ZAGREB, 26 Nov 2021- Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday the purchase of French fighter jets was a big step forward as they were state-of-the-art technology and represented French-Croatian cooperation as well as contributing to European defence and strategic autonomy at EU level.

"That's such a strong and big step forward for the Croatian Army. We can be very satisfied. I think it's a phenomenal step forward and that it's a step forward for which we waited 30 years. I haven't heard even a hint of dissatisfaction from anyone who deals with this all the time," he told the press.

As for the general comment "we could have given the money for something else," we are giving it, he added.

The aircraft will be paid for over several years without it impacting the deficit, Plenković said, adding that the process was "carefully calibrated and carried out in a way we can be proud of."

As for criticisms that the price of the jets has gone up, which President Zoran Milanović said was scandalous, Plenković said, "If yesterday he was happy and today it's a scandal, did he wait for Macron to leave before reacting? I find it a little ridiculous."

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Croatia on Wednesday and Thursday, when an agreement on the purchase of the Rafale fighter jets was signed.

Plenković said VAT was not paid on used goods but on the commercial part and that the state paid that to itself. As for price indexation in the repayment years, he said it was something normal.

As for Milanović's criticisms that no one had consulted him about a strategic defence agreement, the prime minister said he could care less.

"He met with Macron yesterday, he supported the purchase of the aircraft. The strategic partnership is a document signed by the government and the French president. He received the document, the preparation and the information. It's ridiculous that he's complaining after the meeting. He should be happy."

Plenković said everyone was looking for some media coverage, but that one should be smart about it.

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ZAGREB, 30 Aug 2021 - Croatia will decide, in talks with its partners, whether to take in more Afghan nationals fleeing the Taliban rule, Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Sunday after the arrival of 19 Afghans who will seek and be granted asylum in Croatia. 

"We will see with our partners whether to take in more Afghan nationals," Grlić Radman told the public HTV broadcaster, adding that Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović would travel to Brussels next week to discuss migrations and refugees with other EU ministers.

Nineteen Afghan nationals - three families with children - arrived at Zagreb Airport on Saturday. The immigrants had worked as support staff for the Croatian mission in Afghanistan and had been vetted prior to their employment. The Ministry of the Interior has said that their identity will not be made known for the sake of their security.

"They have already been provided with accommodation... those three families include ten children, they are the most vulnerable group," said the minister.

"We have responded right away, in line with our possibilities and logistic conditions," Grlić Radman said.

He stressed that Afghanistan was faced with a major humanitarian crisis and that the situation in the country was changing the paradigm of global security.

"This will be a very sensitive security issue that will require multilateral action because we all want peace and stability in that part of the world," he said, adding that one could also hear that the Taliban were not what they had been 20 years ago.

On French president's visit

Commenting on a report about a plan for French President Emmanuel Macron to visit Croatia, Grlić Radman said that preparations for the visit had been going on for some time and that the French president was expected to pay a working visit in October or November, as well as that the date would be determined by the Office of the Prime Minister.

Grlić Radman underlined the importance of France in the EU and the global order, pointing to a joint proposal by Paris and London for Kabul Airport to be declared a safe zone.

"France constitutes the backbone of the EU," said the minister.

The talks with Macron will focus on the promotion of bilateral relations, economic cooperation, and the future of the Western Balkans and Southeast Europe, Grlić Radman said, recalling that the new EU admission methodology had complicated EU entry talks for North Macedonia and Albania.

"Croatia will try to appeal for stronger involvement by France" when it comes to security and stability in the Western Balkans, primarily Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the minister.

He noted that Croatia considered Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country with an EU membership prospect and wanted to discuss the importance of changes to its election law.

"That is the only way to make BiH functional and stable, with legitimate representatives of all peoples at all levels of government. The election law should guarantee the equality of all three constituent peoples," said Grlić Radman.

On ambassadorial appointments

Considering that by the end of the year 28 ambassadors and consuls should be appointed, and asked about disagreements between President Zoran Milanović and PM Plenković in that regard, Grlić Radman said that the impasse in talks on the matter had been resolved.

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ZAGREB, May 21, 2020 - The Croatian government support the establishment of a €500 billion European fund to help repair the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, Jutarnji List daily reports on Thursday, noting that the money to be obtained from the fund could be used for recovery in the tourism and transport sectors.

The government supports the Franco-German rescue plan, which, according to the proposal put forward by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, envisages the establishment of a €500 billion rescue fund which would be set up as part of the EU budget for the period 2021-2027 and be financed with loans to be sought by the European Commission, the daily says.

The money form the fund would be directed to regions and sectors worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

"We welcome the initiative, notably in the segment that refers to the sustainable recovery of the worst-hit EU sectors and regions. There are sectors in Croatia that have been affected, we have been affected as a country, and we also expect funding from the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for cohesion policy," Zvonimir Savic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic's special advisor on economic affairs, told the daily.

Savic added that the amount that was being proposed was significant and that Croatia considered as important the fact that it would be part of the new MFF.

The initiative itself is a clear message of European solidarity and it is important that the proposal is being put in the context of the MFF because time must not be wasted, he said.

The new EU budget goes into force in 2021 and now is the ideal time for talks on the rescue plan, which, among other things, envisages strengthening the EU’s competences in the health sector, supporting the single internal market and, most importantly, supporting sectors and regions affected the most by the pandemic, Savic said.