Politics

ZAGREB, February 24, 2020 - Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Monday in Greece that the EU had to show its unequivocal commitment to the European future of Southeast Europe, expressing his belief that the Zagreb summit in May will serve as a "a pivotal point for positive changes." "The European Union has to send a clear signal that we remain committed to the European future of Southeast Europe," Grlić Radman said on the margins of a high-level day-long conference on the European prospects of the Western Balkans "From Thessaloniki to Zagreb," which was held…

ZAGREB, February 24, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who arrived in London on Sunday evening, said that in the next several months the European Union would try to reach agreement with Great Britain on the future relations, however, he admitted his scepticism about finding a compromise in such a short period of time. "We in the European Union will try in the next ten months to reach a compromise with Great Britain, which could lay down the foundations for the first contractual relations, thus facilitating the business and trade exchange, and the rights of British citizens in the EU…

The Zoran Milanovic mandate is well and truly underway following his somewhat controversial inauguration with a performance of the Croatian national anthem by famous singer Josipa Lisac attracting not only attention but a lawsuit.  Not an idea way to begin a mandate as president, you might say, but in spite of the socky beginnings, the Milanovic mandate has already done something that hasn't been done before. An energy and climate expert has been hired at Pantovcak.  As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of February, 2020, dr.sc. Julije Domac is an expert in his field and is also the longtime…

ZAGREB, February 23, 2020 - Croatia's strongest opposition party, the Social Democrats (SDP), on Friday unveiled the main guidelines of their platform for the next parliamentary election, due in the autumn, saying that the party was seeking to secure order and stability. Addressing party members and sympathisers in Koprivnica, 100 km northeast of Zagreb, SDP leader Davor Bernardić said that Croatia is currently ruled by corruption, there is a lack of trust in the institutions of the state, the ruling parties are unable to muster a majority in parliament, and the country is left without its chief state attorney. "That's…

ZAGREB, February 22, 2020 - EU member states will have to put in an extra effort to reach a compromise on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), and at this summit the time was not ripe for that, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Brussels on Friday evening. The leaders of the 27 member states failed in their first attempt to reach an agreement on the EU budget for the 2021-2027 period because the differences in views between rich net contributors and poorer net beneficiaries were too big. "We will have to invest an additional effort to reach a compromise,…

ZAGREB, February 22, 2020 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Davor Bernardić said on Saturday that his party would form the government after the next parliamentary election, deal with the current "chaos" in society and restore trust in state institutions as well as hope. Bernardić said this at an event at which he and the head of the SDP branch in Zagreb, Gordan Maras, presented party membership cards to about 100 new party members. Also presented were the Zagreb SDP branch's draft local policies for the period from 2020 to 2030, called "Zagreb - A smart city". SDP member Davorka…

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 22nd of February, 2020, restricting the work of shops on Sundays seems to be a new stumbling block in the Government of PM Andrej Plenkovic, according to a report from Jutarnji list on Saturday. The Croatian Government, as it stands now, will have a hard time pushing for a proposal in Parliament to restrict the operation of shops on Sundays, and it also indicates that the topic could spark fraying relations between the parties in the ruling coalition once again. HNS has announced that it will not support HDZ's proposal to put the key…

ZAGREB, February 22, 2020 - Catalan police are investigating Croatia's honorary consul in Barcelona over possible money laundering for a local criminal gang, a source from Catalonia's autonomous police told Hina on Friday. Consul Juli Barcena San Jose is suspected of receiving money from drug sales and investing it in real estate and luxury cars, thus covering up the trail of the illegally gains. Also under investigation are the honorary consuls of Albania and Mali, Jose Maria Calmet Iglesias and Jose Luis Lopez Fernandez, respectively. Both are suspected of the same crime. Catalonia's autonomous police Mossos d’Esquadra said on 18…

With Bjelovar getting the ball well and truly rolling, a transparent Croatia could be closer than ever. A former pipe dream in a country with numerous essential systems mired in corruption, a transparent Croatia could give residents what they need to stay in Croatia. As Index/Marko Repecki writes on the 21st of February, 2020, Sveta Nedelja is set to introduce a fixed and variable part of its salary paid to its officials and civil servants, which will depend on the evaluation they get from citizens. This revolutionary move was announced on Mayor Dario Zurovec's Facebook profile, marking another step forward into…

ZAGREB, February 21, 2020 - The Croatian parliament has postponed until next Friday a vote on 20-odd items on its agenda, including a bill on the population census scheduled for the spring next year, which sparked a heated debate and led to three deputies of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) leaving the chamber. "My colleagues from the HDZ group have informed me that the group representing the ethnic minorities will hold additional consultations, so the vote will be next Friday," Speaker Gordan Jandroković said after a break which was preceded by a heated debate. Things escalated during the debate…