Politics

ZAGREB, July 13, 2019 - The candidate for the Public Administration Minister, Ivan Malenica, has said in an interview with the Vecernji List daily newspaper that if he becomes the minister, he will work on cutting the bureaucracy because the public administration is meant to be at the service of citizens. The 34-year-old Malenica, who is the Dean of Šibenik Polytechnic,says that he will hold talks with his predecessor, Lovro Kuščević, on the ongoing projects in the ministry. There are many things which the Public Administration Ministry has been working on, Malenica said in the interview published on Saturday. In…

ZAGREB, July 12, 2019 - The Vukovar City Council chairman, Tomislav Šota (HDZ) on Friday said that the rights of the Serb ethnic minority in Vukovar were not undermined in any way and that minority communities exercise all their rights according to the Constitution, laws and the city's statute. Commenting on a Constitutional Court ruling on the use of a national minority's language and script in Vukovar which determined that the rights of the Serb national minority in that city have to be advanced, Šota said that ethnic Serb councillors have for two years already been receiving all city acts…

ZAGREB, July 12, 2019 - The State Assets Ministry on Friday denied claims made in an article headlined "Goran Marić's conflict of interest? Enabling former boss in whose apartment his son lives to purchase attractive land," in the Jutarnji List daily, claiming that someone is trying to impute conflict of interest on Minister Goran Marić with regard to the dissolution of co-ownership of state land. The Jutarnji List claims that in May, Marić decided to sell over 13,000 square metres of land to companies related to Željko Udovičić, the owner of the company that owns the building in which Minster…

ZAGREB, July 12, 2019 - The parliamentary group of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Friday began gathering signatures for a motion of no-confidence in Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Gabrijela Žalac, Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić and State Assets Minister Goran Marić over their alleged involvement in corruption scandals, unofficial sources said. A no-confidence motion requires the signatures of one fifth of MPs, or 31. If the necessary number of signatures are gathered, the motion will be formally submitted to parliament already next week, the sources said. Such motions are debated no earlier than seven and no later…

ZAGREB, July 12, 2019 - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Thursday expressed concern over the fate of 900 workers at the Aluminij smelting plant in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and due to the escalation of the problems at that strategically important company, she requested an opinion from the Croatian government. Grabar-Kitarović assessed that the escalation of the situation is the result of years of ignoring obvious problems in the business operations of that strategically important company. "I am worried about the workers' fate and livelihood and strongly support them in their demands for shedding light on all the facts that…

ZAGREB, July 12, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday evening that he would nominate Ivan Malenica, the Dean of Šibenik Polytechnic, as the new Administration Minister. "Malenica is a young man, a lawyer, who is well versed in issues relating to public administration," Plenković told the press after a meeting with the coalition partners at government headquarters. The PM said that consultations on other government posts would be held in the coming days, which would be followed by a vote of confidence in Malenica and other nominees. Ivan Malenica was born in Šibenik in 1985. He graduated…

ZAGREB, July 11, 2019 - Former Yugoslav and Croatian intelligence official Josip Perković (74) was transferred to Zagreb's Remetinec Prison on Thursday after Germany handed him over to the Croatian authorities so that he could serve his prison term for the 1983 murder of political emigrant Stjepan Đureković. Perković arrived in Zagreb on a regular flight from Munich and was admitted to prison at 2.50pm. Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković said earlier in the day that Perković would spend some time at the prison's diagnostics centre after which it would be decided in which prison he would serve the remainder of…

ZAGREB, July 11, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković opened Thursday's cabinet meeting by expressing his condolences for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide. "Today is the 24th anniversary of a great tragedy, one of the worst atrocities following World War II. In 1995 more than 8,000 men and youths were killed in Srebrenica," said Plenković. He added that the government had sent an envoy to two commemorations of that tragedy, one to the Croatian parliament and the other to the Islamic centre in Zagreb. "We want to express our condolences for the victims of that horrific crime," Plenković underscored…

ZAGREB, July 11, 2019 - Leader of the New Politics party Vlaho Orepić on Thursday officially announced his candidacy for the presidential election later in the year, claiming that Croatia needs new politics that will introduce order, establish stability and confidence in the institution of the president and other government institutions and enable citizens a dignified and safe life. MP Orepić, who entered parliament with the MOST party slate and later left it to set up the New Politics party in late 2018, presented himself today with the statement that he was not an entertainer. "I am not an entertainer,…

ZAGREB, July 11, 2019 - The leader of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), Milorad Pupovac, on Wednesday said that the announced government reshuffle was a welcome move that will improve functionality and strengthen the government. "Improved functionality and strengthening the government, in the opinion of our caucus and party, is a welcome move and in that regard we support the stand of the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union). We are waiting for the prime minister to do what is necessary, that means internal consultations, and for him to decide and assess what needs to be done, after which we too…