Politics

ZAGREB, February 16, 2020 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Munich on Saturday that he was satisfied that France's position on EU enlargement had "evolved" and that the prospect of the EU launching accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania was good. Last year Paris blocked the launching of accession talks with the two Balkan countries, asking that before further EU enlargement the methodology of talks be changed and that Skopje and Tirana do more in the fight against corruption. Nonetheless, French President Emmanuel Macron said at the Munich Security Conference 2020 on Saturday that he would support…

ZAGREB, February 15, 2020 - President-elect Zoran Milanović has confirmed that Dragan Lozančić will be his advisor on national security and defence, declining to comment on outgoing President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović's decision to dismiss Lozančić as Security and Intelligence Agency chief and saying only that she had the right to do so but that her explanation was unusual. Answering reporters' questions in Pazin, where he attended an event marking the 30th anniversary of the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS), Milanović recalled that the Lozančić case happened five years ago and that "the President of the Republic had the right, together with the…

ZAGREB, February 15, 2020 - Outgoing President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Saturday posted on Facebook a farewell to the Croatian public at the end of her five-year term, saying history would speak of her work objectively and that she was proud of what was done. "I discharged the presidential duty deeply convinced that the political, moral and cultural values which guided us for centuries in the struggle for national freedom and state independence, notably in the Homeland War, are the foundation for building a strong state and a just society. The interests of the Croatian people, state and all citizens I…

ZAGREB, February 15, 2020 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) president Davor Bernardić said on Saturday there was big potential for cooperation with the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) in the next parliamentary election, adding that the SDP would "lead the winning coalition." "There is potential for cooperation with the IDS because we cooperated well in the past. But we are talking with all parties with which we share the same world view, and what is certain is that the SDP will lead the winning coalition which will bring much needed change in our country," Bernardić said in Pazin, where he attended…

ZAGREB, February 15, 2020 - Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Friday that Iran should adhere to the nuclear agreement with world powers, which other signatories are trying to keep alive after the United States pulled out of it. Iran has not been adhering to the provisions of the agreement, designed to prevent it from developing a nuclear bomb, after the USA withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and again imposed economic sanctions on Iran. "The nuclear agreement offers the best framework for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and we need to adhere to it,"…

ZAGREB, February 15, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday that a decision to withdraw Croatian troops from Afghanistan can only be a result of agreement, within Croatia and on the international level. "That operation is continuing. We've exchanged quite a large number of contingents there and shown responsibility. We are a member of NATO and the (European) Union. We participate in key security activities on a global level and there must be agreement on any such decision, not just within Croatia," said Plenković, adding that other partners' positions would be taken into account. The Jutarnji List daily…

Croatian Parliament MPs Božo Petrov and Ines Strenja emphasized that, despite the dismissal of Health Minister Milan Kujundžic, problems with Croatian health system have not gone away. They also pointed out that Croatians are twice as likely to die of treatable diseases as citizens in more developed European countries. MediCarrera | Screenshot Medical Staff Leaving Croatia: Remainers Working Unpaid Overtime "After three and a half years of inaction, it is time to start treating chronic illnesses in the Croatian healthcare system. The system is in debt, irrationally organized, filled with red tape and waiting lists while doctors and other medical…

ZAGREB, February 14, 2020 - Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) president Boris Miletić said on Friday, on the party's 30th anniversary, that it had shown how a region in Croatia could develop, how to contribute to society's democratisation and be on the side of civil rights, and how to promote European values. Speaking in Pula, Miletić said "three decades of successful work are behind us. I'm glad that today Istria (County) is indeed an oasis of tolerance, an example and a beacon in our country, for which most of the credit goes to our citizens, but also to the IDS which…

ZAGREB, February 14, 2020 - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Friday posthumously bestowed the Grand Order of President of the Republic Franjo Tuđman with Sash and Morning Star on the former Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Franjo Kuharić, for his role as a moral authority in the Croatian nation. Addressing the ceremony, President Grabar-Kitarović said that Kuharić had deserved this award for his efforts in the promotion of the Croatian cause and the state and national unity. In this context, the president underscored the exemplary roles played by both Cardinal Kuharić and President Tuđman whom she described as two great men.…

ZAGREB, February 14, 2020 - MPs of the GLAS opposition party said on Friday they had tabled amendments to the Foster Care Act whereby life and informal partners too would be included in the definition of a foster family. Referring to a recent Constitutional Court decision that life partners should be able to become foster parents, Anka Mrak Taritaš said the court had pointed out that everyone had the duty, in their everyday activity, to abide by the constitution which, she added, banned discrimination and guaranteed that everyone was equal under the law. "The Constitutional Court also reminded us that…