Politics

September the 7th, 2022 - Croatia is among three EU member states (the other two being the Republic of Ireland and Romania) with the fastest growth of loans being granted to companies. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, this year, specifically from February onwards, a strong growth in lending has been noticeable, and after a long period of stagnation (or in some cases decline), Croatia has once again entered a period in which loans being granted to companies outnumber those being given to households, the Croatian Association of Banks pointed out in its HUB Pregledi publication. They noted that the annual…

ZAGREB, 31 Aug (Hina) - The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) on Wednesday presented models for financing local media based on transparent public financing, which Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević and Split Mayor Ivica Puljak said were acceptable and potentially applicable. HND leadership said that transparent public financing was necessary for the long-term independent functioning of local media and for ensuring stable conditions for journalistic work in the public interest. They underscored the need for such public financing but under clear conditions and criteria and with an assessment by an independent expert committee. Zovko: Local media must be financed with public money…

ZAGREB, 31 August, 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday that he will insist on calling to account all members of the INA Management Board, both the Croatian and Hungarian members, and making changes to the way INA is managed due to a scam in which INA is believed to have been defrauded of more than HRK 1 billion. Plenković made the statement after a meeting of representatives of the parliamentary majority. Five suspects, including an INA executive, were arrested last Saturday on suspicion of defrauding INA of more than one billion kuna by buying natural gas supplies from the…

ZAGREB, 31 August, 2022 - Commenting on the INA gas trading scam, MP Nino Raspudić said on Wednesday that in any democratic country, the ruling party would be directly responsible for such a crime but that that was not the case in Croatia, even though the billion kuna stolen would be sufficient to pay households' winter energy bills. Raspudić, an MP of the opposition Bridge party, recalled that after the final corruption verdict against the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), its president and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that the HDZ he was leading had nothing to do with the HDZ led by Ivo Sanader,…

ZAGREB, 31 August 2022 - A photo of Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and arrested INA executive Damir Škugor was taken in November 2017 at an event organised by the Maksimir branch of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), it is common practice to take photos with party members and the only link to Škugor, his office said. The Parliament Speaker's office issued a press release on Wednesday after the photo of Jandroković and Škugor was posted by MP Nikola Grmoja (Bridge) on his Facebook page and was later shared on social networks. "Mr. Jandroković was invited to that event in his capacity as Parliament Speaker and then secretary-general of…

September 1, 2022 - Citizens of the Republic of Croatia are not used to a high level of political culture, honesty, and truthfulness. While in the normal world politicians resign even for the smallest offenses or breaches of duty, in Croatia even those who are proven guilty should be forced out of their positions. Political responsibility and self-criticism simply do not exist. As the INA case unfolds, this becomes more and more apparent. As Index writes, some statements are too much even for Croatia. It is one thing to cover one's ears, remain silent, and not admit responsibility for certain…

ZAGREB, 31 August 2022 - Belgrade's High Court has set for 14 October the start of a trial of four Croatian Air Force pilots accused by Serbian prosecutors of targeting a column of refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina in August 1995, the Serbian Politika newspaper has said, Beta news agency reported on Wednesday. Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor's Office has indicted Vladimir Mikac, Zdenko Radulj, Željko Jelenić, and Danijel Borović for war crimes against civilians. Although prosecutors suggested that they be tried in absentia, the High Court has not made a decision on that, Politika said. Mikac's attorney Aleksandar Olenik has said it was clear a war crime was…

ZAGREB, 30 August, 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Butković in charge of the economic affairs, and finance and economy ministers, Marko Primorac and Davor Filipović, on Tuesday held a meeting with the Croatian members of INA's nine-member Supervisory Board. The meeting took place in Government House on Tuesday afternoon ahead of a session that the Supervisory Board is expected to hold on Wednesday after the arrest of five suspects who are believed to have been involved in the gas resale scam and thus embezzled at least HRK 848 million (approx. €113 million) from INA. The President of…

ZAGREB, 30 August, 2022 - The INA oil company on Tuesday reported that a former chairman of its supervisory board, Damir Vanđelić, never said anything at meetings of the board nor did he send any email that would have indicated that INA was losing money, as Vanđelić claimed earlier in the day. "INA does not support any attempts to score political points in reference to the investigation launched in the gas resale case, and twisting facts to one's own advantage could have a misleading effect on the public. In the six years he spent as the head of INA's Supervisory Board Mr Vanđelić never voted…

ZAGREB, 30 August, 2022 - Croatian National Bank Vice-Governor Tomislav Ćorić said on Tuesday that he had never talked with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković about an INA director, Damir Škugor, one of the five suspects in the gas trading scam. Ćorić told Hina today that INA Supervisory Board's former chair, Damir Vanđelić "is creative in presenting alternative facts" after Vanđelić said that the INA gas resale contract was not within the remit of the Supervisory Board but of the Management Board and that he notified the competent officials, including former minister Ćorić when he realised that INA was losing money. "I never…