ZAGREB, May 18, 2018 – President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said on Friday she had received a detailed report on the Agrokor email scandal from the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) last night and that she was expected to discuss the matter with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday, when she will propose a session of the National Security Council.
The group of people who took part in the private email correspondence were very flippant about a very serious issue and national problem, and such communication casts a shadow on the whole process, she told reporters.
The president said she would propose a session of the National Security Council during talks with Plenković on Monday. “There is certainly a need for that because I must express my concern about the current state of affairs.”
Grabar-Kitarović said she requested and received from SOA a detailed report on all the activities of said group and that today she would meet with SOA chief Daniel Markić, who will inform her of SOA’s role.
The president said she was concerned about the current state of affairs because a settlement on the ailing Agrokor conglomerate must be carried out. “I don’t want there to be complications because the stability of jobs in Agrokor and the stability of Croatia’s economy depend on that.”
She said it was also necessary to investigate who knew about the communication in the email scandal. “Why did a group of officials, serious people, communicate via Hotmail and other private emails, whose servers are abroad, on such an important state issue? Why did they avoid official emails? That casts a shadow on the whole process.”
The president said another reason for her concern with the current state of affairs was the fear that all other issues in the state were standing still, adding that reforms should be launched.
Asked about Plenković’s responsibility, she said he met with the so-called Borg group but that it was also necessary “to investigate the authenticity of those emails.” The mailing group calling itself Borg comprised consultants and lawyers who worked on the law on extraordinary administration in systemic companies, dubbed Lex Agrokor. “The relevant authorities are doing that. None of us must exert pressure on DORH (State Prosecutor’s Office). Naturally, we are all politically responsible for the job we do, and this also depends on the stability within the ruling coalition, their talks,” the president said.
She said she asked former economy minister Martina Dalić several times who wrote Lex Agrokor and that Dalić told her it was written by her and her associates. “She didn’t tell me their names because I didn’t ask for them and I don’t know those people.” Asked if those were associates from the economy ministry, the president said, “That’s how I understood it.”
The president also commented on Plenković’s call on the Agrokor consultants to return their fees. “I would return the money. I wouldn’t want to cast doubt on my intentions in writing a law which in the end brought stability. Let’s not forget the positive part,” the fact that Agrokor has been stabilised and that jobs have been preserved, she said. “Honour is more important than money,” she added.
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