June the 3rd, 2022 - Croatian MEP Dubravka Suica has been chosen as the new vice president of the European Peoples' Party (EPP).

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatian MEP Dubravka Suica has been elected as vice president of the European People's Party, as reported by N1. On the occasion, she addressed the media, first thanking Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic who put her forward in his proposal for the position.

"I think we're strong at the European Union level, that we are respected within the EPP and we will be able to do something for the Republic of Croatia," she said.

Croatian MEP Dubravka Suica also pointed out that the EPP programme is compatible with the European Commission (EC) programme and that she does not see any significant differences in the work of the EPP and the EC.

"Strengthening the EPP depends on the situation across the EU's member states. We can see that progress is already happening in Germany, we're moving in the right direction and I hope that the three of us women within the first five candidates are a sign that gender equality is being respected and that women are going to be having an increasing level of influence in politics,'' she said, before going on to talk about some more important topics.

"Demography is very important, this isn't only a topic in the Republic of Croatia but across the entire EU as a bloc. I hope that we'll be able to implement the proposals we have adopted as well as possible. We live in difficult circumstances that we've otherwise never seen during this century, war, a global pandemic, everything going on keeps pushing us into even more problems and I hope, when it comes to Croatia, that we will manage to achieve deeper integration,'' Croatian MEP Dubravka Suica said, mentioning Croatia's accession to the Eurozone which has now been given the green light to occur on the 1st of January, 2023, as well as hopes for the country's future Schengen entry.

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ZAGREB, 19 Feb 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković could run for the leader of the European People's Party (EPP) this spring when this political group is supposed to elect new presidency, the Zagreb-based Večernji List daily reported on Saturday.

The daily newspaper recalls that last week, PM Andrej Plenković received his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and that their meeting in Zagreb was actually a meeting of the only two current premiers from the EPP group. After the departure of Angela Merkel from the position of German Chancellor and the resignation of Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz following accusations about his involvement into alleged corruption cases, Plenković is the only EPP official who is currently serving the second term of his premiership.

The current EPP president Donald Tusk seems not willing to vie for his reelection and the EPP's election convention is likely to be held this spring, according to the daily newspaper.

The daily says that three possible candidates are German MEP Manfred Weber, and the Croatian and the Greek premiers.

However, a source from the government has told the newspaper that Plenković is not thinking at all of competing in that race.

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June 25th, 2021 - The European Parliament adopted a report by Croatian MEP Predrag Fred Matić on sexual and reproductive health and rejected an alternative motion for a resolution by the European People's Party (EPP).

Matić's resolution, which sparked a media storm, a reaction from the Church, and a debate in the Croatian parliament, calls on member states to introduce comprehensive sex education for young people, to improve access to contraception, and to ensure better access to menstrual hygiene products by abolishing taxes.

It calls on member states to ensure safe and legal abortion and stresses that "a total ban on abortion care or denial of abortion care is a form of gender-based violence."

Member states should ensure more accessible infertility treatment and antenatal, childbirth, and postnatal care, it is said in the resolution, which was adopted by 378 votes in favor, 255 against, and 42 abstentions.

The resolution also notes that "there are several links between prostitution and trafficking, and acknowledges that prostitution - both in the EU and across the globe - fuels the trafficking of vulnerable women and minors" and calls for the abolition of harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and early and forced marriages.

The European Parliament "recognizes that for personal reasons, individual medical practitioners may invoke a conscience clause; (...) however, (...) an individual's conscience clause may not interfere with a patient's right to full access to healthcare and services," the resolution says.

The Parliament "regrets that sometimes common practice in the Member States allows for medical practitioners, and on some occasions entire medical institutions, to refuse to provide health services based on the so-called conscience clause, which leads to the denial of abortion care on the grounds of religion or conscience, and which endangers women's lives and rights," it is said in the resolution.

Right-wing politicians criticized Matić's report due to, they said, citing abortion as a human right, problematizing the conscience clause, and exceeding the powers of EU member states.

The European People's Party submitted its own resolution for adoption.

The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) also had a motion for a resolution. They demanded a plenary session the day before that Matić's report be removed from the agenda, which was not adopted.

Matić's resolution was earlier approved by the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality by 27 votes in favor and six against.

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