Politics

ZAGREB, June 4, 2020 - Condemning the wind park scandal Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Thursday said that his cabinet was fully committed to the fight against corruption and called on the judicial institutions to ascertain what happened and who was responsible for breaking through surveillance measures. "On behalf of the entire government, I want to say that the government is entirely committed to the fight against corruption, while proof of the independent work of the police and state prosecutor's office can, in fact, be seen in the process that unfolded last week, at least when it comes to the public. There is…

Croatian Finance Minister Maric has sought to assure the public in saying that Croatia's recovery from the current economic crisis we're embroiled in, induced by the coronavirus pandemic, won't be as difficult to come out of the other side of as the one which occurred back in 2008 was. Everyone likely remembers the financial crash of 2008 and the tremendous economic consequences that followed. Many countries, particularly those with less economic strength in general struggled to make a comeback and get back on their feet after that event, and the Republic of Croatia is among those who were dealt a…

ZAGREB, June 3, 2020 - Leaders of the political platform organised under the name "Enough of Robbery" led by the Human Shield and Let's Change Croatia parties announced on Wednesday their committed fight against corruption and called on citizens to support them in the upcoming parliamentary election. The coalition will run in the election under the slogan "No Compromise", and it supported by Vesna Balenovic of the Whistleblowers Association and several non-parliamentary parties and associations. Warning that a difficult economic situation awaits in autumn, Human Shield leader Ivan Vilibor Sincic said that the country had to brace itself for that…

ZAGREB, June 3, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday Croatia today was certainly a better country than in 2016, when his government came to power, adding that "We are going after a vote of confidence for the second half." Speaking on Croatian Radio, he said that in the first half, since 2016, the government worked on four promises made to citizens - political stability, legal certainty, economic growth, and social solidarity. Plenkovic reiterated that during his government wages increased, the average pay by HRK 1,150, that pensions increased, that Croatia had a sound economic growth, a budget surplus…

ZAGREB, June 3, 2020 - Environment and Energy Minister Tomislav Coric on Tuesday commented on the wind park scandal, saying that after consultations with the Chief State Prosecutor's Office (DORH), it was decided to annul a decision on a new acceptability estimate for the Krs-Padjene wind park, thereby unblocking the project. In May and June 2017, before I took the minister's office, consultations began with DORH on the matter, after which we embarked on annulling the decision from March in order to protect Croatia's interest and defend ourselves from potential lawsuits, Coric told reporters in Karlovac. A potential lawsuit could have been filed…

ZAGREB, June 2, 2020 - The State Prosecutor's Office (DORH) and the USKOK anti-corruption office are not the sources of information from the investigation in the wind park case that has been published in the media, USKOK said on Tuesday, adding that the police were ordered to investigate the leaks. DORH and USKOK are not the sources of the information published in the media because the publication of any information from the investigation undermines breakthroughs in the case, which is why the police were ordered today to investigate, USKOK said.  In this case, the decision to conduct an investigation was made on…

ZAGREB, June 2, 2020 - President Zoran Milanovic said on Tuesday that Josipa Rimac, a former state secretary arrested in the wind park scandal, had once said that he was not a Croat, adding that he cannot believe that someone who is a state secretary can behave like an "agent for an American investment company." Asked if he was surprised by the wind park scandal and its extent, Milanovic said that while he was prime minister, Rimac, a former Knin mayor, had said that he was not a Croat and that he did not love his people. "Then we paid a couple of million kunas for a…

ZAGREB, June 2, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday he did not see anything contentious in Minister Tomislav Coric's decision to revoke a decision for making a new feasibility study for the Krs-Padjene wind park, saying that he does not think Coric would sign something without first checking with experts. "I don't see anything contentious in Minister Coric's decision if you are referring to the 2017 decision. That was based on the same model as for other wind parks," said Plenkovic during a visit to the Elka company. He added, however, that he would inspect Environment and Energy Minister Coric's decision which revoked a previous…

ZAGREB, June 2, 2020 - Slaven Dobrovic, a former minister of energy and environment, on Tuesday, said that there had been pressure regarding the construction of wind parks. "Yes, there was pressure," Dobrovic said replying to reporters. He added that it was important to "keep up" developing that project in an effort to retain a high level of subsidies for electricity produced by wind parks. He underscored that 14 years of exploitation and subsidies amount to close to HRK 1 billion, which is also a big business motive. "A state that uses subsidies as a tool for, in this case increasing the level of renewable energy sources, must not do…

ZAGREB, June 2, 2020 - Ombudswoman for people with disabilities Anka Slonjsak on Tuesday called on all candidates campaigning ahead of the election to refrain from using people and children with disabilities for election purposes. Slonjsak underscored in a press release that she had noticed in previous political campaign numerous actions detrimental to people and children with disabilities. The difficult position of people and children with disabilities is often used to increase a political party's rating and show their social awareness. At the same time, such a declarative commitment to the rights of people with disabilities is not translated into…