Politics

ZAGREB, 29 May 2022 - The international community had the wrong approach in the 1990s because it was focused on maintaining Yugoslavia instead of preventing the war, former US ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith said on Sunday. Thirty years ago, the break-up of the state simply wasn't accepted, so when Croatia and Slovenia declared independence, there was a lot of opposition, but it weakened with the break-up of the Soviet Union, he told the press ahead of a conference on 30 years since the international recognition of Croatia. The international community, including the United States, had the wrong approach then because the…

ZAGREB, 29 May 2022 - Kosovo wishes to join the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR), a forum in which ten countries cooperate in transport, tourism, and environmental protection projects, and hopes Croatia, which over the presidency next year, will support it. The ten countries - Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, and San Marino - met in Tirana on 16-18 May, where they adopted a joint declaration calling for EU enlargement to the Western Balkans. A Kosovo delegation led by Local Government Minister Elbert Krasniqi was in Tirana at the time and did not attend…

ZAGREB, 29 May 2022 - Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević has given an interview for Hina on the occasion of his one year in office, talking about what has been done and future projects. Asked about his biggest success, he mentioned the new model of running the city in every aspect, from public procurement to hiring in dozens of city companies and over 300 institutions, saying that people are no longer appointed based on party affiliation but their qualifications. Another success is the financial stabilisation of the city, Tomašević said, adding that the budget deficit is the lowest in the last five years at HRK…

May 29, 2022 - On Statehood Day and the 30th anniversary of Croatia's international diplomatic recognition, numerous events are being held in the country. A conference entitled "Heritage of Generations: 30 Years of International Diplomatic Recognition of the Republic of Croatia" will be held in Zagreb. Three panels will be held at the conference "Heritage of Generations: 30 Years of International Diplomatic Recognition of the Republic of Croatia", reports HRT News. Distinguished guests will discuss current topics related to the international position of the country on the occasion of Statehood Day. The first panel runs from 10:30 am and is called "Witnesses of…

ZAGREB, 28 May, 2022 - The Bosnian Presidency's Serb member Milorad Dodik on Saturday supported the Serbian judiciary's plans to prosecute Croatian pilots for alleged war crimes committed in 1995. Without directly mentioning the indictment against the Croatian pilots, Dodik posted a tweet clearly alluding to the attempt to prosecute them, saying that "a war crime against innocent Serb civilians, children, women and older persons" was committed on 7 and 8 August 1995 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dodik wrote that the Bosnian Serb entity supported Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor's Office and the indictment filed "against the perpetrators of that crime. For the sake of…

ZAGREB, 28 May, 2022 - President and Armed Forces Commander in Chief Zoran Milanović said on Friday the state and its leadership must recognise the national interest, which must be continuous and not changed from cycle to cycle, and that consensus was key to that. National interest can be achieved only if it is continuous, "if there is some consensus... on what is important to us, what makes us a nation which shares unity and a common history, not haughtiness, not hate for others, but simply reality," Milanović said at a ceremony on the occasion of Croatian Armed Forces Day, the 31st anniversary…

ZAGREB, 28 May 2022 - The expulsion of five members of the Croatian embassy in Moscow is non-legitimate and Croatia will consider its response to Moscow, the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP) said in a press release on Friday. Earlier on Friday Russia's foreign ministry said that it was expelling five staff members of the Croatian embassy in Moscow in response to Zagreb ordering out some of its staff, Reuters reported in the morning. Croatia's ministry said that the decision on expelling those five staff members has no grounds, as they are employees who have professionally performed their duties in line…

ZAGREB, 27 May 2022 - Croatia wants to continue developing good neighbourly relations with Montenegro, help it on its journey to the EU as well as discuss outstanding issues in the spirit of good neighbourly relations, Croatia's Foreign Minister said after meeting his Montenegrin host in Cetinje on Friday. Underscoring that this was his third visit to Montenegro in a short period, Croatia's minister of foreign and European affairs, Gordan Grlić Radman, said Montenegro could continue counting on Zagreb's support on its path to full membership in the EU. However, he underscored that it is important to open dialogue and address outstanding issues…

ZAGREB, 27 May 2022 - The parliament on Friday passed by a majority vote a revised budget for 2022, whereby the expenditure side will increase by HRK 10.9 billion to HRK 184.7 billion and the revenues will go up by 6.6 billion to HRK 171 billion. As a result, this year's budget deficit will widen from the initial projections of 2.6% of the GDP to the deficit-to-GDP ratio of 2.8%. Most of the rejigged budget outlays refer to the health system, in the amount of HRK 4 billion, of which the largest share will be used to cover hospitals' and pharmacies' debt to…

ZAGREB, 27 May 2022 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday that government officials had met with Croatian Air Force pilots who had taken part in the 1995 Operation Storm, stressing that all available mechanisms would be used to protect them from an indictment from Serbia. "We discussed the latest developments following media reports that indictments are being prepared in Serbia, at the request of their prosecutor, against four pilots, Air Force commanders at the time of the military and police operation Storm," Plenković said at the start of a government session. He said that they still did not have…