Politics

ZAGREB, February 4, 2020 - The Secretary General of the Muslim World League, Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa, said at a conference in Zagreb on inter-religious relations that he was pleased that Croatia had decided to promote living together and not some abstract coexistence. The leadership of the Islamic community in Croatia and the Muslim World League in cooperation with the Croatian Conference of Bishops have organised the international conference focusing on the topic of human fraternity for world peace and living together, which was opened on Tuesday by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and the League's Secretary General Muhammad bin Abdul.…

ZAGREB, February 4, 2020 - Croatian Science and Education Minister Blaženka Divjak said at an informal meeting of EU ministers in charge of research that brain circulation should remain one of the EU's cornerstones. "We are encouraging mobility because those who are mobile and have experience from other countries bring that experience with them when they return. That way they make it possible for the system to be developed for the best, but we also want to attract others to work in Croatia," Divjak said at the meeting focusing on cooperation and researcher exchange and the future of the European…

ZAGREB, February 4, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday that Croatia is faced with a crucial decade for its membership of the European Union because only after the country absorbs funds from the second financial perspective will it be able to draw the line and say how much it has advanced as a member. Plenković was addressing a conference on the new Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027 and the status of the cohesion policy in the new budget, organised by the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds and the Adult Education Institution for European structural and…

ZAGREB, February 4, 2020 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has warned that EU member countries' leaders should reach a political agreement on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2021-2027 as soon as possible, so that the legislative part of the work could also be completed as soon as possible. One should bear in mind that having a political agreement on the negotiating framework at the European Council is not enough, it is necessary to negotiate with the European Parliament the legislative part of the work as well, Plenković said in an interview with the politico.eu website during…

ZAGREB, February 3, 2020 - Bosnia and Herzegovina's Security Minister Fahrudin Radončić on Monday said in Zagreb that economic migration is not a humanitarian issue and that he would do everything so that Bosnia and Herzegovina does not become a parking lot for migrants. "We have deliberately chosen Croatia for our first bilateral meeting to show that relations with Croatia are strategically important for us because we share more than one thousand kilometres of border," said Radončić who was recently appointed as the country's new Security Minister. "Bosnia finds it exceptionally important that Croatian border is absolutely impenetrable for illegal…

ZAGREB, February 3, 2020 - The City of Zagreb ran a budget deficit of about 400 million kuna in 2019, while the deficit carried over from the previous period is 628.9 million kuna, the city's Finance Office said in a statement on Monday, noting the negative impact of tax reforms on the city's revenues. The statement came after Jutarnji List newspaper said on Monday that the head of the Finance Office, Danijela Juroš Pečnik, had warned the city government in a letter last week that the city's budget deficit exceeded 1 billion kuna last year. The Finance Office said that…

ZAGREB, February 3, 2020 - Slovenian police officers on Monday went on a warning strike, which was why the entrance of trucks and cargo vehicles travelling from Croatia to Slovenia took more time than usual at border crossings, the Slovenian traffic information service provider reported on Monday morning. The token strike lasted between 8am and noon, affecting the traffic flow at the border crossings Bregana/Obrežje and Gruškovje/Macelj. The strike was conducted in the form of the work-to-rule action only at the border crossings. A police trade union organised the industrial action as it was dissatisfied with the failure of the…

ZAGREB, February 3, 2020 - Slovenian Foreign Minister Miro Cerar said on Sunday that talks on the border issue with Croatia were possible but that they could only be about ways to implement the border arbitration award which Ljubljana considers binding, and that dialogue could be started by Presidents Borut Pahor and Zoran Milanović. "Talks are necessary. They are possible but they could only be about the arbitration award, that is, ways to implement it," Cerar said in an interview with Slovenian Television. Dialogue could start between Slovenian President Borut Pahor and Croatian President-elect Zoran Milanović after Milanović takes office,…

ZAGREB, February 2, 2020 - Croatia's President-elect Zoran Milanović says that Slovenia is Croatia's most natural ally and that the relations will go forward after the completion of the proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union. In his comment on Friday's judgement by the Luxembourg-based court on its non-jurisdiction over an action Slovenia brought against Croatia due to their border dispute, Milanović said in Rijeka on Saturday, that the for the sake of its general public, the Slovenian side had had to use all means at its disposal which it found logical when it came to the…

Around 20,000 citizens protested in Trg bana Jelačića against Zagreb Mayor and USKOK indictee Milan Bandić and demanded his permanent removal from politics. The protest was punctuated with crowd chants of “Enough, Milan", "Go, Go" and "Thieves, Thieves". Largest Crowd of Three Protests Against Zagreb Mayor The protest, which was called "Enough", began at 16:00 CET yesterday. According to the organizers' observations; this protest has by far gathered the most residents of all three against the mayor. The third protest, which feature live bands and a stage, was organized by Siget Citizens Association, Green Action and Zagreb Te Zove according…