Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday the government's decision to raise nontaxable annual bonuses from HRK 2,500 to HRK 7,500 as of December 1 was a good measure and an opportunity for all employers who wished to reward their employees, also voicing confidence that his HDZ party would win next year's European Parliament elections.

Speaking on Nova TV, he said many employers had desired an increase of nontaxable annual bonuses.

Asked if he was satisfied with Health Minister Milan Kujundzic’s performance, he said the health sector was the toughest one to reform and that a 2018 budget revision would increase the health budget by HRK 400 million (some EUR 53.8 million).

Speaking about HDZ vice president and parliament deputy speaker Milijan Brkic and the text messages scandal, Plenkovic said they would meet next week, he said Brkic had told him he had nothing to do with the scandal. Asked if Brkic had convinced him of that, Plenkovic said it was not up to him to decide.

He dismissed the claim that the ruling majority was made of “suspicious people with indictments,” saying such people did not join the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) as a party, that the situation in parliament was what it was and that, with such an election system, he worked with the people who supported him.

“We have a stable majority and if an MP from another party wants to cooperate with some other parties, that’s not something we can do anything about. They are people leaving one party to join another, they aren’t joining the HDZ.”

Plenkovic said he was only interested in the HDZ winning the upcoming election, including for the European Parliament next year, and that he was confident his party would win them.  

(EUR 1 = HRK 7.4)

Follow N1 via mobile apps for Android | iPhone/iPad | Windows| and social media on Twitter | Facebook.