Agrokor

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic shook the foundations of his centre-right coalition government on Thursday when he demanded the resignations of three ministers from the junior government party, the Bridge of Independent Lists, MOST.

BELGRADE - A ministerial team has been set up to maintain daily communication to exchange information and undertake joint activities aimed at protecting jobs, supplier interests and stable operation of companies within Croatia's troubled food concern Agrokor.

Regional officials who met in Belgrade on Wednesday to discuss the Agrokor crisis have decided to form a ministerial team.

Joint measures on the troubled Croatian-based company Agrokor will be considered at a Wednesday meeting in Belgrade of the trade ministers from Serbia [Rasim Lajic], Slovenia [Zdravko Pocivalsek], Bosnia [Mirko Sarovic] and Montenegro [Dragica Sekulic].

Minister Ljajic did not respond to BIRN's queries about whether Croatian representatives had also been invited to Belgrade.

The Croatian government on Monday named Ante Ramljak, an experienced manager from both the private and public sector, as the extraordinary manager of the troubled private company Agrokor.

Thousands of jobs in Bosnia, where unemployment is already high, may be in jeopardy owing to continued uncertainly over the future of Croatian biggest private company, Agrokor, which is stuggling with debt and liquidity issues.

Ivica Todoric, the biggest owner of the Croatian economic giant Agrokor, which is going through a tough financial crisis, on Friday signed off the process of "extraordinary management", effectively putting the behemoth under control of the state.

Croatia's parliament adopted the "Law on Procedures for Extraordinary Management in Companies of Systematic Significance" on Thursday.

Croatia's new law imposing crisis management on s0called systematic companies - nicknamed "Lex Agrokor" after the troubled company it is allegedly designed to help - may collide with Croatia's constitution, a law expert says.

The Croatian Assembly has passed a new law aimed at providing assistance to "systemically important companies" unable to repay their debt.

The law is known as "Lex Agrokor," in reference to Croatia's debt-ridden largest privately owned company, and was adopted with 83 votes in favor, 46 against, and two abstentions.

Croatia's parliament on Thursday was set to pass a new "special law", which is generally believed to have been designed to help the troubled private company Agrokor.

However, some opposition MPs insist the law will not help the company in the long term, or its smaller suppliers and employees, or the economy in general.