Politics

ZAGREB, 26 Jan 2022 - The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Tuesday it had opened accession discussions with Croatia, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Romania, and Bulgaria. "There is no deadline for completion of the accession processes. The outcome and timeline depend on each candidate country’s capacity to adapt and adjust to align with the Organisation’s standards and best practices," the OECD said. The process will include an in-depth evaluation by more than 20 technical committees of the candidates' alignment with OECD standards, policies, and practices. "Croatia is ready to start OECD membership negotiations. Besides the Schengen Area and eurozone, our priority…

ZAGREB, 25 Jan 2022 - Milorad Dodik is Croatia's interlocutor and should not be subjected to sanctions, while Bakir Izetbegović "is buying time" so that elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be held under the election system which discriminates against Croats, Croatian President Zoran Milanović said on Tuesday. "Dodik is not an ethnic nationalist, he's not a chauvinist, doesn't spread ethnic hatred," he told the press about the Serb member of the BiH Presidency. "He is an interlocutor." Milanović said he was against the EU imposing sanctions against Dodik like the US did. "If someone from Croatia votes for those sanctions, for me…

ZAGREB, 25 Jan 2022 - Justice and Public Administration Minister Ivan Malenica said on Tuesday he had the support of the Bridge opposition party for a new referendum bill, adding that its MPs welcomed certain solutions, including signature verification monitoring. Speaking to the press, he said he received the support during the first reading in parliament and that there was no reason for representatives of referendum petitions not to monitor signature verification. Malenica said the new referendum bill envisaged the State Electoral Commission checking if enough signatures had been collected as an independent body. Bridge has recently collected over 400,000…

ZAGREB, 25 Jan 2022 - President Zoran Milanović said on Tuesday that PM Andrej Plenković's chief of staff Zvonimir Frka Petešić having registered permanent residence on the island of Dugi Otok "is an offence with a very high level of awareness of the nature of the act", for which, he said, Plenković was also responsible. "(The PM's chief of staff) resides here. Frka is a resident of Zagreb and what he has done is unbelievable. The (post-earthquake) reconstruction of the building where he lives is not the problem, the problem is the reconstruction of the apartment where he lives. The man sponges…

ZAGREB, 25 Jan 2022 - Members of parliament were agreed on the need to protect people reporting irregularities during a debate on a bill on the protection of whistleblowers on Tuesday, with opposition MPs citing the most famous whistleblowers and their fate. What in reality happens to whistleblowers is best evidenced by the cover of the Nacional weekly, said MP Dalija Orešković, a reference to Maja Đerek, a former employee of the State Property Agency, who spoke up about irregularities at the agency. "That case indicates serious breaches of office... by a number of senior state officials, starting from Minister (of the…

ZAGREB, 25 Jan 2022 - The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP) has advised against travelling to areas in Ukraine that border Russia and to postpone travel to the rest of the country. "Due to the deteriorated security situation in Ukraine and concentration of armed forces of the Russian Federation in areas bordering Ukraine, we advise Croatian citizens to avoid traveling to areas in eastern Ukraine that border the Russian Federation," MVEP said on its website. That in particular refers to areas under Ukrainian control that border the temporarily occupied areas of the internationally unrecognised Donetsk and Luhansk entities, the ministry said.…

ZAGREB, 25 Jan 2022  - The 8th Croatian contingent that was part of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence mission in Poland returned on Monday and was welcomed back at the army barracks in Bjelovar. "Thanks to you, the Republic of Croatia has once again proved its readiness to participate in the joint defence system with its allies and partners, confirming its active contribution to peace and stability not only in this area but far beyond its borders," Defence Minister Mario Banožić said welcoming the troops, according to a press release from the ministry. The majority of the 8th contingent comprised members of…

ZAGREB, 25 Jan 2022 - Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević said on Tuesday, while opening a renovated Zagreb primary school that was damaged in the March 2020 earthquake, that the proposed new model for waste collection, based on the so-called Swiss model, was the cheapest and fairest. Tomašević said the proposal had been put to month-long public consultation during which all good suggestions would be taken into account, one of them being that waste bags should have a smaller volume - of 10 instead of 20 litres, which is the current proposal. "Many citizens have contacted us, saying that it would…

ZAGREB, 25 Jan 2022 - Ukraine does not belong in NATO, and the situation along the Ukraine-Russia border is a serious crisis behind which stands primarily the dynamics of U.S. internal affairs, Croatian President Zoran Milanović said on Tuesday. Addressing the press after he visited the Kraš confectionery company, Milanović said that Croatia would in no way be involved in the crisis if it escalated and that there would be no Croatian soldiers in that scenario. Ukraine does not belong in NATO, the Croatian head of state said, adding that the European Union had triggered off a coup d'etat in Ukraine in 2014 when the pro-Russian…

ZAGREB, 24 Jan 2022 - EU foreign ministers said on Monday that notions of "spheres of interest" had no place in the 21st century and condemned Russia's threats against Ukraine, threatening Moscow with "massive consequences" if it attacks Ukraine. "Notions of 'spheres of influence' have no place in the 21st century," the Council said in conclusions on the European security situation. EU foreign ministers met in Brussels today and the main topic was the tense situation on Ukrainian borders, where Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops. "The Council condemns Russia’s continued aggressive actions and threats against Ukraine, and calls on Russia to de-escalate, to…