Politics
Tuesday, 14 January 2020
Plenković, Pejčinović Burić Announce Stronger Cooperation between EU, Council of Europe
ZAGREB, January 14, 2020 - Council of Europe Secretary-General Marija Pejčinović Burić and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday announced that they would work on strengthening cooperation between the two organisations during Croatia's EU presidency, while Pejčinović Burić called on Croatia to adopt the CoE's recommendations on migrants. Plenković met with Pejčinović Burić, a former Croatian foreign and European affairs minister, in Strasbourg while on Tuesday he will present Croatia's priorities during its presidency of the European Union to the European Parliament. The two officials assessed that Croatia had proved to be successful when a year and a half…
Tuesday, 14 January 2020
Beljak Apologises for Justifying Political Assassinations in Ex-Yugoslavia
ZAGREB, January 14, 2020 - Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) leader Krešo Beljak on Monday apologised for his tweet in which he said that the number of killings carried out by the Yugoslav intelligence agency UDBA was insufficient. Two days after the controversial tweet, which has been interpreted as his condoning of politically motivated assassinations of emigrants by UDBA during the time of communist-ruled Yugoslavia, this parliamentary deputy and mayor of Samobor on Monday tweeted that he was sorry about his "clumsy and unfortunate tweet", justifying his reaction as being part of a broader discussion that was full of insults and…
Monday, 13 January 2020
Trump Is My Idol: Croatian Tycoon Vladimir Kraljević Gushes
“I was with Trump the night he decided to attack Iran,” gushes Croatian American tycoon Vladimir Kraljević, who was at an exclusive New Year’s Eve party with the US president, the night he made that fateful decision. It felt tenser than usual that night. He came to the party late and was among the first to leave. But he still said to me, "Love you man." It all started abruptly and took place in 30 seconds. Trump got up from the table and headed for the exit. Frowning, he crossed the hall, then noticed a man he knew among the…
Monday, 13 January 2020
HDZ Not Worried about Falling Behind SDP in Polls
ZAGREB, January 13, 2020 - Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) officials Darko Horvat, who serves as Economy Minister, and Željko Reiner,a deputy parliament speaker, said on Monday that an opinion poll that gives the opposition Social Democrats (SDP) a lead in popularity ratings in January was the reflection of the outcome of the recent presidential runoff. "What is happening now is a reflection of the recent election. The outwitting between the SDP and the HDZ will take one or two weeks and then everything will go back to normal, and the HDZ will again be the strongest political option in Croatia,"…
Monday, 13 January 2020
Croatian Prime Minister to Visit Council of Europe
ZAGREB, January 13, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is travelling to Strasbourg on Monday afternoon and is expected to meet with the Council of Europe Secretary-General, Marija Pejčinović Burić, and Croatian members of the European Parliament. On Tuesday, Plenković will inform the European Parliament about the priorities of his country's presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2020, and will be received by the EP President David Sassoli. On Wednesday, the Croatian prime minister will attend a discussion on a Conference on the Future of Europe. The new President of the European Commission,…
Monday, 13 January 2020
Plenković Says EU, UK Should Show Maturity in Negotiations
ZAGREB, January 13, 2020 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has said that in the next few months the EU and the UK should show maturity and negotiate by the end of this year the key areas of their future relations. Brexit is one of the main challenges of Croatia's presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of this year. The UK is expected to leave the EU on January 31, after which there will be 11 months for negotiations on future relations. British PM Boris Johnson has said he will not seek an extension…
Sunday, 12 January 2020
Croatia's EU Presidency New Chance for SE Europe
ZAGREB, January 12, 2020 - Croatian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivan Sabolić has said BiH will have Croatia's full support on its European integration path during Croatia's presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of this year. EU membership is BiH's strategic goal and the desire of a significant part of its population, he said on Saturday at an event which the Croatian Embassy in Sarajevo organised on the occasion of Croatia's EU presidency. "Croatia is willing to help BiH on that path with its fresh negotiating process experience as well as its status…
Sunday, 12 January 2020
Croatian Politicians Speaking English: Top Ten Review
Having a working knowledge of the English language is probably not necessary for all Croatian politicians. But for Damir Krstičević, who negotiates major international arms deals, or Dubravka Šuica, who represents Croatia in the European Parliament, the ability to communicate effectively in English would seem essential. And they make up the foundation of the image Croatia presents to the world. A recent video of Krstičević, Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia, struggling through a speech in English at an event in the United States went viral. It was then rapidly incorporated into a spoof advertisement for a…
Sunday, 12 January 2020
Further Details on Triple Murder in Split Yesterday Revealed
As we already reported, a horrible event took place yesterday in Split and shook Croatia - one young man committed a triple murder in the middle of the day, in the city's centre. Croatia has been and remains to be a very safe country. That's one of the reasons why tragedies like this capture the attention of its public, as this is not something we often see. Many questions about the murder, the motives, the victims and the other circumstances have surfaced since yesterday, so the Split-Dalmatia Police department organised a press conference today, to try to answer some of…
Sunday, 12 January 2020
Milanović's Presidential Term Opportunity to Improve Croatia-BiH's Relations
ZAGREB, January 12, 2020 - A Croatian member of the European Parliament and its rapporteur on the Western Balkans, Tonino Picula, has said that Croatia's President-elect Zoran Milanović should use his term to improve relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Sarajevo-based Dnevni Avaz daily said on Saturday. In an interview with the daily, Picula said that relations between the two countries had always been friendly and well-meaning but that it was now time for Milanović to help start resolving outstanding issues in their relations "in a rational way". He noted that outgoing President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović was partly…
Sunday, 12 January 2020
VIDEO: RTL Asks Questions in English to Croatian Politicians
January the 12th, 2020 - Considering the fact that the level of fluency in the English language is incredibly high in Croatia, it's always amazing to see just how many Croatian politicians, ministers, public servants and other officials struggle to get their words out. Many Croatian politicians do an excellent job of spinning the truth in their native language, so it seems a shame that those who don't understand Croatian can't experience the same level of sheer cringe as the rest of us get to on a daily basis. English is a difficult language, especially when the rules and the…
