ZAGREB, March 25, 2019 - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Monday attended a ceremony marking Zadar University Day at which she recalled that the city's Dominican college of philosophy and theology, established in 1396, had been the first tertiary institution in Croatia, adding that that tradition was part not only of Zadar University but of the overall national identity and the history of Croatian education and culture.

The president sees universities as important stakeholders in the restoration of dialogue on the political and social scene.

"Our society lacks dialogue and understanding, debates in which strength is measured by arguments and competence, and that's why I see universities as drivers and stakeholders in shaping a culture of dialogue and a more constructive social atmosphere," she added.

The president underscored that she "is following all the changes and recommendations related to education, which is the foundation of development of any country."

"As such, I welcome the initiative by the Rectors' Conference and its president, Rector Dijana Vican, who are highly motivated to use EU funds to improve university infrastructure and equipment, which is essential for the work of students, professors and researchers and for the overall development," she said.

She underscored that she expected the academic community "to be more actively involved in social changes and not just education reform so that our nation can actively participate in European academic and scientific development processes."

More news about Croatian universities can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, March 23, 2019 - Mistrust in Croatian institutions and politics, insecure employment and passivity of young people are some of the problems that scientists, professors and politically active youth identified at a roundtable for youth on Friday, entitled "To be young, politically educated and to live in Croatia," organised by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović's Youth Council to motivate dialogue and critical thinking among young people and restore their trust in politics.

President Grabar-Kitarović underscored that she advocates including young people in social and political processes because she sees in young people potential for social change. She believes that it is important to develop critical thinking among young people and that they need to be more involved in global topics and local topics too.

She underscored that the round table was organised due to the lack of interest by young people in politics and said that a survey conducted last year among young people in Croatia showed that they are not interested in politics because they do not trust institutions, political, local and state government.

The results of the survey were presented by an associate at the Institute for Social Research, Vlasta Ilišin, who explained that the survey showed that there isn't any great difference between generations and that the stance of young people is similar to that of their parents.

Young people are more inclined to political abstinence, are not prepared to take on political responsibility and politically tend to be centre-oriented, slightly to the right. They are very closely tied to their families, very mistrusting of people who have different political views, while showing a greater trust in international institutions, Ilišin said and added that this could be described as "underdeveloped democratic culture" and that everyone was to blame, parents, political stakeholders, the media and the education system.

President Grabar-Kitarović concluded that the biggest problem with regard to young people staying in Croatia is that they do not have a secure and permanent job. "Young people aren't interested in ideological issues but questions of livelihood," she underscored and added that it was because society is focused on ideology that young people are losing their trust in politics and politicians.

"They don't have a secure and permanent job, on average work longer hours than the law prescribes and are on average paid less than the average wage. That is tragic data as far as motivating them to stay in Croatia," she said.

She added that the biggest fear young people have is of unemployment, which is related to "deeply embedded social anomalies of clientelism, nepotism and corruption," which is the second most prevalent reason why young people are emigrating.

More political news can be found in the dedicated section.

ZAGREB, March 21, 2019 - The European Union must not lose itself in bilateral quarrels, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in Zagreb on Thursday after meeting with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, with whom he agreed that the prospects of even better bilateral cooperation would occur in 2020, when both countries are set to preside over the European Union.

Steinmeier began his two-day official visit with talks in Grabar-Kitarović's office during which they said the two countries shared the same views on many European issues and that they were strongly linked by the Croatian community in Germany.

In a joint press conference after the talks, Steinmeier said Croatia, as the newest EU member, was a bridge between the European bloc and Southeast Europe, with which it shares a common past. There were difficult periods in that past, he said, urging the countries of Southeast Europe to resolve outstanding issues.

In Europe, "dealing with the difficulties of the past paved the way to the future," he said. Later today, he will visit the Eurocampus international school, where German and French schools operate under the same roof. "That's a nice example of reconciliation," he said.

Grabar-Kitarović said Croatia supported the Euro-Atlantic perspective of all Southeast European countries. "In that sense, we want a stable Southeast Europe, notably Bosnia and Herzegovina." She said that Croatia would dedicate another summit on EU enlargement to Southeast Europe while chairing the Council of the EU in the first half of next year.

The calendar envisaged that we assume responsibility one after the other, Steinmeier said. Germany will chair the Council in the second half of 2020. "That's a chance to cooperate even better at European level."

Grabar-Kitarović said the two countries shared common European values and commitment to a strong EU. Croatia will always remember "the key role of Germany and other close friends during the struggle for survival, notably the then Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher," she said, adding that Croatia continued to count on Germany's support.

Croatia appreciates Germany's "constant and strong" support for Croatia's membership of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, said Grabar-Kitarović.

The EU will "become safer and stronger when Croatia enters the Schengen and euro areas," she said. "In that respect, we are counting on Germany's support," she added, noting that Croatia is making big efforts to efficiently monitor "the EU's longest eastern external border."

Germany is one of Croatia's principal economic partners - its first trade partner, the fourth foreign investor and the first in the number of tourists, Grabar-Kitarović said, noting that 2.9 million Germans visited Croatia last year.

She said Croatia wanted to increase exports to Germany. The two countries cooperate in many areas and Croatian citizens in Germany and ethnic Germans in Croatia are "a strong bridge of friendship and a link." The 360,000-strong Croat community in Germany is strongly integrated, she added.

Asked by German journalists about the emigration of Croats, Grabar-Kitarović reiterated that demography was the number one issue and that mobility was something good but that it was necessary to create return conditions.

Steinmeier said Croatia was a new member state but has "settled in the heart of the EU" as a bridge helping to overcome the difficulties between old and new member states. He illustrated Croatia's role with the Three Seas Initiative, which some in Europe saw as an attempt to distance new member states from "the old Europe."

Croatia said from the very beginning that the Initiative must not be used for political purposes and invited other countries to join, which Germany did, he said. "A lot is at stake in Europe" today, which is why the European Parliament election "isn't just another election in history" as it "will decide on the different drafts of the European Union's future," he added.

Neither president would speculate on the outcome of a European Council meeting on Brexit that is taking place today and tomorrow.

Asked how that would impact the decision to call the EP election for May, Grabar-Kitarović said she would announce it by March 26.

More news about relations between Croatia and Germany can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 21, 2019 - Commenting on statements by representatives of ethnic minorities that again this year again they would not attend the government-sponsored commemoration of victims of the World War II Jasenovac concentration camp, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said that she regretted "ideological divisions and that we are constantly going back to the past instead of focusing on issues of everyday life" and that she would therefore go to Jasenovac "to pay tribute to the victims in silence" again this year.

Speaking of the problems of everyday life one should focus on, Grabar-Kitarović said: "They are the problems of 3. Maj dock workers and their families, subcontractors, the Uljanik Group, and all other businesses in the country - micro, small and medium-sized - as well as big state-owned companies, let alone pensioners' problems."

"I'm quite upset that we are putting those divisions in the centre of political debate," she said during a visit to Rijeka.

Grabar-Kitarović went on to say that everyone had recognised that regimes such as Fascism, Communism and Nazism were criminal. "Tribute should be paid to all victims," she said.

"I said that I would attend the Jasenovac commemoration if we all go together. We all commemorate the victims and everyone does it in their own way, which makes no sense. I will go there to bow in silence to the victims because they deserve that," Grabar-Kitarović said.

Asked about the situation in the ailing Uljanik shipbuilding group, the president said that analyses were being made as to whether the group should file for bankruptcy or be restructured. "I hope a restructuring of some kind will be chosen because... the shipbuilding industry is one of the strategic Croatian industries, however, it cannot continue the way it has operated so far," she said, adding that Croatian shipyards evidently could not compete with Asian shipyards and had to specialise and find a niche, to rely on domestic experts and know-how and to start building smaller vessels.

As for announcements that Zagreb University would grant an honorary doctorate to Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, which has been strongly criticised by some political parties, Grabar-Kitarović said that the decision concerned "the relationship between Bandić and Zagreb University, and universities are autonomous."

More news about Jasenovac commemorations can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 19, 2019 - Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković said on Monday that he had ordered an analysis of the ministry's reports based on which President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović issued a pardon for Danko Seiter, who has been found guilty of economic crime and who is being prosecuted in another case for economic crime.

Bošnjaković said that at the time when the reports were compiled he was not at the helm of the Justice Ministry but that he had ordered that the reports be analysed.

"If the ministry's reports prove that (ministry officials) failed to perceive the fact that proceedings were under way against the person in question, we will react," Bošnjaković said.

Asked about a new pardon law, Bošnjaković said that his ministry had drafted a new proposal.

"We have defined most things and the bill will be put forward very soon... in the next 30 days," said the minister.

Commenting on her pardon for Seiter, who has been found guilty of economic crime in a case that also involved her campaign donor Nikola Hanzel and who is being prosecuted in another case for economic crime, Grabar-Kitarović said earlier in the day that she had not been aware that another case was under way against Seiter and that the Justice Ministry, which proposed that she pardon him, had not been aware of that either.

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

Independent parliamentarian Vlaho Orepić discussed various issues surrounding the Croatian political and social structure, claiming that ''the failure to properly deal with fake (fictitious) residences by the authorities is politically motivated and purposely left unresolved with the aim of influencing the outcomes of the upcoming elections,''

The fact that there is no real intention of the current authorities to remove fake residences from the electoral register and bring some order [to that situation] and accordingly, Croatia conducts a policy of banalisation when it comes to the conditions for obtaining Croatian citizenship were grounds for a press conference held by independent MP Vlaho Orepić.

On Tuesday, February the 5th, 2019, on the premises of the Croatian Parliament, Vlaho Orepić held a press conference on which he once again pointed out to the media and the public the problem of fake residence registration.

The fact that this issue remains unresolved means people who have their permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia are denied the right to elect their own authorities, and Croatian citizens living outside the homeland (whose voting rights are indisputable and come directly from what is written in the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia (Ustav Republike Hrvatske) are also deceived in this way.

The conclusion which has now been arrived to, given that a response from the relevant minister wasn't given even after the issue was brought up in parliament, is that there is simply no sincere and real intention of the current government to even try to tackle an extremely important issue so that honest elections can be carried out in the future. Orepić has therefore also called upon political and social structures to take a stance and engage with the aim of protecting legality of upcoming elections and democratic processes in the Republic of Croatia.

"What worries me, and what has inspired a series of both formal and informal reactions from me, even this press conference, is the fact that false (fictitious) residences are politically motivated and protected with the aim of influencing the outcomes of the electoral process(es) in the Republic of Croatia. My goal is to put an end to fake residence [registration] and the type of politics which permits that same cheating in the elections. My goal is fair elections,'' stated Orepić.

According to new statistics, Croatia has fewer than four million inhabitants (approximately 3.750 million), according to official data we can count almost 4,175,000 people with health insurance and as many as 3,746,286 voters. The fact that the number of voters isn't actually correct has been indicated by the data of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), published in July 2017, which states that just children under the age of fourteen alone which are registered amount to 600,000. It's totally clear that Croatia has no accurate and publicly available list of citizens and voters, nor does it have the political will to have this problem solved.

From the mentioned numerical indicators, as well as from the legal definition of residence, which reads as - residence is the place and address in the Republic of Croatia where the person permanently resides in order to exercise his/her rights and obligations related to living interests such as family, professional, economic, social, cultural and social other interests - it's clear that a lot of people who don't meet these conditions have been entered into the electoral register.

They are listed [on the electoral register] on the basis of their false registrations of residence in the Republic of Croatia and thus, in addition to voting and other rights, they enjoy economic ones which come with residing in the Republic of Croatia.

That this is politically motivated has also been indicated by the fact that the second day after Vlaho Orepić's dismissal as Minister of the Interior, the disclosure and deletion procedure of false residence registrations in the Republic of Croatia (mainly regarding citizens from neighbouring Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) was suspended. Activities related to the abolition of fake residences are a legal obligation of the chief of police administrations, but in spite of that fact, all of those who were engaged in carrying out this work were prevented from continuing with it.

While Vlaho Orepić was the Minister of the Interior, in just two and a half months, about 45,000 fake residence registrations were removed, and over the next four months that number rose to 75,000. The estimates are that at the present moment, there are at least 150,000 fictitious residence registrations in the Republic of Croatia, which brings a whole range of election process outcomes as well as the legality of the authorities at all levels into question.

"I hope all political, judicial and other social structures will realise the importance of this issue. From the government, the security services and the justice system, I expect an urgent reaction, just as was done with the recent attempt to try to discredit the Minister of Agriculture (Tomislav Tolušić). I expect from the umbrella of war veteran associations to stand up for the legality of the election process in the Republic of Croatia, especially with the engagement of Mr. Josip Đakić as a parliamentary representative and as a war veteran.

I expect the support of the President of the Croatian Parliament, Mr. Gordan Jandroković, and especially the two vice-presidents Mr. Milijan Brkić and Mr. Božo Petrov because they know very well what I'm talking about and what I'm fighting for. I also expect the support of President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to whom this issue must be in focus because it's in the interest of citizens, and all the citizens of the Republic of Croatia, and without whom we cannot even begin to talk about the rule of law as the basis for the survival of every single legal state,'' concluded Vlaho Orepić, MP.

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

ZAGREB, March 18, 2019 - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Monday declined to comment on the situation in Serbia, which has been shaken by anti-government protests, saying that the destabilisation of that country could destabilise the entire region.

"They are Serbia's internal affairs and I do not want to interfere. However, I don't want to see the destabilisation of the entire region, and the destabilisation of Serbia would certainly result in the destabilisation of other countries," Grabar-Kitarović told the press on the margins of an investment conference in Zagreb.

"This is not an ideal time for Southeastern Europe and we should be very careful when it comes to relations between countries, including the relationship between Croatia and Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina," the president said.

The protests in Belgrade over the weekend saw demonstrators storm the headquarters of the RTS public broadcasting service, surround the Presidency building and clash with the police. They ended on Sunday evening with an ultimatum issued to the authorities to release the protesters by 3pm on Monday who were arrested for invading the RTS building.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said in an interview with the Pink commercial television network on Sunday evening that "violence will not go unpunished anymore."

More news about relations between Croatia and Serbia can be found in the Politics section.

The InvestCro conference was opened by the editor-in-chief of Poslovni Dnevnik, Vladimir Nišević, who stressed the fact that this project opens up discussions topics that are of great importance to our society.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of March, 2019, the "InvestCro: Investment in (Non) Opportunities in Croatia" conference, whose central theme is rather depressingly inspired by missed opportunities, ie planned investments that have not been realised, as well as obstacles investors encounter and also possible improvements to the arrival and treatment of foreign investors, is being held at the Westin hotel in Zagreb.

This conference is the second in a series of four conferences as part of the all-year-round multimedia project headed by Croatian news and media outlets Večernji list, Poslovni Dnevnik and 24sata entitled "InvestCro: Kako do ulagača" which discusses how investors can be attracted.

The President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, stated that the current results of foreign investments don't match the desired image. She said that lessons should be learned from the mistakes alreayd made to avoid repetition.

President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said that Croatia was missing out on so-called Greenfield investments and has proposed five specific guidelines to the Croatian Government in order to attempt to tackle that problem.

"The results of direct foreign investment don't match the desired image. In 26 years, 33.5 billion euros has been invested in Croatia, but the problem is that the investments were mostly Brownfield [investments] and focused on ''nontradeable'' sectors. We're missing out on Greenfield investments, investment in the production of goods and services that will create quality jobs and be more export-oriented,'' said the president at the InvestCro conference in Zagreb.

She feels that the direction of development can be directed in the desirable direction if the appropriate lessons learned from the mistakes made are properly taken into consideration. "First of all, I'm thinking of investment woes, the shortage of people involved in attracting investors, the lack of approach planning and coordination," she said.

On their way directly from Pantovčak to the Croatian Government are five key guidelines for the faster and easier growth of investments in Croatia. It is necessary to consolidate the competences of all those responsible for attracting FDI (foreign direct investment) at a single national level, to create an investment attracting strategy aligned with other economic strategies, to focus on new models and soft investment incentives for added value and to constantly create an attractive investment climate.

The five recommendations include the continuation of work on a better overall image of the Republic of Croatia and the promotion of the country as a destination for investment, not just a tourist destination. In this regard, Grabar-Kitarović announced that the working group who deal with branding Croatia will come out with guidelines within a month.

"We decided to do something for our society, as well as for those who will still be here when we're gone. Without healthy investments, we will remain without investors, and for this reason we have just decided to speak [on the subject] through various conferences, just like this one today.

''I hope this conference will contribute to the progress of Croatia,'' Niševic said.

'' the last two years, two-thirds of greenfield investments in the EU took place in just six European countries. I believe that Croatia will raise its rating in 2019 and come over to the side of these six countries, with the help of new laws and a better quality framework for stimulating investment,'' said Minister of Economy Darko Horvat at the InvestCro conference.

"The share of investment in GDP is growing, we're at the average of EU countries. The third quarter in 2018 was, according to current information, optimistic, as there was a 4.9 percent rise. Croatia needs economic growth of five percent. Step by step, we're strengthening competition, there is no instant solution, and changes need to be deeply rooted.

We should help entrepreneurs to retain as much of their own funds as possible for the new investment cycle. We're digitising business and the state, in order to reduce the burden on entrepreneurs. Therefore, I expect growth in production, especially in the private sector. Through the Investment Incentive Act alone we attracted 16 billion kuna, with 12,750 new jobs being planned. We know exactly what kind of educational profile we need, we need to make sure we've got young people who will be employed there. We need a synergistic effect with cities and counties," the minister said, hinting at the need to all be on the same level.

"We want investments with new technologies and added value. Despite the global boom in the digital economy, less than 20 percent of such investments fell into the ICT sector. We are not only looking at the volume, but also the character and type of investment, as well as the quality of jobs which is what our young people who are leaving are looking for abroad. We need a bit of courage and some enthusiasm in order to turn these issues into a chance.

The Ministry of Economy has announced five new tenders, which is an innovation opportunity for domestic entrepreneurs. I'm sure that 303 million euros will be invested in Croatia's investment potential and that this year will end with development,'' concluded Horvat, adding the encouraging fact that this week, the representatives of several Swiss companies are browsing northwestern Croatia and looking for business zones that are ready for them to move part of their business to.

Mladen Fogec, president of the Association of Foreign Investors in Croatia, noted that Croatian pessimism could affect foreign investors very much.

"The rating agencies are constantly positioning us at the end of the second-third on the doing business scale, but they all get their perceptions from talking to our political parties, non-governmental organisations, and we're very inclined to being negative - we have to turn to optimism. When it comes to the perception of corruption... we're not in the best position, but when you ask a person whether or not they bribed someone, the answer is always that they didn't. Please spread optimism because Croatia has a lot of potential. In principle, there's an enormous problem with our mentality, the capacity for change isn't big enough, we're still not ready to start to change, and we're living in the era of digitisation and computerisation,'' Fogec said.

"We've spent far too much time wrestling with the past, we spent an actual minister of economy on Agrokor, and her successor is now spending most of his time trying to deal with Uljanik, which is also grappling with the past. We need to deal with the future. It's good that we have introduced a law on strategic planning. It's not a question of whether foreign investors want to come to Croatia, but whether or not we actually want foreign investors,'' claims Fogec.

He noted that the association he leads didn't issue the so-called ''white book'' for business for 2019 because the problems still remain exactly the same as they were before. "Nothing has changed, or it has changed at a slower rate compared to changes in neighbouring countries, so our latest edition is still valid," he concluded rather sarcastically.

For those of you who understand Croatian, here's a video of what has been said, suggested and discussed at the conference:

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for more on doing business and the overall investment climate in Croatia.

ZAGREB, March 14, 2019 - The danger of violence against women is omnipresent and is not decreasing, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said in New York on Wednesday, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the mandate of the Special UN Rapporteur on Violence against Women, wishing Special Rapporteur Dubravka Šimonović a lot of success and a fruitful continuation of her work on improving the status of women.

Speaking of the danger of violence against women, Grabar-Kitarović said that the topics that were discussed pointed not only to the size of the problem but also to the importance of raising awareness of the problem in order to deal with it, her office said in a statement.

In that regard, Grabar-Kitarović mentioned the Femicide Watch Initiative and other important initiatives and projects by the Special Rapporteur, such as cooperation between global and regional mechanisms for women's rights, as well as efforts aimed at stopping violence against women in politics.

The president stressed that Croatia was proud that the Croat Dubravka Šimonović was the current Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women.

Croatia supports the mandate of the Special Rapporteur and the Special Rapporteur herself. I admire and deeply respect your work because this is a particularly difficult matter that affects the very core of our values and beliefs, said Grabar-Kitarović.

More news about the status of women in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 14, 2019 - Bosnian Security Minister Dragan Mektić said on Wednesday that "Croatian intelligence agents" had been involved in a secret operation designed to show that armed groups of Islamic extremists were active in Bosnia and Herzegovina and thus justify earlier statements by Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović that there were thousands of Islamic extremists in Bosnia and Herzegovina who posed a threat to regional security.

Mektić said the persons directly involved in those activities were Croatia's consul-general in Tuzla, Ivan Bandić, and Republika Srpska Radio-Television reporter Mato Đaković, who is known as a person close to Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency chair Milorad Dodik.

"Over the past few years we have obtained information that the Croatian intelligence service has been working on recruiting our citizens... Croatia's consul in Tuzla, Ivan Bandić, and a number of other people were recruited for an intelligence operation regarding the armament of the local Salafis," Mektić was quoted by the Sarajevo-based news website Faktor as saying.

The minister gave the statement after another news website, Žurnal, earlier in the day ran an intricate story describing how Croatian intelligence agents threatened some Bosnia and Herzegovina nationals into taking weapons to Muslim places of worship in the country, which was then to be reported to police and the reports would have served as proof for claims about the danger of Islamic extremism.

Žurnal said that along with consul Bandić, also involved in the alleged operation was Deputy Security Minister Mijo Krešić of the Croat HDZ BiH party, recalling Krešić's repeated statements about numerous groups of Islamic extremists in Bosnia and Herzegovina numbering thousands of members.

The news website says reporter Mato Đaković acted as a linkman with the Bosnian Serb entity authorities which are also interested in exploiting theories about the danger of Islamic radicals in Bosnia and Herzegovina, offering as proof of Đaković's connection with consul Bandić his having used the consul's official car in Tuzla under suspicious circumstances.

Đaković allegedly saw to it that persons recruited by Croatian intelligence agents in the Serb entity took over the weapons.

Security Minister Mektić said that those allegations were true. "We followed the activities for a while... and foiled them. The person involved was reporter Mato Đaković, who even used Ivan Bandić's diplomatic vehicle for that purpose," Mektić said, adding that the entire intelligence operation was aimed at "brutally discrediting Bosnia and Herzegovina" and proving claims by the Croatian president that Bosnia and Herzegovina was a country where terrorist camps exist.

More news about relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina can be found in the Politics section.