Politics

ZAGREB, March 6, 2020 - Several Croatian civil society organisations gathered within the informal platform Forum 2020 called on the European Union on Friday to urgently adopt sustainable and solidary solutions to the humanitarian crisis at the land border between Turkey and Greece, on the Greek islands and at the external borders of the European Union. The organisations held a press conference under the motto "For an open Europe" ahead of an extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers in Zagreb. They condemned statements by senior EU officials aimed at undermining the rule of law, and were particularly concerned about the…

ZAGREB, March 6, 2020 - Croatia's job in Afghanistan is done and going there today is probably the last Croatian army contingent, President Zoran Milanović said on Friday. The Croatian army has participated in the missions in Afghanistan since 2003. Today the 12th contingent is departing for the Resolute Support mission. A decision to that effect was signed by Milanovic, the Armed Forces Supreme Commander. "I didn't want to dismantle a system that was built for 16 years and not sign the decision on sending another contingent to Afghanistan only two weeks after stepping into office," he told reporters. "But…

ZAGREB, March 6, 2020 - During a meeting of the National Security Council on Thursday, the chiefs of security and intelligence agencies and the interior minister presented data on migrant movements, briefed on activities by Croatia's police in protecting the state border, and discussed the possibility of providing support to the police. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković informed of activities related to the potential development of a new migrant crisis on the eastern-Mediterranean/western Balkan route, the crisis in Syria and the situation on the Turkish-Greek border, a press release issued after the meeting said. Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Davor…

ZAGREB, March 6, 2020 - The first informal meeting of European Foreign Affairs Ministers during Croatia's presidency of the Council of the EU was held on Thursday in Lužnica Castle, some 20 kilometres west of Zagreb, with the main topic of discussion being the migrant crisis and relations with Turkey and with Russia. The meeting of foreign affairs ministers from the Member States of the European Union is also known as Gymnich. It received that name from the first meeting in that format held at Schloss Gymnich in Erftstadt, Germany in 1974. "Today we will meet in a very narrow…

ZAGREB, March 5, 2020 - The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has sent an appeal to Croatian authorities expressing concern over a court dispute against the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) that went on for more than 25 years, HND has reported. EFJ notes that it is aware that a court case between the bankrupt UTT Europa 92 company and HND has been ongoing for more than 25 years and that the company sued HND in 1993 seeking damages for an investment in leased premises in the Journalists' House in Zagreb, which was already adjourned in the early phases of the…

ZAGREB, March 5, 2020 - The leader of the opposition liberal party GLAS, Anka Mrak Taritaš, on Thursday again urged the government to regulate electric scooters so as to prevent possible road accidents. "Amend the Road Safety Act as urgently as possible before something serious happens," Mrak Taritaš said at a press conference after the government rejected the amendments to that effect put forward by GLAS. GLAS proposed that electric scooter drivers, who are still treated as pedestrians under the law, should be required to wear high-visibility vests and helmets and to have appropriate lights on their vehicles. The parliamentary…

The current Croatian Environment Minister, Tomislav Coric, has met with one of the world's most influential young people - Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Greta Thunberg, a seventeen-year-old climate activist from Sweden, has taken the world by storm. Having started out by protesting alone outside the Swedish Parliament in a school strike for the climate, she quickly gained international fame, with schools joining her in her protest from across the globe. She has also stirred up a significant amount of suspicion and dislike from those who either dispute her claims about climate change or have simply decided they don't like…

ZAGREB, March 5, 2020 - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Wednesday in Zagreb that North Macedonia would become a NATO member within the next few weeks, and the alliance's chief thanked Croatia for its support to the open door policy. We welcome the fact that Croatia has been a staunch advocate for NATO's open door policy. And soon, within the next few weeks, North Macedonia will become the 30th member, which shows that our door remains open, Stoltenberg said at a press conference after his meeting with Croatian President Zoran Milanović. The Croatian president, who was sworn in…

ZAGREB, March 4, 2020 - The parliamentary Domestic Policy and National Security Committee's chair, Ranko Ostojić (SDP), on Wednesday said that without changing the law, at the moment the army could only provide assistance to Croatia's police in protecting the border. "According to current legislation the army can only provide support. It could have done that even earlier during the last migrant crisis. That has not changed. It (the military) does not have police powers," Ostojić told reporters in Parliament House. He explained that the army can provide all forms of support to the police (all forms of logistics, various…

ZAGREB, March 4, 2020 - Police said on Wednesday that they had identified the perpetrator who had recently smashed windows on the Zagreb eye clinic owned by ophthalmologist Nikica Gabrić, who attracted public attention by confessing that he is a member of Freemasons. A 37-year-old man was identified and taken into police custody on the suspicion that he had damaged the clinic on 24 February following media reports about Gabrić's membership in a Freemason lodge. Gabrić has been in the limelight since his recent public dispute with former Chief State Prosecutor Dražen Jelenić, which revealed that both men are Freemasons.…