The leader of the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) and Pula Mayor, Boris Miletic, said that neither Istria County authorities nor the Pula city government would ever change the city's physical plan where the Uljanik shipyard is located in such way to cause harm to the shipyard or its workers.

Speaking for the Hina news agency, Miletic called on prosecutorial authorities and the USKOK anti-corruption agency to investigate Uljanik’s operations and see if there had been any irregularities.

Last Friday, workers of the Uljanik Group, which includes the Pula-based Uljanik and Rijeka’s 3. Maj shipyard, ended their ten-day strike over unpaid wages after the government provided guarantees to the Croatian Postal Bank (HPB) for changing insurance instruments for HPB’s loans to the Uljanik shipyard from 2015 and 2016, whereby the shipbuilding group obtained the funds to pay out wages to its workers.

The Uljanik Group is awaiting a decision of the European Commission on its restructuring plan.

In the interview, Miletic accused the government of lacking any vision of the country’s development, including the development of individual strategic sectors.

The IDS leader noted that the region of Istria regularly contributed to the state budget and therefore deserved the central government’s assistance in the case of Uljanik.

Commenting on Finance Minister Zdravko Maric’s statement that due to loss-making companies such as Uljanik there was less and less room for reducing the tax burden on citizens, Miletic said that over the past ten years Uljanik had paid more than three billion kuna of various taxes and contributions.

He called on state institutions to go through Uljanik’s operations and said that his party would support the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) request to form a parliamentary commission of inquiry for the shipyard.

Asked about media reports that the government was looking for a strategic partner for Uljanik other than Kermas Energija, which has been chosen by the Uljanik management, Miletic said that any strategic partner willing to preserve shipbuilding and as many jobs as possible would be welcomed by both the regional and local authorities.

“Given recent speculations regarding the (shipyard’s) physical plan, I want to underline that neither Istria County nor the City of Pula would ever change the shipyard’s physical plan in any way that could harm the company or its workers,” said Miletic.

Businessman Danko Koncar, whose Kermas Energija company has been chosen by the Uljanik Group to be its strategic partner, commented, in a separate interview with Hina, on media reports that the government was looking for a new partner for the group.

He said that if Uljanik changed its mind and wanted another strategic partner, he would withdraw and would set no conditions except for the repayment of an EUR 12.6 million loan his company had given Uljanik.

Asked about his relationship with Ivan Jakovcic, former IDS leader and member of the European Parliament, whose ties with Koncar were the reason why earlier this week the Pametno party broke off its informal coalition with the IDS and GLAS, after which Jakovcic said that he would not run in next year’s elections for the European Parliament, Koncar said that Jakovcic was hired to sit on the supervisory board of the Finnish-based Afarak Group, in which his Kermas Energija holds a 29% stake, in May 2015, when Jakovic was no longer the leader of the IDS but a member of the European Parliament.

He was hired on the model of many European companies which hire members of the European Parliament to sit on their supervisory boards for lobbying purposes, said Koncar, adding that Jakovcic had contributed significantly to Afarak Group, which produces ferrochrome, in terms of lobbying with regard to EU legislation on mining and metallurgy.