Politics

ZAGREB, June 13, 2019 - The European People's Party (EPP) is a relative winner of the European elections and wants its lead candidate Manfred Weber to become the European Commission President, while allowing for other offices to be filled by parties that have come after it in the elections, said Croatian Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenković in San Sebastian where the EPP was holding a meeting on Wednesday. Our position in these negotiations is rather modest, and of all offices we want is that our candidate becomes the European Commission President, while other offices are…

ZAGREB, June 13, 2019 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović on Wednesday signed a grant agreement with United States Ambassador William Robert Kohorst setting out the conditions for the U.S. donation of two vans with top-notch equipment for the early and efficient detection of hazardous substances. According to the agreement, the USA will donate the two vans with equipment for the early and efficient detection of hazardous substances including chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear material. The document also defines conditions for cooperation between Croatia's Interior Ministry and the US Department of Energy regarding the prevention of illegal trade of nuclear and…

ZAGREB, June 12, 2019 - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Wednesday said that she in no way regretted that she had invited Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić to Croatia and that she would invite him again. "Knowing even today that some people object to that and how many times have people complained and attacked me because of his visit, the easiest thing to do would have been to cancel the visit. If I had thought of myself and my rating then I would have certainly done that. But how could I embark on delivering on what I promised families throughout Croatia without…

ZAGREB, June 12, 2019 - The Court of Justice of the European Union has scheduled for July 8 a hearing on Slovenia's border arbitration suit against Croatia, Slovenian media reported on Wednesday, citing information on the Court's website. The hearing will be held before the Grand Chamber. The suit was brought last year by the then Miro Cerar Cabinet. Cerar is now Slovenia's foreign minister. In the suit, Slovenia demands the Court find that Croatia, by failing to implement the border arbitration award, is violating the EU's fisheries policy, Schengen rules on the movement of people across the border and…

ZAGREB, June 12, 2019 - An oral hearing began at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Wednesday on the admissibility of an application which Slovenia lodged against Croatia in September 2016 over receivables of defunct Ljubljanska Banka's Zagreb branch dating back to the 1980s. During the hearing, the Grand Chamber must decide whether the Court can rule in this case given that applications against states are rare and it generally admits cases related to human rights violations of individuals or groups of people. If the Court finds the application admissible, it will decide on the merit of the…

ZAGREB, June 12, 2019 - Sisak-Moslavina County Day was celebrated in Sisak on Tuesday with emphasis on numerous projects, some that are already being implemented and others that are yet to start, and both President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković welcomed the application of new know-how and technologies, particularly in the ICT sector. Addressing the county's Assembly, President Grabar-Kitarović underscored that that county is the "geographical centre of our state" and that Croatia's history is concentrated there too. She recalled Stjepan Radić who, "with his martyrdom, became a symbol of the Croatian people's struggle for freedom," and places…

ZAGREB, June 11, 2019 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Tuesday that the placement of barriers at the Maljevac border crossing with Bosnia and Herzegovina was envisaged in the Schengen Catalogue, and that the Croatian police were strengthening their human and technical capacities to combat illegal migration as effectively as possible. The Schengen acquis recommends that border crossings be separated by a barrier, Božinović told reporters. Asked why barriers were placed at Maljevac, he said they would be placed at other border crossings as well. A large group of migrants who wanted to illegally enter Croatia had gathered at…

ZAGREB, June 11, 2019 - The State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday rejected a request by Croatian authorities for the extradition and custody of former Dinamo football club mogul Zdravko Mamić after an international arrest warrant was issued for him. The court, however, ordered that Mamić's travel documents be confiscated and that he be prohibited from leaving the country. After a hearing, Mamić told reporters that the entire affair was politically motivated against him. Mamić's Bosnian defence attorney, Zdravko Rajić, said that his client has Bosnia and Herzegovina citizenship and that he objects to being extradited to Croatia.…

ZAGREB, June 11, 2019 - Union leader Krešimir Sever told Hina on Tuesday that signatures collected for a referendum petition for restoring the statutory retirement age from 67 to 65 would be submitted to the national parliament on Thursday. The unionist said that a meeting of Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and the initiators of the referendum campaign "67 is too much" was scheduled for Thursday and that on that occasion, the unionists would hand the collected signatures. In order for a pension eligibility conditions referendum to be called, it is necessary to collect at least 373,568 signatures, while the unions…

ZAGREB, June 11, 2019 - Eight men have been suspected of jeopardising public safety and doing hazardous construction works, which resulted in the death of three workers of the Dubrovnik hydro-power plant Plat in January, according to a press release issued by the Dubrovnik County police directorate on Monday. Media outlets have reported that one of the two suspects is a member of the HEP power provider's management board and another was a former director in that company. The police stopped short of identifying the suspects. The two prime suspects are likely to be placed in police custody on Tuesday.…