Cablegate: Zagreb Daily Report - December 15, 2009

VZCZCXRO7886
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHVB #0733 3501449
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 161449Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9739
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000733

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL HR
SUBJECT: Zagreb Daily Report - December 15, 2009

1. (U) Court upholds indictment against former defense minister
Roncevic: On December 14, the Zagreb County Court upheld all counts
of an indictment filed by the Office for Suppression of Organized
Crime and Corruption (USKOK) against former defense minister,
Berislav Roncevic, and his former assistant, Ivo Bacic. The case
can now proceed to trial which is expected to begin in January. The
presiding judge in the trial will be Jasna Smiljanic, an
International Visitor Leadership Program participant in November
2009.

2. (U) Finance Minister Suker holds the line on bonuses with unions:
Minister of Finance, Ivan Suker, recently met with Croatia's public
sector unions and announced that Christmas bonuses for public sector
and state owned employees will be reduced from $255 to around $100
because of the need to reduce expenditures. Labor union
representatives balked at the news, saying it violates previous
collective agreements, but media reports claim that the public
supports the cuts.

3. (U) Op-Ed on U.S. goals for Copenhagen published in major
Croatian daily: Vecerni List, Croatia's second largest daily
newspaper (circulation 80,000-100,000), ran an op-ed piece under
Ambassador Foley's signature in its December 15 issue, laying out
U.S. actions on climate change and goals for the Copenhagen summit.

FOLEY

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