After signing two agreements in Zagreb on Wednesday between Croatia and the Development Bank of the Council of Europe on financing the reconstruction of schools and construction of utilities, Suker was asked by reporters to comment on measures which the government was going to consider and apply following recommendations given by the IMF.
Suker said the only two restrictive measures recommended by the IMF were to reduce the budgetary deficit in 2005 to 3.7 percent and that the external debt, expressed in euros, should be between 78 and 80 percent of Gross Domestic Product.
"Those are the only two restrictive measures signed in the stand-by deal with the IMF," the minister said.
He went on to say that all that was said by the head of the IMF mission to Croatia, Dimitri Demekas, were only his personal projections of what should be done in the state finance so as to ensure as much money as possible for development and to cut state's general spending.
Two days ago, upon the completion of his ten-day working visit to Croatia, which was aimed at reviewing the implementation of the stand-by deal, Demekas recommended that the government and social partners should think about the possibility of reaching a national pact on restricting a rise in salaries.
The agreements which Croatia and the Development Bank of the Council of Europe signed today referred to co-financing projects, worth 1.57 billion kuna, aimed at the reconstruction of 143 schools for which 804.91 million kuna would be allocated, and at the construction of public utilities on islands, for which 769.81 million kuna would be earmarked.
The Bank would ensure a loan the grace period of which is five years, and it should be paid back in ten years' time, with a favourable interest rate which would be changeable and which was currently 3.7 percent, according to Suker. The loan would cover some part of the sum of 1.57 billion kuna, while the other ways of financing will be the national budget and funds ensured by local units of authority.
The Development Bank is currently financing another eight projects in Croatia, said the bank's governor, Raphael Alomar, who signed the agreements in Zagreb today.
(1EUR = 7.5 kuna)