ZAGREB, October 12, 2019 – Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday the Conflict of Interest Commission did not make a unanimous decision today that he had breached the principle of conduct, and that it was a decision which damaged the Commission’s image.
Speaking at a press conference, he said the decision was about the perception of three Commission members without a legal basis.
“Since I am deeply convinced that it’s a decision which damages the Commission’s image, and which also damages me a little in the media sphere, I think it’s fair to hear the other side too,” he said after the Commission decided by a majority vote that he had violated the principle of conscientious and transparent conduct by failing to declare that he was Igor Pokaz’s best man when proposing him for the position of ambassador to the UK.
Plenković said Pokaz entered the Foreign Ministry in 1994 and that he was first appointed as ambassador, to NATO, ten years ago, followed by his appointment as ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2015.
When Pokaz was proposed for the position of ambassador to the UK, the decision on that was made by then Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Prime Minister Plenković and the relevant parliamentary committee.
Plenković said that Pokaz had asked him to be his best man in 1999 and that this fact had not been relevant for his three diplomatic appointments.
More news about conflict of interest issues can be found in the Politics section.
