Politics

ZAGREB, 1 June 2022 - "The state has to withdraw 20% of its lawsuits because courts are overloaded with unnecessary litigations", Supreme Court Chief Justice Radovan Dobronić says in his first report to the parliament, the Jutarnji List daily reported on Wednesday. If courts are to increase their timeliness, it is essential that there are not approximately one million new cases each year. The annual input of about one million cases in a country of barely four million is unnatural and reflects many and varied reasons of a systemic nature. That is one of the key highlights of the annual report on the…

June the 1st, 2022 - Lika-Senj Prefect Ernest Petry has revealed the plans which are currently in the works for this beautiful region of the country. As Novi list/Marin Smolcic writes, one entire year has passed since Lika-Senj Prefect Ernest Petry (HDZ) took over the helm. It is well known that this period has been very rich in meetings, field trips, decisions and efforts to make up for this part of Croatia which many deem to have been lost and forgotten about many years ago. Add in the global COVID-19 pandemic, and recently market changes caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine,…

ZAGREB, 31 May 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković rejected in Brussels on Tuesday President Zoran Milanović claim's that sanctions against Russia were ineffective and only did harm to European citizens, accusing him of acting to the advantage of the Russian aggressor. Earlier on Tuesday, the Croatian president said that the European sanctions against Russia were not working since Moscow could sell oil to others. He made the statement after the EU decided to impose a partial embargo on the import of oil from Russia. "It is incorrect that the sanctions are not helping, thanks to its energy sources, Russia is…

ZAGREB, 31 May 2022 - President Zoran Milanović said on Tuesday that the European sanctions against Russia "are not working" since Moscow could sell oil to others. During its summit meeting in Brussels on Monday, the European Union agreed on a new set of sanctions whereby seaborne oil imports from Russia would be immediately banned. Two-thirds of the Russian oil imported by the EU comes via tanker and one-third by the Druzhba pipeline. The embargo on seaborne oil imports would therefore apply to two-thirds of all oil imported from Russia. Milanović said in his ironical comment that Russian President Vladimir Putin could now…

ZAGREB, 31 May 2022 - Croatia's Supreme Court has quashed a guilty verdict in the case of ex-JNA general Borislav Đukić, who was sentenced to ten years in prison for war crimes against civilian population by Split County Court in late 2020, and has ordered a new retrial. The second retrial against this Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) general, who was tried and convicted of blowing up the Peruća dam in 1993 during the Homeland War, will again be held in the Split County Court. The Supreme Court has sustained the defendant's appeal, explaining that the first-instance ruling, delivered by the Split Court, contained contradictory…

ZAGREB, 31 May 2022 - Hungarian Foreign Peter Szijjarto has requested an urgent meeting with Croatian Economy Minister Davor Filipović, according to informed sources, Večernji List daily said on Tuesday. Szijjarto wanted to meet with Filipović yesterday when Croatia marked Statehood Day and suggested meeting at the Zagreb airport's VIP lounge. According to the Economy Ministry, Filipović refused, finding it unacceptable to meet on Statehood Day and especially to do so at the airport's VIP lounge. Filipović suggested meeting at the ministry today. According to Večernji's well-informed sources, Szijjarto wants to talk about oil and its transport by the Croatian JANAF pipeline…

ZAGREB, 31 May 2022 - Croatia's Statehood Day was marked in Sarajevo on Monday with a Zagreb Soloists concert under the auspices of the Croatian Foreign Ministry, with Ambassador Ivan Sabolić saying Croatia wants to strongly support Bosnia and Herzegovina's stability. The concert, given on the occasion of Statehood Day and 30 years since Croatia's international recognition, was organized by the Croatian Embassy to BiH in cooperation with the Croatian Cultural Society Napredak, which is marking 120 years of activity. Sabolić said the independent, democratic, and European Croatia had a strong interest to ensure that the whole region follows its path…

ZAGREB, 30 May 2022 - Croatia will most likely decide to expand the existing floating LNG terminal on Krk Island and an investment decision is very close, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Brussels on Monday. "Various options exist and the best and most effective one is an investment in the existing terminal to increase its capacity," Plenković said ahead of an EU summit where the main topic will be Ukraine and the consequences of the Russian aggression, which is why the EU is endeavoring to reduce its dependence on Russian energy and diversify its supply routes as soon as possible.…

ZAGREB, 30 May 2022 - Slovenia supports Croatia's entry to the Schengen Area, Slovenia's future foreign minister Tanja Fajon said on Monday but warned that a consensus o the matter would be hard to achieve in the European Union before the Schengen policy was reformed. Slovenia supports the expansion of the Schengen Area to Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria but it will be difficult to achieve political agreement on that, Fajon said answering questions from the parliament's foreign affairs committee. She added that the reason for this was "mistrust" between members of the Schengen Area that emerged after the migration crisis of 2015 and 2016,…

ZAGREB, 30 May 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday offered his best wishes to citizens for Statehood Day underscoring the government's commitment to the protection of national interests and betterment of the lives of all Croatian citizens. "We are continuing with our dedication to make Croatia an even more organized, advanced, and developed state," the Prime Minister said in his message for Statehood Day. The government stands firmly with the business sector and Croatian citizens, particularly the most vulnerable, he said, underscoring that the government wanted to prevent social fracture. The government aims to use European funds to improve the quality…