Politics
Wednesday, 19 June 2019
“No Lies Against Istanbul Convention Ratification Have Come True”
ZAGREB, June 19, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday that no objection had been sent from other countries-signatories of the Istanbul Convention to Croatia regarding the interpretative statement accompanying the ratification law, which was why Plenković underscored that no lies or fears disseminated during the anti-ratification campaign had come true. On 13 April 2018, Croatia ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence with 110 votes in favour, 30 against and two abstentions, and along with ratifying the Istanbul Convention, the 151-seat parliament also adopted an interpretive statement which…
Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Croatia Regrets Lack of Support for Opening EU Talks with North Macedonia, Albania
ZAGREB, June 19, 2019 - Croatian Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić regretted on Tuesday that there was no agreement among EU member states about recognising the progress of North Macedonia and Albania and opening accession negotiations, with a decision postponed for October. Member states' foreign ministers made the postponement in Luxembourg without clearly indicating whether they will approve opening the negotiations in October. "Croatia's position hasn't changed. We wanted it also a year ago at the General Affairs Council meeting, when the majority of the member states advocated giving a deadline of one year and beginning negotiations with North Macedonia…
Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Virovitica Official Commits Suicide after Defrauding Town Budget?
ZAGREB, June 19, 2019 - A meeting of the town council of the northeastern town of Virovitica on Tuesday was marked by a heated debate on the latest developments following the suicide of the head of the town's administration department for the financial matters, Siniša Palm, after it was discovered that the town budget was defrauded of several million of kuna. During the debate Mayor Ivica Kirin explained that the sum embezzled from the budget amounted to 17.5 million kuna (2.37 million euro) and that as soon as he was informed by the bank concerned about irregularities he immediately reacted.…
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Grabar-Kitarović Comments on Milanović's Candidacy for President
ZAGREB, June 18, 2019 - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who is currently in Estonia, briefly commented on Tuesday on former prime minister Zoran Milanovic's announcement that he would run for the presidency and said that everyone who satisfies the conditions in the Constitution has the right to be a candidate. "As I have said before, anyone in Croatia who meets the conditions in the Croatian Constitution has the right to be a candidate," she briefly told Croatian reporters, who were asked earlier by her entourage not to ask her when she intends to announce her candidacy. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković would…
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Syrian Refugees to Be Accommodated in State-Owned Flats in Sisak
ZAGREB, June 18, 2019 - About fifty Syrian refugees who arrived in Croatia from Turkey through the resettlement programme will be accommodated in Sisak in mid-July, representatives from the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Croatia said on Tuesday. This is the first group of a total of 250 refugees who are currently in the Kutina asylum centre and will be housed in state-owned flats and be given asylum status. JRS on Tuesday conducted an educational meeting with state administration, city and county representatives, as well as people in education, health, welfare and other institutions, to prepare them for accepting the…
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Zoran Milanović Launches His Presidential Campaign
ZAGREB, June 18, 2019 - Zoran Milanović, the Social Democratic Party's (SDP) candidate for president of the republic, said on Monday he wanted to be the president of a modern, progressive, inquisitive and open Croatia, adding that Croatia was in a "condition that can definitely be fixed" and that, if he succeeded in being a president with character, Croatia would be a country with a position. "Croatia which in history, whenever it went forward, went forward only as a modern state. It wasn't afraid, it was aware of its tradition, yet was not immersed in it but knew how to…
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
HDZ Expects Grabar-Kitarović to Run for Second Term
ZAGREB, June 18, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday he expected President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to run for a second term in office, adding that it was up to her to decide on the timing of her formal announcement for the race and that his HDZ party was waiting for her "with open arms". "As the HDZ leader I expect President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to run for a second term and I'm sure we will all support her together. It's up to her to find the right time for announcing her candidacy and I can see that the HDZ…
Monday, 17 June 2019
Zoran Milanović Announces Presidential Bid on Facebook
ZAGREB, June 17, 2019 - Former prime minister and one-time leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Zoran Milanović on Monday confirmed that he would run for president of state. Milanović posted a photograph of himself on his Facebook profile with the logo "A president with character", without any additional comments. Unofficial sources have said that Milanović would make a public statement later in the day regarding his candidacy. The SDP's presidency convened in the afternoon and unofficial sources have said that it will make a recommendation to the party's Main Committee that Milanovic runs as the SDP's candidate in…
Monday, 17 June 2019
Pejčinović Burić Attends EU Foreign Affairs Council
ZAGREB, June 17, 2019 - Croatia's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Marija Pejčinović Burić on Monday attended a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg which discussed the effectiveness of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the implementation of the EU Global Strategy and the situation in Sudan, the ministry reported in a press release. The council discussed models to improve the effectiveness of the Common Foreign and Security Policy in view of changes occurring on the international scene and of geopolitical challenges. The ministers agreed that in the coming period efforts will be focused on strengthening…
Monday, 17 June 2019
MOST Wants Right to Drinking Water to Be Protected in Constitution
ZAGREB, June 17, 2019 -The parliamentary group of the opposition MOST party on Monday presented its initiative to ensure that the right to safe drinking water be protected in the Constitution. For the initiating of the procedure to amend the Constitution for that purpose, the MOST first needs to collect 31 signatures of MPs for its motion to be tabled in the parliament. Furthermore, any change of the Constitution requires the support of two thirds of lawmakers, that is 101 votes in favour of such a proposal. The party leader, Božo Petrov, said today that they would now wait for…
Monday, 17 June 2019
HDZ Marking 30th Anniversary
ZAGREB, June 17, 2019 - The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenković said on Monday after a wreath-laying ceremony at the grave of the first Croatian President Franjo Tuđman, that the HDZ could be proud of its achievements in the past. The wreath-laying ceremony was organised on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of this political party. Plenković recalled that President Tuđman and people who had stood up in defence of Croatia had founded the HDZ, and the party accomplished crucial goals in the first 10 years of the independence and freedom of Croatia. Those goals…
