December the 2nd, 2022 - This week in the often weird world of Croatian politics, we've been dominated by football, Qatar and people's outfit choices more than we have much else. Still, Ukraine, Schengen, Croatia's now rapidly approaching Eurozone accession and more are still reigning strong. Oh, and let's not forget the drone from back in March which we're still not sure who launched.
Who was best dressed for the most recent Croatia match in Qatar - former president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, or the wife of current president Zoran Milanovic, Sanja Music Milanovic? That is the question!
Croatia has been progressing well in Qatar, and with some of Croatian politics' main women being present, including former president Grabar-Kitarovic, who is known for her unbridled passion and love for the Croatian national team when they play. Memes were made, articles were written, comparisons were made - but who wore it best? Index even had a poll, check it out for yourself here.
Parliamentarian Kreso Beljak is against training Ukrainian soldiers here in Croatia, believing we have nothing to teach them
Member of Parliament and president of HSS (Croatian Peasants' Party), Kreso Beljak made a guest appearance on N1 television/televizija recently, during which he explained why he is choosing not to support the government's proposal on the training of Ukrainian soldiers here in Croatia. He also commented on the parliamentary debate on the matter and the decision of Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic, who banned him from speaking for two days.
Beljak claims that Jandrokovic cut him off when he suggested to Defense Minister Banozic that it might be time to take a different view of things and try to sit down with President Zoran Milanovic on the matter. He accused the Speaker of the Parliament of not allowing him to exceed his speaking time by 12 seconds, and after that he only allowed HDZ representatives to reply to him, while he himself failed to have the opportunity to speak.
"I'm a public figure, I represent the people who pay me to do so, and that Jandrokovic with all his complexes isn't going to stop me from doing that," he said. Beljak also explained why he will not support the government's proposal on the training of Ukrainian soldiers, although he emphasises that it is indisputable that Russia is the aggressor and Ukraine is the victim in this situation
"A war is being waged, it's being waged with technology that we could only dream about or see in sci-fi films, aircraft, drones... something that we could've only imagined back in 1991. I don't see what we, that is, the Croatian army, could ever teach the Ukrainians at this moment in time, it could only be the other way around," said Beljak.
He is convinced that the entire story surrounding the training of Ukrainian soldiers is actually a spin of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who wants to ingratiate himself with high-ranking people within NATO and the EU and use this situation to do precisely that. He concluded that he'd support the decision on military training if all EU member states participated in it, but that he will not because only ten of them, Croatia included, have agreed to take part.
Nobody has any issues with Croatian joining Schengen, the EU's top brass claims
The Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper), which consists of ambassadors of European Union member states, discussed the expansion of the Schengen area to Croatia, Bulgaria, and Romania as part of the preparations for the meeting of the Council for Justice and Internal Affairs next week.
No member state had objections to the proposal to admit Croatia to Schengen. According to their internal rules, some member statesmust obtain the approval of the competent committees in their national parliaments for their positions in the EU Council.
The governments of Sweden, Denmark, Slovenia, and the Netherlands have submitted proposals to their parliaments supporting Croatia's entry and are now waiting for their green light. All other EU and Schengen members have already confirmed their support for Croatia. Coreper will again have the expansion of the Schengen area on the agenda on December the 7th, just one day before the meeting of interior ministers who should take the final decision.
You can read more into this very important matter for the world of Croatian politics by clicking here.
President Zoran Milanovic talks energy crisis, claims that Russia and the United States of America are two large and indestructible countries, but China isn't
Zoran Milanovic said on Tuesday that energy isn't a commodity, but a resource that guarantees security, independence and strength, and that the European Union is currently in a situation where it will ''have to buy gas from the USA at three times the price".
"Energy is a key issue at this moment, but it always is otherwise,'' said Milanovic at the opening of the "Business Meets Politics - Energy Today and Tomorrow'' economic forum, organised by the Slovenian-Croatian Business Club and the Slovenian Embassy in Croatia, held as part of the visit Slovenian President Borut Pahor to Croatia. Milanovic stated that Croatian Schengen accession will see the two neighbouring countries cooperate and deepen their ties even more.
Milanovic then said that Russia and the USA, each in their own way, aren't "two large and indestructible states" just by chance. "They're indestructible because they have certain technologies (...) and unlimited amounts of energy for their needs. China is no longer that category," Milanovic asserted.
For a long time, the European Union was "under the illusion" that it would establish an energy market, but given the serious state of the Russia-Ukraine war, it came to the point that it would simply need buy gas from its ally, the USA, at three times the price, he claimed.
"Those countries are in a very serious state of war, more serious than ever before in our lives. We've come to the conclusion that we'll just have to buy gas from our allies at three times the price. That's a fact. It's going to cost us money," he said.
He also said that this is why French President Macron went to the US to talk with US President Biden. "Actually, he went to beg from the position of a weaker partner for understanding and mercy," Milanovic assessed in his usual ''gloves off'' style.
Croatia will be much more deeply protected when we introduce the euro as our official currency, claims PM Andrej Plenkovic
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic recently said at the Days of Regional Development and EU Funds conference which was held in Opatija that the county needs to face the great challenge of declining natural growth and the demographic deficit far more seriously, as this is all becoming an essential strategic problem in and for Croatia.
"Now it's up to us to make our country and society as high-quality as we possibly can, to face the great challenge of the decline in natural growth, the demographic deficit that is becoming an essential strategic problem of the Croatian people and society, and where we must use all good practices and mechanisms to at least slow down the negative the trends we're dealing with," emphasised the Prime Minister.
In his presentation, Plenkovic also said that the meeting on regional development and EU funds is significant because it takes place in a year that was full of numerous EU activities and the completion of large projects and processes which were of enormous importance for the country in a strategic sense, as well as for Croatian politics.
"This is the year in which we completed the largest EU project of the Peljesac bridge and all of its access roads, which will forever be a symbol of the first seven years of EU membership and which finally connected the territory of the Republic of Croatia," said Plenkovic, adding that "we showed what modern sovereignty looks like and how the strengthened position of Croatia can best be used for the realisation of our strategic national goals."
He noted that we're now in the very last month in which our currency is the kuna, and that in a month, Croatia will become the 20th member of the Eurozone, scrapping the kuna and adopting the bloc's single currency.
"Croatia will be much less exposed and much more protected when it joins the Eurozone,'' he said, noting that a ministerial decision on Croatia's entry into the Schengen area is expected very soon. He assessed that it is a precedent that the country enters both the Eurozone and the Schengen area on the very same day in January 2023.
"This means that through the two mandates of our government, we've achieved our strategic goals and reached the stage where, after only 30 years of international recognition, we're among fifteen countries in the world that are in NATO, the EU, Schengen and the Eurozone.''
Going back to the Ukrainian, or Russian (or whoever's) drone which landed in Zagreb earlier this year, the Defence Minister has stated that no, he still doesn't know where it came from or who launched it
The Croatian Ministry of Defense reacted to how the media reported the statement of Minister Banozic about the drone that fell in Zagreb back in March this year. Their reaction is presented below. "Regarding media articles under the headings "Minister Banozic: We know who launched the drone that fell on Zagreb" and similar, in order to provide true and objective reporting to the public, the Ministry of Defense is obliged to react.
Namely, the texts published an incorrect quote as well as an incorrect interpretation of what Banozic said in the Croatian Parliament on November the 30th, 2022. Minister Banozic never said "we know who launched the drone that fell on Zagreb, but it's a secret".
He referred to the fact that the unmanned aircraft passed through several countries and stated that Croatia exchanged information with NATO member states, but didn't prejudge the final information about who launched the drone, about which the investigation is still ongoing," explains the statement issued by the Croatian Ministry of Defense.
The Ministry of Defense then wrote exactly what Banozic actually said in the parliament in response to the reply of the representative of the Homeland Movement, Stipe Mlinaric:
"Responding to the reply of Stipe Mlinaric, a member of the Croatian Parliament, the minister said: "First of all, I want to say that neither Prime Minister Plenkovic nor I took pictures of ourselves standing next to any hole/crater [left by the drone when it crash-landed], we were present at the location for which we expressed concern based on analyses at the time, which clearly showed that there was a threat being made from the incoming missile itself.''
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