ZAGREB, Oct 17 (Hina) - The Croatian Foreign Ministry has been making efforts to introduce order at all levels of activity for some time, but it has been encountering different problems and is sometimes violating its own rules and
criteria, senior officials at the ministry said on Friday.
ZAGREB, Oct 17 (Hina) - The Croatian Foreign Ministry has been
making efforts to introduce order at all levels of activity for some
time, but it has been encountering different problems and is
sometimes violating its own rules and criteria, senior officials at
the ministry said on Friday. #L#
The ministry has lately been in the focus of public attention after
it was established that the existing criteria were ignored in a
number of cases or that there were some irregularities in the
operation of some diplomatic offices.
A senior official at the Foreign Ministry said the ministry's
conduct was at times "bordering with disrespect for the rule book
and criteria set by the ministry itself", and added that strict
criteria had not been set previously. This especially refers to
appointment to various offices in the ministry, which has lately
attracted much media attention. Under the internal rule book, some
positions in the ministry require a certain number of years of
service, which, considering the young Croatian diplomacy, have
been set high, which causes the most problems in the ministry.
Competent young people are often the best choice, but they do not
meet the required conditions, the source said.
In order to introduce order, the ministry has cancelled a number of
privileges its employees previously enjoyed - from the right to use
the ministry's mobile phones and credit cards to the right to
official trips and purchase of clothing. A department for internal
control, set up a year ago, has discovered a number of
irregularities in the ministry and diplomatic offices abroad.
(hina) rml sb