people do not have the credibility for this type of provocation," Plenkovic said.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Tuesday told reporters that no influence had been exerted on the judiciary in correspondence between the health and justice ministries, adding that he considers it to be the health minister's duty to inform his colleague in the justice ministry about the uneven judicial practice by different courts in Croatia.
"There has been no influence on the judiciary. I think it was the health minister's duty to inform his colleague, the justice minister that it was obvious that legal practice by different courts in Croatia was not uniform," the prime minister told reporters.
Explaining that it is within the remit of the Supreme Court to make court practice uniform, Plenkovic said that he believed that it was good that the ministers shared their opinions about that.
That is yet another mystification where I don't see how a minister's correspondence to another minister can impact the work of the courts. I don't know which way judges could react to his letter," Plenkovic underscored.
Text: Hina