April 29, 2020 — European Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica was in the kitchen on Saturday when she heard her name on local a television call-in show. The caller echoed long-standing questions about her wealth. Šuica then picked up the phone and called the program herself. Not to lambaste the accusations so much as berate the journalist hosting the program.

“It's really amazing how people are dealing misinformation, and you haven't reprimanded it!” she chastised the host, Pasko Tomaš.

“My wish would be to prevent any Croat, male, female, or citizen of this country from speaking in this way,” Šuica continued. “I’m the godmother of your Dubrovnik television! And I'm really happy that I was at the time. But I'm really sorry that you're letting citizens dump mud, garbage, mud on my name!” She also suggested Tomaš allowed such criticism to increase viewership.

Šuica is the European Commission’s Vice President overseeing Democracy and Demography.

The bizarre spectacle unfolded on “Glas Naroda”, or “The Voice of the People”, a Dubrovnik-based call-in show common for local television stations across Croatia. The shows ostensibly serve as an open forum yet often devolve into an hours-long political demolition derby. Ordinary citizens phone in and deliver soliloquies chastising local politicians, lobbing conspiracy theories, or just lament the state of the nation in a one-way conversation.

Šuica found herself in the crosshairs of such a tirade this weekend.

“We have individuals, these politicians, they stay for four to eight years in power,” the angry caller said. “They rob everyone wherever they can and in eight years they have to 10-15 million [kunas],” the caller said, while Tomaš sat with a furrowed brow and diligently scribbled notes. 

“Here, for example, Šuica. She was said to be worth seven million euros. Imagine that!” 

Tomaš continued to listen, diligently scribbling notes, peering at his laptop or back at the camera. 

The caller was referencing questions about how Šuica’s wealth — namely, how the former mayor and school teacher accrued assets worth about €5 million. The European VP owns multiple houses, two apartments, a cottage in Bosnia, as well as a yacht and three cars. The figure was first reported by Index.hr.

Šuica attributed the wealth to her husband’s earnings as a boat captain and inheritance. Yet she refused to release documents that could back up her claims, even after local reports refuted them.

She survived a European Commission vote in October, by the scantest of margins after a three-hour-long hearing.

The European Commission through a spokesman said its Vice President respected the freedoms of press and speech.

“Vice President Šuica reiterates her unwavering support for media independence, freedom of expression and information,” European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer wrote in a statement for Večernji List. “She also wants to point out that this TV station in Dubrovnik was opened during her mayoral term. So she obviously supports their work.”

Hosts for call-in shows mostly act as conversational traffic cops, stopping rants that run long or intervening if a caller breaks rules regarding good taste. Sometimes, they’ll ask a question to keep the monologue going. 

Tomaš let the caller run through a three-minute screed that decried the state of the nation from several angles before finally reaching Šuica.

“She has a yacht worth 500,000 euros,” he said. “She would need HRK 250,000 a month just to maintain the yacht, to pay for anchoring. Where did her money come from? She can say this, that, but it's all the same in our country.”

Here, about four minutes in, Tomaš gently cut the call short.

Šuica was among the next on the line.

“I’m surprised you didn't react,” she told Tomaš. “I know that you are an excellent journalist, that your show is watched. I heard it from the kitchen!”

The Croatian Journalism Society recently warned reporters in the country are targets of attacks and threats despite climbing in the press freedom index released by Reporters Without Borders.

“Reporters investigating corruption, dealing with organized crime and war crimes, are often exposed to harassment, pressure, and attacks,” the society’s president Hrvoje Zovko said in a statement. “What we especially consider important to mention is that in Croatia, an atmosphere has been created in which journalists are blamed for everything.”

Tomaš offered the European VP a chance to respond to the accusations. Šuica laughed.

“In this country there are institutions, and they’re the ones who know,” she said. “It's very interesting that you even bother with this at all.”

She turned down two more chances to refute the accusations before dangling Tomaš the chance at an interview.

Tomaš saved his thoughts for the end.

“Tonight, unrelated to all the participants in this show, I will never, or ever, allow, as long as I am in the business, that anyone, and most of all politicians, influence my work or teach me this business,” he said. “This is [The Voice of the People], and I'm Pasko Tomaš and I'm responsible for what I do.”

ZAGREB, April 29, 2020 - Expectations for Croatia's economy sank in April to the lowest level since the European Commission started collecting data, reflecting the pessimism of business people in the European Union and euro area as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Economic Sentiment Index (ESI) sank in Croatia by 31 points in April compared to March, dropping to 72.3 points, which is its greatest drop and lowest level since the EC started publishing reports on ESI.

The lowest ESI has been recorded in all sectors except in construction while the services and retail sectors had the most negative sentiment, with a drop of 49 and 47.8 points respectively compared to March.

Industry confidence and construction confidence fell by 27.8 and 28.9 points respectively.

The mildest decrease of 'only' 17.9 points was recorded in consumer confidence which did not plunge to its lowest level, recorded during the height of the euro area crisis in 2009.

The employment expectations indicator too fell drastically, by 29 points on the month, to 76.4 points.

The ESI crashed in April in the EU 27 and euro area and it was its strongest monthly decline on record (since
1985), surpassing by far the previous negative record from March.

In April the ESI in the EU declined by 28.8 points to 65.8 points while in the euro area it dropped by 27.2 points to 67 points.

The pandemic has impacted the most expectations in the services sector due to a ban on travel and hotels, restaurants and cafes remaining closed.

As for the largest euro area economies, the ESI crashed in Germany by 19.9 points, in France it dropped by 16.3 points and in Spain it went down by 26 points, while no data could be collected in Italy due to the strict confinement measures.

More economy news can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, April 3, 2020 - The European Commission has supported Croatian requests for financial aid to the fisheries sector, which is severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Thursday.

Croatia was one of the initiators of changes to the EU legislative frameworks relating to the allocation of financial aid to the fisheries sector, the statement said.

The economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 epidemic has considerably hit the fisheries sector, an important economic branch of strategic importance for Croatia.

Intense cooperation with the EU institutions and member states has resulted in a set of measures put forward by the European Commission, including aid for the implementation of the measure for temporary cession of fishing activities and the grant of compensation to freshwater, marine fish and shellfish farmers for the temporary cessation or reduction of production due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the statement said.

Until now temporary cessation of fishing activities was possible only because of biological indicators and resource management, and this change allows for the implementation of this measure from 1 February to 31 December 2020 due to the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak. The duration of such temporary cessation under the present circumstances does not count towards the maximum possible duration of the temporary cessation of fishing activities of six months per vessel, which is crucial for its implementation in Croatia.

The amended Regulation on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund also allows for the grant of compensation to the aquaculture sector to reduce the negative effects of this crisis and includes measures concerning producer organisations. The percentage of funds for the implementation of production and marketing plans has been increased from 3% to 12% of the average annual value of production and the implementation of the "Storage Aid" measure will be allowed until 31 December 2020.

Provided that the proposal is adopted by the Council and the European Parliament, and there is no reason why this should not be so, the proposed measures will help protect jobs, preserve the food supply, increase stability on the market, mitigate the risk of loss and prevent the worst-case scenario - the closure of businesses engaging in aquaculture, fisheries and fish processing. The adoption of these amendments will greatly assist this sector and prepare it for a sustainable recovery, along with other measures adopted by the government and rules relating to state aid for the fisheries sector, the statement said.

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

ZAGREB, March 22, 2020 - The European Commission said on Sunday that it was following the developments in Croatia after Zagreb was hit by a few strong quakes and was ready to provide assistance to the country.

The Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčić said today that the Emergency Response Coordination Centre was in contact with Croatia's authorities.

The three strong quakes rocked Zagreb and the wider area in the morning. The first tremor with 5.3 magnitude was the strongest. There were two subsequent tremors with magnitudes 5.0 and 3.7. According to first reports, a child in Zagreb was severely injured, and some residents remained trapped in their homes.

European Council President Charles Michel on Sunday extended a message of support to Croatia, saying the EU is willing to help after strong quakes hit Zagreb this morning.

"My thoughts are with the people of Croatia following the devastating earthquake this morning. I just assured (Croatian PM) Andrej Plenković that the EU stands with our friends and is ready to offer help and assistance," Michel said on Twitter.

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

ZAGREB, February 27, 2020 - After five years of economic recovery, Croatia's GDP in 2019 reached the pre-crisis level but compared to the European average, Croatia did not converge from 2008 to 2018, reads a report the European Commission published on Wednesday.

The report also notes that Croatia has continued making progress in correcting macroeconomic imbalances but that they are still present.

As part of its European Semester Winter package, the EC published reports on the overall economic and social progress in each member state and an analysis of the macroeconomic situation in the countries with macroeconomic imbalances or excessive macroeconomic imbalances.

The report on Croatia has 79 pages, including annexes.

The EC notes that a stable economic growth in the last five years, combined with a careful macrofiscal stabilisation policy has made it possible for the country to gradually reduce the high levels of public, private and foreign debt, which in turn has reduced the economy's vulnerability.

The unemployment rate has continued to fall, thereby raising the disposable income of households. However, in 2018, Croatia’s GDP per capita relative to the EU average was still at the same level as ten years earlier, meaning that there was no convergence at all.

GDP per capita, measured by the purchasing power, in 2018 was 63% of the European average, the same as in the pre-crisis 2008. Moreover, Croatia has fallen behind even more in relation to more advanced comparable countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which have left it behind. Despite a stable growth, a relatively low growth potential will continue to be an obstacle to catching up with other EU countries.

Participation in the labour market and labour productivity remain low, and the business environment and the public administration are insufficiently supportive of faster economic convergence. Implementation of policy measures addressing these weaknesses is proceeding at an uneven pace.

"Addressing structural weaknesses with lasting effect would enable Croatia to converge faster to the rest of the EU," the EC stresses.

Croatia has made limited progress in addressing the 2019 country-specific recommendations and, just as in 2019, it has macroeconomic balances. In 2019 Croatia left the category of countries with excessive macroeconomic imbalances to enter the category of countries with macroeconomic imbalances.

Since the start of the European Semester in 2014, 57% of all country-specific recommendations addressed to Croatia have recorded at least 'some progress'. 'Limited' or 'no progress' has been made in the remaining 43% of the recommendations.

Implementation of the reform agenda has proceeded at an uneven pace in different policy areas.

Most progress has been made on fiscal policy and labour market. There has been some backtracking on pensions after elements of the reform designed to increase the statutory retirement age were suspended as demanded by trade unions, the EC says.

In 2019 Croatia saw limited progress in the implementation of the EC recommendations.

Certain progress was recorded in the implementation of the curricular reform and the management of state agencies.

Certain progress was made with the adoption of a new set of active employment measures.

In 2019 agreements on some key rail transport projects were signed, which contributed to progress on sustainable transport.

Certain progress has been made in court proceedings by expanding electronic communication in courts and reducing backlogs.

As regards the business environment, improvement has been achieved by introducing a number of measures designed to reduce administrative obligations and liberalising services.

Progress has been limited in other areas, such as reinforcing the budgetary framework, improving the social protection system, reforming wage setting frameworks, improving corporate governance and intensifying the divestment of shares and stakes in state-owned enterprises, and in the prevention and sanctioning of corruption.

Macroeconomic imbalances

Croatia has been making progress on macroeconomic indicators but it still has macroeconomic imbalances. In 2019 it exited the category of excessive macroeconomic imbalances.

Public debt remains high, but is falling rapidly. Public finances have improved and Croatia recorded its first fiscal surplus in 2017, and its second in 2018, despite a non-negligible materialisation of contingent liabilities.

Thanks partially to improvements in public debt management, debt is being refinanced at record low and predominantly fixed rates, with extended maturities.

The improvements in public finances were recognised by Fitch and S&P agencies as they upgraded Croatia's long-term sovereign credit rating to investment grade.

Improvements have been recorded also in household debt.

The consolidated corporate and household debt levels for the third quarter of 2019 are estimated at 58.4% and 34.3% of GDP respectively, some 24 and 8 percentage points below the peak registered in 2010.

Although the current account surplus is shrinking, it is still helping to curb external imbalances.

After peaking at 3.3% of GDP in 2017, the current account surplus narrowed to 1.9% of GDP in 2018, as the increase in imports of goods turned the trade balance negative.

The current account surplus rebounded in the first three quarters of 2019 to 2.2% of GDP largely due to growing tourist receipts.

Low potential growth remains an obstacle to Croatia catching up with the rest of the EU more rapidly, says the EC.

After reaching a low point in 2010, potential output growth has since increased significantly, estimated at 2.1% in 2019. Although this is higher than the EU average, it is the lowest among peer countries.

The labour contribution to potential growth turned positive in 2019, due to a gradual recovery of employment, though it remains one of the lowest among peers. Demographic trends and a chronically low activity rate are a drag on labour contribution to growth for future years.

"Significant structural reforms will be necessary to increase Croatia's relatively low potential growth," the EC notes.

Potential growth is projected to remain the lowest among Croatia's peers throughout the 2019-2021 period.

Despite improvements in the labour market, increasing the labour contribution to potential growth will require raising the low activity rate, which will be difficult, notably because of the demographic challenges in the country.

Productivity growth is still limited due to poor allocative efficiency, complex business environment and public sector inefficiency, the EC says.

As for tax policy, the EC says that Croatia’s taxation system is strongly skewed towards indirect taxation and is Croatia is among the member states which collect the least revenue from direct taxes.

This is partly a consequence of very low property taxes, which are considered to be among the most growth-friendly taxes.

The low share of direct taxation is also a reflection of successive cuts in the personal income tax implemented over the past four years.

Aimed at reducing the tax burden on labour, the cuts have resulted in more than half of persons in employment not being liable for any personal income tax.

Still, Croatia ranks around the EU average when it comes to revenue from social contributions in proportion to GDP, despite having the third lowest employment rate in the EU.

At the same time, Croatia collects the highest share of VAT revenue in proportion to GDP of all EU member states.

In cooperation with Croatia, the EC has prepared a special annex on the health system, which says that despite the strong increase in revenue from health contributions, the healthcare sector continues to accumulate arrears.

The revenue of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (CHIF) is estimated to have increased by 11% (year-on-year) in 2019. In spite of this, payment arrears to suppliers of goods and services are estimated to have grown by over 15%. Furthermore, expenditure is expected to grow strongly in 2020 on the back of wage increases in the sector agreed in September 2019 and the Supreme Court ruling from December 2019 which upheld doctors' claims on unpaid overtime.

Arrears are mostly generated in hospitals, particularly those owned by counties.

Faced with the prospect of suppliers suspending deliveries, the central government settles such arrears through ad hoc financial recovery programmes. There have been 12 such interventions since 2000, ranging from 0.1 to 0.6 per cent of GDP in a given year, the EC says.

With regard to the fight against corruption and organised crime, the EC says that control and sanction mechanisms are weak, notably at local level.

Although there is a considerable number of investigations and indictments in cases related to organised crime and corruption, the inefficiencies of the justice system, such as lengthy court proceedings, often impede closure. Official statistics also show that a significant proportion of corruption offences are recorded at local level.

The Law on Local and Regional Self-Governance, which gives elected local officials considerable discretion in decision-making without subjecting them to asset declarations or other forms of oversight, remains a concern.

The discretionary powers to decide on disposing of assets and finances of up to HRK 1 million and to appoint board members of public local companies create scope for corruption, the EC says.

With regard to environmental sustainability, the EC notes that there is still a long way to go in the transition from a linear to a circular economy in Croatia. Besides some isolated initiatives, Croatia has no comprehensive circular economy strategy, it says.

Despite some progress, shifting waste from landfilling towards recycling remains a priority.

In Croatia, 25% of municipal waste was recycled in 2018 - a big improvement from 4% in 2010, but still substantially below the EU average of 47%. Landfilling of municipal waste remains high at 66% (EU average 22%).

A continued strong effort would help Croatia to converge to the EU average and ultimately contribute to achieving the European target of zero pollution, the EC says.

The EC also notes that air pollution has a significant impact on people's health, that sewage systems are underdeveloped and that the water supply networks face high leakage rates.

As for greenhouse gas emissions, Croatia will have no problem meeting the EU targets for the period until 2020 but it will need additional measures to meet the targets set for the period until 2030.

The share of renewable energy sources is 28%, but in traffic it is very low, standing at a mere 3.9% in 2018, one of the lowest rates in the EU, the EC says.

More news about Croatian economy can be found in the Business section.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 19th of February, 2020, it has been over a month since the European Commission (EC) launched a tender for the promotion and marketing of EU agricultural and food products entitled "Enjoy, decided from Europe" for 2020, worth a massive 200.9 million euros. Croatian producers are, for now, avoidant.

The money is not distributed according to the size of the members, but according to the programmes which will be chosen by the EC in the autumn, which would increase the competitiveness and consumption of EU products worldwide. But hardly any projects from Croatia will come to the EC table this year, until the April 16th, to be exact, as Croatian producers appear skeptical in the agri-food sector, writes Vecernji list.

"We're discussing and clarifying the situation, but there is no concrete agreement yet as to whether or not we'll respond to the tender," says Ante Madir, president of the Croatian Prosciutto Cluster, which houses sixteen producers of Krk, Dalmatian, Drnis and Istrian prosciutto.

They are not satisfied, as he says, about what the project carries the products, but not the producers, who need to invest their own money, between 15 and 35 percent, depending on whether they would appear on the EU market, in third countries or in the so-called multiprogrammes of at least two national organisations from at least two member states or European organisations.

However, because of the EU protection, Croatian prosciutto is already in demand on domestic, EU and non-EU regional markets, leading to some Croatian producers believing that they wouldn't currently benefit from the tender anyway. The cluster holds 90 percent of total prosciutto production in the Republic of Croatia, around 400,000 pieces per year.

Croatian Producers of protected Neretva mandarins are worried about the already low purchase price, unsettled lease agreements, and the failure to replace forty-year-old plantations with new ones. "You can't run for something if you don't know if you're going to be producing it tomorrow," says Neven Mataga, one of many Croatian producers.

In the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture (HPK), which called on producer organisations and economic interest associations to get involved and offered their help, they hope that someone, in the seventh year of Croatia's EU membership, will finally use the money the European Commission is readily offering. But so far, there has been no response.

This is also because all the winners of the tender must first invest their own money so that in 1.5 to three years, only after the project is completed, the EU will return 65 to 85 percent of the invested money, as was explained by HPK leader Mladen Jakopovic.

Zvjezdana Blazic, a ''Smarter'' consultant for the agri-food sector, says there have been some attempts so far, but they have all failed.

''Basically, Croatian producers are interested in this project, which was strengthened after the Russian embargo was introduced, but we don't have the capacity to see a strong promotional campaign through until the end,'' stated Blazic.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for more on Croatian producers.

ZAGREB, February 10, 2020 - The European Commission has decided to withdraw its draft measure that should have introduced quotas for small pelagic fish in the Adriatic Sea, and some of the credit for that goes to MEP Ruža Tomašić, the Zagreb-based daily Večernji List reported on Monday.

Ruža Tomašić was the European Parliament's rapporteur for that matter in 2017 when she pushed for a report with draft amendments she sponsored which eventually changed the European Commission's initial plan.

The new European Commission led by President Ursula von der Leyen has recently decided to withdraw the draft regulation about the small pelagic fish quota in the Adriatic Sea from the procedure. The reason for dropping the planned quotas is that the EC does not expect agreement on the issue.

In mid-November 2018, the European Parliament adopted a report which Croatian MEP Ruža Tomašić submitted on the Multiannual plan for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks, whereby measures for replenishing the stocks in the Adriatic are suggested, instead of the imposition of quotas for the catch as proposed by the European Commission, which would seriously affect the fishing industry in Croatia.

At that time, Tomašić explained that the imposed quota would have restricted the catch in the whole of the Adriatic Sea to 50,000 tonnes of small pelagic fish annually, whereas Croatia's catch was about 60,000 tonnes and the amount in the region now stood at 100,000 tonnes. Another Croatian MEP, Ivan Jakovčić, endorsed Tomašić's report and called on the EC to pursue a policy that would be beneficial to the Adriatic fishermen. He explained that the introduction of the quotas as proposed by the EC would have been detrimental to the blue growth in the Adriatic region.

Dubravka Šuica, who was also one Croatia's 11 MEPs in 2018, reported that she supported Tomašić's reports and that she had not endorsed the EC's proposal for incorporating a set of measures into a multi-annual plan for the Adriatic Sea that would manage the fisheries in the Adriatic Sea based on the Biomass Escapement Strategy and a quota system.

Tomašić told the Večernji List daily on Monday that she was satisfied that there would be no prescribed quotas for small pelagic fish in the Adriatic.

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

ZAGREB, January 23, 2020 - European Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica on Wednesday presented a document in Brussels according to which the Conference on the Future of Europe would be a new public forum for an open, inclusive, transparent and structured debate with citizens of diverse backgrounds and from all walks of life.

The Commission has adopted the Communication on its ideas on what the Conference on the Future of Europe should look like and proposes that it begins working on Europe Day, May 9, and to run for two years.

"The Commission proposes to launch the Conference on Europe Day – 9 May 2020. This year will mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Schuman Declaration and the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. As the launch would coincide with Croatia’s rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, the kick-off event could take place in Dubrovnik," the EC says in its communication published on its website.

Defining the concept, structure, scope and timing of the Conference must be a truly joint effort by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission, the document says. EC Vice-president for democracy and demography, Croatia's Dubravka Šuica, has been assigned with the task of organising the conference.

"We must seize the momentum of the high turnout at the last European elections and the call for action which that brings. The Conference on the Future of Europe is a unique opportunity to reflect with citizens, listen to them, engage, answer and explain. We will strengthen trust and confidence between the EU institutions and the people we serve. This is our chance to show people that their voice counts in Europe," Šuica was quoted as saying.

The European Parliament has already defined its position in a resolution adopted on 15 January, and the document calls for "an open and transparent process which takes an inclusive, participatory and well-balanced approach towards citizens and stakeholders."

The Council will discuss the topic on January 28. Croatia's presidency is tasked with harmonising proposals and positions by member states in that regard.

After the Council adopts its relevant document, all three institutions -- the Council, the EC and the EP -- need to adopt a joint statement defining the concept, structure, scope and timing of the conference.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that all Europeans will actively contribute to the Conference. "It is only together that we can build our Union of tomorrow," von der Leyen said.

The Commission proposes two parallel work strands for the debates.

The first should focus on EU priorities and what the Union should seek to achieve: including on the fight against climate change and environmental challenges, an economy that works for people, social fairness and equality, Europe's digital transformation, promoting our European values, strengthening the EU's voice in the world, as well as shoring up the Union's democratic foundations.

The second strand should focus on addressing topics specifically related to democratic processes and institutional matters: notably the lead candidate system and transnational lists for elections to the European Parliament, according to the information on the European Union's website.

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

ZAGREB, January 10, 2020 - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday warned Great Britain that it could not have it all in negotiations on future relations with the EU after Brexit and that it had to decide how close it wanted to stay to the EU, which it will leave on January 31.

We were clear regarding access to the common European market - it is not the same if you are a member or not, the EC president said at a news conference in Zagreb.

We want to stay good friends, neighbours and partners but we must find a good balance between divergence and close relations with the single market, she added.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is confident that the agreement on all aspects of future cooperation with the EU can be concluded by the end of 2020, which EU officials consider unrealistic.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that nothing would change for Croatian citizens on January 31. "You will be able to enter Great Britain as you have so far," said the PM of Croatia, the EU chair since January 1.

Along with Brexit, an important topic during Croatia's EU presidency will also be talks on the new European budget. "We will do our best to find a balance between rural development and cohesion on one side and modernisation on the other," said Plenković.

The older EU members, which are net contributors to the EU budget, want it to be more modest while the younger members insist on maintaining funding for the cohesion and agriculture policies.

Balance must also be found between EU bodies as the European Parliament calls for a more ambitious budget while the prime ministers of European Council members want a more conservative budget.

With Great Britain's departure, Europe will lose around €60 billion from its cash register, and the new financial perspective for the 2021-2027 period will have to take account of new European priorities such as climate change, the digital agenda and illegal migrations.

Von der Leyen and Plenković addressed reporters after a joint session of the EC and the EU chair's government, which is a tradition at the start of every rotating EU presidency.

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

ZAGREB, January 10, 2020 - The European Union can become a bigger player on the global level through its power in trade and reputation in mediating between conflicting parties, at a time of tension in the Middle East, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Friday in Zagreb.

Von der Leyen arrived in Zagreb on the occasion of Croatia assuming the presidency of the Council of the European Union under the slogan "A Strong Europe in a World of Challenges."

Enhancing Europe's influence consists of several aspects. I refer to trade, to defining processes and standards, for example, as the EU it did with introducing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which the world then followed, von der Leyen told a press conference in Zagreb's National and University Library.

I think that we must not forget that violence can only be stopped by returning to the negotiation table. Violence always occurs when there is an absence of dialogue, she added, underscoring that the EU has a great reputation as a good mediator between warring forces.

We will be of key significance when new relations are built, she concluded.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković informed the press that High Representative of the EU Josep Borrell and Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman had left for Brussels to attend a ministerial meeting to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East.

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