ZAGREB, February 22, 2019 - The priority of Croatia’s EU presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2020 will be the rule of law in all member states, Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković said after meeting European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Vera Jourova in Zagreb on Thursday.

"During our presidency we certainly want to put emphasis on the rule of law in all member states. We believe that all EU member states need to have a high level of the rule of law," Bošnjaković told a press conference.

He recalled that in its accession negotiations Croatia had undertaken reform measures to reach the necessary level so that it could become an EU member. "Today we undertake many measures to make the judiciary as efficient, good and fast as possible," he added.

Bošnjaković said that greater attention would be paid to the training of judges and state attorneys, highlighting the importance of digitisation of the Croatian judicial system.

Jourova said that a lot of work was still to be done on judicial reform, recalling a recent conference on the importance of the judiciary for the economies of the member states.

That is a very important aspect and I think we need to do much more to increase the quality and the speed of work of justice systems so that we can win the greater trust not only of citizens but of investors as well, she said.

Jourova said that she and Bošnjaković had discussed digitisation as a way of increasing the efficiency of the Croatian judiciary.

She said that during the Croatian presidency of the EU further talks on the new EU budget and the whistleblower directive would be on the table.

Jourova is scheduled to meet Economy Minister Darko Horvat on Friday to discuss consumer policy and unfair trading practices, particularly the dual quality of products.

Jourova said that the dual quality of products was an unfair trading practice because in the EU it is unacceptable for one producer to have the same product of different qualities, depending on the market it is intended for.

Jourova said her talks with Croatian officials, including President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, would focus on the forthcoming elections for the European Parliament and the issue of fake news and disinformation.

More news on Croatia and the European Union can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 22, 2019 - The European Union missed an ideal opportunity to emphasise the rule of law principle by siding with Slovenia in its border dispute with Croatia, Slovenian President Borut Pahor said at the end of his two day visit to Brussels on Thursday.

During his visit, Pahor met with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and President of the Council of the EU Donald Tusk.

Speaking to the press after their meeting on Wednesday, Juncker declined to comment on the Slovenian-Croatian border dispute and the Commission's role, saying there was nothing new. He confirmed that they had discussed the arbitration dispute on Pahor's initiative.

Pahor said on Thursday that Juncker had told him that the Commission had an option but not a duty to join the Slovenian lawsuit against Croatia over its failure to implement the arbitration ruling.

Slovenia claims that Croatia's refusal to implement the arbitration ruling is in violation of EU law. Ljubljana expected that the Commission would support its position last year, but that did not happen.

Pahor said it was still possible for the Commission to state its position on the arbitration dispute while the case was before the Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

Asked if he had received any guarantees from the Commission about that possibility, Pahor said that one should be very cautious in expressing one's expectations from the Commission.

More news about Slovenia’s border dispute with Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 20, 2019 - Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenković has said that his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban, who is the chief of the Fidesz party, has made a mistake by publishing a controversial poster which accuses the European Commission and billionaire businessman George Soros of undermining Hungary's security, but stopped short of specifying whether Orban's political party should be expelled from the European People's Party (EPP) group in the European Parliament.

The Hungarian government has posted on its Facebook account a poster showing the faces of EC President Jean-Claude Juncker and Soros and including messages saying that the European Union will introduce mandatory migrant settlement quotas and reduce financial assistance for countries opposed to migration.

Earlier, the European Commission denounced the poster as a "ludicrous conspiracy theory."

Plenković on Wednesday evening joined in the criticism of such posters, explaining that making them public was a bad decision.

I think that it sends a wrong message about the EU migration policy, Plenković said in the northern Croatian city of Varaždin.

Asked by the press whether Fidesz should no longer be in the EPP group, which also includes the HDZ, Plenković answered: "We can't react as fast as you would want us to."

On Tuesday, Juncker said that Orban's Fidesz should leave the centre-right European People's Party. Orban is perceived as one of Europe's most vocal anti-immigrant leaders.

Fidesz is a leading party in Hungary and is projected to win a large number of seats in the EP in the forthcoming elections, which is why its expulsion from the EPP may weaken that group.

More news on the relations between Croatia and Hungary can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 17, 2019 - Thanks to European funds, Croatia can carry out projects for which it has not enough money, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Sunday at a meeting with Croat diaspora in Munich, speaking about the advantages of European Union membership.

Croatia joined the EU in 2013 and next year it will chair the EU for the first time.

The next goals are joining the Schengen and euro areas, and the 2021-27 budget offers big opportunities for building roads, airports and railways, and for investing in rural development and agriculture, said Plenković.

"We would have a hard time finding the money for all that in the national budget without borrowing, and here we get it as grants," he said at the meeting at the Croatian Consulate. "That's why this added value of our EU membership, which you live every day, knowing very well how useful it is, is one of the fundamental goals in the years ahead."

About 100,000 Croats live in Bavaria, including 50,000 in its capital of Munich. Half of all the German tourists vacationing in Croatia come from Bavaria, as do large investments in the Croatian economy.

Croatia has had close relations with Bavaria and Baden Wuerttemberg for years. Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder is set to visit Zagreb in May.

Plenković was in Munich to attend a security conference at which 600 officials, diplomats and experts from all over the world discussed current security problems.

More diaspora news can be found in the dedicated section.

ZAGREB, February 15, 2019 - The European Parliament on Thursday adopted new rules that reduce charges for cross-border money transfers in euro within the EU, eliminating discrimination against member states that are not in the eurozone, which means that fees will be reduced for Croatian consumers too.

"On Thursday, the plenary adopted by 532 votes in favour, 22 against and 55 abstentions, new rules to end discrimination against payment service users in the EU outside the Eurozone," the EP reports on its website.

"Whereas consumers in the Eurozone benefit from the single euro payments area ('SEPA'), those living outside continue to pay high costs for cross-border payments in euro."

Consumers in Croatia on average pay 8.23 euro in transaction fees for every 100 euro in cross-border transactions while Bulgarian consumers on average pay 20 euro for these transactions, a study conducted by the European Commission in 2017 shows. The lowest cross-border transaction fees were paid by Polish consumers (2 euro).

The adopted rules will be the same throughout the EU and will be payable in local currency. An additional advantage of this approach is to boost cross-border shopping, reducing costs for companies and will result in savings of almost 1 billion euro a year.

"Before the end of the year, charges for cross-border payments in euro within the EU must be in line with charges for national payments made in the official local currency (the ‘same charge’ rule). Additionally, member states are free to impose rules on banks to apply the same charges to cross-border and domestic non-euro payments," the EP states on its website.

The new measures will also protect consumers from being charged arbitrary costs for currency conversions. At each transaction, they will be informed about the amount to be paid in the local currency and the currency of their account.

More news on Croatia and the European Union can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 14, 2019 - The Court of Justice of the European Union on Thursday ruled that Croatia's legislation on retroactive invalidation of loans concluded with foreign lenders not authorised to provide credit services in that Member State is against the EU acquis if the legislation is not applied also on Croatian lenders.

The Luxembourg-based court concludes "that EU law precludes legislation of a Member State under which credit agreements and other legal acts based on those agreements concluded with a lender which is established in a Member State other than that of the recipient of the service and which does not hold all the necessary authorisations, issued by the competent authorities of the first Member State, are invalid, retroactively, from the date on which they were concluded."

This ruling was made regarding the case of a Croatian national, Anica Milivojević, who in 2007 concluded a credit contract with the Reiffeisenbank, based in Austria, on a non-renewable credit agreement in the sum of 47,000 euro.

"The loan was taken out using an intermediary resident in Croatia and the agreement contains an alternative jurisdiction clause in favour of either the Austrian or the Croatian courts. As security for the repayment of the loan, Ms Milivojević also signed a notarised deed relating to the creation of a mortgage based on that agreement which was subsequently entered in the Croatian land register," the EU court says in its press release.

In 2015, the Croatian national brought an action before the Rijeka-based Municipal Court against Raffeisenbank for a declaration of invalidity of the credit agreement and of the notarised deed and for the removal of the mortgage from the land register. While Raiffeisenbank argues that that agreement was concluded in Austria, Ms Milivojević asserts that it was concluded in Croatia.

On 14 July 2017, a national law entered into force which provides for the retroactive invalidity of credit agreements concluded in Croatia with a foreign lender which does not hold the authorisations or approvals required by the Croatian authorities and which could be applicable to the dispute in the main proceedings. "By today’s judgment, the Court states that it has jurisdiction to examine the compatibility of the Law of 14 July 2017 with the freedom to provide services.

"In that regard, although Croatia argues that EU law does not apply to the agreement at issue because that agreement was concluded prior to the date of Croatia’s accession to the European Union, that argument cannot be accepted, since the effects of that agreement continue to make themselves felt after that date.

"Moreover, as is clear from the Act of Accession of Croatia, the provisions of the original Treaties are binding on the Republic of Croatia from the date of its accession, with the result that they apply to the future effects of situations arising prior to that date," the EU court says.

With regard to the freedom to provide services, "the Court points out that that principle requires the elimination of all discrimination on grounds of nationality against providers of services established in other Member States and the abolition of any restriction which is liable to prohibit, impede or render less attractive the activities of a provider of services established in another Member State."

"Noting that, for the period between 1 July 2013, the date of the accession of Croatia to the EU, and 30 September 2015, only credit agreements concluded with non-authorised lenders which have their registered office outside Croatia are invalid, the Court considers that, for that period, the Croatian law directly discriminates against lenders established outside Croatia.

"From that date, since the invalidity regime applied without distinction to all non-authorised lenders, the Law of 14 July 2017 constitutes a restriction on the exercise of the freedom to provide services," the EU courts warns.

More news on Croatia and the European Union can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 7, 2019 - European integration is imperative and a duty, Greek President Prokopios Pavlopoulos said during a lecture at Zagreb University on Wednesday, adding that he advocates stronger EU integration.

"It is imperative to have European integration and it is a duty to the founding fathers, EU residents and the rest of humankind," Pavlopoulos said in his lecture "The necessity of European integration."

Pavlopoulos calls for the EU's greater economic, monetary and security integration and for a common European foreign policy that will ensure the EU's status as a global power.

"We have to build a Europe that won't have centrifugal but rather centripetal forces. One that will make people who join proud, rather than have eurosceptics," he underscored and added that Europe is no longer attractive, it isn't a welfare state and the principle of solidarity enshrined in the EU treaties is lacking.

"We have to make Europe attractive, as it was when countries wanted to join Europe," he said, adding that one of the reasons for Brexit was the concept of the EU is no longer attractive.

Pavlopoulos said that the founding fathers considered the European project to be more than just a common economic space and that it should be able to act globally in order to defend "fundamental rights: representative democracy and all human rights."

He said that the EU, which will have a global role, needs to be built on a federal model and that it is necessary to advocate and fight for representative democracy and human rights so that Europe can act "not just on behalf of its own people but for the world and humankind in general," which he considers to be "Europe's historic responsibility."

Pavlopoulos said that two key "pillars" are required for European integration: a common foreign and security policy and a common economic policy.

He said that the EU treaties provide a basis for a common foreign and security policy and that it is a shame that this does not exist in reality.

"We have focused on the economy" and at key moments "we weren't there for the people and humankind," he said claiming that at critical moments Europe did not have a foreign or security policy, citing the case of the Middle East.

Other powers are interested in the Middle East for geostrategic reasons while the EU, which would have been present for humanitarian reasons, didn't have its own policy, he said and added that "a lot of things could have been avoided" had the EU had an active policy in that area.

"Europe has to be a global power," President Pavlopoulos said, noting that there is no other power that can act on the principle of democracy and protection of human rights.

In order for the EU to be a global power, it is essential that the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy has greater powers required to clearly define the EU's foreign policy objectives.

Pavlopoulos stressed that the eurozone is "the heart of the European Union," and that greater integration cannot occur if a strong eurozone doesn't exist.

On Tuesday, Pavlopoulos met with President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and said then that Greece supports Croatia's accession to the eurozone. "We have monetary convergence but we don't have economic convergence," he said, describing this as a paradox.

"You can't have a strong currency without a strong economy which is why we need institutions," he said, stressing the need to provide the European Central Bank with greater powers and to establish a European Monetary Fund.

He criticised the lack of an institutional framework that would encompass eurozone member states, given that the Eurogroup consists of informal meetings of eurozone finance ministers.

The Eurogroup made some essential decisions during the crisis in Greece, but there are no rules on how it acts, he added.

"We need to have rules stating how the Eurogroup will function and for it not to be a club of ministers where decisions are made by those who are strong," he said and added that the Eurogroup shouldn't just work for those who want the euro and only help their economies, implying Germany's policy during the Greek crisis.

Pavlopuolos underscored that the European Central Bank should have more power so that the EU can cope with a new financial crisis and global challenges.

He advocates the establishment of the European Monetary Fund, underscoring that the International Monetary Fund's solutions in implementing its measures requires devaluating currencies, which is not possible in the eurozone.

The European Commission supports transforming the European Stabilisation Mechanism into the European Monetary Fund which would be under the control of the European Parliament. The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, has also expressed her support in this regard.

More news on the relations between Croatia and Greece can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 5, 2019 - Croatia supports Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president so that, in that capacity, he can carry out presidential elections as part of a solution to the crisis in the country, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The ministry expressed concern about the latest developments in Venezuela and the further deepening of the political, economic and humanitarian crisis, strongly condemning the violations of human rights and the rule of law as well as the violence which resulted in deaths and injuries of citizens and numerous arrests.

Croatia supports the democratically elected legitimate bodies of Venezuela, the National Assembly and its president, in carrying out, in his capacity as interim president, free, fair and democratic presidential elections and ensuring the legitimacy of institutions, the ministry said.

In this respect, Croatia has joined other European Union member states in a joint statement, the ministry said.

We underline the importance of finding a peaceful and democratic solution as part of a viable political process which should include the holding of free, transparent and credible presidential elections in line with international democratic standards and Venezuela's constitution, the ministry said.

Madrid, London, Paris, Berlin and several other European capitals recognised Guaido today as Venezuela's interim president after Nicolas Maduro refused to give in to an ultimatum and call presidential elections. The European Union is divided over this, with some countries, such as Italy and Greece, deciding to wait to see how the situation develops before making a decision.

The Foreign Ministry said that Croatia, as part of efforts for overcoming the current crisis peacefully, supported the establishment of an International Contact Group on Venezuela which should help create conditions for a credible political process and the holding of elections.

We are working with partners in the EU to enable the provision of humanitarian aid which, due to a regime ban, cannot be delivered. In this context, Croatia is especially concerned about the large Croat community living in Venezuela, the ministry said.

More news on the Croatian foreign policy can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 30, 2019 - Citizens assess EU membership as positive for Croatia but it is necessary to inform them much more and present tangible results of the EU's work, according to the conclusions of the first Europanel, a Croatian Radio project which will address current EU-related topics.

"Citizens are very aware of how many positive things are happening in the European Parliament, notably for some tangible issues, such as consumer protection and the origin and quality of food," said the head of the EP's Croatian office, Violeta Simeonova.

Participants in the panel presented some of the most important topics related to the EU's work and Croatia's upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU, underlining the importance of absorbing European funds for projects in Croatia.

Croatian Chamber of Commerce president Luka Burilović said it was first necessary to simplify financing procedures, claiming that, because of them, only 20% of the funds envisaged had been paid out so far.

The prime minister's advisor Karlo Ressler said the Pelješac Bridge would be one of Croatia's biggest projects and a symbol of its EU membership. "We expect further progress regarding the LNG terminal too."

The head of the European Commission Representation to Croatia, Branko Baričević, said the EU was a kind of global leader and a model for other countries which must be good and open to all. "Millions of people wish to come to the EU, not because it's bad and difficult here, but because it's good. We have values which we defend and which we believe are the most valuable and best. We have a social model which doesn't exist anywhere else. There are many things of which we can indeed be proud."

Europanels will be held every month.

More news on Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 29, 2019 - Croatia very quickly recognised that the fight against terrorism is a pledge of the stable development of the contemporary world, Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Monday after a meeting with the European Union's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove.

"From the very start, Croatia has been very active in that process. It very quickly recognised that the fight against terrorism is a pledge of a stable development of the contemporary world, completely aware that that is, above all, the responsibility of national states. However, regional cooperation too, particularly through EU membership, can bring some added value, given that along with a majority of other security challenges today, not one state can deal with that on its own," Božinović said.

He noted that this is De Kerchove's first visit to Croatia although he had met with him in Brussels on several occasions, as this is an issue of common interest, particularly regarding the current issue of the EU's comprehensive approach to the fight against terrorism through external and internal aspects.

Božinović added that the talks with the EU coordinator focused on the main objectives considering the EU's Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy that started immediately after the 9/11 attack in the USA, when the first strategy was adopted based on UN Resolution 13/73.

Europe adopted its strategy in 2005 in several areas above all related to protecting public spaces, improving preparedness against chemical-biological and radiological challenges and suppressing financial terrorism.

"Unfortunately, terrorist attacks haven't stopped in Europe and those committed in 2015 additionally motivated the EU to take action for further and faster solutions primarily aimed at protecting EU residents. One of the contributions of those enhanced activities led to the establishment of a special position in the European Commission – the counter-terrorism commission which is tasked with the implementation of the European security programme related to issues concerning the security of citizens, preventing radicalisation and protecting national values as well as strengthening international cooperation in this region," Minister Božinović underlined.

As far as Croatia is concerned, he added, as part of its preparations to enter the Schengen Area, it has achieved a certain level of cooperation that has been recognised in the EU.

Also, the directives and regulations that Croatia has implemented are the direct result of the implementation of the European security programme.

"Naturally, we are all faced with the challenge of improving the interoperability of our systems. We are faced with a challenge and Croatia sees that as a challenge for itself and its own institutions as well as a new challenge as part of our preparations to chair the Council of the EU in 2020...security issues will be at the top of the agenda of matters that are discussed in the EU," Božinović added.

He claims that Croatia is developing a third dimension that is related to international cooperation and not only with countries in the region but intensively with 'third partners' particularly the USA, "where we have achieved a unique, intense cooperation and have signed a memorandum of entering the USA's international terrorist data base."

That memorandum was signed last year in Dubrovnik, Božinović recalled. Croatia also had very intensive cooperation with Israel and a Croatian delegation, led by Božinović, is travelling to Turkey where cooperation in the fight against terrorism will also be one of the essential issues in bilateral talks.

Gilles de Kerchove said that he sees Croatia's chairmanship of the Council of the EU as a challenge, saying he would be pleased to be able to assist. I do not think it is a secret that I believe that security issues are one of the greatest concerns for the new commission, he said.

As a member of the EU, Croatia has to be a member of certain agencies, given the fact that it has neighbours, some of which have been faced with challenges. I think that of more than 100,000 people who went to Iraq, some have joined ISIL, violated the law by joining Jihad and their return is still questionable. The question of how to stop the spreading of Jihad is also important, he underscored.

The EU anti-terrorist coordinator said that the EU had taken big steps over the past three or four years with regard to security issues within the Union's borders but also regarding the Schengen borders. It is good that we don't have growing terrorism in Croatia, De Kerchove said.

De Kerchove believes that, because Croatia is familiar with the region, it can be of assistance to countries in the Western Balkans in meeting their obligations, as security is one of the most important issues for accession to the EU.

More news on the security issues in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.