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"The financing of Croatian News Agency (HINA) should be brought in compliance with the State aid rules contained in Articles 106, 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union" - this is the opinion of the Croatian Competition Agency (CCA), who, in its reply to the query of the Ministry of Culture on compliance of the financing of the national news agency, carried out the analysis of the Croatian News Agency Act entrusting HINA with special rights within the meaning of competition and State aid rules.
This is the opinion of the Croatian Competition Agency which is, under its legal competences, empowered to issue expert opinions at the request of the Croatian Parliament, the Government of the Republic of Croatia, central administration authorities, certain public authorities as well as local and regional self-government units, on the compliance with competition and State aid rules of draft proposals for laws, legislation in force and related issues raising competition concerns. These opinions are not binding for the legislator. However, they have been used as a rather powerful tool contributing to promoting competition and State aid culture and enhancing a1 dvocacy in any area of interest.
In that sense, the assessment of the existing Croatian News Agency Act (OG 96/01) within the meaning of competition and State aid rules was initiated by the Ministry of Culture, that raised the question of the functioning and the financing of HINA. The assessment involved the analysis of particular provisions thereof that regulate, first, the ownership, and second, the financing of Croatian News Agency, known under the Croatian acronym HINA.2
The insight into a rather short and uncomplicated piece of legislation showed that the Croatian News Agency Act defines HINA as an independent legal person with the status of a public institution which, for the discharge of its public service, in this case the vaguely defined provision of a service of general economic interest, is financed by its founder and a hundred per cent owner - the Republic of Croatia. However, it is obvious from the provisions of the Croatian News Agency Act that HINA gets a share of its revenue also from other, commercial activities generating its revenue "on the basis of the agreement with its...