The Deposit Insurance Agency of Serbia (AODS) has given the Government an additional month, during which it will not initiate bankruptcy proceedings for the Simo Milošević Institute, in order to collect the institution's debt to Jugobanka there.
The Minister of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property said this at the conference after the Government session yesterday Janko Odović, noting that they achieved this in cooperation with institutions in Serbia.
According to the knowledge of "Vijesti", AODS can start the procedure for the introduction of bankruptcy in the Institute, after the Agency for the Protection of Competition (AZK) made a decision that the state aid from the Agreement on the Settlement of Mutual Obligations of AODS, Jugobanka in bankruptcy and the Ministry of Finance, which it was foreseen that the Institute's debt to this bank would be reduced by 1,36 million euros. The Institute's current total debt is around 25 million euros.
Minister of Health Vojislav Šimun he said that the Government adopted the information and tasked Odović's department, after assessing the value of the Institute's assets, to talk with the minority shareholders, after which they will coordinate the adoption of a rescue plan that will be presented to the Government later.
Odović said that the first step is to assess the value of the Institute, after which other decisions will follow. He added that they have a package to save the Institute, they are preparing a plan and payment of money to pay off part of the debts. Odović emphasized that the process also depends on the cooperation of minority shareholders and that he will invite them to participate. He also pointed out that all steps require the consent of two-thirds of the Institute's owners, as well as that they received consent for assistance to the Institute from the minority shareholder. Žarko Rakčević.
The workers of the Igalo Institute, who announced the start of the strike next Monday, announced yesterday that it will not happen. President of the Trade Union Organization of the Institute Marija Obradović she clarified that they postponed the strike for a month, ie until April 25. As she stated, they decided to do so based on the assurances they received from Šimun and the Deputy Prime Minister for Labour, Education, Health and Social Policy Srđan Pavićević.
"We were particularly encouraged by the statement that bankruptcy is not an option and that everything was done to prove it, primarily through the package of measures of the Commission for the Rescue of the Institute, which is dominated by clear legally based solutions and the time limits in which they will be implemented", she stated. Obradovic.
She added that it is encouraging that the Institute is a topic at the Government sessions, that the problem is being solved quickly, and that for them, this is the light at the end of the tunnel. Obradović said that they were worried about the decision of AZK on the illegality of state aid granted by the previous government, as well as the fact that it could lead to the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings. She also pointed out that after the Government conference, they are convinced that the state will make an additional effort to prevent this from happening. As he states, saving the Institute is crucial for all citizens of Montenegro, patients and employees, and that it is not just about an attractive location on the seashore.
Assurances that he would not allow the Institute to go bankrupt could also be heard from Pavićević, who repeated that the only legal way to save this institution is restructuring, that is, revitalization and rebranding. He pointed out that the Institute's current debt amounts to about 25 million euros, that the payments are three months late and that they will be paid only after the institution's account is unblocked. He reiterated that this is planned through a one-time aid of 300 thousand euros, followed by state intervention of up to 10 million euros in six months in order to gain solvency and liquidity with a parallel restructuring plan that will be carried out by a renowned international agency.
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