Politics
Friday, 7 June 2019
Plenković Informs Juncker of Dubrovnik Airport Reconstruction, Pelješac Bridge
ZAGREB, June 7, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday informed European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker about the course of reconstruction of Dubrovnik Airport and the construction of the Pelješac Bridge, both co-financed from European funds, saying Dubrovnik-Neretva County was among the most successful counties in European fund absorption. By visiting southern Croatia, Juncker began a two-day visit to the country. On Friday, he will arrive in Zagreb. "We presented to... President Juncker the course and realisation of an important project, the reconstruction of Dubrovnik Airport's infrastructure, which is co-financed from European funds in the amount of 155 million…
Thursday, 6 June 2019
Two of Three Živi Zid MPs Leave Party
ZAGREB, June 6, 2019 – Živi Zid parliamentary deputy Ivan Pernar on Thursday confirmed that he and his colleague Bramimir Bunjac would leave this Opposition party because of the dictatorship of party leader Ivan Sinčić's wife Vladimira Palfi, who is also a vice-president of this party. Pernar said that he was considering the establishment of a new political party as well as of returning to the non-parliamentary "Abeceda Demokracije" party whose member he used to be. Pernar dismissed allegations that his and Bunjac's decisions were motivated by the lucrative term of a member of the European Parliament, insisting that they…
Thursday, 6 June 2019
Bozinović, Avramopoulos Discuss Croatia's Schengen Area Membership
ZAGREB, June 6, 2019 - Croatian Interior Minister Davor Božinović held talks in Brussels on Thursday with EU Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos on Croatia's future Schengen Area membership. Avramopoulos commended the remarkable progress Croatia has achieved in the past 18 months, the Interior Ministry said in a press release. The two officials agreed common activities for the final verification of the technical conditions for Croatia's entry to the Schengen Area. The membership is one of Croatia's priorities. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković recently told Politico.eu that his wish is for Croatia to join by 2024. Last year…
Thursday, 6 June 2019
Three Seas Summit Ends, Presidents Want Concrete Results
ZAGREB, June 6, 2019 - The heads of the Three Seas Initiative states said in Brdo Pri Kranju on Thursday they did not want red tape, a secretariat and only promises, reiterating that the goal was to equalise living standards in the eastern and western EU. At the end of a two-day summit held in Ljubljana and Brdo Pri Kranju, the 12 heads of state signed a joint declaration which contains the general and repeatedly stated commitment to boosting the EU's economic development and cohesion by building an energy, transport and digital infrastructure. Speaking at a press conference, they said…
Thursday, 6 June 2019
Government Wants to Negotiate with Unions on Pension Referendum
ZAGREB, June 6, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that the government's pension reform, which was positively assessed in a European Commission report on Wednesday, was being implemented in the interest of pensioners, so that their pensions could be higher and there was no discrimination among pensioners. Commenting on the EC's positive assessment of the pension reform, Plenković said that it was good the public was aware of it. "Everything we have been doing is in the interest of pensioners, so they can have higher pensions and there is no discrimination. We have strengthened the second pension…
Thursday, 6 June 2019
Croatia Performing Poorly with Reforms, Tax Burdens Continue to Cripple
As Novac writes on the 6th of June, 2019, fiscal consolidation, investment and business barriers and the burden on the Croatian economy make things very difficult for business in Croatia, according to the results of HUP Skor for 2018, showcased by the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP). It is a tool to measure the progress of reforms in the twelve critical areas necessary for doing better business and improving life in the Republic of Croatia when compared to the EU 10. As Gordana Deranja, HUP's president, explained, "HUP Skor is an objective measure of how much we're really reforming." Since the…
Thursday, 6 June 2019
Plenković Says Election Interference a Major Challenge for Democracy
ZAGREB, June 6, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday that election interference was one of the biggest challenges facing democracy. Plenković spoke about the security challenges of the digital era in a lecture on Croatia's EU presidency in 2020 which he gave in Zagreb. Interference in elections "is one of the biggest challenges for the functioning of modern-day democracy," he said, warning that a large number of voters obtained information from unreliable sources. Commenting on the recent election for the European Parliament, he said that "mainstream parties" had prevailed. The drop in the popularity of the People's…
Thursday, 6 June 2019
BiH Presidency's Member Accuses Croatia over Intelligence Agency
ZAGREB, June 6, 2019 - The Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Šefik Džaferović, on Wednesday said that he still expects a reply from Croatia to a protest note that the BiH Presidency sent regarding alleged pressure by the Croatian Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) on citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who are suspected of being connected to radical Islamic groups. Commenting on SOA's latest report about the security situation in Croatia, which also mentions the alleged recruiting of BiH citizens to collaborate with SOA, Džaferović said that that document is yet more proof of Croatia's unfair…
Thursday, 6 June 2019
Three Seas Initiative Gets Investment Fund
ZAGREB, June 6, 2019 - The Three Seas Initiative has been given at a summit in Ljubljana a new dimension - an investment fund for building the transport, energy and digital infrastructure, member states' officials said on Wednesday. The two-day summit of the initiative that was launched in 2015 by Croatia's President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and her Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda is being held in Slovenia on Wednesday and Thursday. The forum comprises 12 European Union member states in Central and Eastern Europe between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas. Three summits have been held, in Dubrovnik in 2016, in Warsaw…
Wednesday, 5 June 2019
Živi Zid Apparently Falling Apart
ZAGREB, June 5, 2019 - One of the three parliamentary deputies of Živi Zid, Ivan Pernar, said on Wednesday that he would leave this Opposition party if his colleague Branimir Bunjac was ousted. Pernar's statement ensued after party leader Ivan Vilibor Sinčić on Tuesday said that MP Bunjac had been suspended for not sticking to the party's strategy in the recent European elections and to the agreement than none of the party's MPs would go to the European Parliament. Pernar today appealed for a reasonable solution to the intra-party crisis, and underscored that he was against seeking solutions through media.…
Wednesday, 5 June 2019
Plenković Claims Elections Were Obstructed from Within HDZ
ZAGREB, June 5, 2019 - Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday evening that there were numerous indications that the recent election for the European Parliament had been obstructed within the HDZ. Speaking to reporters after a session of the HDZ parliamentary group, Plenković said that there were numerous indications of obstruction but he did not give a specific answer when asked if individual HDZ branches would be dissolved because the party fared less well in the election than it had expected. "We will analyse everything in detail and determine measures to consolidate the…
