ZAGREB, April 28, 2019 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will attend an election rally of the European People's Party in Zagreb in May, which will be her first appearance at rallies outside Germany, and she will also meet with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, government spokesman Marko Milić confirmed to Hina.

Merkel and the favourite for the next European Commission President, lead candidate Manfred Weber, will attend the central EPP election rally in Zagreb on May 18.

Merkel's visit to Zagreb, after Plenković's two visits to Berlin during his current term, confirms the ever closer Croatian-German relations, the government said.

Choosing Zagreb as the host of the central EPP rally ahead of elections for the European Parliament confirms the good relations between Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Plenković, as well as the HDZ's work in the EPP and Croatia's position in the European Council, Milić said.

More news about relations between Croatia and Germany can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 26, 2019 - Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) leader Milorad Pupovac, the party's prime candidate for the forthcoming European Parliament elections, said on Friday that the status of Serbs was an issue that impacts the European nature of Croatia.

Presenting the party's programme for the elections, Pupovac said that the SDSS was the only political party representing an ethnic minority to run in the EP elections in Croatia.

"We have embarked on the election campaign with the slogan 'Do you know what it is like to be a Serb in Croatia'. This is a question not often asked and many do not think that it deserves any attention, and it is a matter influencing the volume of liberties and normality in Croatia and the European nature of Croatia," the SDSS chief and parliamentarian said.

He went to say that the SDSS wants to contribute to efforts to fend Europe and Croatia from ultra-nationalism and ultra-clericalism in Europe and Croatia.

"We want to have an unbowed Croatia, an unbowed Europe and unbowed Serbs in Croatia," Pupovac said adding that this party would fight against attempts to reduce the rights of the Serbs and other minorities in Croatia as well as in all other EU member-states.

He hopes that during the election campaign the party would raise the funds in the amount of a half million kuna.

More news on the status of Serbs in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 26, 2019 - Slightly more than a third of EU citizens say that they are certain to go to the polls in elections for the European Parliament in May, and the share of Croatians who are most likely to go to the polls is a mere 17%, shows a Eurobarometer survey published on Thursday.

Elections for the European Parliament will be held from 23 to 26 May, and the results of the spring Eurobarometer survey, released one month ahead of the elections, show that a large portion of EU citizens are yet to be convinced to go to the polls.

Considering the political context and uncertainty related to Brexit, the survey brings average data for 27 EU member states while data for the United Kingdom are shown separately.

The results show that as many as 61% of Europeans believe EU membership is a good thing, while only 10% believe it is not, which is the best result in more than 25 years. Most EU citizens, or 68%, believe that their country benefits from EU membership while 62% of Croatians think so.

When asked how they would vote if a referendum on leaving the EU were to be held tomorrow, 68% of Europeans said they would vote to stay, as did slightly more than 50% of Croatians.

Compared to the autumn Eurobarometer survey, when 53% of UK citizens were in favour of staying in the EU, now 45% want to stay, while the percentage of those who would support Brexit in case of a second referendum has increased slightly, from 35% to 37%.

Thirty-five percent of EU citizens are certain to vote in the May elections. In Croatia, 17% are most likely to vote and 16% are likely to vote while 50% say they will most likely not go to the polls on May 26. Forty-four percent of Europeans say the main reason for going to the polls is their civic duty to vote.

Most young voters in the EU, or 74%, have a positive opinion of the EU but only one in five is certain to go to the polls.

The turnout in the last elections for the European Parliament in Croatia, in 2014, was 25% and the rate among young people was only 13%.

The Eurobarometer survey shows that the five key topics for Europeans in the election campaign are economy and growth, combating youth unemployment, immigration, combating climate change and protecting the environment and global terrorism.

The survey also shows that one in two Europeans believes that the direction in which the EU is going is wrong.

In early April, a phone survey, so-called Flash Eurobarometer, commissioned by the European Parliament, was conducted as well.

Its results show that 80% of Europeans believe that what brings them together is more important than what separates them, an opinion held also by 76% of Croatian respondents.

Fifty-five percent of Europeans feel hope and confidence when they think of the EU, while one in three respondents covered by the survey feels doubts. In Croatia, 36% of respondents feel hope when thinking about the EU.

As for political engagement in the past month, eight in ten respondents say that they discussed political topics with their family members, friends and acquaintances at least once. Seventy-two percent followed political programmes on TV.

The spring Eurobarometer survey was conducted by the Kantar Public agency in the period from February 19 to March 4 on a representative sample of respondents aged over 15.

In Croatia, 1,007 respondents were interviewed face-to-face, the European Parliament Office in Croatia said.

More news about European elections can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 25, 2019 - Marijana Petir, who is running in elections for the European Parliament, on Thursday presented her slate, saying that mattered who represented Croatia in the European Parliament, which was why she has decided to run for another term with people who understood ordinary people.

"Seventy percent of the legislation adopted at EU level must also be implemented by Croatia," Petir said while presenting other candidates on her slate - Domagoj Stjepan Krnjak, Mato Brlošić, Klementina Karanović, Neda Aberle, Zvonimir Kalić, Melita Vrbanek, Tvrtko Krpina, Ana Volarić-Mršić, Anka Musa, Ana Lazeta and Petar Jurčević.

Speaking about her work as a member of the European Parliament on defining policies concerning agriculture, rural development, environmental protection, sustainable development, human rights and the status of rural women, Petir said that she had been awarded as the best female member of the European Parliament in agriculture, rural development and fisheries.

She said that Croatian citizens had benefited directly from her work. "It was owing to my work that the EU approved subsidies for healthy milk, fruit and vegetable meals in schools and that food is bought from Croatian family farms. That has opened a new market for Croatian farmers, the first legal exception concerning the amount of the financial envelope for demining has been won, and I also worked on the adoption of the Directive on Unfair Trading Practices," she said.

She said that as the EP rapporteur on rural women she advocated a better status for rural women, adding that the EP had adopted her 100 amendments to the reform of the common agricultural policy.

Brlošić said that the common agricultural policy was exceptionally important for Croatian farmers who were allocated around 5 billion euro from the joint budget.

More news about the European elections can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 25, 2019 - The State Election Commission (DIP) on Wednesday said that the "Walk for Life", an anti-abortion march to be organised by a civil society group on Mach 25 in Zagreb, Split and Zadar, is not in violation of the electioneering ban to be in force on March 25, the day before elections for the European Parliament, but that candidates running in those elections who will participate in the march have to respect electoral silence rules.

DIP recalls in a statement that it does not have any legal power to ban public gatherings, including the Walk for Life.

It underscores that electioneering begins on the day when slates are made public and ends 24 hours prior to election day, when the media blackout period begins and lasts until 1900 hours on election day.

At the coming European Parliament election, the blackout period will last from midnight May 25th to 1900 hrs May 26th.

During the blackout period "a ban shall be in force on any form of electioneering, the release of any estimates of election results or of early, unofficial election results, photographs by public media outlets, or of lead candidates' statements and interviews and their quoting." Any violation of the electioneering ban is subject to a fine.

"Consequently, the Walk for Life does not constitute a breach of electoral silence, however, election participants who will possibly attend the march are obliged to respect the relevant rules," DIP underscored.

The Movement for a Modern Croatia on Tuesday asked DIP to ban the May 25 pro-life march because it believes that the event will serve to promote some of the candidates running in elections for the European Parliament.

More news about the abortion issue in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 19, 2019 - The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), of which the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) is a member, on Friday issued its manifesto ahead of elections for the European Parliament, scheduled for 23-26 May, to help promote media freedom, media pluralism and quality journalism in all EU member states and countries aspiring to join the bloc.

"Journalism is a public good," the EFJ says, urging policymakers to support its proposals "for the revival of a free, trusted and pluralistic media in Europe, where possible in cooperation with the Council of Europe, the OSCE representative on Freedom of the Media and other relevant stakeholders dealing with media."

Europe needs media pluralism, financial sustainability and the future of journalism, investigative journalism, collective bargaining and social protection for all workers, trust and accountability through ethical journalism, authors’ rights and fair contracts for all, strong independent public service media, and safety at work for journalists, the manifesto says.

Although the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights promotes freedom of expression, media freedom and media pluralism, journalism and journalists are increasingly under pressure, the ECJ warns, recalling that four journalists have been killed in the EU in the last two years.

"The financial sustainability of independent media is at stake, media concentration is on the rise and the increasing power of the internet platforms caused an unprecedented threat to our news and information ecosystem lacking accountability, transparency and regulation," the manifesto says.

"The 2019 EP elections come at a turning point for the European Union which urgently needs to reconnect with its citizens and represent their interests. We wish a forward-looking EU where not only the economy and growth matter but where concrete action is taken to ensure that everyone’s right to know is guaranteed.

"Unfortunately, the solemnly proclaimed European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) and the European Semester together with other EU strategies, such as the Digital Single Market (DSM) do not sufficiently provide an adequate framework for Member States to take action to protect (freelance) media workers and journalists, who often live in extreme precarious conditions and thus leave the profession. The future EU budget should help to deliver on EU post-2020 social and non-discrimination objectives, equal treatment for all workers independent of their employment contract, while a renewed political impulse is needed to support journalism as a public vital good," it adds.

The ECJ recommends promoting laws that encourage independent media and thwart the concentration of media ownership, supporting initiatives on monitoring media pluralism and checks to ensure that new EU legislation is consistent with the principles of media freedom and pluralism, and supporting initiatives that enhance gender equality and diversity in the newsroom.

"Media pluralism and democracy require that all voices are heard in the media," the ECJ stressed.

To ensure financial sustainability and the future of journalism, the ECJ recommends supporting initiatives that explore new ways of funding journalistic work, including non-profit financial models, and develop new socially sustainable economic models aimed at financing and supporting professional independent and investigative (cross-border) journalism.

With regard to investigative journalism, the organisation recalls that its role is to "hold institutions and individuals accountable to the public." It recommends abolishing criminal defamation laws, ensuring open access to EU documents and public data for citizens and journalists, and supporting proposals for the protection of journalists who are regularly subjected to lawsuits intended to censor their work or intimidate them.

The ECJ recommends ensuring equal rights and equal treatment for all forms of employment including free-lancers and journalists working in digital media/start-ups through fair working contracts with sufficient social protection.

As for authors' rights, the ECJ recommends ensuring full recognition of journalists as authors and fair and proportionate distribution of their revenues generated in the digital world deriving from such rights.

Warning that public service media is increasingly under attack in Europe, the organisation calls for a sustainable funding model for an independent public service media that serves the public interest, for the protection of public service media against political interference in their daily management and editorial work, and for supporting the need for public service media "to be able to adapt, innovate and develop, with emphasis on the online remit and the need to reach all (and in particular young) audiences."

To protect journalists' right to work freely without the fear of physical violence or imprisonment, the ECJ recommends implementing Council of Europe recommendations on protection of journalism and safety of journalists and other media actors at the national level, monitoring the ongoing investigations about murders and physical attacks against journalists, and engaging against the increasing (online) threats and harassment against journalists and in particular female journalists.

The EFJ is the largest organisation of journalists in Europe, representing over 320,000 journalists in 70 journalists’ trade unions and professional associations across 45 countries.

More news about journalism in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 14, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Saturday presented his HDZ party's candidates for the European Parliament elections, telling reporters Croatia was anchored in the European Union by the nation-building, patriotic, Christian democratic and popular values shared by the HDZ.

He said the HDZ would try to win the EP vote to boost the Croatian economy even more, adding that the candidates on the slate were a combination of experience, knowledge and youth.

The upcoming elections are elections between those who can maintain the course of Croatia's development and those who would go backward and isolate Croatia. "These elections will show which political course will prevail and which policies enjoy support."

Plenković said his cabinet was doing its best so that minorities felt good in Croatia.

He said the international positioning of Croatia as done by the government and HDZ MEPs was good. "This positioning is part of our strategy, our policy." He added that Croatia did an excellent job in chairing the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.

He recalled that Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić was shortlisted for the CoE secretary-general's position and that HDZ MEP Ivana Maletić "will be elected to the European Court of Auditors, while the HDZ will host in Zagreb in November a big European People's Party congress which 2,000 people will attend."

"Croatia's chairing of the European Union will be the crown of our efforts," Plenković said, adding that it would occur on the 30th anniversary of Croatia's independence.

He recalled that, under his cabinet, Croatia had exited the EU's excessive deficit procedure as well as overcome macroeconomic imbalances and that its investment rating had been restored. "These are the concrete things we have been doing, plus the 14 billion kuna more we received than we paid into the EU budget."

The head of the slate, Karlo Ressler, said the HDZ wanted, with its optimism, to change the climate of hopelessness.

More elections news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 10, 2019 - A total of 33 slates – 31 compiled by political parties and two by groups of independent candidates – were submitted to Croatia's State Election Commission (DIP) for the forthcoming elections for the European Parliament, as against 25 slates registered for the EP elections in Croatia five years ago.

Thus, a total of 396 candidates are running now for the 12 seats reserved for Croatia in the new European legislature.

Elections for the European Parliament will be held in all member states of the European Union between 23 and 26 May 2019, as decided by the Council of the European Union.

Croatia is holding these elections on 26 May.

Every five years EU citizens choose who represents them in the European Parliament. The EP is elected by direct universal suffrage and elections must be based on proportional representation and use either the list system or the single transferable vote system. In some countries including Croatia, the order on the list may be changed using the transferable (preferential) vote system.

Slates may be submitted by all political parties registered in Croatia that can run in the election with their own slates or in coalitions. To participate in the election, independent candidates must collect at least 5,000 signatures of voters, and submit them to the State Election Commission within 14 days after the president calls the elections.

More news about elections in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 9, 2019 – Živi Zid submitted its candidate slate for the European Parliament elections, headed by party secretary Tihomir Lukanić, to the State Election Commission (DIP) on Tuesday.

Lukanić said Živi Zid was ready in cooperation with same-minded political parties to redefine and redesign Europe.

"We want to bring optimism to this country and people and pull them out of the jaws of crony organisations which have been suffocating us and displacing us around the world for the past 30 years," Lukanić told the press.

Živi Zid President Ivan Vilibor Sinčić last month in Rome met the leaders of kindred European parties - Luigi di Maio from Italy's 5 Star Movement, Pawel Kukiz from the Polish party Kukiz 15 and Evangellos Tsiompanidis from Greece's AKKEL in an attempt to form a new group in the European Parliament.

Apart from Lukanić, the Živi Zid slate also includes Dolores Schauer, Dominik Vuletić, Goranka Dorotić, Branimir Bunjac, Nikolina Budimir, Ivana Delaš, Dinko Štimac, Igor Markešić, Maja Očko Šunjić, Zvonko Šegvić and Sinčić.

The Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) also submitted its slate for the European Parliament elections, headed by party president Milorad Pupovac, to the State Election Commission (DIP) on Tuesday.

Pupovac told the press their ambition was a Europe free of dangerous nationalism.

"We have submitted a surprise slate, a slate that wants to enter the European Parliament and represent what we represented when we supported Croatia's accession to the European Union and EU enlargement," Pupovac told the press, presenting the slate of his party, which is running in European elections for the first time on its own.

Apart from Pupovac, the SDSS slate also includes Dejan Jović, Dragana Jeckov, Jugoslav Vesić, Boris Milošević, Anja Šimpraga, Dejan Mihajlović, Mirjana Oluić, Nikola Ivanović, Tatjana Vukobratović-Spasojević, Aleksandra Ratković and Srđan Jeremić.

More news about European Parliament elections can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 8, 2019 - The Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Monday submitted its slate for the European Parliament elections to the State Election Commission (DIP), and on that occasion the no. 1 candidate on that slate, Tonino Picula, who is also a Croatian member of the current EP, said that the European Union did not pose a threat to Croatia.

"We see the EU as a space of opportunities for Croatia which has not used them to a sufficient extent in the first six years of its membership," Picula told the press after the slate was submitted.

He said that the EU was not a threat to Croatia and it could only turn into a menace if the EU project is taken over by politicians such as Antonio Tajani or Viktor Orban.

The strongest opposition party is hopeful of winning three of the 12 seats allotted for Croatia in the next EP.

The second candidate on the SDP list is another MEP, Biljana Borzan. The other ten candidates are Predrag Fred Matić, Romana Jerković, Joško Klisović, Ivana Posavec Krivec, Gordan Maras, Barbara Antolić Vupora, Mladen Novak, Sanja Radolović, Mirela Holy and Ranko Ostojić.

More elections news can be found in the Politics section.