Politics

ZAGREB, 27 January 2021 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Wednesday that one should distinguish between the glorification of the Nazi-allied Independent State of Croatia and the insignia of a unit from the 1991-95 Homeland War. Jandroković made the statement, avoiding an explicit answer, when asked if his HDZ party would support the initiative by the Jewish Community of Zagreb to ban the Ustasha salute "For the homeland ready". Participating in a commemoration at Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetery on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jandroković condemned the criminal NDH regime and its crimes, but as for insignia used by members of the HOS…

ZAGREB, 27 January 2021 - Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milošević said on the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, that everyone had the duty to point to the importance of the freedom and equality of all people as well as of the constitutional values, including ethnic equality. Milošević made the statement after government officials laid a wreath at the sculpture "Moses" at the Jewish section of Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetery on Wednesday. Milošević said that today marked the beginning of the end of a dark period in human history, noting that the Holocaust and the killing of "others and…

ZAGREB, 27 January 2021 - The Croatian government this year again joins in the commemoration of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the horrific genocide in which millions of people were killed is a reminder of the biggest evil that happened in the history of mankind, the Croatian government said in a statement on Wednesday. The liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp marked the end of the darkest period in European and world history, the government's press office says in the statement. "The unimaginable suffering experienced by the Jewish people is a warning to us all, not only in Croatia but…

ZAGREB, 26 January, 2021 - Viktor Šimunić, an independent councillor from Oroslavje in Krapina-Zagorje County who secretly recorded his conversation with the head of the HDZ county branch and MP Žarko Tušek, confirmed on Tuesday that he had been summoned by USKOK anti-corruption investigators and that he would respond. "I was summoned to an interview at 11 a.m. Wednesday and I will act accordingly," Šimunić told Hina. Šimunić told the media on Monday that he had attended a meeting with Tušek and the HDZ mayor of Oroslavje, Emil Gredičak, accusing them of offering him help in the financing of his election campaign…

ZAGREB, 26 January, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Tuesday commented on a meeting between HDZ MP Žarko Tušek and independent councillor Viktor Šimunić saying that Tušek had made a mistake by meeting with Šimunić at all, adding that he was not certain there were grounds for legal action. "A grave political mistake, I don't know how that could have happened to him. He is an experienced politician, for him to go to a meeting and for it to end as it did. I will not go into the intentions of the gentleman who obviously lured him and Oroslavje mayor. In any case, this is a…

ZAGREB, 26 January, 2021 - An attorney for HDZ MP Žarko Tušek said on Tuesday that he could file a criminal report against Viktor Šimunić, an independent councillor from Oroslavje, and against a journalist, for unlawfully recording and publishing Šimunić's conversation with Tušek. Šimunić said earlier in the day that the recording, in which Tušek, who heads the HDZ branch in Krapina-Zagorje County, was offering him covert support in the campaign for local elections and employment in public institutions in exchange for supporting the HDZ after the elections, had been made and published in the interest of the public. Tušek said that the recording,…

ZAGREB, 26 January, 2021 - Viktor Šimunić, an independent councillor from Oroslavje, has said that the audio recording showing HDZ official Žarko Tušek offering him covert support in electioneering and public posts in exchange for his support for the HDZ platform, was made and published in the interest of the public. "Where in the world is it normal to offer a man who works in the telecommunications sector the post of head of the Medvednica Nature Park or to be in charge of an economy department? I am not competent for that," Šimunić told the N1 broadcaster, speaking about why…

ZAGREB, 26 January, 2021 - Slovenian President Borut Pahor said on Monday the Slovenian-Croatian border issue was resolved with the border arbitration agreement and that it was not related to Croatia's decision to declare an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic Sea. "The sea border was determined by the arbitration agreement, as was the main course of the land border. Only how to implement the arbitration award hasn't been determined," he told Slovenian Television. Asked about relations with Croatia, Pahor said the border was no longer an issue for Slovenia and that he was confident the arbitration solution would be applied on…

ZAGREB, 25 January, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović on Monday received representatives of the Končar Electrical Industry Group, on the occasion of the company's 100th anniversary, the President's Office said in a press release. The President of Končar's Management Board, Gordan Kolak, presented the members of the new management board to President Milanović, as well as the current business operations and the existing business activities and development plans of the group, which consists of 14 companies. Representatives of Končar said that the company's focus in the future would be on electrical energy and on increasing exports, which already make up…

ZAGREB, 25 January, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday that the COVID vaccine diplomacy was turning into vaccine hijacking, adding that a joint EU lawsuit against vaccine manufacturers is possible if they do not meet contract obligations. Speaking to the press, Plenković said that the European Council adopted a firm stance on Thursday that the deadline should be respected. Some countries are paying more per dose than what the EU paid, he said, adding that that is not part of the agreement. The prime minister said that Croatia had not yet turned towards other vaccines because the agreement was…