ZAGREB, Sept 21 (Hina) - The Croatian government on Thursday adopted a decision to increase the price of power as of October 1. The price for households will rise by some 25 percent whereas that for industry will drop by 7.6 percent,
which sets the average increase at 6.8 percent.
ZAGREB, Sept 21 (Hina) - The Croatian government on Thursday
adopted a decision to increase the price of power as of October 1.
The price for households will rise by some 25 percent whereas that
for industry will drop by 7.6 percent, which sets the average
increase at 6.8 percent. #L#
The prices of oil products will not be changed but legal changes,
which will be made soon, will reduce excise taxes by 0.60 kuna per
one litre of motor oil and Euro-diesel, the government decided at
today's session.
The government also adopted measures for the stabilisation of
public companies - the oil industry INA, Croatian Power Industry
(HEP), Croatian Railway (HZ), and companies whose majority owner is
the state - eight from the agricultural and processing industry and
five shipyards.
Deputy Prime Minister Slavko Linic said the government's decision
regarding HEP and INA meant the government was ending its policy of
social truce through the prices of power products, and was
committing to helping those with low payment ability. The price of
power for the destitute and pensioners will be reduced by four to
seven percent, i.e. six to seven percent, depending on
consumption.
The government concluded that if problems in the power production
sector were to be resolved, one had to urgently propose laws on oil
products and power markets as well as a new power tariff system and
changes to regulations from the area of price control, with the aim
of ensuring the introduction of market pricing of oil products.
The government accepted measures aimed at stabilising the
operation of eight agricultural and processing companies and five
shipyards. These are important sectors for Croatia and are treated
as a separate sector.
The government decided that there would be no bankruptcy
proceedings in those companies, and that joint measures would be
undertaken with the aim of their financial and organisational
consolidation, Linic said. Their managements and workers should no
longer feel insecure, he claimed, adding the state budget would
have to endure the burden of a certain number of redundant workers
from those companies.
The government measures for the agricultural and processing
industry refer to companies PIK Vrbovec, Belje, VUPIK, IPK Osijek,
Djakovstina, Kutjevo, Jasinje and PP Orahovica.
Those companies will be supported with a set of measures, such as
the writing-off of budgetary claims, re-programming, providing for
redundant work force, and 1.4 billion kuna-worth of loans by the
Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The government measures also refer to the shipyards 'Uljanik' from
Pula, '3. maj' from Rijeka, Kraljevica, Brodosplit and
Brodotrogir. The writing-off and re-programming of debts, new
loans to be used for refinancing with state guarantees, and
subsidies until 2003 are some of 3.7 billion kuna-worth measures
for the shipbuilding industry until 2003.
(hina) jn rml