Mesic said this in response to a reporter's question about whether the scandal with Foreign Minister Miormir Zuzul would make Croatia's position in negotiations with the European Union more difficult, given that Zuzul is the chief negotiator.
"Should there be some changes at the helm of the Foreign Ministry, and this is not yet certain because not even Prime Minister Ivo Sanader has all the facts, there shouldn't be difficulties in the negotiations with the EU, because in that case another negotiator would be appointed. What kind of a country would Croatia be if it wasn't able to find two or more negotiators," Mesic said on Brijuni this morning after he officiated the opening of the second Croatian-French business forum. He said Croatia had many experts who would be able to continue negotiations with the EU.
Mesic, However, stressed "Let's not prejudge until the matter is entirely solved".
Asked whether the entire government should be held responsible for the Zuzul scandal, Mesic declined to speak about the responsibility until all facts were established stressing "this wouldn't be fair".
Asked whether this scandal would affect the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) ahead of the presidential elections, Mesic said it would not be good for the government or the HDZ if the matter developed in a way that Zuzul would have to bear the consequences.
Last Tuesday, the media reported that the minister's wife Tatjana Zuzul and the owner of the Karin Univerzal Inzenjering company, Ivan Karin, signed a contract in January this year on the sale of shares in her MTS company. Under the contract, Karin was to pay Zuzul's wife 500,000 kuna (approx. EUR66,700) for a 50-percent share in the MTS. In June Karin bought at a price of 6.3 million kuna the bankrupt Imotstroj company, whose debt of 6.24 million kuna was written off by the government in September.
Zuzul on Wednesday dismissed claims that he was in conflict of interest at the time when the government made the decision to write off Imotstroj's debt. He said that the contract was terminated because it had not been implemented and that no payments were ever made.
However, the media on Thursday revealed documents showing that there had been five transactions between the two companies, totalling 143,000 kuna, which prompted opposition MPs to demand Zuzul's resignation.