The Finance Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday it was beyond a doubt that the budget of the President's Office for 2011 was increased 37.4% from the 2010 budget.
The statement was prompted by President Ivo Josipovic's statement that the prime minister had been wrongly briefed about the costs of his office and that its budget had not been increased by 37 but 9.7%.
The ministry said it was beyond a doubt that in her statement yesterday Kosor had correct figures at her disposal.
The budget of the president's office in 2010 was executed in the amount of HRK 40.5 million, as evident from the report on the execution of the 2010 state budget which the government adopted on 12 May 2011, the ministry said, adding that the budget of the president's office for 2010 amounted to HRK 55.5 million, as evident from the 2011 state budget adopted by parliament on 23 November 2010.
Those figures show that the 2011 budget of the president's office was increased by 37.4% from the 2010 budget, the ministry said, adding that publication of budget information in the National Gazette and the websites of the government and the Finance Ministry made the state budget highly transparent.
The ministry also said that information on the budget of every beneficiary, including the president's office, was available to all citizens.
