Politics

ZAGREB, July 23, 2019 - Croatia and Bulgaria agree that the two countries need to be dedicated to creating a new, strategic dimension in their relations by strengthening cooperation in key areas, from security and defence to science and culture, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said on Tuesday after she met with Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev. "President Radev and I agreed that Croatia and Bulgaria have to base their cooperation on a long term, strategic dimension of their relations. We see this strategic cooperation and potential in all key areas: security and defence, European and regional issues, the economy, but also…

ZAGREB, July 23, 2019 - Fourteen European Union member states, including Croatia, on Monday agreed to the Franco-German "solidarity mechanism" to allocate migrants across the EU, but the proposal was not accepted at the EU level, a source close to the French president told Reuters news agency. At an informal meeting in Paris, EU interior ministers failed to reach agreement on a migration control mechanism and on migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea. "The conclusion of this morning's meeting is that, in principle, 14 member states, at this stage, have expressed their agreement with the Franco-German document," President Emmanuel Macron…

ZAGREB, July 22, 2019 - Bruna Esih was unanimously re-elected leader of the conservative Independents for Croatia party at its election convention in the coastal city of Zadar on Monday. "This election convention, organised according to the statute and all laws, has confirmed that I am still the president of Independents for Croatia. We have elected new leadership and members of the governing bodies," Esih told the press after the convention. At the same, followers of her leadership rival Zlatko Hasanbegović were holding an election convention in Zagreb, of which Esih said earlier that that was "clearly an attempt to…

ZAGREB, July 22, 2019 - Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Minister Mirko Šarović, who is the leader of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), on Monday called on the country's Presidency to once again examine the question of the Pelješac Bridge and Croatia's plans for a nuclear waste site at Trgovska Gora after media reported that Croatia had already decided on that site which is close to the Bosnian border. "Bosnia and Herzegovina has no other choice than to once again put the issue of a nuclear waste storage facility in Trgovska Gora, which is of enormous significance…

ZAGREB, July 21, 2019 - The Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Presidency, Milorad Dodik, has said he will again impose a veto and ask the Serb entity's parliament to reverse any decision whereby the Presidency's two other members might outvote him concerning the Pelješac Bridge in Croatia. "If I'm outvoted again and Šefik Džaferović and Željko Komšić create certain conclusions on the Pelješac Bridge again, I'll invoke vital interests again," he was quoted as saying in BiH's print media on Sunday. Earlier this week, the Serb entity's parliament rescinded by two-thirds majority a decision by Džaferović and Komšić, the…

ZAGREB, July 21, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković attended a Croatia Open tennis match in Umag on Saturday and said sports were an important part of promoting and branding Croatia. "Sport is one of our main pearls, which is why the Tourism Ministry and the Croatian National Tourist Board are closely cooperating with many sport federations. We must work on making every big sporting event or success part of our promotion and our branding and we are working on that," Plenković told reporters at the ATP tournament. Asked to comment on Croatian Olympic Committee president Zlatko Mateša's warning that…

ZAGREB, July 21, 2019 - Bulgarian President Rumen Radev is coming to Croatia next week for a two-day official visit at the invitation of his Croatian counterpart Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, her office announced in a press release. The visit kicks off on Tuesday with a welcome ceremony at the President's Office, a tete-a-tete between the two presidents and a bilateral meeting between the delegations of the two countries. Also on the first day of the meeting, the Bulgarian president is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and representatives of the Bulgarian community in Croatia. On Wednesday, Radev travels to…

As Marija Brnic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of July, 2019, after Croatian Parliament ratifies the Croatian Government's cabinet reshuffle, Andrej Plenković's "ship" will probably carry in sailing just as it has until now right up to the end of his mandate and an unfortunate situation such as the country assuming the EU presidency under political instability, will likely be avoided. That all looks great on paper, but it doesn't change anything at all as far as the state of the Croatian economy is concerned. PM Plenkovićs ''new people" are Marija Vučković, Vesna Bedeković, Ivan Malenica, Gordan Grlić Radman, Josip…

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of July, 2019, based on economic trends and the number of residents in other transition countries, Croatian economist Velimir Šonje estimates that less developed countries, as well as Croatia can stabilise their number of inhabitants when they reach 80 percent of EU average. The message from Tao Zhang, the deputy director of the IMF, was that Croatia's region would grow old before it gets richer, ie, before it reaches a certain level of economic development that will provide all of its inhabitants with a decent standard. Bleak outlooks dominate in almost all of…

ZAGREB, July 20, 2019 - The Croatian Parliament's Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System decided that conditions had not been met to convene an extraordinary session of Parliament following opposition motions for a vote of no confidence in government ministers. The Committee had been asked by Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković to say whether an extraordinary session could be convened in this case. Jandroković cited a constitutional provision saying that during Parliament's recess sessions can be called only by the head of state or government or by a majority of MPs. This decision means that during Parliament's summer…