First Deputy Prime Minister Radimir Cacic has said that the decision to appoint ministers to the supervisory board of the national oil and gas company INA will be an exception because of the exceptional importance of INA, Croatia's biggest company in which the state holds a 44.75% interest.
Arriving at the government headquarters for Thursday's session, Cacic told reporters that the decision on his appointment and the appointment of Finance Minister Slavko Linic to INA's supervisory board had not yet been made and that there should be no ministers on the boards of other companies.
"This would be an exception, given that INA is our biggest company in terms of revenues, a company in which the government holds 44.75% of shares and in which the position of the state and the company's prospects should be clearly defined," Cacic said.
"We'll see, it will be the way the government decides, and the government will opt for the only possible decision," Cacic said, adding that in light of the fact that he was also Economy Minister and Linic was Finance Minister, he himself might be the supervisory board's chairman and Linic a board member.
Asked by reporters if in case of his appointment to INA's supervisory board he would be able to perform his tasks on the supervisory board in parallel to his ministerial duties, Linic said that everything was a matter of good organisation.
"I believe that I have a good team in the finance (ministry) and that I can responsibly carry out tasks on the supervisory board," Linic said.
He recalled that in the government led by the late Ivica Racan of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) he had been the chairman of several companies' supervisory boards as a government minister.
"Many resented it. But it's interesting that no one can say anything bad about the activities of the supervisory boards concerned," he said.
Asked whether INA would be the only company to have ministers on its supervisory board, Linic said: "I believe it will be so. But, that question should be referred to the Prime Minister."
Asked if he had any position as to how the credit rating agency Moody's, whose officials visited Zagreb earlier this week, could rate Croatia, Linic called for refraining from any forecasts.
"One must always be cautious because the situation in Croatia is not easy. Our obligations are huge and these are the first steps in the responsible pursuit of fiscal policy," he added.
