Politics

March 2, 2020 - Zagreb's homeless population could soon lose the roof over their heads. The only homeless shelter in Zagreb, which offers various forms of practical help and advice, is about to be closed permanently unless the Croatia government acts soon. Homeless in Zagreb | HMB Facebook Most Homeless Shelter Users Come from Slavonia "This is the only place I can come without money and have coffee, get on the computer if I need to, or just warm up when it's cold… it’s the only place,” explains a younger user regarding his visit to the Homeless Assistance and Support…

March 2, 2020 - Davor Božinović, the Interior Minister of Croatia, emphasised that there is no need to send the army to the border, because Croatia deals with illegal migrants daily. He added that Croatia’s border protection system maintains communication with colleagues from other countries on every level. And they are working together to pursue a diplomatic solution. Croatia Eastern Border: No Increase in Illegal Migration “There has been no reported increase in illegal migration on Croatia's eastern borders. The police are doing their job and the situation is no different than yesterday or the day before. Croatia has been…

ZAGREB, March 2, 2020 - A very small number of migrants will manage to reach Europe, and tensions caused by this matter will decrease in the coming days, Croatian President Zoran Milanović said after meeting with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen in Vienna on Monday. "It is precisely because of what we as Europe went through nearly five years ago and what has been done in the meantime that it is impossible for a refugee wave of that scope to occur again, it is simply physically impossible," Milanović said, referring to 2015 when over a million refugees had…

ZAGREB, March 2, 2020 - The parliament is continuing to work in a regular manner and without any changes after one of the 151 members of the legislature stated that he would be in self-quarantine as a precaution since he had been at an event at which one of the eight Croatian patients diagnosed with coronavirus had also attended. In response to Hina's queries about the latest developments after parliamentarian Joško Klisović informed the public that he would be self-isolated in the next 14 days, even though he participated in voting in the parliament on Friday, parliament's public relations office…

ZAGREB, March 2, 2020 - Croatia supports Albania's European journey and wants the Zagreb Summit during its European Union presidency to become a watershed in EU-Western Balkan relations, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Monday. The main topic of our talks is Albania's European journey, he told reporters in Tirana, where he met with Albanian Foreign Minister Gent Cakaj. With today's visit, we wish to show "Croatia's support on that journey," Grlić Radman said, adding that Zagreb was pushing for opening the accession negotiations without delay. Croatia wants the negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia to be opened…

ZAGREB, March 2, 2020 - The head of the national civil protection authority, Damir Trut, said on Sunday the border police were prepared for a possible migrant wave after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan allowed migrants to head for the European Union. Trut was commenting for the press on Erdogan's opening of Turkey's borders for migrants to cross into Europe and its possible impact on the spread of coronavirus in Croatia. "The border police have plans for all activities and are prepared. Not one situation can take them by surprise. All the recommendations the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) made…

ZAGREB, March 1, 2020 - Croatian People's Party (HNS) president Ivan Vrdoljak said on Sunday the HNS would run independently in this year's parliamentary election, after which it would talk with those who would not bring Croatia back to ideological divisions and WWII. He was responding to reporters' questions in Osijek about the situation in the coalition with the ruling HDZ and with whom the HNS would form a coalition after the next election given that "the SDP has renounced them and perhaps not even HNS voters have accepted the coalition with the HDZ." Vrdoljak said the HNS ran in…

ZAGREB, March 1, 2020 - European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas, the chief European official in charge of the migration issue, asked Croatia on Sunday to convene an urgent meeting of EU interior ministers after Turkey opened its borders for migrants who want to reach Europe. In a post on Twitter, Schinas said he contacted Croatian Interior Minister Davor Božinović "to request that EU Home Affairs Ministers meet urgently in an extraordinary JHA Council." Croatia is currently presiding the Council of the European Union. Schinas added that he was in ongoing consultations with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Greek…

ZAGREB, March 1, 2020 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Saturday Croatia was prepared for a potential new migrant wave and that for now there was no increase in arrivals on the Western Balkan route. "For several years now, Croatia has had a plan for the situation we are faced with and for a situation we could be faced with," he told reporters, adding that "at this moment there are no visible increases on the route called Eastern Mediterranean or Western Balkan" and that "there's no worry" about Croatia's preparedness. Croatian police efficaciously protect the border, Božinović said, adding…

ZAGREB, February 29, 2020 - President Zoran Milanović on Saturday attended a graduation ceremony at the Zagreb Faculty of Law and told the masters of law that in their professional life they should make a contribution, build their knowledge, ask questions and be critical of politics. Speaking as an alumnus of the school, Milanovic said, "I went my own way, thinking that I was fighting against injustice, and I still feel that, but on that path, as a politician, you make injustices without realising it." He also spoke of the emigration of young people, saying that when he graduated in…