Politics

ZAGREB, June 4, 2019 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović on Tuesday held a meeting with county and municipal heads and ethnic Roma representatives in Međimurje County following a recent rally at which about 1,000 people gathered to raise public awareness of what they labelled irresponsible, dangerous and criminal behaviour in their community, pointing the finger at state institutions which, they said, had failed with regard to the local Roma community. "Only when we define the problem together with all its aspects, we can seek right solutions," said Božinović today and insisted that education is the key to making efforts aimed…

ZAGREB, June 4,, 2019 - A 31-year-old Serb national who was smuggling 33 migrants on early Tuesday morning crashed into a police roadblock and was hospitalised for serious injuries, while the passengers in the vehicle were not injured, Zagreb police reported. A little after midnight between Monday and Tuesday the police began to follow a Citroen Jumper van suspecting that it might be transporting illegal migrants. When the police sounded their sirens, the driver of the van sped up, attempted to get away and to run the police vehicle off the road. The police blockade was set up at the…

ZAGREB, June 4, 2019 - Labour and Solidarity Party leader and Zagreb mayor, Milan Bandić, on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to replace Science and Education Minister Blaženka Divjak, and to "make a statesmanlike move" due to her unlawful conduct" noting just one example of 7.5 million kuna of taxpayers' money thrown down the drain for methodical handbooks. Addressing a press conference, Bandić said that Divjak "has to bear the consequences of conscious breach of the law." He called on the relevant state institutions to inspect the details of the minister's actions regarding methodical handbooks which cost more…

ZAGREB, June 4, 2019 - Croatian Democratic Party (HDZ) deputy leader Milijan Brkić said on Tuesday that he did not want to comment on "ridiculous allegations" by the HDZ's chief analyst, Robert Kopal, that the party's slate for the recent European elections was sabotaged. "I don't want to comment on those ridiculous accusations. The world has seen many a fake prophet and will see many more. Everything I have to say about politics and the party I say within the party, not through the media," Brkić told reporters outside Government House. Speaking for the N1 private broadcaster, Kopal claimed that…

ZAGREB, June 4, 2019 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Davor Bernardić said on Monday that his party wanted the entire left to unite on the SDP's candidate in the next presidential election, stressing that the recent election for the European Parliament showed that changes could not be effected without the SDP. In an interview with Croatian Radio, Bernardić said that last week the SDP launched consultations on its candidate for the presidential elections, who is expected to be selected by July 15. The next presidential election is expected to be held by the end of the year. Bernardić would…

ZAGREB, June 4, 2019 - The security situation in Croatia is stable and there are currently no indications or visible potential for its more significant destabilisation, the Security-Intelligence Agency (SOA) says in a public report on its activities in 2018, posted on its website. The threat of terrorism in Croatia is small, however, considering the nature of modern terrorist threats, Croatia's membership of Euro-Atlantic associations and belonging to western democratic value system, and its developed tourism sector and visibility in global media, there is a potential risk of terrorist threats, SOA says, noting that there is also a constant risk…

ZAGREB, June 3, 2019 - A Three Seas Initiative forum will be held in Slovenia on Wednesday and Thursday, and the event will be attended by heads of state of 12 central and eastern European countries, including Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, her office announced on Monday. The Three Seas Initiative was launched in 2015 and comprises 12 EU member states located between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas: Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Its objective is to bolster regional dialogue and connect the countries between the north and the south.…

ZAGREB, June 3, 2019 - Politician Branimir Glavaš, who is standing a retrial for war crimes committed against Serbs in Osijek, filed a criminal complaint against the key witness, Krunoslav Fehir, for the 1991 murder of Čedomir Vučković in a garage in Osijek, just before Fehir is about to testify in the ongoing trial of Glavaš and five more co-defendants, according to information provided by Zagreb County Court on Monday. Vučković was murdered in August 1991 in a garage in Osijek by Fehir, who was at the time a 16-year-old member of the so-called Branimir Battalion and who was later…

ZAGREB, June 3, 2019 - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković began an official visit to Japan by meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, parliament said in a press release on Monday. The two officials said political relations were very good and friendly, and welcomed the political dialogue established at all levels, notably parliamentary. As for economic cooperation, they cited several good examples and underlined the joint wish to boost it further. Jandroković and Abe singled out as positive examples of Japanese investment in Croatia the Kali Tuna and Yazaki companies. Jandroković invited Japanese investors to follow their example, saying they…

ZAGREB, June 2, 2019 - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Saturday would not comment on conflicts within the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, saying that her main task was to provide for the stability of state institutions and promote national and state interests. "Even though I was the presidential candidate of the HDZ and some other parties, I'm now a non-party person and president of all Croatian citizens, and I never comment on the work of my predecessors or anyone who held the post of prime minister or any other high post, or on any political party's internal relations,"…