ZAGREB, March 13, 2019 - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović has met with representatives of the Croatian community in New York, thanking them for preserving the Croatian community and presenting the best of Croatia in their new homeland, her office said in a press release on Wednesday morning.

She presented Charters of the Republic of Croatia to the Croatian Parish of Saints Cyril & Methodius and Saint Raphael, the Croatian Catholic Mission of the Blessed Ivan Merz and Croatian Radio New York for their contribution to maintaining and promoting ties between the Croatian community in the United States and Croatia.

Earlier in the day, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović assumed the chairmanship of the Council of Women World Leaders from her Lithuanian counterpart Dalia Grybauskaite in New York on Tuesday, the President's Office said in a press release.

Grabar-Kitarović is currently in New York where she attended the UN conference "Women in Power" and met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday.

The Council of Women World Leaders was established in 1996 by Vigdis Finnbogadottir, the then President of Iceland, and Laura Liswood, the Council's Secretary General, to encourage present and former female heads of state or government and ministers to participate in joint activities of key importance to women.

Grabar-Kitarović said she would continue working on all issues concerning gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in all her future activities.

The two presidents exchanged views on bilateral relations, common policies within the European Union and globally, and the position of women in high-level politics.

They said that Croatia and Lithuania have close bilateral relations, with shared interests and a desire to intensify their cooperation in areas such as defence and security.

Grabar-Kitarović said that the high level of friendly relations and the common interest in long-term partnership was confirmed by the appointments of their respective resident ambassadors in Zagreb and Vilnius.

More news about Croatia diaspora can be found in the dedicated section.

ZAGREB, March 12, 2019 - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović is attending the UN conference "Women in Power" in New York on Tuesday.

The goal of the conference is to show how important it is for women to stand up for themselves and never give up, and the responsibility of women who are policymakers is to show other women and girls worldwide, through their own deeds, to believe in themselves and to be determined in overcoming all obstacles standing in their way, the President's Office said in a press release.

The conference is being attended, among others, by the presidents of Lithuania and Estonia, the prime minister of Iceland, and European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.

The Croatian president is scheduled to meet with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces and UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.

Grabar-Kitarović met with Colombian Vice-President Marta Lucia Ramirez, and the two leaders concluded that Croatia and Colombia have traditionally good bilateral relations without open issues, the press release said.

In reference to projects between EU member states and Colombia, it was emphasised that the Croatian non-governmental organisation the Society for Psychological Assistance is implementing the educational programme “Capacity Building for Psychosocial Support – Empowering Colombian Experts to Provide Psychosocial Services” together with the European Union delegation in Colombia.

The purpose of the project is to assist Colombian experts in more successfully addressing the psychosocial consequences of the long-standing conflict in Colombia for the victims, using the experiences of Croatian experts gained during the 1991-1995 war in Croatia and elsewhere.

Following bilateral visits and contacts in 2017 and 2018, the Croatian Ministry of Defence and Colombian partners established cooperation in setting up a comprehensive model for finding missing persons and identifying wartime remains.

More news on Croatia and the United Nations can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 10, 2019 - Following a decision of the Roman Catholic Church in the Austrian federal state of Carinthia to withhold permission for a mass at Loibach, a field near Bleiburg in May this year, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said on Saturday that she could not interfere in the relations between the authorities of the Catholic Church, however, being a Croat and a Catholic believer, she deeply regretted for such decision of the Gurk-Klagenfurt Diocese.

The president also expressed her confidence that the Croatian Bishops' Conference will find a solution enabling Catholic faithful to commemorate at religious service the victims killed in the Loibach field and Bleiburg and death marches in the wake of the Second World War.

The Croatian Bishops Conference (HBK) already expressed its deep disagreement with the decision by the Roman Catholic Church in Carinthia to reject permission for this year's memorial mass at Loibach.

The HBK believes that "not allowing the possibility to pray for the victims of that great tragedy of the Croat people means disrespect for the victims and lack of sensitivity for the suffering of the innocent", dismissing the reasons for the refusal of permission in their entirety.

The Bleiburg commemorations are held in tribute to tens of thousands of Croatian civilians and soldiers of the defeated Nazi-allied Independent State of Croatia 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.

The Roman Catholic Church in Carinthia has turned down the HBK's request to hold a mass at Loibach because the event is used for political purposes, the local church said on Friday.

"The mass held in the field near Bleiburg has become part of an event that is used for political purposes and is part of a political and national ritual that serves for the selective perception and interpretation of history," reads a statement signed by the secretary of the Klagenfurt Diocese, Msgr. Engelbert Guggenberger.

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

ZAGREB, March 7, 2019 - During talks with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Thursday in Brussels, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović suggested that cohesion funds shouldn't be decreased in the next European budget.

"There was talk about the situation in Croatia but also about the multi-annual financial arrangement considering the current negotiations about that. Croatia has its interest concerning the efforts to retain funding for classic policies such as the Joint Agriculture Policy and Cohesion Policy," Grabar- Kitarović told reporters after meeting with the heads of European institutions.

The European Commission proposes the 10-percent reduction of funds in the next EU budget for the cohesion policy that is intended to decrease the difference in development of regions in the EU.

Grabar- Kitarović underscored that that it would be detrimental to Croatia if the national share in projects that are co-funded from EU funds were to be increased.

That would be detrimental, particularly in some areas that even with the current prescribed percentage (15%) cannot co-finance projects, the president said.

In its draft multi-annual financial framework for the period 2021 to 2027, the European Commission has proposed that the national share in co-financing projects be increased from the current 15% to 30%. Most member states in central and eastern Europe have voiced their objections to that proposal.

The Croatian head of state also discussed the Three Seas Initiative with the EU officials. "Both presidents offer full support, particularly for projects because the initiative is directed to cohesion of European space and promoting European ideas and values," she said.

During the talks with Juncker, Grabar- Kitarović discussed the coming EU-China summit scheduled for April 9 considering the fact of China's growing presence in Europe.

Asked whether there was any mention of the arbitration for the Slovenia-Croatia border row, the president said that they touched on that topic and that she expressed her dissatisfaction to Juncker about some statements made by some members of the Commission in that regard.

"I told President Juncker that some opinions and some statements coming from the Commission and some of its members are not directed at achieving a bilateral agreement between Slovenia and Croatia," Grabar - Kitarović said calling for the refraining from statements like that. "I am not referring to him (Juncker) personally but to some others," she said.

There was also talk on enlargement and the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. "Croatia advocates the policy of enlargement, based on absolute fulfilment of all the criteria," she said.

As far as Bosnia and Herzegovina is concerned, she said that she has more understanding for endeavours to change the electoral law.

More news on the EU funds can be found in Business section.

ZAGREB, March 4 (Hina) - We need a Croatia to suit its people, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said on Monday at a conference "The Croatia We Need – Two Years On" organised by the Večernji List daily. Emphasising earnings, the president said that the aim should be for the average salary in Croatia to be 7,500 kuna.

Addressing the conference, the President assessed that Croatia was faring well on the international scene, however, not as well as we would like it to be when it comes to the development in the country, underscoring that Croatian citizens have to feel the improvement in their bank accounts. "They have to feel that they have a greater purchasing power, better standard but also a greater optimism and hope for better trends in a positive direction in Croatia," the President said.

She recalled that two years ago she warned of the problem of depopulation and that a lot of people interpreted that she was dramatising when she said that Croatia was in a "state of emergency," in that regard. "But the situation is indeed dramatic, because demography is the issue of all issues," she said, adding that citizens' mobility is a good thing but it's important for Croatia to create conditions for the return of people.

The current situation is better, she said and the results are being felt with regard to demography with a mild growth in the birth rate as a reflection of a slight improvement in optimism in one's one state.

"The simple fact that we are discussing this existential problem, and it is in focus of public debate and that we are moving away from ideological issues and discussing issues that concern our people - whether they will have a job, whether they will be paid and whether that will be enough to survive, whether they will be able to raise children and get a housing loan that they can afford - I believe that people are beginning to believe more in the state and that proves that the government and society are thinking seriously," she added.

It is necessary to stop the continuation of the negative population trend, she believes with tax policies in favour of investments and increased earnings.

Emphasising earnings, the president said that the aim should be for the average pay in Croatia to be 7,500 kuna. "That is the minimum that I came to through talks with people throughout Croatia when I asked them under what conditions would they remain in Croatia. That will raise the standard of the middle class in society on which the state's stability rests," she said.

It is essential, she considers, to limit fixed-term working contracts because last year as many as 25.3% of beneficiaries of the Croatian Pension Institute had fixed-term contracts which is among the highest rates in the EU.

"We need to explain what that means and how that negatively impacts existential security and mostly among young people at that, which is why many of them cannot plan their future," she warned.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday said that the government cannot set the minimum wage at 7,500 kuna by decree as that would mean the close of business for many companies and a loss of many jobs, adding that the situation in the country today was a "tiny bit better" than two years ago.

The prime minister said he did not consider the president's speech as criticism, noting that for the most part it commended the government. He added, however, that it was not possible to set the minimum wage at 1,000 euro by decree. "What happens then? Then all those employers who would have to pay that all at once would stop doing business or start firing," he added.

He stressed that his government was working. "GDP is growing, the debt is being reduced. We had a surplus, economic growth is founded on healthy foundations, both the average and the minimum wage are increasing, unemployment has fallen, employment is growing, absorption of European funds is increasing, strategic projects are underway and all that in the past two years in fact... and I wouldn't say that the situation is worse but rather a tiny bit better," he said.

More news about salaries in Croatia can be found in the Business section.

The 20th Rijeka Carnival Ball was held at the Croatian Littoral Maritime and Historical Museum building on Saturday evening. The money raised at the ball will be used to purchase the necessary medical equipment for the Clinic for Paediatric Surgery of the Rijeka Clinical Hospital Centre, reports Novi List on March 3, 2019.

The ball featured musicians of the Novi Sad Big Band and SuperCover Band, dancers and singers of the Cabaret a la Carte group, as well as the artist Ana Perišić from the Traumatic Arts Association. The ball was attended by Rijeka Mayor Vojko Obersnel, President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, as well as many ambassadors from a number of countries.

The President arrived in a royal blue dress with airy hairstyle and in an excellent mood. During the ball opening, the introductory speech was first given by Mayor Obersnel, followed by the president who pointed out that she was particularly pleased that Rijeka was continuing the carnival tradition and invited everyone present to have fun during the ball and Sunday’s carnival procession.

All the ladies who were present at the ball were dressed in beautiful dresses befitting the ladies of a court. A unique dress with a message was worn by the Queen of Korzo Ivanka Pavičić, who impressed everyone with her military-style dress with gold accessories and an F-16 fighter jet on her chest. Men mostly opted for royal or church masks, but there was also a Count Dracula costume worn by a Rijeka lawyer.

The musical repertoire was apparently a hit since many guests spent the night on the dance floor, and some of them demonstrated great dancing skills.

The carnival charity ball was organised by the Town of Rijeka and the Rijeka Tourist Board, the Rotary Club Rijeka – St. Vid, in cooperation with the Maritime and Historical Museum of the Croatian Littoral. Sponsors of the ball were Jadrolinija Rijeka, the INA oil company, Zagrebačka Pivovara, Tia Partner and Lidl Croatia.

Translated from Novi List (reported by Šarlota Brnčić).

More news about carnival festivities in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, March 2, 2019 - A ceremony was held in Pakrac, in Western Slavonia, about 130 kilometres east of Zagreb, on Saturday to commemorate the 28th anniversary since the start of the Homeland War. Those present were addressed by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Mayor Anamarija Blažević, Pozega-Slavonia County Deputy Prefect Vedran Neferović, and war veterans.

Grabar-Kitarović particularly thanked those who had defended the town against Serb paramilitary forces. "Western Slavonia was a strategically important area for our defence in the early spring of 1991. The Greater Serbia aggressors knew that. They attacked Pakrac and other towns on the axis between Pakrac and Virovitica to carve up Croatia and break it," she recalled.

"The initial burden of the defence was on the Croatian police who showed the unbreakable spirit of the Croatian people and resoluteness of Croatian authorities to stop the Greater Serbia aggression," the president said, adding that 1991 was the most difficult.

"That was a key year in which we successfully defended Croatia and laid the foundations of the victorious Croatian army and successfully conducted the first offensive and liberating military operations," she said. "I have made a formal proposal to create a Western Slavonia Medal of Honour to be given to all defenders who fought on this front," she said.

The day's commemoration started with Mass for all defenders killed in the war or who have died since, and was followed by a victory march of Croatian veterans and their families to a local cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony.

The commemoration was organised by local government and the associations of Croatian police veterans from Pakrac and Lipik under the auspices of President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.

Twenty-eight years ago, Croatian special police forces liberated Pakrac from occupying rebel Serbs who had captured the town's police station the day before. During the operation, three police officers were wounded while the rebels were forced to withdraw behind the hill overlooking Pakrac.

The event of March 2, 1991 was preceded by the decision of the predominantly Serb Town Council to annex the town to the breakaway Kraijna region, suspending the Croatian Constitution on February 28. This was followed by the recruitment and armament of Serb police reservists. The rebels took down Croatian flags from the police station and municipal offices and raised Serb flags. The next morning Croatian special police arrived and fighting ensued, with the Croatian forces quickly taking control of the police station, removing the Serb flags and restoring Croatian law in the town.

More news on the Homeland War can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 24, 2019 (Hina) - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and her Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor met for an informal working lunch in Zagreb on Saturday, her office said in a press release. Pahor stopped in Zagreb en route to Split, where he will take part in the Split Half Marathon on Sunday. The informal meeting between Croatian and Slovenian presidents was part of their regular meetings, which are aimed at nurturing the good relations between Croatia and Slovenia.

The two presidents discussed several matters, including the Brdo Brijuni Process meeting in Albania in May. They were in agreement that, given the current international situation, it is important to maintain good neighbourly relations and the political dialogue at the highest level.

They also discussed the last meeting of the Slovenia-Austria-Croatia trilateral and Pahor's plans for a Three Seas Initiative business forum in Slovenia in June.

More news on the relations between Croatia and Slovenia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 23, 2019 - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said on Friday that the salute "For the Homeland Ready" was the official and discredited salute of the 1941-1945 Independent State of Croatia (NDH) and that it should be distinguished from the salute "For the Homeland Ready" used by some members of military units that fought in the 1991-1995 Homeland War.

Speaking in an interview with national radio, the president further explained her recent statement that she had been wrong to say that the salute "For the Homeland Ready", used by the pro-Nazi Ustasha regime in Croatia during World War II, was a Croatian historical greeting, and that her point was that the salute as such was "compromised and unacceptable".

Her admission has met with criticism from the far-right end of the political spectrum.

Asked if it was a mistake to make this admission, she answered in the negative and reiterated that the salute used during the NDH regime was compromised, whereas the situation was different during the 1991-1995 war of independence when some of the units used that salute and it became part of their insignia.

She quoted the first Croatian President Franjo Tuđman as saying that the Ustasha-led NDH was a quisling and Fascist state as well as an expression of the Croatian people's desire for independence from the Yugoslav state. President Tuđman and we agree that the fact that the NDH was in a coalition with the Axis powers and all that happened during WWII compromised the salute "For the Homeland Ready", she said pointing out the different context of the Homeland War.

During the 1991-1995 war, there were specific conditions when Croatia was exposed to a war waged against it by forces that used "a five-point red star which was compromised during the attacks against Vukovar and other parts of Croatia", the president said underscoring that soldiers wearing the five-point red star were allied with Serb units with Chetnik insignia in the Homeland War.

In those specific conditions people who used this salute defended Croatia. They wanted a free, independent Croatia, the president said.

She underscored that no government in Croatia had questioned this fact and added that it was now up to lawmakers and the government to propose a law on the matter.

Grabar-Kitarović warned of attempts being made from abroad to belittle the Homeland War and the actions of the forces that defended Croatia during the 1991-1995 war.

More news about the Ustasha regime can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 22, 2019 - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović confirmed on Friday that she had signed her decision to pardon Huanito Lukšetić, a man who suffers from multiple sclerosis and who has been sentenced to two years in prison for illegally growing marijuana for sale.

The president said in an interview with national radio that her office had informed the Justice Ministry and Lukšetić 's legal counsel of her decision.

The trial court ruling was upheld late last month.

Lukšetić insists that he has been cultivating marijuana to get cannabis oil which alleviates the pain and consequences of MS.

As soon as L Lukšetić 's verdict became final, two hundred people rallied in the northern coastal city of Rijeka to support him. The parliamentary opposition party Živi Zid also demanded that the president pardon him.

Following the public outcry, the president announced that she would pardon Lukšetić.

In November 2017, the municipal court in Rijeka found him guilty of growing marijuana and of possessing 15 kilos of that plant in his house. The verdict said that such amount actually surpassed his personal needs for alleviation of the disease's symptoms. Lukšetić grew cannabis in his year in the village of Bregi on the slopes of Mount Učka overlooking Rijeka. In the same case, Goran Zakrajšek was given 10 months in prison and his conviction was also upheld.

More news on Croatian president can be found in the Politics section.