ZAGREB, 26 Aug 2021 - Croatia now has the strongest position in foreign affairs since it gained independence, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told reporters on the sidelines of a conference of Croatian diplomats in Zagreb on Thursday.

Pointing out the country's strongest status on the foreign policy front since its international recognition, the premier recalled that Zagreb's main foreign policy priorities were now admission to the Schengen area and to the euro area.

As for the current challenges, Plenković cited economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis and the developments in Afghanistan and potential migrant waves, while Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković cited the coronavirus pandemic, economic recovery, climate change, the developments in the Middle East, the crisis in Afghanistan and a possible migrant wave.

"Our main goal is to enter the Schengen area as soon as possible considering the developments in Afghanistan. Regarding finance and economy, it is essential to enter the euro area," Jandroković said.

The parliament speaker warned of the strengthening positions of China, India, and Brazil, and said that only concerted action by the European Union member states could render the EU a power player, notably on the global market.

Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman told the press that the global order would be tested in Kabul.

"The world has become vulnerable, international law is being violated," the minister said.

Former British PM Blair special guest of the conference

During the first day of the conference, a former prime minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, addressed the event, and on Wednesday he was received by Prime Minister Plenković.

Blair told the press today that his talks with the Croatian PM revolved around the importance of the success of the vaccination rollout globally.

That is the only way for us to overcome the crisis, the former British PM said.

The Plenković-Blair talks also focused on the global situation and challenges lying ahead of Croatia and the future cooperation.

Blair said that it was important for Europe to stay strong and for NATO to redefine its purpose in the present-day world.

He agrees that one of the challenges is the situation in the Middle East.

I believe that peace and stability will eventually come when good governance is established there, and when societies become open-minded and develop religious tolerance, and when people make use of the possibilities of the digital economy, he added.

Plenković said that the purpose of Blair's visit to Zagreb was establishing "potential cooperation" between Croatia and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 24 Aug, 2021 - Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday that the Ustasha salute "For the Homeland Ready" was already now illicit and that police filed reports with courts when such things happened, while it was up to the courts to decide on the matter.

"The salute is already now illicit. This is something that no one questions," Plenković told reporters in Zagreb after a meeting of the HDZ leadership.

He went on to say that on Monday, when  Black Ribbon Day, the Europe-wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes was observed, some protagonists from left parties had tried to politicise that issue.

In this context he recalled a recent "semi-incident" in Knin when that salute was shouted and said that the police had reported the case to the court which should now have a say.

Asked by the press whether the penal code should outlaw that salute, Plenković said that initially, this had been suggested by a Croatian Jewish leader, Ognjen Kraus, while representatives of other ethnic minorities in the parliamentary majority did not insist on that to such extent.

"We will discuss the issue, however, such things are already treated as illicit," Plenković told reporters.

He condemned hate speech on social networks aimed at a reporter of the commercial RTL broadcaster, Danka Derifaj, and announced that draft amendments to the Electronic Media Act would soon receive a second reading. He admitted that hate speech on social networks could be successfully halted only when a global solution was found for that problem.

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August 23, 2021 - The Science Faculty (PMF) Earthquake reconstruction money was received in July by the Croatian government and Education Ministry. The aid was given to other high-education and scientific institutes that suffered from the earthquake too.

With August concluding, the academic community is waking up after a summer break. Students are preparing for exams, and professors are grading those exams as both groups boldly look towards new wins and losses in October and another season of active higher education in Croatia. However, with faculties being low-key in the summer, one might have missed an important action in early July when prime minister Andrej Plenković and education minister Radovan Fuchs came to Zagreb's National and University Library. They delivered 42 contracts of assigning non-returnable financial aids to reconstruct infrastructure of higher education and scientific institutions hit by the earthquake. The total amount is 2,140,837,980 kuna, and Zagreb's University Faculty of Science (PMF) received a total of 160.988.403 kuna for its own reconstruction after the natural disaster first hit Zagreb on March 23, 2020, and later Petrinja on December 29, which was also felt heavily in the Croatian capital.

With the University of Zagreb being founded in the middle of the 17th century, teaching and research of natural sciences and mathematics, which led to today's PMF, can be found almost two years after the university was founded, on April 21, 1876. The faculty, in its current form of working, was established on June 8, 1946. Since then, PMF has worked on its educational and research contributions, whose excellence is recognized domestically and internationally.

„The Faculty designs and conducts relevant university studies and scientific research programs which are an integral part of the higher education process in the fields of biology, physics, geophysics, geography, geology, chemistry, and mathematics," says the PMF website.

Today, PMF has seven departments (Biology, Physics, Geophysics, Geography, Geology, Chemistry, and Mathematics), organized into 28 divisions. It has around 4000 students enrolled in undergraduate, integrated undergraduate and graduate, and graduate university studies within 35 study programs and about 1000 students at seven postgraduate studies and one postgraduate specialist study.

„It is less known that the PMF also comprises the Seismological Service and its seismological stations all over Croatia, the mareographic station in Bakar, the geomagnetic observatory in Lonjsko polje, and the green jewel located in the very heart of Zagreb – the Botanical Garden. And in the background of it all are nearly 500 scientists and teachers for whom you will not only be just another name on a sheet of paper but a truly personal and (hopefully) successful story about your future and ours“, explained PMF.

The earthquakes damaged PMF, particularly the buildings of biology and geography departments. Still, it is admirable that amidst its own trouble, PMF found a way to help students of the Faculty of Metallurgy in Sisak, which also took a heavy hit from the earthquake, by donating five new laptops for educational purposes.

As TCN previously reported, citizens of Zagreb had mixed feelings regarding how the city and the government handled the situation in Zagreb. However, Croatian Parliament MP Sandra Benčić from the Možemo Green-left coalition, while commenting on the victory of his party colleague Tomislav Tomašević on Zagreb elections, stated that the citizens he helped filling out paperwork for damaged homes needed to receive European funds for the reconstruction, for which Zagreb needs to apply by June 2022 to receive the aid.

With these moves by the new administration and the aforementioned aids for the high scientific institutions, the steps to recover Zagreb, the center of science, culture, politics, economy, and more in the Republic of Croatia are underway. But, it will still take time for citizens to recover fully from 2020's tragedies.

The results of education and science curiosity pay off. Learn more about Croatian inventions & discoveries: from Tesla to Rimac on our TC page.

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ZAGREB, 22 Aug, 2021 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković will travel to Ukraine on Sunday to take part in the inaugural summit of the Crimean Platform in Kiev.

During his two-day visit, Plenković will hold talks with former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky is expected to present the Crimean Platform, an initiative of Ukraine aimed at raising the issue of Crimea in international cooperation and strengthening international coordination on the situation in Crimea.

The Platform is to operate at several levels: heads of state and government, foreign ministers, inter-parliamentary cooperation, expert networks.

The participants in the summit are expected to adopt a joint declaration confirming commitment to Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity and defining the framework for the international policy toward Crimea.

The summit takes place on the eve of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. Approximately 40 foreign delegations are expected to attend.

The Croatian prime minister will be accompanied by Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Raman and Defence Minister Mario Banožić.

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ZAGREB, 15 Aug, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Sunday there were 20 to 30 Croatian nationals in Afghanistan and that their employers had organised their repatriation.

Speaking to the press after attending a Feast of the Assumption of Mary Mass in Rijeka, he said all services were involved with regard to the Croatian nationals in Afghanistan and that Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman was in daily contact with them.

Plenković said most of those people were working as part of various international engagements and arrangements.

He said that after so many years, the Afghan authorities did not make it independently for long and that there was a sort of disorganisation now, but that it was good that there did not seem to be many casualties. "In any case, it's not good that the Afghan authorities have been so fragile after the withdrawal of international forces."

Asked about "the U.S. president's withdrawal from Afghanistan," Plenković said it was not only him. "He entered a process that... had begun before," he said, adding that "the Croatian army withdrew almost a year ago... and some other states decided to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan."

"That attempt to build a state in such a society, so divided, often tribally organised, evidently failed and it's a lesson we will have to consider well on the international level," Plenković said.

"In relation to what was attempted, I think the intention was good, but after 19 years it was evidently time to see if the Afghan authorities, after so much investment, training, attempting to build a state, could keep that state functioning, but that didn't happen, unfortunately."

Consultations on new Supreme Court president candidate next week

Asked if he had reached an agreement with President Zoran Milanović on a new candidate for Supreme Court president, Plenković said that first the Court's General Convention had to take a position on the candidates, after which it was the turn of the parliamentary judiciary committee.

He said neither the ruling HDZ party nor the parliamentary majority had held consultations on the matter due to the summer holidays and that this topic would be on the agenda next week.

We won't pay someone to get vaccinated

Speaking of the COVID situation, Plenković said the most important thing was for Croatia to remain in the orange zone and that he was confident it would.

He said infection was spreading because of the many tourists in the country but that compared with other countries, Croatia was doing quite well.

He again called on everyone to get vaccinated, saying that over 50% of the population were still unvaccinated and that they were a reservoir from which the virus spread.

As for the coming school year, Plenković said it was necessary to be as disciplined as possible for the safety of students and their families.

He said the government did not have a new plan to speed up vaccination because there were enough doses and he talked about it in every public address. "We certainly won't pay someone to get vaccinated," he said.

The vaccination rate will not exceed 60% "for I don't know how many more months," he said. "The autumn will be as we make it."

Asked about Slovenia's requirement that people in transit be tested for COVID, Plenković said every country would somehow filter people returning from abroad ahead of the school year.

Asked about Croatia's restrictions for the autumn, he said that if they were lifted, so would the job-retention payments, reiterating that Croatia's restrictions had been "normal, reasonable... without a curfew."

He also said the Safe Stay in Croatia scheme had been received well and that plenty of tourists were expected in the next six weeks.

ZAGREB, 14 Aug, 2021 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Saturday extended his condolences to his Haitian counterpart Ariel Henry on a catastrophic magnitude 7.2 earthquake which struck Haiti today, extending Croatia's assistance.

It is with sadness that we hear the news of the catastrophic earthquake which has struck Haiti and caused human casualties and extensive damage. Our thoughts are with the victims' families, the people and Prime Minister Ariel Henry, Plenković tweeted.

I extend the sincerest condolences and sympathies, he said, adding that Croatia was willing to extend immediate assistance..

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ZAGREB, 8 Aug, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković was attending the 306th Sinjska Alka tournament in Sinj on Sunday, saying it was "a beautiful event" for the area and Croatia because it was "our tradition, our heritage and everything that embodies Croatia's identity."

Speaking ahead of the lancing competition, he congratulated the people of Sinj and the Alka Knights Society on the 306th Sinjska Alka.

The tournament commemorates a victory over 60,000 Ottoman soldiers on 14 August 1715 by 700 Croatian defenders of Sinj, about 30 kilometres inland from the southern coastal city of Split.

The event features period-clad horsemen riding at full gallop and aiming their lances at an iron ring, called the alka, which is suspended from a rope above the race track.

It was inscribed on UNESCO's world intangible cultural heritage list in 2010.

Members of the press asked Plenković to comment on the COVID situation in Sinj, whose Mayor Miro Bulj asked that hospitality establishments be allowed to stay open longer for the tournament, a request rejected by the national COVID crisis management team due to COVID rules.

The prime minister said the rules were the same for all and that they were adopted for, not against, citizens and tourists.

He said he saw no problem, as more spectators would be allowed than last year, and that after 18 months it should be clear to everyone why bars were not allowed to stay open after midnight, not just in Sinj.

Plenković went on to say that the tourist season was above all expectations, and that the state and all other segments of society had done everything for it to be better both in terms of the COVID situation and efforts to promote Croatia.

He announced a tourism sector meeting in Opatija on Tuesday to be attended by six ministers aimed at reviewing what has been done in this year's tourism season which, according to current estimates, will be at 65-70% of the results achieved in the record year 2019.

"Considering our neighbours and the situation we were in, that is brilliant," Plenković said

He added that people should be more disciplined, wiser and more responsible to each other in order for the season to last as long as possible, so that Croatia's coastline was an orange COVID zone for at least two to three more weeks which, he added, would indicate strong economic recovery.

He said the growth announcements for the second quarter were "brilliant" and that if the season continued like this, they would be "very good" for Q3 as well. "That's what is most important at the moment to me as prime minister."

Asked to comment on the Hague war crimes tribunal's confirmation that Slobodan Milošević took part in a criminal enterprise against Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Plenković said Croatians knew that very well and did not need proof.

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Zagreb, 5 Aug 2021 - Magnanimity in victory does not mean that Croatia will ever allow anyone to question the legitimacy of Operation Storm or the defensive nature of the Homeland War, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told a ceremony in Knin on Thursday marking the 26th anniversary of the operation that ended a Serb armed insurgency in 1995.

"It is always a special feeling to come to Knin on this day because it is an opportunity for us to remember the days of pride and victory which are deeply impressed on the hearts of all Croats, but which are also an expression of lasting gratitude to all those who gave their lives so that Croatia could live and be free," Plenković said in his speech, extending his best wishes for Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Croatian Veterans Day.

Today we pay tribute to the victorious Croatian army and police who, under the leadership of President Franjo Tuđman, defeated in battle the criminal policy of the Serbian regime of Slobodan Milošević, which secured Croatia's survival, ended the war, and established lasting peace.

"That victory and our legitimate right to live as free people in our own country were, unfortunately, paid in the lives of the bravest of Croatian sons to whom we are forever grateful, as we are to many members of the ethnic minorities who also defended Croatia," Plenković said. 

"Today we are in thoughts with the families of the defenders who were killed, Croatian disabled war veterans and many civilian casualties," he said, stressing that the Homeland War and the victories won in Operation Storm, as well as in Operation Flash and other military operations that preceded it, were the foundations of the present Croatian state.

"That's why shedding light on the truth about missing persons, the prosecution of war crimes, and the attainment of justice for everyone who was caused pain remains our lasting duty," the prime minister said, adding that "we will always celebrate Operation Storm indignity so that future generations would also foster the values of the Homeland War."

He said that after symbolic gestures made at last year's anniversary, his government would continue to pursue the policy of reconciliation, co-existence, and understanding, respecting the historical truth and paying respects to all innocent victims.

"But magnanimity in victory does not mean that we will ever allow anyone to question the legitimacy of Operation Storm and the defensive nature of the Homeland War. This is also a message to our neighbor, Serbia, which in my opinion should abandon the futile rhetoric of the past, face up to its own responsibility, pursue a policy of reconciliation and look to the future", Plenković said.

He said that the sacrifices made oblige us to strengthen the Croatian state in political, economic, defense and security aspects and to respond to the challenges facing us, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, recovery after the economic crisis, the imperative of demographic survival, post-earthquake reconstruction, climate change, and natural disasters.

He said that Croatia would continue to act in its national interests by pursuing the policy of modern sovereignty based on its membership of NATO and the European Union. Here he cited the construction of the Pelješac Bridge, which will provide a direct road link between southern Croatia and the rest of the country, the completion of the motorway in Istria County, forthcoming membership of the Schengen Area and the euro area, and the purchase of fighter jets.

"We are doing all this while strengthening our international position and using the benefits of EU membership and at the same time taking care of Croatian war veterans and their families," the prime minister said.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 1 Aug, 2021 - Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti has sent a letter to his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenković to thank the Croatian authorities and people for helping the Kosovo citizens injured in a traffic accident in eastern Croatia last Sunday. 

Ten people were killed and 45 injured after a Kosovo-registered bus, travelling en route from Frankfurt to Kosovo, veered off the A3 motorway at Slavonski Brod on the morning of 25 July and overturned.

"Your rapid response after the tragic accident at Slavonski Brod, where 10 of our compatriots were killed, the treatment of those injured and care for other passengers show your own great personal qualities and the generosity of the Croatian people," Kurti wrote in the letter carried by Kosovo media.

"Your selfless effort and the effort of the institutions of your country in providing all the necessary assistance to our compatriots has deeply touched our hearts. The people and government of the Republic of Kosovo will never forget this act of humanity and solidarity with our tragedy," he said.

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ZAGREB, 31 July, 2021 - Croatia and Kosovo act together in accidents, such as one that occurred on the motorway in eastern Croatia last week when 10 Kosovo citizens were killed, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in an interview with the Kosovo Albanian website Albanian Post.

"In accidents we stand and act together. We showed this not just in this accident, but also in earlier crisis situations and emergencies in the last 30 years," Plenković said.

"Croatia and Kosovo have good bilateral relations and understand each other well because we know how challenging the road to independence and state-building is," he added, recalling that Croatia had been among the first countries to recognise Kosovo's independence and was actively advocating its European path.

A Kosovo-registered bus, travelling en route from Frankfurt to Kosovo, ran off the A3 motorway at Slavonski Brod last Sunday. Ten Kosovo citizens were killed and another 10 seriously injured. All Croatian emergency services responded promptly, providing medical and other assistance to those injured and arranging accommodation for those uninjured. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti visited the injured passengers.

"Prime Minister Kurti wanted to visit the Kosovo citizens. He showed great commitment to his people and to those involved in this great tragedy that occurred," Plenković said.

The representative of the Albanian minority in the Croatian parliament, Ermina Lekaj Prljaskaj, also provided a great contribution, he added.

"All relevant Croatian services and institutions responded promptly and made maximum effort to help the people involved in the accident, both those who were injured and those who were not," Plenković said. "The Croatian authorities did for the Kosovo citizens what they would do for Croatian citizens" and the rapid response prevented "the number of casualties from increasing."

An image of the Croatian flag, with an inscription saying "Thank you, Croatia", was projected on the Kosovo government building in Priština on Friday as a sign of gratitude to Croatia for helping the bus crash victims.

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