ZAGREB, 10 March, 2021 - The Croatian parliament on Wednesday discussed a proposal by the Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System to nominate attorney and judge Sandra Hančić and Deputy Public Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter for the post of Public Ombudsman.

Several opposition party groups expressed dissatisfaction that Public Ombudswoman Lora Vidović's reports for 2018 and 2019 had still not been discussed.

Nino Raspudić of the Bridge party warned about what he called a huge increase in the budget of the ombudswoman's office, saying it had doubled since 2008, as well as about an increase in the number of staff.

He proposed reducing the term of the public ombudsman from eight to five years and that the official should be elected by a two-thirds majority in the parliament.

That way one would not elect a para-political person, said Raspudić, adding that outgoing Public Ombudswoman Lora Vidović had not dealt with issues she should have dealt with and that she made her views clear when she opposed the 2013 referendum on marriage as a union of man and woman.

Dalija Orešković (Centar, GLAS) warned about growing social inequality and what she described as the shameful treatment of the office of public ombudswoman, whose reports for 2018 and 2019 had still not been discussed by the parliament. The Public Ombudswoman has protected public interest and not the interests of the HDZ, Orešković said, accusing the ruling party of destroying the country and causing its people to emigrate.

She dismissed Raspudić's claim that Vidović was a para-political figure.

The declining number of applications for the post shows that candidates do not see any prospects there, she said.

Ružica Vukovac of the Homeland Movement warned that MPs were only given short biographies of the candidates, who were not presented in the parliament.

Vesna Nađ (SDP) said that her party preferred Šimonović Einwalter, noting that it was not good that the public ombudswoman's reports for 2018 and 2019 had not been discussed.

Damir Habijan of the HDZ said the office of the public ombudsman was undoubtedly important and that the candidates had answered all questions put to them by two parliamentary committees.

The public ombudsman is expected to advocate and protect the rights and freedoms defined by the Constitution and international treaties, and the HDZ will make a decision on which candidate to support when the vote is taken, he said.

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ZAGREB, 10 March, 2021 - The chair of the parliamentary Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System has said that it would be in the spirit of the Constitution to publish a new call for applications for the Supreme Court president, declining to say if Zlata Đurđević is acceptable to the ruling majority.

"The President must respect the Constitution and under the Constitution, he has the authority to propose a candidate for the Supreme Court president, but he also must respect the legal procedure. That includes the Law on Courts, in line with which a public call is conducted, and the Law on the State Judicial Council (DSV), which specifies conditions a candidate for the Supreme Court president must meet," Dražen Bošnjaković of the ruling HDZ party told reporters in the parliament.

"The Parliament Speaker has already said that he must return the President's proposal for completion as the candidate he has proposed did not submit her application in a public call. Anything that arrives in the parliament must be in line with the law, which is not the case now because an application was not submitted," said Bošnjaković.

There are no special regulations regarding a renewed public call but in the spirit of the system, if no one has applied or if there is no will to propose any of the candidates who have applied, a notification is sent to the DSV that none of the candidates will be proposed and a new public call is advertised, Bošnjaković explained.

As for President Zoran Milanović's candidate Zlata Đurđević's statement that she was willing to apply for the post of Supreme Court president in a new public call, Bošnjaković would not say if she was acceptable to the ruling majority, noting only that that would be seen when and if she applied.

SDP MP: Constitution requires agreement between president, parliamentary majority

The deputy head of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) parliamentary group, Arsen Bauk, said that Đurđević should be elected by a majority vote in the parliament at the proposal of the president of the republic, and that the procedure was a technical matter at the moment.

If the president and the parliamentary majority reach an agreement on Đurđević, she will be elected, and if they don't, she won't. The Constitution requires agreement between the president and the parliamentary majority, anything else is one-upmanship and amuses the public, Bauk said.

"The law has evidently fully served its purpose because this is the most transparent election of the Supreme Court president ever, it won't be this transparent in the next few election cycles," Bauk said.

"If Đurđević is an acceptable candidate to the HDZ, it makes no difference if she is elected based on the (president's) proposal or if she submits an application in a make-believe public call. If I were to make a joke, I would say that if she were honest, she would ask to be elected in a rigged public call. Or an agreement will be reached on someone else, if possible, but there are four more months left," said Bauk.

Also today, during a parliamentary debate, Bauk criticised Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković for breaching the parliament's standing orders by returning President Milanović's proposal for the election of the Supreme Court president to be completed.

"The Parliament Speaker has breached Article 170 of the Standing Orders because he sent back the President's proposal instead of letting the parliament decide on whether the proposal would be put on the agenda," Bauk said, noting that the president's proposal had all the elements it was required to have under the Standing Orders.

"If there are any objections, they are determined in a debate," Bauk said, adding that he was citing a breach of the Standing Orders "in order to have the topic nominated for discussion by the Committee on the Constitution and Standing Orders."

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ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - The ruling HDZ party's candidate for Zagreb Mayor, Davor Filipović, said on Thursday he was confident of his victory in the May local election because his model of running the city was based on responsible financial operations, transparent post-earthquake reconstruction and capital projects.

"I enjoy the strong support of the HDZ branch in Zagreb, (HDZ) president (Andrej) Plenković and the entire HDZ," Filipović said after a session of the party branch on Thursday evening.

Plenković, too, attended the session and the subsequent news conference but did not make any statements.

"All of the recent attacks against me are due to my political rivals being very nervous. I am confident that the new model of governance that I will offer, which puts emphasis on responsible financial operations, transparent reconstruction and capital projects, will be recognised by voters and that I will be elected mayor in May," said Filipović, adding that he would present the key elements of his platform in the next few weeks.

He went on to say that all information on how city budget funds are spent would be made available on the city administration's website, that the process of post-earthquake reconstruction would be fully transparent, and that heads of city departments and directors of city-owned companies would have to make their declarations of assets public.

Filipović also said that "all members of the Opposition" would be included in the supervision of public tenders for major projects.

Škoro will go down in history as the bravest Croatian politician

Commenting on reports that Homeland Movement leader Miroslav Škoro would run for Zagreb Mayor, Filipović said that "Škoro will go down in history as the bravest politician in our country."

"After summoning courage for months to announce his candidacy, it was only (on Wednesday), after he saw for himself that the late mayor Milan Bandić was buried, that he did so," said Filipović.

"Škoro is also known for having run stalls at Zagreb Advent, and we all know what one had to do to be allowed to operate stalls at the Christmas market. Having one stall is evidently not enough any more, one needs to run five, six or ten stalls. Zagreb residents know who charged the most expensive parking tickets by a hospital," Filipović said, an allusion to Škoro's having had a stake in a company operating a parking lot by Zagreb's Merkur hospital, which he eventually sold.

ZAGREB, 4 March, 2021 - During Thursday's debate on amendments to the Agriculture Act, the parliamentary opposition said Croatia's agriculture was collapsing due to poor policies, while Minister Marija Vučković dismissed such claims and said that agricultural production was growing.

Željko Lenart (HSS-HSU) said 33,000 hectares of valuable farmland from the former Agrokor conglomerate was now owned by the foreign Fortenova and that pig farming and milk production were collapsing.

He said the Farmland Act was not being honoured, that a stay on the sale of farmland to foreigners would soon end, and that the smallest farmers were being destroyed because only 6.5% of the biggest producers received the bulk of the aid.

Mišel Jakšić (Social Democrats) said the state of agriculture showed that the policies to date had not produced results because import was high and there was no self-sufficiency despite the potential.

Marija Selak Raspudić (Bridge) said 88 million tonnes a year was thrown away due to expiration dates and pushed for donating food to the needy and establishing a food bank.

Vučković said cereal production and cattle-framing were up and that food donations had gone up 13%, adding that it was necessary to reduce food waste.

Marijana Petir (ruling HDZ) pushed for regulating the aid system to facilitate the development of small and medium farmers. She announced a call for applications for HRK 120 million to help farmers in earthquake-hit areas.

ZAGREB, 4 March, 2021 - About 75 kilograms of food is thrown out each year in Croatia per head, lawmakers underlined on Thursday during a debate on an agriculture bill which among other things regulates the prevention of waste food.

"Food waste has reached a value of 20% of the total amount of food produced in Europe and on the global level losses amount to one-third of all the food produced, while in Croatia we throw out 75 kilograms of food each year per head," said MP Marijana Petir of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) caucus.

The agriculture bill, she said, would be the basis for documents that will regulate more clearly activities regarding food donations and preventing food waste, but also a system of quality food production.

The EU foresees reducing food waste by 50% by 2030 and we too have to achieve that aim, Petir underscored. "Any reduction of throwing out food means less pressure on farmland and reduced consumption of water, pesticides, and fertiliser."

MP Marija Selak Raspudić (Bridge) said that a quality system of food donations is important given the increasing poverty, but added that the bill does not provide a clear plan and that the most important thing would be to establish a food bank.

Anka Mrak Taritaš (GLAS) too underlined the need for a food bank so that surplus food can be distributed at the national level.

State Secretary in the Agriculture Ministry Tugomir Majdak said that the amount of donated food in 2019 had increased by 30% compared to 2018 and amounted to 1.5 million tonnes.

With regard to reducing food waste, Majdak explained that a guide has been prepared for food donations, a feasibility study for a food bank has been prepared, and tax reliefs on food donations have been defined.

The amendments to the law will align it with EU regulations regarding the prevention of food waste.

February the 24th, 2021 -  As Index writes, editor Neven Barkovic was a guest on a recent N1 Studio live show to comment on Index's newly added text window on their portal which ended up causing upset in HDZ.

HDZ has condemned Index's move and threatened to "take appropriate legal steps" and expects a reaction from both the Croatian authorities and the Croatian Journalists' Association.

This morning, Minister of Culture and Media Nina Obuljen Korzinek said during the aforementioned N1 programme that she had analysed which article within the law Index had violated, and announced sanctions against the Electronic Media Council, although that body should be independent.

"HDZ party members are people who are voluntarily members of an organisation that is the only one to have been convicted as a party in a Croatian court"

At the beginning, the presenter asked Neven Barkovic: "Do Index's editors consider HDZ party members to be people?''

"The fact is that these are people who are voluntarily members of an organisation convicted in a Croatian court, the only party convicted of corruption as a party. HDZ members aren't members out of altruism or idealism, but to take advantage of the use of that party's card, the way the party leadership has benefited from for years, for which we've had many final verdicts,'' Barkovic replied.

Could Index be prosecuted under the Electronic Media Act?

''It's fascinating to me that the minister is announcing some sanctions for Index, through a body that she says is independent in the same sentence. This is an interesting formulation which is typical of HDZ," Barkovic commented.

"I don't know on what basis we should react," Barkovic said of the possibility of the Electronic Media Council reacting to Index's announcement about HDZ. The minister has referred to the Law on Electronic Media, Article 12, paragraph 2, which says, and I'll shorten it a bit, that it is forbidden to incite hatred on the basis of religious, ethnicity, or even political beliefs. I just spoke with a lawyer who said that political belief is not the same as holding membership of a political party. That same paragraph of the law says that hatred mustn't be spread on the basis of trade union membership. Discrimination would mean that HDZ members are being denied something. That isn't the case. By clicking the option that shows that they are members, they're taken directly to the part of Index where numerous HDZ scandals are listed and where they can be informed of them, although I don't know how they could be uninformed about all the scandals this party has partaken in,'' Barkovic explained.

"If HDZ wants us to treat them like people, then let them start behaving like people. If HDZ wants us to stop calling them criminals, let them stop dabbling in crime," he said.

Bakovic added that Index, while SDP was in power, also wrote very openly against SDP, and he also saw SDP ministers dismissed as a result of his own work.

"Among them is Slavko Linic, who is having a great time with HDZ party members today."

He called HDZ's thesis that they were endangered a joke.

"Someone who is so privileged, I mean privileged within Croatian society, is the last person who should be complaining that he's being discriminated against. Such a person has no right to complain. The least a person like that can do is to endure the criticism, no matter how harsh it might be," he said.

"If Plenkovic wants to consume media that only favours him, then let him watch HTV."

Barkovic also said that the appropriate position of the media in a democratic society is often misinterpreted as "neutral", while in fact the correct description of the position of the media in such a society is "objective".

"Index will put most of its efforts into looking at those who are in power, those who are in a position of power. We think that's the right approach,'' Barkovic concluded.

February 1, 2021 – Miroslav Tudman, the first child of Franjo Tudman, died in Zagreb from complications caused by Coronavirus. A scientist and educator who followed a route into politics, he bore a striking resemblance to his father, the first President of Croatia

Miroslav Tudjman, HDZ member of parliament and son of Franjo Tudman, the first President of Croatia, died in the evening of Sunday 31 January 2021 in Zagreb. He was 75 years old.

Miroslav Tudjman had been hospitalized in Zagreb at the beginning of December due to complications caused by Coronavirus. He had been placed on a respirator. He sadly lost his fight for life at the Dr. Fran Mihaljevic Clinic for Infectious Diseases, Zagreb.

Born in Belgrade in 1946, the son of Franjo Tudman and his first wife Ankica Zumbar, Miroslav Tudman moved to Zagreb in 1961. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb in 1970 and later became part of the faculty, founding its Institute for Information Studies in 1989.

Miroslav Tudman © HDZ

He took part in the Croatian War of Independence and in 1992 Miroslav Tudman became the head of the Centre for Strategic Research. He took up the role as the deputy head of the National Security Office before founding and leading the first Croatian Intelligence Agency (Hrvatska izvještajna služba, HIS). In 1998, Miroslav Tudman became a tenured professor at the Faculty of Philosophy where he had studied.

Miroslav Tudman had dallied with politics since before the war, but it was only after the passing of his father – who died while in office – that they became a more consuming affair for him. He flitted between running as an independent candidate, within fringe parties and as a member of HDZ, the party to which his father belonged. His longest duration with any party was from 2011 and 2021, during which he was a member of HDZ.

At the time of his death, he was a member of the Croatian parliament, head of the Parliamentary Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, a member of the Committee on Defence, Internal Policy and National Security, War Veterans and Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation.

Bearing a very close resemblance to his father, Miroslav Tudman was named after Croatian writer Miroslav Krleža who his father adored at the time of his firstborn child.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that he received the news of Miroslav Tudman's death with sadness.

"It is with great sadness that I received the news of the departure of Prof. Miroslav Tudman, PhD, a dear colleague, friend and member of the Croatian Parliament, son of the first Croatian President Franjo Tudman, a prominent politician and a scientist dedicated to protecting national interests," he wrote on Twitter. "In these sad and painful moments, for the Tudman family, I express my sincere condolences and sympathy, on behalf of the government and myself."

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ZAGREB, 29 January, 2021 - PM Andrej Plenković said on Friday that his HDZ party will not forget that the opposition broke the quorum in parliament due to postponement of a vote on abolishing the mandatory membership fee for the Croatian Chamber of Commerce at a time when HDZ MP Miroslav Tudjman was in hospital due to COVID-19.

"One of our MPs is in hospital because of COVID-19 and they did exactly what I thought they would. This is not about the quorum but about the fact that Mr Tudjman is unable to attend. That is a very important message. The Opposition broke the quorum knowing that one HDZ MP, the oldest in this parliament, is practically fighting for his life," Plenković told reporters after officially putting into operation the LNG terminal and the Zlobin-Omišalj interconnection.

Opposition making a show because of HRK 42 a month

We won't forget this for a long time nor should the public, he added.

As far as the membership fee for the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) is concerned, he assessed that the public has witnessed numerous populist initiatives filled with demagogy, underlining that the membership fee for all businesses with lower revenue is HRK 42 a month.

"The HRK 42 is obviously the reason for this initiative. No one is saying that the HGK could not function better, be more useful and more accessible but it has existed for 160 years or more. That is not an organisation that can be dismantled over an opposition whim or some demagogical or populist intentions," said Plenković.

"If something needs to be changed, we can discuss what can be changed but to make a political show for the sake of HRK 42 a month is something only this opposition can do," Plenković underscored.

By walking out of the parliament today the opposition prevented a vote on the amended law on post-earthquake reconstruction, the declaration of the Exclusive Economic Zone in the Adriatic and the National Development Strategy, he said, stressing again that he would not forget it.

I understand it is hard but we are assisting those who cannot work

Referring to plans by cafe and restaurant owners to stage protests because COVID-19 restrictions will not be eased, Plenković recalled that winter is a time when COVID-19 spreads more easily and that most countries are introducing even harsher restrictions than Croatia.

In many countries non-essential stores are closed. There is a ban on the work of hairdressers and many other services that are operating in Croatia, Plenković said, adding that relaxing restrictions for schools and sports was a message of support for citizens' good behaviour.

"I understand that it is difficult for anyone who is shut but I will say that the state has stood by people who cannot work and that we will give a total of HRK 2.5 billion for those who cannot conduct their commercial activities," said Plenković, appealing to everyone to have understanding for the current circumstances - the new virus strains, a slowed-down vaccination process and the winter months.

He said that neither the EU nor Croatia had considered obtaining the Russian or Chinese vaccine in light of the fact that sufficient doses had been ordered.

"If the current problems escalate, we can put those options on the table as well," he added.

Commenting on Žarko Tušek's resignation as head of the HDZ branch in Krapina-Zagorje County, Plenković said Tušek had made a serious political mistake and was suffering the consequences.

ZAGREB, Dec 13, 2020 - The Constitutional Court rejected the lawsuit by former prime minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Ivo Sanader in the Planinska case, due to which he is serving a six-year prison sentence.

With this decision all legal means of challenging the verdict before national courts have been exhausted.

The verdict in the Planinska case, in which Sanader was charged with receiving a commission of HRK 17.5 million after the state bought a building in Zagreb's Planinska Street from the company of former HDZ MP and butchers chain owner Stjepan Fiolic during his term as prime minister, was handed down by Zagreb County Court in 2017 and upheld by the Supreme Court in April 2019.

The Supreme Court increased Sanader's sentence to six years in prison, after which the former prime minister was sent to Zagreb's Remetinec jail.

In the trial, Fiolic admitted that he brought HRK 10 million and another one million euros (approx. HRK 17.5 million in total) to Sanader's home in a cardboard box. The property of Fiolic's company was purchased by the regional development ministry, led by former minister Petar Cobankovic, who made a plea bargain with the prosecution before trail and was sentenced to one in year in prison. He did not go to prison but did community service.

Apart from them, the trial chamber in this case also convicted Mladen Mlinarevic, for whom it established that he inflated the value of the building in Zagreb's Planinska Street owned by Fiolic before it was purchased by Cobankovic's ministry.

In the rejected constitutional complaint, Sanader repeated that he was a victim of political persecution and that Fiolic and Cobankovic had reached agreements with the prosecution and received lighter sentences. In the complaint, Sanader called Cobankovic a "false witness" who spoke in court as instructed by the prosecution.

He also claimed that the equality of arms principle had been violated as several criminal proceedings had been conducted against him at the same time. In addition to the constitutional complaint, he also filed a motion to delay enforcement procedures and to postpone his imprisonment.

In the meantime, in November, Sanader was sentenced in a retrial to eight years in prison and ordered to return HRK 16 million in the Fimi Media case, after the non-final verdict from 2013 was quashed by the Supreme Court.

Sanader is also waiting for the Supreme Court's decisions on several more non-final verdicts. He has been sentenced pending appeal to six years for taking a bribe from the Hungarian energy group MOL, and MOL CEO Zsolt Hernadi was sentenced to two years in prison. If the verdict becomes final, Sanader will have to return €5 million to the state.

He has also been sentenced pending appeal for taking a kickback from the Austrian Hypo bank, and he has been acquitted pending appeal for the sale of electricity from the HEP provider to a company owned by Rober Jezic at prices below the market price.

ZAGREB, November 23, 2020 - The ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) on Sunday held its intra-party elections for the leaders of municipal, city and county branches, and the branches in the capital city of Zagreb and in the biggest Croatian Adriatic city of Split elected the new leaders.

Thus, the HDZ branch in Zagreb will be led by Mislav Herman, a gynecologist, who succeeded Andrija Mikulic at this position. Herman was the sole candidate for the Zagreb HDZ president in Sunday's elections.

The HDZ branch is Split will be led by Vice Mihanovic, the head of the Port of Split, who succeeded Petar Skoric who was at the helm of the local HDZ branch in the last eight years. MIhanovic was the only candidate for the post.

In Rijeka, the two new candidates ran for this position, and the winner was Josip Ostrogovic who mustered 349 votes while his rival Kristjan Stanicic won 273 votes. The former HDZ leader in Rijeka, Lucijan Vukelic, did not rerun for the position.

In Osijek, Ivan Radic was re-elected for that city.

The party's 209,271 members were eligible to vote according to the one member, one vote principle at 576 polling stations across the country, including 17 in Zagreb. If necessary, a runoff will be held on December 6. The vote was the continuation of intra-party elections which began on March 15 with the re-election of president Andrej Plenkovic and were put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.