Politics

ZAGREB, 18 May 2022 - After the High Administrative Court quashed the Conflict of Interest Commission's decision that former HDZ leader Tomislav Karamarko had been in a conflict of interest, former Commission chair Dalija Orešković said the case was a political pretext serving to prevent the Commission from investigating PM Andrej Plenković. "It was clear what epilogue the situation would have from the moment the Constitutional Court ruled on that case in July 2019. All subsequent decisions by administrative courts, including in Karamarko's case, as well as in all the cases in which the Commission decided about the violation of principles…

ZAGREB, 18 May 2022 - Speaking in the Sabor on Wednesday, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić denied claims by some opposition MPs that allocations for post-earthquake reconstruction had been decreased in the 2022 budget revision was decreasing allocations for reconstruction. Funds are not being decreased, in fact, they are being increased by about HRK 300 million and the use of funds has been facilitated, Marić told lawmakers during a debate on the state budget revision. Prior to the formal debate on the budget revision, the opposition made a series of objections to the government's document, saying that funds for healthcare had not been planned…

ZAGREB, 18 May 2022 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Wednesday that it is not up to MPs to call for somebody's arrest, dismissing criticism from the opposition that the prime minister was pressurising chief state attorney to discourage her from prosecuting ministers suspected of criminal offences. "Should someone commit a criminal act and that is proven, they will be arrested," Jandroković told Urša Raukar Gamulin of the Green-Left Bloc after she said she hoped State Attorney General Zlata Hrvoj Šipek would withstand pressure and make arrests. She was commenting on Defence Minister Mario Banožić, who she said had defrauded…

ZAGREB, 18 May 2022 - Croatia's Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Wednesday that Finland and Sweden have Croatia's unreserved support for their NATO membership bids, adding that he has instructed Croatia's Ambassador to NATO to endorse the two countries' NATO applications. "During an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin last weekend I said on behalf of the Croatian government that we give our unequivocal and unreserved support to those countries," Grlić Radman told Croatian Radio. He recalled that because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the consequent reconfiguration in the global order, two traditionally neutral countries have decided…

ZAGREB, 18 May 2022 - The Bosnian Croat HDZ BiH party has been strongly criticised over the fact that ministers from that party on Tuesday blocked the adoption of a decision on election financing, with the leading BiH Croat party resolutely dismissing the criticisms, including by the US Embassy in Sarajevo. "Unprecedented public and media pressure on BiH Finance Minister Vjekoslav Bevanda has culminated with an open call to violate the law. Such attempts can be described as an act of undermining the rule or law," the HDZ BiH said in a statement on Tuesday amid an avalanche of criticism over…

ZAGREB, 18 May 2022 - Contrary to expectations, Bosnia and Herzegovina's government on Tuesday failed to adopt a decision to secure funds for the implementation of 2 October general elections, with Finance Minister Vjekoslav Bevanda of the HDZ BiH saying an attempt was made to do it illegally by using political pressure. The government held a conference call at which a proposal was made to finance the elections with budget reserves accumulated in previous years, which was a fallback option because the budget for 2022, which was to contain funds for the elections, has not been adopted yet due to political disputes in…

ZAGREB, 17 May 2022 - The head of the Croatian National Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Čović, said on Tuesday he appreciated Croatian President Zoran Milanović's advocacy, calling on Croatia's top officials to pursue a single foreign policy in order to more strongly contribute to improving the status of BiH Croats. President Milanović on Monday called on Croat politicians in BiH to state whether they supported his efforts to make Finland and Sweden's NATO accession conditional on amendment of the BiH election law to the benefit of local Croats. Milanović's statement was described by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković as irresponsible exhibitionism…

ZAGREB, 17 May 2022 - Constitutional law experts have said that they consider President Zoran Milanović's idea to abolish the Constitutional Court to be bad and absurd. The Constitutional Court ruled on Monday that the questions in two referendum petitions launched by the opposition Bridge party - on abolishing mandatory COVID passes and transferring the powers of the national COVID response team to Parliament - were not in line with the Constitution. The decision elicited a strong reaction from the Bridge party, which said that the court was the "HDZ's puppet," while President Milanović went a step further, saying that Constitutional Court judges…

ZAGREB, 17 May 2022 - State Attorney General Zlata Hrvoj Šipek said on Tuesday that she would refrain from commenting on statements made by President Zoran Milanović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. The Office of the State Attorney General (DORH) says on its website that the responsibility for the statements lies with those who have made them and that everyone should be aware of the constitutional definition of DORH as an autonomous and independent judicial agency. The State Attorney General does not cave in under pressure caused by statements made by individuals and media and makes decisions exclusively based on facts established in…

ZAGREB, 17 May 2022 - President Zoran Milanović on Tuesday described as unconstitutional Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's having talked to the State Attorney General after Milanović publicly wondered what the State Attorney General was doing regarding a case of favouritism involving Defence Minister Mario Banožić. "His having phoned the State Attorney General is unconstitutional, it's serious enough to warrant impeachment," Milanović said. The president on Monday again raised the question of what the state prosecutor was doing concerning Banožić whom he accused of favouritism in a case of state property lease of two years ago, when Banožić served as the state assets minister. Following months-long…