ZAGREB, October 21, 2019 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told the France 24 TV channel that his goal at the time of negotiations on the distribution of key posts in European institutions had been for the European People's Party (EPP), whose negotiator he was, to get the post of European Commission President, which was eventually achieved.

At the end of an EU summit on Friday, Plenković gave two interviews to France 24, one in English for its Talking Europe programme and one in French for its Ici L'Europe programme, which was aired on Saturday and Sunday.

In the interview that was conducted in French, a question was asked in which the interviewer stated that Plenković, too, had been mentioned as a candidate for EC President.

Asked if he regretted the missed opportunity, Plenković said: "No, my candidate was Manfred Weber. I and Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins were negotiators on behalf of the EPP and my goal was for the EPP to get the seat of EC President, which we eventually achieved. There were a lot of rumours but I have been Croatia's prime minister for three years. We are about to take over presidency of the Council of the EU and I have a very big responsibility on the national level," said Plenković.

After the other two political groups in the EP, the Socialists and the Liberals, did not agree that Weber, whose EPP was the relative winner of the elections, should become EC President, the three strongest political groups each determined two negotiators, and Plenković was one of the EPP's. The Socialists and the Liberals were in favour of Dutch Frans Timmermans becoming the new EC President but the EPP and Plenković strongly opposed it. Eventually, Ursula von der Leyen of Germany was nominated for the post.

Plenković was also asked about the candidacy of Dubravka Šuica as EC Vice President-elect for Democracy and Demography, for whom the journalist said that she had barely passed her hearing before the EP.

Plenković said that that was not the case and that Šuica won two-thirds majority support, expressing great satisfaction with von der Leyen's putting Šuica in charge of demography.

Commenting on the EU's decision not to start accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, Plenković said that "it was not a very good decision" considering that North Macedonia had had the courage to change its name in the hope that that would help start its EU entry talks, stressing that the EU had missed a rendezvous with its historical responsibility.

As for French President Emmanuel Macron's demand that the EU should reform the enlargement process and become more politically integrated before admitting new members, Plenković said that the debate about whether the EU should be more deepened or more widened had been going on for more than 30 years, stressing that the enlargement process was now stricter than it had been to make sure new members were better prepared for membership.

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

ZAGREB, October 9, 2019 - EU Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said on Tuesday he would do his utmost so that by the end of this month Croatia was given the assessment that it was ready to join the Schengen Area because it deserved it.

Asked by reporters in Luxembourg if the Commission would confirm at its meeting next week that Croatia was ready for Schengen, he said he was doing his best to have that assessment by the end of this Commission's term because Croatia deserved it and because he had vowed it at his hearing five years ago.

On one condition, naturally, that Croatia meets the benchmarks, Avramopoulos said. Asked if Croatia met all the criteria, he added that they were in the final stretch.

On September 26, after meeting Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Croatia should become a full Schengen member and that the Commission was finalising its assessment.

A positive assessment from the Commission is not enough for joining as the assessment is only about technical readiness. The final decision is made by all member states.

More news about Croatia and its attempts to enter Schengen can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, October 4, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday he expected the new European Commission, notably its Vice President Dubravka Šuica, to make progress that would help Croatia and other member states deal with demography issues.

Šuica, the Croatian candidate for Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography, was given a positive assessment after a hearing in the European Parliament on Thursday during which she answered questions from members of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, and the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality.

Speaking at a press conference, Plenković recalled that Šuica was nominated by the Croatian government and that her department was chosen by new Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Democracy and demography are two very important topics for Croatia and all of Europe, he added.

This is the first time in the European project that a commissioner has been tasked with demography, a topic that "is especially important for us because of Croatia's negative birth rate" and a problem, he said, to which many other member states were not immune either.

He said it was especially important that Šuica was also one of the Commission's eight vice presidents. "I consider this to be a great success for Croatia, which is the youngest Union member. We have strengthened Croatia's position in the EU and the influence we have in the Union's institutions."

Asked if he had to attack the GONG NGO recently given that some MEPs at the hearing were not interested in the question of Šuica's declaration of assets, Plenković said he did not know who felt attacked but that it was telling that no one had raised the issue of Šuica's assets when she ran in European Parliament elections in 2013, 2014 and this year.

"This was a political wish to make this an outstanding issue now," he said, adding that Šuica had passed the hearing at the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee without a question mark.

He said the MEP who asked Šuica about her assets at Thursday's hearing was irrelevant. "He belongs to the group of those who don't belong to anyone."

More news about Dubravka Šuica can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, October 4, 2019 - A European Commission Vice President-designate, Dubravka Šuica of Croatia, has the necessary majority support for a positive assessment of her hearing, sources at the European Parliament said on Thursday evening.

The Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs, expanded to include members of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, on Thursday evening interviewed Šuica, the Croatian candidate for EC Vice-President for Democracy and Demography.

According to unofficial sources at the EP, members of Šuica's political group, the EPP, were satisfied with the hearing, as were the Socialists&Democrats (S&D), the Liberals (RE), and the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). Those who were against were the far left, the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE), the far right, Identity and Democracy (ID), and the Greens.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković congratulated Šuica on Twitter, describing her passing the hearing as a great success for Croatia.

The hearing, which lasted slightly less than three hours, was dominated by topics regarding a Conference on the Future of Europe in 2020, which is within Šuica's remit, and world-view questions.

She was also asked about her property.

In her introductory address, Šuica committed to improve citizens' participation in EU democracy and to address Europe's demographic change.

She also said that she would dedicate herself fully to the organisation of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which should start in 2020 and last two years.

The conference is expected to serve as a forum to connect European citizens, civil society and European institutions, its aim being for Europeans to say what kind of Union they want and how they want it to be run.

Questions from all seven coordinators of political groups were about that topic.

Some of the MEPs asked Šuica why she had voted against a report whereby a procedure was launched against Hungary under Article 7 for violation of the rule of law and European values.

She said that she had voted against the report because she believed that the EP should not be the one to launch the procedure and that the European Commission was in a better position for that as it was a neutral arbiter. She added that she believed in the rule of law and shared the concern about some serious cases of violation of the rule of law.

A representative of the Renew Europe Group, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, said that Šuica had regularly voted against women's rights, notably sexual and reproductive rights.

French MEP Raphael Glucksmann (S&D) asked Šuica about her position on abortion and family planning and asked her to condemn Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's statement that there was a danger of the European population being replaced by migrants.

I will not condemn anyone and will not be in a position to do so. As I said earlier, I am for legal migrations, Šuica said.

As for abortion, she said that the issue was not within the remit of the EU but of member-states and that in her country, abortion was legal.

Swedish MEP Alice Kuhnke (Greens) said that Šuica had voted against women's right to decide about their own bodies and asked her if she could promise that she would advocate women's right to abortion.

I voted the way I did not because I am against gender equality but because the reports in question always contained something that was not related to women's rights, Šuica said.

I will promote human dignity, freedom, equality and minority rights, she added.

Spanish MEP Eugenia Palop (GUE) asked Šuica if a family other than the traditional one was acceptable to her.

She said that she was for the traditional family but that she did not have anything against the family being defined otherwise.

A German MEP, satirist Martin Sonneborn, who does not belong to any political group, asked Šuica about her property.

Can you reveal the concept of how you acquired a wealth of more than five million euros, he asked.

Committee on Constitutional Affairs chair Antonio Tajani reacted to this, saying that Šuica had received the green light from the Committee on Legal Affairs and that everything was in order with her declaration of financial interests and that this was not a topic of the hearing.

Šuica said that she would answer that question as well.

What you are saying does not correspond with the facts. You have read some articles that are simply not true. Twenty years ago, I lived in a family house with my husband who was a sea captain and had a decent salary. My financial statements have always been transparent and in line with the rules, my financial situation has always been clear and transparent. Everything is in line with the law, she said.

The heads of parliamentary committees will meet on October 15 to decide on the outcome of all hearings and they will submit their conclusions to a conference of EP presidents, which comprises the EP president and heads of parliamentary groups. They will make final assessments and decide which candidates have passed their hearing, for which a new hearing will be requested and for which alternative candidates have to be proposed.

A vote on the entire EC is set for October 23 at a plenary session in Strasbourg and if all goes well, members of the new European Commission will take office on November 1.

More news about Dubravka Šuica can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, October 3, 2019 - The European Commission on Thursday welcomed the establishment of Feelsgood, the first Croatian investment fund which will help early- to growth-stage startups with an ecological and social impact.

"The launch of the new Feelsgood Fund in Croatia, which is being financially backed by the European Investment Fund and the Juncker Plan, is good news. Not only are key sectors, such as the circular economy and healthcare, to receive a financial boost, but those companies will make a positive social impact," said Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, responsible for the Euro and Social Dialogue.

The €30 million strong Feelsgood Fund is being launched in Zagreb today. The EIF contributed to the Fund with €15 million, almost entirely covered by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, the core of the Investment Plan for Europe, or the Juncker Plan.

"With support for Feelsgood Fund, the EIF is making yet another positive mark on Croatian economy. This time we are enabling new investment opportunities for country's startups with environmental and social impact to make sure we achieve sustainable development of Croatian economy and make sure Croatia is able to respond to major social and environmental challenges of today", said EIF Chief Executive Grabenwarter Uli.

The Feelsgood Social Impact Investment Fund is the first venture fund in Croatia founded and managed by a completely Croatian team. It is backed by the impact academic panel from four academic institutions from Croatia and Slovenia to advise SMEs on the impact criteria and their progress measurement.

The Feelsgood Fund will invest in Croatian startups operating in financial inclusion, agriculture and farming, circular economy, education and healthcare sectors. To measure and monitor the social impact (a significant, positive change that addresses a pressing social or environmental challenge) of their investments, the Fund management team will also include two researchers from the University of Zagreb and Zagreb Institute of Economics. Companies from Slovenia will also be able to apply for support from the Feelsgood Fund, the Commission said.

"'Feelsgood will be ready to provide long-awaited smart capital for the SMEs in Croatia and Slovenia which are determined to yield a positive social and environmental impact in addition to profit, said Renata Brkić, the fund's founding partner.

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

ZAGREB, September 30, 2019 - The Croatian candidate for a member of the European Commission, Dubravka Šuica, has published her declaration of financial interests ahead of a hearing at the European Parliament in which she declares her family assets without stating their value.

The declaration of financial interests is available on the official website of the European Parliament and is dated September 12.

The candidate for the European Commission vice-president for demography and democracy, Šuica owns 69 shares of the Atlantska Plovidba shipping company worth 4,105.91 euro and 63 shares of the HT telecommunications company worth 1,354.71 euro.

Her declaration also includes a family house in Dubrovnik, an apartment in Zagreb, and a house at Blidinje in Bosnia and Herzegovina which are all declared as her husband's property. She does not state the value of the real estate declared.

The statement also includes a house and land on Pelješac peninsula, which is partly owned by her husband, and the DUBE d.o.o. maritime shipping company, which has not operated since 2016.

Šuica also declared in the statement of financial interests a house in Cavtat, which has been under construction since 1988 and which she inherited from her parents.

The GONG nongovernmental organisation recently called on Šuica to put an end to years of speculation on the origin of her assets and publish her declarations of assets from the start of her political career, as well as findings of a tax inspection into her property, which according to media reports is worth five million euros.

Responding to GONG's demand, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said Šuica "declared everything she should have declared" regarding her assets and accused GONG of "pretending" to be an independent NGO while actually being a prolonged arm of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Sunčana Glavak, who is to replace Šuica as a member of the European Parliament, has said that by questioning the origin of Šuica's property GONG and the SDP were harming the state's reputation.

More news about Dubravka Šuica can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, September 27, 2019 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) MP Peđa Grbin on Friday dismissed Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's accusations that the GONG non-governmental organisation was "a prolonged arm" of the SDP and that they were orchestrating an attack on the Croatian candidate for European Commission Vice-President, Dubravka Šuica, over her declaration of assets.

"The answer to the prime minister's accusations is very simple - prove the origin of her assets and everything will be sorted. For years there have been reports circulating in the Croatian media, and quite justifiably so, of a disproportion between Šuica's income and the property that she owns," Grbin said.

He said he thought it was necessary, when Šuica became the candidate for a European Commissioner, to give her a chance to explain herself.

"Her answer, to put it mildly, was ridiculous because it is interesting that her family's ship came in only after she became mayor of Dubrovnik. Prove the origin of her property and everything will be clean, and don't blame those who asked this question, which is perfectly normal in a modern and democratic state, but answer it," the MP said.

Asked if he was in any way in contact with GONG when he raised the issue of Šuica's personal assets, Grbin said he was in contact with the Croatian media. "The Croatian media has written about this for years so I simply googled it and within 20 minutes I had all the information I needed to ask that question."

Grbin said it was interesting that Plenković had reacted to GONG but not to some other non-governmental organisations. "I haven't heard that he reacted to HVIDRA (the association of disabled war veterans) which has been attacking an MP and member of the ethnic Serb minority in Croatia for days now. Plenković never asked on whose behalf they were acting," Grbin said.

The leader of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), Krešo Beljak, said on Friday that GONG was also a prolonged arm of his party because the HSS had recently put forward a bill on the origin of personal property.

"The ruling coalition rejected the bill, but we will continue to insist on checks of the property of all politicians and other public office holders, such as judges," Beljak said, adding that Šuica's personal property was estimated at several million euros.

Beljak asked the prime minister to say how a secondary school teacher could earn so much money. "Common sense dictates that she couldn't have earned it legally."

The Conflict of Interest Commission has received several requests for Dubravka Šuica's declaration of assets, however, those requests have been rejected for the purpose of protecting private data considering that Šuica has not been a Croatian official since 2011.

After receiving several requests for access to information in declarations of assets belonging to Šuica, who is Croatia's candidate for a European Commission vice president, a test of proportionality was conducted considering that declarations of assets contain a lot of personal information and that Šuica she has not been a Croatian official for more than seven years, the commission's spokeswoman Martina Jurišić told reporters.

The test proved that in this specific case the interest of protecting personal data prevailed over public interest in access to the declarations of assets and the requests were turned down, Jurišić said.

However, in deciding about the requests, the commission would consider those circumstances if Šuica herself gave permission to release her declarations.

According to the media, Dubrovnik's former mayor and former member of the Croatian parliament and later a MEP, allegedly owns assets worth more than 5 million euro.

More news about Dubravka Šuica can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, September 27, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday accused the GONG non-governmental organisation of campaigning against the Croatian candidate for European Commission Vice-President, Dubravka Šuica.

"Dubravka Šuica got through the hearing before the Croatian Parliament's Committee on European Affairs where members of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) raised these topics which are now, ostensibly accidentally, being recycled by GONG, which always steps in on the SDP's side," Plenković told reporters in Brussels after a working lunch with European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen.

Plenković was responding to questions about Croatian media reports on Šuica's personal assets and whether those could do her damage during a European Parliament committee hearing next week.

"GONG is a left-wing non-governmental organisation which has launched a major campaign by sending letters to all MEPs in an effort to sway their view on the Croatian candidate for European Commission Vice-President. The public should know this. The seemingly independent GONG is conducting a fierce campaign against the future European Commission Vice-President from Croatia. They are the long arm of the SDP, asking the same questions as MP Grbin. ... This is orchestrated and intentional and I am saying this with full responsibility so that the Croatian public should know," Plenković said.

Asked if this campaign managed to shake the confidence of Ursula von der Leyen, Plenković said: "Not at all."

The GONG NGO said on Thursday it still wanted answers to its six questions about the declaration of assets of Dubravka Šuica, the Croatian candidate for European Commission Vice-President, and that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's "attack" on GONG was an attempt "to divert attention from what is important."

GONG explained in a press release why it had sent the questions to the European Parliament. "We requested the declaration of assets... from the Croatian Parliament, but it referred us to the Conflict of Interest Commission, which turned us down, citing the confidentiality of... Šuica's personal data."

"Since we didn't get the answers in Croatia, in the hope that we would finally get them, we sent the questions to European Parliament committees and the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament, who will hear Dubravka Šuica."

GONG said Šuica should put an end to years of speculation on the origin of her assets, which GONG said were also investigated by the tax authorities. It would be enough if she published her declarations of assets from the start of her political career and the findings of the tax authorities, the NGO added.

GONG went on to say that the prime minister, instead of attacking those asking questions, should have made sure that the Croatian and the European public were given answers in time. "We have the right to know."

GONG reiterated its questions to Šuica: How will she care for the future of democracy in the EU when the Croatian government is rife with corruption scandals? How will she defend the rule of law if she was against sanctions against Hungary for breaching the rule of law? How will she fight for equality if she was against two resolutions on gender equality? How did she manage, having worked only in the public and government sectors, to gain assets estimated at 5 million euro? Why hasn't she made public all tax audit findings from 2001 to 2009, when she was an MP and the mayor of Dubrovnik?

More news about Dubravka Šuica can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, September 27, 2019 - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday that Croatia should become a full Schengen member and that the Commission was finalising its assessment.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković met Juncker in Brussels and they talked about Croatia's Schengen entry, a law on the development of the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar, Croatia's preparations for chairing the Council of the EU next year, and the EU budget for the next seven years.

The Commission said after the meeting that Juncker reiterated the Commission's position that Croatia should become a full Schengen member and that the Commission was finalising its assessment.

In mid-October, the Commission should adopt a report on Croatia's compliance with the Schengen entry criteria. A positive assessment from the Commission is not enough for joining as the assessment is only about technical readiness. The final decision is made by all member states.

The Commission also said that Juncker and Plenković also talked about possible support measures for Vukovar. Both officials expressed the wish that negotiations on the next EU budget be concluded swiftly, and Juncker thanked Croatia for its constructive role in the negotiations, the press release said.

If the negotiations on the multiannual financial framework are not concluded by the end of this year, Croatia will have to work on this issue as it chairs the Council of the EU in the first half of 2020.

Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Šarec said on Thursday he was unhappy with the outgoing European Commission's decision to put on the agenda the question of whether Croatia met the technical requirements for joining the Schengen Area, to which Slovenia has reservations.

"Slovenia knows how challenging it is to have the external Schengen border, and I'm worried because Croatia hasn't resolved its border issue with practically any state. How can we then bypass these questions and automatically determine that someone is adequate to join Schengen?" he told Slovenian reporters covering his visit to New York.

Šarec said he feared the Commission might adopt a "political decision" to the effect that Croatia met the Schengen requirements although, he added, they were very strict and demanding and Croatia still had not met them.

"We are primarily concerned about security and it seems flippant to me to put this issue on the agenda just before the end of the Commission's term."

Croatian PM Andrej Plenković said earlier today he expected the Commission, whose term ends on November 1, to recommend that Croatia met the requirements for joining the Schengen Area.

The Commission should have the item on its agenda in mid-October. Its president Jean-Claude Juncker said in Zagreb in June the Commission would give a positive recommendation by the end of its term.

Šarec said that if the Commission made a "political" decision and gave Croatia the green light to enter Schengen, Slovenia too would act "politically."

Asked if Slovenia would veto Croatia's Schengen membership because of their border arbitration dispute, he would not give a direct answer. "We will act in the proper way and in Slovenia's interest, not just Slovenia's but also in the interest of the rule of law."

He reiterated that Slovenia's stance on the border arbitration ruling was clear and familiar. "The court delivered the ruling and we are willing to keep waiting. The law is on our side and it's time European institutions understood this too."

Slovenian Foreign Minister Miro Cerar recently said Slovenia could not let Croatia join Schengen before it implemented the border arbitration ruling.

More news about Croatia and the Schengen area can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, September 24, 2019 - The European Commission indirectly confirmed on Tuesday that a report on Croatia's meeting criteria for accession to the Schengen area of passport-free travel had not been completed yet but noted that work on the report was progressing well.

The Commission's joint work on successfully completing, as soon as possible, the evaluation for Schengen Area membership, is progressing well. It is the EC's position that Croatia should join the Schengen Area as a full member as soon as it meets the necessary criteria and as soon as possible, the EC said.

EC officials would not say when European commissioners could have the report on whether Croatia meets the Schengen Area membership standards on their agenda.

For a country to join the area of border control-free movement it is not enough to have a positive evaluation from the EC, which testifies only to the country's technical readiness. The final decision is made by member-countries.

Bulgaria and Romania have had the EC's positive opinion for years but are still not in the area because several member-countries oppose it.

More news about the passport-free area can be found in the Politics section.