ZAGREB, April 6, 2019 - The slate of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) for the European Parliament elections is headed by Karlo Ressler, a 30-year-old party official who coordinated the preparation of the HDZ platform for the upcoming European elections and whom the HDZ Youth unanimously nominated for the list which was presented to the public on Friday evening.

The second place of the 12-candidate slate is occupied by a Croatian MEP, Dubravka Šuica,and she is followed by MP Tomislav Sokol, while one more HDZ MEP, Željana Zovko, ranks fourth and she is followed by two members of the national parliament, Sunčana Glavak and Marijana Balić.

The slate which also includes the heads of Šibenik-Knin and Brod-Posavina counties - Goran Pauk and Danijel Marušić, respectively, Transport Ministry state secretary Nikolina Brnjac, Osijek-Baranja County Development Agency head Stjepan Ribić, Split-Dalmatia County Port Authority head Domagoj Maroević, and assistant HDZ secretary-general Stjepan Adanić was unanimously adopted at meetings of the HDZ Presidency, National Council, and the Main Committee which considered the party's platform for the EP elections called "Croatia for Generations".

Presenting the slate at a news conference on late Friday evening, HDZ leader and Prime Minister Plenković said that the party platform for the upcoming elections had five planks that concentrate on a successful European Croatia, growth- and enterprise-friendly Europe, a Europe pursuing values of Democrat Christians and solidarity, a new generation Europe, and a safe and globally strong Europe.

Plenković expressed confidence in a convincing victory of his party in the elections which will be held on 26 May.

Recent projections released by the European Parliament show that the party is set to win six of the 12 seats, allotted to Croatia in the next European Parliament, (EP), while the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) can expect three seats and the Živi Zid, the GLAS-led Amsterdam Coalition and the MOST party can win one seat each.

More news about HDZ can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 5, 2019 - The speaker of the Croatian parliament and secretary-general of the ruling HDZ party, Gordan Jandroković, said on Friday that the Supreme Court conviction of former prime minister Ivo Sanader to six years' imprisonment was proof that the judiciary was impartial and that no one was above the law.

Asked by the press in Zagreb if the ruling was a burden on the HDZ, Jandroković said: "It would be better if there was no such ruling, but I repeat, it is a sentence against one person."

Speaking to reporters during a visit to the eastern city of Osijek, Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković said that the sentence was imposed on Sanader as an individual and that it should not be confused with his role as prime minister or the party which he led at the time.

Asked to comment on the claim by Sanader's defence counsel that they had learned of the Supreme Court ruling from the media, Bošnjaković said that he could not comment and that the question should be addressed to the Supreme Court, "which delivered its judgment to the Zagreb County Court, which handed down the first-instance ruling and whose task was to forward the judgment to the State Attorney's Office and the accused."

He added that it was hard for him to say how it happened that media learned of the ruling before one of the parties to the case because he did not know all the facts.

More news on HDZ can be found in the Politics section.

Ivica Modrić, an HDZ member and member of the board of directors of the state-owned company Croatian Transmission System Operator d.o.o. (HOPS), brutally beat a young man in Zagreb a week ago, reports Index.hr on April 5, 2019.

The attack came after the young man tried to cross the pedestrian crossing. Modrić, who was driving the car, did not allow him to, but he ran past him. The man then hit the trunk of Modrić's car with his hand. Modrić stopped the car, came out, threatened the young man and hit him with a fist to his head. The man has suffered four facial fractures and is still at the Dubrava hospital in Zagreb.

"It happened around 4.30 pm on Thursday. I went to the kindergarten in Vrbik to pick up my child. I started walking across the pedestrian crossing and made two steps. The car was ten metres away. I slowed down because I was crossing the pedestrian crossing, but he accelerated. I was already on the crossing, and he saw me. I stopped, and he passed 30 cm in front of me. It was so close that I had instinctively raised my arms. When he passed, I slapped my fingers on the trunk. There was no damage. I walked across the crossing, and he stopped the car and got out.

How dare you touch the car, he asked me. I told him he could have run me over and asked him what was wrong with him. I have had enough of you young people, he replied. I asked him what was going on. He answered me that I did not know what I had gotten myself into. He started towards me. I tried to catch his fist but was not able to. He hit me in my face. I fell to my back. Fortunately, I had a backpack, so I did not hit my head. When I got up, he turned and walked toward the car. I shouted, asking him whether he knew what he was doing. I got my cell phone out and told him I would call the police. You will call the cops on me, he replied. I will call a SWAT team on you. You do not know what you have gotten yourself into.

I photographed him and his car. He left, I called 112, and the police came in. Blood was bleeding from my nose. A man from the cafe gave me a tissue. The police questioned the worker at the parking lot. He saw everything. The waiter and a guest from the bar also saw when he hit me. The ambulance came. At the hospital, they determined I had four bone fractures. My eye was moved in its socket, and I needed surgery.

My wife went to the kindergarten to pick up our child. My two-year-old daughter saw me all bloody. In the evening, she saw her daddy crying. They moved me to the Dubrava hospital. A few days ago, I had surgery, and they inserted a titanium plate in the cheekbone. I still cannot open my eyes. I also do not feel anything from the eye to the middle of my face. It should get better in a couple of weeks or a few months. Doctors hope I will get out of the hospital soon.”

HOPS is a company that, together with HEP, manages Croatia’s power system, the transmission of electricity and the maintenance, development and construction of the transmission network. “We as a company absolutely condemn any violent behaviour of any of our employees, especially members of the management board. For the sanctions to be taken, we need a police report. We have received official confirmation that it will be delivered to us as soon as the investigation is completed,” said HOPS for Index.hr. There is unofficial information that the HOPS Supervisory Board has decided to dismiss Modrić. The procedure is reportedly underway.

The police issued a statement about the incident. “Regarding your inquiry, we can inform you that police officers are conducting the criminal investigation into the events which took place on March 28 in Vrbik. Given that the 32-year-old was seriously injured in the aforementioned event and has been hospitalised, we are going to conduct an investigation to determine the circumstances of the event. The appropriate documents will be submitted to the relevant state attorney office.”

Index.hr also wanted to know what HDZ thought about the incident and whether they intend to sanction their member. "HDZ regrets that the incident took place,” the party said. They added that HDZ has zero tolerance for violence. Modrić, who is a member of the party branch in Osijek, has been suspended from all party duties until the end of the proceedings. As for the threats with the SWAT police, HDZ said such conduct is unacceptable.

Translated from Index.hr (reported by Denis Mahmutović).

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.

Much like an unpleasant odour, former PM Ivo Sanader is back in the limelight, at least that of the court room, once again.

As VLM/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 2nd of April, 2019, two years after the Zagreb County Court announced their verdict in the Planinska affair, former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader is set to appear at the Supreme Court, in a hearing which will deal with his appeals against that previous judgement.

In the Planinska affair, former prime minister Ivo Sanader (HDZ) was handed down a verdict which saw him sentenced to four and half years in prison, while Mladen Mlinarević and Stjepan Fiolić were sentenced to one year in prison each, with that punishment being overturned for community service instead.

Hefty fines were imposed on the two accused companies, the Fiolić butchery was punished with a 50,000 kuna fine, and the the accused livestock reproduction centre was hit a fine of 70,000 kuna. The verdict saw it decided that Ivo Sanader, Stjepan Fiolić, the Fiolić butchery, and the aforementioned centre must jointly return fifteen million kuna, while Ivo Sanader faced more punishment on top of that.

It is anticipated that session of the Supreme Court dealing with the Planinska affair will last three days, during which the defense should explain their appeals. The defendants complained of substantial violations of the criminal procedure and demanded that the verdict be terminated. The main request is for the Supreme Court to revise the previous verdict and subsequent sentence(s).

The maximum prescribed punishment is being sought for former PM Ivo Sanader, which currently stands at ten years behind bars, is because the belief is that this is truly a case of the "worst form of political corruption which he [Ivo Sanader] himself devised, and in its realisation he was insistent and persistent, just as he was persistent and diligent in hiding it". As for Mladen Mlinarević, they believe that he and Ivo Sanader have shown that this was not a case of misconduct but pure corruption as a form of lifestyle.

The Planinska affair gave way to one of Ivo Sanader's most controversial court proceedings to date, which was often interrupted due to his various health problems. Due to these postponements, the trial took place from April 2013 right up until April 2018.

Several years later, Ivo Sanader was placed on trial again in repeated trials for his involvement in the INA - MOL and Fimi Media affairs.

While waiting for the Supreme Court to pass its decision on the appeals to the previous sentence for the Planinska affair, Ivo Sanader was sentenced to two and a half years in prison back in October last year in the Hypo scandal, and his verdict was acquitted in yet another affair involving HEP. If the Supreme Court confirms the previous ruling for the Planinska affair, it means that Ivo Sanader will soon be back behind bars once again. If the judgement is terminated, it will mean that another repeated trial, which in true Croatian fashion, is likely to last for years, will occur.

Make sure to follow our dedicated politics page for much more.

Click here for the original article by VLM/Poslovni Dnevnik

ZAGREB, March 30, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Saturday that Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) leader Boris Miletić's statement by that pushing Uljanik into bankruptcy the ruling HDZ party was trying to economically destabilise Istria.

"If the IDS wants to play the game of shifting responsibility, it should ask itself what it has done for Uljanik over the past 30 years and not the last 17 months," Plenković said on the margins of a meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly's Standing Committee in Zagreb.

Last year the government made a change, "unlike the SDP-led governments, of which the IDS was a member and which issued guarantees for ships that were not built," said Plenković.

"We did the only right and possible thing, we gave rescue aid in line with guidelines from the European Commission and made it possible to start looking for a suitable restructuring partner," he said.

Asked about combat aircraft, Plenković said that Croatia was working on enhancing its air force's capabilities but he could not guarantee that new fighter jets would be bought by the end of his term in office.

Asked if the aircraft purchase would be agreed directly or a new tender would be advertised, he said that having more than one option would be responsible.

More news about the Uljanik crisis can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, March 29, 2019 - The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) is set to win six of the 12 seats, allotted to Croatia in the next European Parliament, (EP), while the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) can expect three seats and the Živi Zid, the GLAS-led Amsterdam Coalition and the MOST party, can win one seat each, shows the latest projections released by the European Parliament on Friday.

This is the third such projection of the composition of the next EP released by the Parliament and based on polls on voting intentions in the EU member-states.

Initial projections of the composition of the new European Parliament indicated that of 12 seats reserved for Croatia the HDZ will win six, the SDP three, Živi Zid two and MOST one.

The projects are compiled in collaboration with Kantar Public, Parliament’s Public Opinion Monitoring Unit.

These projections of the composition of the next European Parliament are based on the structure of the outgoing Parliament and should be seen as a snapshot of the current political situation as represented in the voting intention polls.

The poll in Croatia was carried out by Promocija Plus. According to the poll taken, HDZ will win 30.7% of the vote or 6 seats. SDP would win 19.2% of the vote or 3 seats, followed by the Živi Zid (10.2%) Amsterdam Coalition (7.7%) and MOST (6.8%) and would win 1 seat each.

The next European Parliament will have fewer MEPs then the outgoing parliament, 705 compared to the current 751 seats. The new division of seats will apply only if Great Britain exits the EU before the elections which are set for May 23 - 26.

Based on current voting intentions in the EU27, the European People's Party group (EPP) would have 188 seats, followed by the Socialists and Democrats (142), Liberals (72), Europe of Nations and Freedom (61), European Conservatives and Reformists (53), European United Left (49), and the European Freedom and Direct Democracy group (30).

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

ZAGREB, March 19, 2019 - Prime Minister and HDZ president Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday the party's Pozega City Council deputy chairman, Igor Krizmanić, who has been accused of domestic violence by his daughter, has suspended all of his party duties and that this was "a clear message that the (ruling party) does not tolerate violence."

"The message we sent since being in power is that we have no tolerance to violence. We recognised this horrible social phenomenon which exists... but with all the mechanisms state authorities have at their disposal, we need to do everything to prevent violence, to harshly punish perpetrators, help victims, bolster institutions and raise public awareness," Plenković told reporters.

Asked what ministers were doing if citizens had to hold a protest to point to violence, he said a lot was being done in implementing the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

Plenković said there had been no self-promotion in the fact that he attended Saturday's protest against violence. "There was, recognising the problem, having sympathy for those who experienced violence, respecting the initiative that (organised the protest)."

He said the government had addressed the problem but that state mechanisms, because of the law, institutional shortcomings and insufficient coordination, had not tackled it. He said these were processes that took time and that it was good that citizens and initiatives pointed to the extent of violence.

"The (Istanbul) Convention went into force on October 1, after which we signed a protocol on cooperation between ministries, after which the Ministry of Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy prepared a protocol on the procedures of every department with regard to protection from violence which will be put to public consultation this week."

Plenković said Croatia's implementation of the Convention would be overseen as of 2020 by the GREVIO expert group. "The Council of Europe learned from experience that it takes at least three to four years to implement legislative novelties."

Commenting on recent local elections in Lika County, he said it would not be possible to form a ruling majority without the HDZ and that the HDZ wished to "improve the quality of life of the people who live there and to implement projects worth about 900 million kuna in European Union funds."

Commenting on the recent discovery of a missing file on police leaks in the Zagreb Municipal Prosecutor's Office archives related to an elite prostitution investigation from 2011, Plenković said, "It's better that it was found than that someone had taken it."

He also commented on media reports that the manager of the Krka National Park, Nella Slavica, had been a member of both the HDZ and the HNS parties at the same time. "Under our statute, she can't be in two parties."

Asked if this offence was enough to fire her, he said he did not know if it was an offence and that the matter should be checked first.

More news about the HDZ can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 14, 2019 - Parliament Speaker and HDZ party secretary-general Gordan Jandroković said on Wednesday, in a comment on an indictment against member of parliament Marijan Kustić, who headed the HDZ slate and won a recent election in Lika-Senj County, and who has been charged with causing a traffic accident, that it was not customary for officials to resign after legal proceedings were launched against them.

The prosecutorial authorities in Osijek earlier in the day indicted Kustić for causing a traffic accident in which two persons were seriously injured while the parliamentary Conflict of Interest Commission said that it would consider Kustić's failure to report a valuable watch in his declaration of assets.

"The proceedings have just been launched and it is not customary for officials to resign when proceedings are launched," Jandroković told reporters in Zagreb, adding that his comment was the same with regard to the indictment against Kustić. "... I think it would be best... to wait for a non-final and then a final verdict in order to be able to pass judgement," said Jandroković.

Commenting on the timing of the indictment, three days after the early election in Lika-Senj County, Jandroković said that he was confident that there had been no pressure and that all institutions that had to be autonomous operated autonomously. "I'm also confident that the ruling majority and the government do not exert any pressure," he said.

Asked if the HDZ would support the new budget of Lika-Senj County or if a new election would have to be held, Jandroković said that Kustić had made it clear several times that the first step would be to form the majority in the Lika-Senj County Assembly, after which decisions would be made.

Asked if the majority in the county assembly could be formed with former HDZ official and Lika-Senj County head Darko Milinović, considering that HDZ political secretary Lovro Kuščević had said that it was not an option, Jandroković answered: "If the political secretary has said so, why would the secretary-general's opinion be different?"

More news about HDZ can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 11, 2019 - The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)-led coalition won Sunday's the early election for the Lika-Senj County Assembly with 35.4 percent of votes, according to information released by the State Election Committee on Sunday evening,

The independent slate of former HDZ member Darko Milinović was second (20.4 percent), the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) was third (17.2 percent), the independent slate of Anto Dabo was fourth (9.8 percent) and the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) was fifth with 5.36 of the votes.

Parties that won less than five percent of the votes are the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Živi Zid Party, the HSLS/HNS coalition and Milan Bandić's party.

The New Lika-Senj County Assembly will have 13 members from the HDZ slate, seven from Milinović's slate, six from the HSP slate, three from Dabo's slate and two from the the SDSS slate.

The turnout was 51.2 percent.

The HDZ also won election for the Davor Municipal Council, while the SDP won the election for the Ogulin City Council. The independent slate of Marina Budimir won the elections in the town of Ilok.

More news about Lika-Senj County and the Lika region can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, March 11, 2019 - The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said on Sunday it entirely supported the letter the Croatian Bishops Conference expressing its deep disagreement with the decision by the Roman Catholic Church in Carinthia to withhold permission for this year's memorial mass at Loibach, near Bleiburg, and said that MP Zlatko Hasenbegović and his followers were contributing to the Mass ban at Bleiburg

Commenting on Hasenbegović’s claim that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković was behind the Mass ban, the HDZ said that instead of investing his energy as an MP into finding a solution, Hasenbegović was using situation to promote his political agenda.

The Roman Catholic Church in the Austrian federal state of Carinthia has turned down a request by the Croatian Bishops Conference (HBK) to hold a mass at Loibach, a field near Bleiburg because the event is used for political purposes.

Even though the Bleiburg gathering is held on a private property, holding a religious service there requires permission from the Catholic Church in Carinthia.

Since last year Austria has been treating the Bleiburg commemoration more critically, at the initiative of several Austrian members of the European Parliament. Recently, a law went into force banning the display of Ustasha symbols, dating back to the time of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH).

The Bleiburg commemorations are held in tribute to tens of thousands of Croatian civilians and soldiers of the defeated Nazi-allied NDH who surrendered to allied forces there in May 1945, but were handed over by British troops to Yugoslav forces. Many were executed on the spot, while many perished during so-called death marches back to Yugoslavia.

More news about the Bleiburg ban can be found in the Politics section.