"What should happen in a country to drop 54 places in the economic freedom rankings in one year?" Suker asked at a government session, noting that Croatia received good marks for exact indicators such as fiscal and monetary freedoms.
"Croatia was ranked low only where the criteria were general and across the board," he added.
Noting that the report was presented in Croatia by the Adriatic Institute, Suker said that it was one of the institutions that had proposed a flat tax rate, while Sanader added that they used to be politically sponsored by former Justice Minister Vesna Skare-Ozbolt.
Sanader and Suker stressed that Croatia had been given high ratings by all relevant international institutions, such as the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund.
Sanader said that business people who complained to journalists at the presentation of the report that they have to give bribes for every business deal they make, should report such cases to relevant authorities rather than speak about them on camera.
The prime minister called on the Chamber of Commerce and the Competition Council to take a position on the report.
Members of the government commented on the report during a debate on a proposal to ratify a memorandum on Croatia's participation in a European Community programme for the interoperability of transborder e-government services.
The head of the Office for e-Croatia, Miroslav Kovacic, said that by ratifying the memorandum Croatia would reaffirm its readiness and capability to raise its communication with the European Union to a higher level.