Politics

Two Nigerian students, Abia Uchenna Alexandro and Eboh Kenneth Chinedu, accused the Croatian police of chasing them into Bosnia. And now the country's authorities will be returning them to their homeland. As Bosnian Minister of Security Dragan Mektić explained to N1 Bosnia, the two students will be returned to Nigeria because that is what they want. Bosnia Official Claims Students Afraid of Returning to Croatia "They have agreed to enter the so-called AVR voluntary repatriation program. With their consent, we can return them to their country of origin without subjecting them to additional procedures, readmissions, etc.," Mektić noted. The minister…

ZAGREB, December 11, 2019 - An international training centre of the Multinational Special Aviation Program (MSAP) was inaugurated on Wednesday at the Zemunik barracks near Zadar, and Defence Minister Damir Krstičević said that MSAP centre could become a new NATO centre of excellence. This confirms that Croatia is a trustworthy member of the alliance, the minister said at the ceremony. "We are building new capabilities for the Croatian army, for Croatia and for NATO and what is more important, we are building the future together with our partners and allies," Krstičević said. He said he was proud of the fact…

ZAGREB, December 11, 2019 - The Social Democratic Party's presidential candidate, Zoran Milanović, said on Wednesday that in the last 20 years in Croatia it never happened in the first round of presidential elections that there was no televised debate of all presidential candidates. "It never happened in the last 20 years that there was no general debate in the first election round of all presidential candidates, including the incumbent president. The incumbent president is the first one to shun such a debate," Milanović said during a visit to Donji Lapac, a town in Lika-Senj County close to the border…

ZAGREB, December 11, 2019 - Three political parties - HRAST, the Croatian Conservative Party (HKS) and the Bloc for Croatia - on Wednesday signed an agreement on joint participation in the next parliamentary election as part of the Croatian Sovereigntist platform, expressing confidence that they would win at least 15 seats and that it would not be possible to form the next government without them. The signatories to the agreement confirmed that they would support independent candidate Miroslav Škoro in the coming presidential elections. HKS leader Marijan Pavliček said he was confident that after the right-wing voter camp had been…

ZAGREB, December 11, 2019 - Court of Justice of the European Union Advocate General Priit Pikamae believes the Court does not have jurisdiction in Slovenia's case against Croatia over alleged infringements of EU law caused by the non-enforcement of a border arbitration award, it was said in Luxembourg on Wednesday. The advocates general's opinion is not binding on the Court of Justice. The advocate general does not represent the interests of either the parties or the public, only giving an expert opinion on relevant legal matters in complete independence. We cannot predict the Court's judgment based on the advocate general's…

According to yesterday’s interview for a Bosnian portal, the Nigerian students say they want to go home to Nigeria immediately. If the Bosnian authorities intend to transfer them back to Croatia, they will only agree to go if they are accompanied by United Nations escorts. Azra Omerović, of the Bosnian portal Žurnal, caught up with the students in East Sarajevo on December 10, 2019. Original Žurnal Story Went Viral On December 3, Žurnal published the story of two Nigerian students, Abia Uchenna Alexandro and Eboh Kenneth Chinedu, who allege that Croatian police illegally transferred them to Bosnia and Herzegovina. That story…

ZAGREB, December 11, 2019 - Croatia, which is only building a system for integration of refugees, is achieving good results in their accommodation and employment, but the problem is learning the Croatian language, it was said at a round table discussion in Zagreb on Tuesday. During the round table, organised by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, JRS head Tvrtko Barun said that when it came to accommodation, Croatia could serve as a positive example in the European Union, but noted that in recent years the language had become a serious obstacle.…

ZAGREB, December 11, 2019 - Following a ruling by the Supreme Court that doctors are entitled to higher pay for overtime, Health Minister Milan Kujundžić said on Tuesday he would try together with the HLS physicians' union to find a solution to this issue. The Supreme Court ruling says that reimbursement to doctors for overtime work should also include compensation for specific work conditions and other benefits, which means that the debt to doctors accrued due to miscalculation of overtime pay is estimated at 1.5 billion kuna (203 million kuna), and so far 4,000 physicians have taken legal action against…

ZAGREB, December 11, 2019 - Croatia's Interior Minister Davor Božinović and Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković will attend in Washington on Wednesday an EU-US ministerial meeting on judicial and security matters at which they will also present the priorities of Croatia's Council of the EU presidency in the first half of 2020. The meeting will discuss police and judicial cooperation, notably e-evidence, combating terrorism, better cooperation between European Union and United States agencies, dealing with hybrid threats and the application of new technologies (5G, drones, artificial intelligence), all of which will be high on the list of priorities of the presidency.…

ZAGREB, December 10, 2019 - Ivan Vrdoljak of the Croatian People's Party (HNS), which nominated Blaženka Divjak as Education Minister, said on Tuesday that he believed that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković would not be deluded by petty politics of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) which launched a no confidence vote against Divjak. "I am sure that the prime minister would not fall for the politicking of the SDP," Vrdoljak told the press while coming to a meeting of the ruling coalition in Zagreb. Asked whether the HNS would leave the coalition if the PM insisted on Divjak's resignation, Vrdoljak said…