March the 31st, 2023 - This week in Croatian politics, we've had discussions around the hypothetical arrest of Vladimir Putin, donations of helicopters and a huge sum of cash to Ukraine, gas price worries and Ivica Todoric is back where he loves to be the most - in the spotlight.

Former Agrokor boss Ivica Todoric is thrilled that Index readers stated they'd sooner vote for him as prime minister than current PM Andrej Plenkovic

If you're a follower of politics (and scandals) in Croatia, you'll more than likely recall one of the most enormous events in independent Croatian history - the Agrokor saga. I wrote a lot about it back at the time, and you can get a feel of it here, in an article entitled Requiem for a Company. Ivica Todoric, the former boss of this huge company, fell into troubled waters and there was a huge amount of drama surrounding the entire story. It eventually ended with him being extradited back to Croatia from London after handing himself in at Charring Cross police station following his stay in the United Kingdom in an attempt to avoid Croatian courts. 

Todoric is currently a free man, and despite all of the dramatics of that situation from back in 2017, he is still more popular than Andrej Plenkovic in the opinion of some Index readers. Index recently carried out a poll asking their readers who they'd sooner vote for as prime minister, the current one (Plenkovic), or the somewhat Godfather-like character, Ivica Todoric. They chose the latter, and he's thrilled about it.

Todoric is known for his humour (no, really), and the inspiration for that poll was provided by Todoric himself, who published a similar one on his own Facebook profile and, examining the pulse of the people, asked whether the citizens of Croatia wanted him or Andrej Plenkovic as prime minister. In his Facebook poll, Todoric received 92% of the votes in his favour, and Index readers who share a similar sense of humour also gave Todoric a shining 72% advantage in its own poll.

Would Croatia arrest Vladimir Putin if he entered the country? Plenkovic says yes

Plenkovic recently made a statement during his stay in the Belgian capital of Brussels after a two-day spring meeting at the summit of European leaders. The main topics of the summit were further support for Ukraine, especially in sufficient quantities of ammunition, the competitiveness of the European economy, especially in relation to the United States and China, and the internal market and issues of energy and migration.

"Once again, we showed our commitment and solidarity to Ukraine in all aspects. We also discussed the topics of economic management, competitiveness and the energy situation, where everything that has been happening for the past three years in the context of the coronavirus crisis, the energy crisis, the food crisis and inflationary pressures essentially requires greater coordination of the economic policies of EU member states," Plenkovic said.

In response to the question of whether or not the Croatian authorities would arrest Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin if he arrived here in Croatia, Plenkovic said an emphatic and blunt - yes.

''The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, so if he were to visit Croatia, he would be arrested in accordance with the procedure stipulated by that law,'' Plenkovic said.

Croatia otherwise acceded to the statute of the International Criminal Court and a law was passed on cooperation with that court. "That law provides for all the procedures in case there is a warrant issued for the arrest of a person, and as far as I know, immunity does not apply here. Accordingly, the procedure would go exactly as provided for by that law, and of course the Croatian police and competent authorities would react to Putin arriving in Croatia," said Plenkovic in response to a journalist's question.

President Zoran Milanovic makes a strange statement about the Russia-Ukraine war once again, this time about donated Croatian helicopters

Croatia, much like the rest of the EU and indeed most of the world, has stood firmly by Ukraine's side ever since the beginning of the shock Russian invasion back in February 2022. Having been through a horrific war just one generation ago and with those painful memories still very fresh, Croatia is able to understand the Ukrainian struggle against Russian aggression like few other countries are, given that the now shared experience both countries have is so recent. Milanovic, however, has continuously been vocal about his rather odd stances for over a year now. He has invited endless criticism and even questions from other politicians from across Europe about just what Croatia's official stance is.

Of course, Milanovic's strange statements and stances are not remotely in line with the official Croatian position - firmly by Ukraine's side and staunchly against Russia's actions. Plenkovic, with whom Milanovic is constantly butting heads, has spoken about this numerous times, attempting to distance not only himself personally but Croatian politics as a whole from the president's baffling and politically damaging remarks. 

The latest such remark from Milanovic regards helicopters Croatia donated to Ukraine, and which should be delivered there very soon. Milanovic was quick to tell journalists that these helicopters "needed getting rid of anyway'' because Croatia no longer has the conditions for their maintenance.

To keep you in the loop, Croatia is donating fourteen transport helicopters to Ukraine, of which twelve are MI 8 MTV-1 models and two are MI 8 T models. Defense Minister Mario Banozic said on Wednesday in the Ukrainian city of Odessa that he expects these helicopters to arrive in Ukraine soon.

Milanovic dressed his comments up in a fashion which makes it seem as if Croatia is simply doling out its useless cast-offs to the Ukrainian people, which has angered multiple people in Croatian politics and beyond. "Those helicopters aren't something promising anyway, we wouldn't have the conditions or the ability to maintain them anymore, because we have a lot of those helicopters and we need to get rid of them,'' he claimed.

Croatia also recently agreed to provide another 500,000 euros to Ukraine.

As the Croatian Government alters its decision on price controls, milk prices shoot up

On Thursday, the Croatian government changed the decision on direct price control measures for specific food products in such a way that the highest retail price of UHT milk with 2.8 percent milk fat per liter has now been raised by 5 cents and the price it cannot exceed amounts to 1.03 euros.

You can read more detail about that by clicking here.

Economy Minister Davor Filipovic has claimed that energy (gas) prices won't go up as of tomorrow, when the current measures are due to expire

A cabinet meeting was held recently in the National and University Library, as Index reports. On the agenda of the session was the decision to approve the granting of a shareholder loan to Hrvatska elektroprivreda (HEP) and the initiation of the recapitalisation procedure. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic announced that HEP will be given a shareholder loan, first of 400 million euros, and then another 500 million euros. Minister Davor Filipovic also made a statement after the session, where he discussed the topic on everyone's minds - price increases following the expiration of government measures on the 1st of April, 2023.

"The price of gas will not change from April the 1st. Everything will be fine, as it has been until now. People don't have to worry about it. We're protecting the people and the economy, and there will be no problems in that regard, people don't need to worry about any of that," he added.

"The government has now made several important decisions. One of them is the granting of a shareholder loan to HEP and recapitalisation. This is being done so that HEP will continue to bear the burden of this crisis and so that people can continue to have a favourable price for electricity. We've agreed that HEP will extend the repayment of the loan in order to be able to continuously purchase the energy products that are necessary for the functioning of the domestic economy," said Filipovic.

"We're moving in the direction of recapitalisation, and as for HEP's financial results, you should ask the HEP Management. We haven't yet received any financial results from them, the obligation for us to be given those results is just after March, so everything is still within the legal deadline. HEP's management is responsible for that and it's up to them," he added.

For more on Croatian politics, make sure to keep up with our dedicated section. You can also follow our Week in Croatian Politics articles which provide an overview and are published every Friday.

February the 17th, 2023 - This week in Croatian politics, we've had everything from building permit issues for politicians and yet another change to the Law on Reconstruction (years after the earthquakes of 2020) to calls for Health Minister Vili Beros to step down in light of yet another alleged HDZ-fuelled healthcare scandal.

Lovro Kuscevic's former adviser is now the head of the Conflict of Interest Commission

Index reports that Aleksandra Jozic Ilekovic has become the new president of the Conflict of Interest Commission, and the previous chief, Natasa Novakovic is leaving that body. The above was decided via a secret vote of the Croatian Parliament.

Jozic Ilekovic received the votes of 78 deputies, her opponent Natasa Novakovic, the former president of the aforementioned commission, received 50 votes, while Nike Nodilo-Lakos and Ines Pavlacic failed to receive a single vote. Novakovic didn't compete for the position of a member of the Commission, which is why she's totally leaving that body.

Before joining the Commission, Jozic Ilekovic held a number of different positions, for eight years she was a member of the State Election Commission (SEC), adviser to the Minister of Justice, senior administrative inspector of the Ministry of Justice, and deputy head of the Government Office for Legislation. In addition to all of the above, Jozic Ilekovic spent two years as an adviser to no less than Lovro Kuscevic, Andrej Plenkovic's former minister and political secretary of HDZ, who is (rather unsurprisingly) a multiple-time USKOK (Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime) suspect.

She allegedly showed leniency in cases involving members of the government

We mustn't forget that Lovro Kuscevic was indicted at the end of the year before last, having been accused of a series of embezzlements regarding some land on Brac from the time when he was in charge of the Municipality of Nerezisca, and he was also accused of preventing evidence coming to light.

In her four years already spent with the Commission for Conflict of Interest, Jozic Ilekovic showed what has been described as ''exceptional leniency'' in cases involving members of the current government.

This third convocation of the Commission will have weaker powers than the previous two, led by Dalija Oreskovic and Natasa Novakovic, and will also have a worse composition. Namely, Jozic Ilekovic is the only member of the current composition who is remaining within the Commission, while all the others have left that body.

Vinkovci's local administration is trying to avoid saying whether or not it granted Minister Mario Banozic a permit for the construction of a house there

Defence Minister Mario Banozic (HDZ) is currently in the process of building a house in Vinkovci. Index toured the parcel and found in the land registers an allegedly clear statement that there's no construction permit issued for it.

Andrea Topic reports that in order not to make a mistake and immediately conclude that Banozic is building his house there illegally, Index contacted the City of Vinkovci, more precisely the Administrative Department for Spatial Planning, Construction and Environmental Protection, which is the office that deals with issuing building permits. On Friday morning, Index sent an inquiry asking for information on whether construction is being done illegally on that lot.

But instead of providing a concrete answer like "yes, it's being built illegally, we didn't issue permits to the investor", or writing "no, everything is being done according to the law", the head of the office, Davor Mecanovic, decided - just five minutes before the end of his during working hours might we add - to copy and paste an excerpt from the Construction Act, send that, and then ignore any calls.

Here is the answer to the very specific question asked of the local authorities:

"Regarding your request about the issuing of a building permit and data on said building permit, we refer you to Articles 115 and 120 of the Construction Act'' before going into further details specified by those articles, which I won't go into now. They're readily available for those who want to read them, and it seems a strange, around-the-houses (quite literally in this case) response to a very straightforward question.

It should also be added that an inquiry was also sent out to the State Inspectorate. Maybe the City of Vinkovic will reveal the secret of Banozic's construction permit to them instead.

SDP wants Health Minister Vili Beros to step down from his position following recent scandals

SDP recently cited the tragic case of Lina Budak, a lawyer from Zagreb, who is claiming that she wasn't told that she had cancer for seven months. They are calling for the dismissal of Minister Vili Beros, who has been silent for two months now about the Budak case.

"We've been saying for a long time now that the healthcare system is falling apart, all because of the incompetence of Minister Vili Beros. The latest case in which an unfortunate woman was diagnosed with a malignant disease long after the acceptable time limit in which she should have found out further confirms this.

Ministers of health in HDZ Governments systematically ignore serious problems, they shift responsibility to other bodies and ignore all of the warnings, both from healthcare workers themselves and their patients. How many more situations like that of Mr. Matijanic and Mrs. Budak are needed for Minister Beros to realise that his policy of inaction is irreversibly leading to the collapse the once powerful Croatian healthcare system?" asked SDP.

"Cancer treatment outcomes are catastrophically bad, patients end up entering the system too late..."

"Less than two weeks ago, we warned of all the difficulties related to the treatment of oncological diseases across Croatia: treatment outcomes are catastrophically bad, patients are put into the system too late, making their prognosis even worse, and the treatment is much more expensive.

The Republic of Croatia has all the necessary documents to improve its level of oncology care, but Minister Beros isn't doing anything to improve it. Indeed, on the occasion of World Cancer Day, he said that he's painfully aware of the problems being faced within the oncology care system. Unfortunately, being "painfully aware" is insufficient comfort for all cancer patients, as well as for the healthcare workers trying to treat them.

The Croatian healthcare system is financially completely destabilised, and that's even without mentioning the lack of staff and continuous staff issues within a system in which an HDZ membership card is more important than expertise. Let's remind you that during the first year of Vili Beros' administration, public hospitals had a deficit of around 682 million kuna, and the total liabilities at the end of 2021 amounted to around 11.8 billion kuna. The mismanagement of the healthcare sector's finances just keeps on being repeated every year, and it seems that this is the only concrete health policy they implement," SDP writes.

"The time has come for Vili Beros to step down"

"The time for Minister Beros to step down came along time ago, and his media appearance recently only proves that he's completely incompetent for this position. The damage that HDZ has done to the healthcare system is absolutely enormous and will be felt by an increasing number of people every single day.

Healthcare cannot be managed by the enthusiasm and altruism of hard working medical professionals who continually try to replace the organisational mess by running around and putting out fires. It's perfecrtly clear who is responsible for the mess – Vili Beros and HDZ,'' concluded SDP's Health Council.

Croatian Parliament passes a new Law on Reconstruction, years after the Petrinja earthquake of December 2020

With a majority vote, the Croatian Parliament successfully passed the new Law on Reconstruction, which should simplify and speed up the reconstruction of the areas affected by the earthquakes (yes, those from back in 2020), with objections from part of the opposition to the reconstruction process carried out so far. 99 parliamentarians voted for the new Law, according to which the Reconstruction Fund and the Central State Office are attached to the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and State Property, 15 were against, and 16 abstained from voting entirely.

HDZ's amendment was accepted, which simplifies the procedure for removing destroyed buildings that have lost their mechanical resistance and stability to such an extent that their restoration is not possible, and reduces the number of participants required during the procedure for removing said destroyed buildings.

Before the vote on the Law on Reconstruction, part of the opposition repeated its objections to the previous renewal and to the Law itself. "Until now, there's been no political will for the reconstruction to take place, it simply wasn't Andrej Plenkovic's political priority," said Sandra Bencic. She believes that the new Law finally provides a normal framework for the reconstruction to be carried out if there's political will to do so.

"Now there can be no more excuses, the only thing that can stop the reconstruction is the prime minister himself and you who hold the majority for him. If we see that the reconstruction isn't going forward, you must all resign," Bencic told the ruling party. "Four ministers, four laws, and you treat people as if they were mere potatoes," said Anka Mrak Taritas, who also added that the new Law could be called a law of self-renewal or self-deception, or of mere temporary care.

Predrag Stromar (HNS) said that the Law is extremely necessary and will speed up all processes. "The funds at our disposal of one billion euros need to be spent urgently," he pointed out.

Marija Selak Raspudic (Most/Bridge) told the authorities to stop renewing the law and actually start restoring people's homes in the affected areas. Nikola Grmoja called on the opposition not to lend their hands to such a law again. "It's bad enough that we're treating the people of Banovina this way, but this government and the majority are simply not able to restore Banovina," Grmoja said.

A new approach to reconstruction and a simpler procedure

With the new approach to reconstruction, people will be paid the entire amount needed for the renovation or construction of a replacement house before the works on it begin. The creation of an analysis of the current state of the necessary renovation, the obligation to create a removal project for family houses, the technical and financial control of the project, and the need to meet special conservation conditions for structural renovation of buildings within a cultural-historical unit have now all been abolished.

The model of replacement of ownership rights instead of renovation and construction of replacement houses has been introduced, and the circle of persons with the right to renovation has been expanded to include relatives, spouses, common-law partners and life partners. The Agency for Legal Traffic and Real Estate Brokerage has been given the authority to build multi-apartment buildings and acquire real estate for temporary accommodation

Those affected will be given financial assistance for the removal of all destroyed buildings, including auxiliary and commercial ones, as well as assistance for project development costs. A more efficient and appropriate public procurement process is being introduced, and the highest prices for services and works will be determined by bodies that will be decided by the government. The transparency and visibility of the renovation process will be strengthened by creating a complete interactive online GIS application.

For more on Croatian politics, make sure to follow our dedicated section and keep an eye out for our Week in Croatian Politics articles which are published every Friday.

November the 25th, 2022 - This week in Croatian politics, we've had everything from wage increases for politicians and state officials and saying an emphatic ''YES'' to training Ukrainian soldiers, to Austria changing its tune regarding Croatian Schengen accession and Milanovic claiming that it's actually America fighting with Russia through Ukraine.

The monthly wage earned by Plenkovic, his ministers and parliamentarians is set to go up

Much to the delight of every average Joe living and working in Croatia and struggling to make ends meet, Plenkovic and co are set to get a wage increase. 

You'll probably remember that last month, the government and the trade unions finally came to an agreement on a basic salary increase, meaning that the monthly salary will also increase for Plenkovic, Milanovic, Jandrokovic, government ministers and members of parliament, that is, for all officials. However, with the passing of this particular law, the President of the Constitutional Court will be taking home the highest official salary, and not President Zoran Milanovic.

With the amendments to the law that the government sent to the parliament recently, for which it is requesting adoption under an urgent procedure, the base rate for officials will be the same as that applied to civil servants, so all future increases, including this one now, will automatically apply to politicians as well.

One Ukrainian minister thanks Croatia for allowing Ukrainian soldiers to come and be trained to fight the Russians in Croatia

''Thanks, Plenkovic!'' tweets the minister...

You might recall the likes of President Zoran Milanovic among others being staunchly against the idea of training Ukrainian soldiers to fight against their invaders here in Croatia. Milanovic believed that Croatia's showcasing of unwavering support for Ukraine and providing help and safety for refugees was enough, and that anything else would be provocation of Putin and inviting the war to this country's doorstep. Many agreed with him. Many more found themselves surprised at agreeing with him.

Still, it seems that his case for disapproval fell on deaf ears as the Ukrainian Defence Minister, Oleksij Reznikov, thanked Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovi and Defense Minister Marij Banozic on Twitter after the government sent the decision on Croatia's participation in the military aid mission to Ukraine for approval by the parliament yesterday.

"The government of the Republic of Croatia approved the decision to train the Ukrainian army in Croatia. A modern, well-trained army with powerful partners will definitely defeat a pack of Russian murderers, robbers and rapists. Thank you Andrej Plenkovic and Mario Banozic for their support!" Reznikov tweeted.

Croatia's participation in the military aid mission to Ukraine includes the training of Ukrainian soldiers in Croatia, which isn't something many people are all too thrilled about. Banozic, however, seems to have allowed all logical opposition to this fly right over his head. ''What are they against? Are they against saving lives?'' he asked.

Zoran Milanovic claims that America is fighting a war against Russia... through Ukraine

If you're a follower of Croatian politics in any deeper capacity, you'll know that President Milanovic often comes out with some rather unusual things. He also never misses an opportunity to spit on HDZ, which for many makes him a popular character in at least one aspect. For others, his distasteful remarks cross the line a bit too often, and for others, well, they can't quite make head nor tail of him. He has recently come out with something quite strange.

The Day of the City of Zadar took place recently, which is celebrated at a formal session of the City Council, and Milanovic was there. As expected, he referred to the government's decision to train Ukrainian soldiers in Croatia which I mentioned above, and which he was firmly against. "This is personal terror and harassment by Plenkovic, it's just his desire to push some of his ideas," said Milanovic, as RTL reported at the time.

President Milanovic also said that he knows what is written in the Croatian Constitution because ''he wrote it''. He was referring to the statement of the government at that session that the training of Ukrainian soldiers is based on the Constitution and on the laws and international agreements according to which Ukraine is an allied country.

''Therefore,'' Milanovic added: "Ukraine, to its credit, is not an ally." "The Croatian Parliament is not responsible for making any decisions on the training of foreign soldiers in Croatia," he said. He called things as they were set up by the government a "Udbas sabotage", which, if you know who the ''Udbasi'' (the Yugoslav secret service) were and what they got up to, you'll realise is quite the statement.

"Now it will be seen who's Russia and who's for Ukraine. I'm not for anyone. I'm for Croatia,'' Milanovic said.

"There's a war going on there between America and Russia. Between Russia and Ukraine, I'm on the side of Ukraine, of course. But it's a war between America and Russia," he said. "We have to state that the Americans are waging a war against Russia through Ukrainian youths, we have to say that. When it comes to decisions that have a security and defense character, you have to consult with the president, and I say to the members of parliament: ''Don't be intimidated,'' he said.

New measures against inflation could come to be, and all hands are on deck for post-earthquake reconstruction (for the earthquake that occurred two years ago)

Plenkovic recently pointed out that the proposed state budget for next year will provide funds for the growth of both wages and pensions, increased funds for veterans and the army, and he also announced possible new measures to mitigate the impact of inflation, with the message that "there's power and space for that".

"We have the space and strength to do that, if there's a need, and considering the circumstances, our measures will be precise and comprehensive, and as we've done so far, we'll solve it and you'll be satisfied with what we do,'' said Plenkovic in response to Branko Grcic (SDP ) when asked what will happen at the end of March next year, when all previous measures are due to expire.

''We'll also reduce excise duties on heating oil and thereby provide additional assistance to people,'' announced the Prime Minister during the parliamentary debate on the 2023 budget, adding that ''the number of people at risk of poverty is continuously falling in Croatia and that figure is smaller than when we assumed responsibility.''

In his answers to the deputies, Plenković pointed out that the fight against corruption continues, that it is strong and brings results.

Regarding the post-earthquake reconstruction for the earthquakes which struck Zagreb in March 2020 and the Banovina area in December of that same year, which he was also asked about, Plenkovic said that the government is providing a lot of aid and that the reconstruction of houses is intensifying, that all departments are working on reconstruction and are in charge of spending the available funds.

Austria is now all for Croatia joining Schengen, or is it?

You may have read (or heard) about Austria taking a stance against Croatia joining the Schengen zone in January 2023, with talk of the country potentially going as far as to block entry. Now it seems that the tide has turned, or has it? Memories are short when it comes to Croatian politics.

Plenkovic recently received the Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Karl Nehammer, at Banski dvori. This is Nehammer's first official visit to Croatia as chancellor.

"In the last thirty years or so, relations with Austria have been among the most extensive of the numerous countries with which Croatia cooperates since it was internationally recognised. Since the 1990s, Austria has been the second biggest investor in Croatia. This year, Croatia was visited by one and a half million Austrian tourists,'' said Plenkovic at the beginning of the press conference.

"Today we also discussed the most important topic ahead of this visit, which is the final two weeks before the decision on Croatian membership of the Schengen area. This was an opportunity to once again explain to the chancellor what Croatia has done from 2016 until today," Plenkovic said.

"We're currently discussing the expansion of Schengen, and we can see that Austria in particular has insufficient protection of its external borders. At the same time, we have a reduction in border protection within the EU itself, in our opinion it can't continue like that, so some measures will have to be taken,'' he said.

"When we talk about Schengen's expansion, and at the same time we criticise the plan that the European Commission should present with regard to these problems that we've presented, it is important to say that this doesn't apply to Croatia. Special votes will be cast for Croatia, as they will for both Bulgaria and Romania. We'll support Croatia's accession to the Schengen area, but we're going to be critical of the efforts of Bulgaria and Romania," added the Austrian chancellor.

The Austrian chancellor also said that it is necessary to change the system and strengthen the EU's external borders in order to make free movement within Schengen possible.

It's worth noting that Austrian Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, caused great concern reently after he said that he was against the expansion of the Schengen area to include Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania. Over the past few days, he has repeatedly said that he is against any Schengen expansion, which he said is something that simply isn't working, which can be seen from the increased number of asylum seekers arriving in Austria. That country registered the entry of around 100,000 migrants this year alone, of which 75,000 were not previously registered in any EU country at all.

Nehammer warned that his minister wanted to signal that "Schengen is clearly not working and that new measures are needed." The Council for Justice and Internal Affairs meets on December the 8th and 9th, when it will make the final decision on Croatia's entry into the Schengen area. Croatia's accession was previously supported by the European Commission and the European Parliament, so all fingers (and likely toes) are crossed.

For more on Croatian politics, make sure to follow our dedicated section and keep your eyes peeled for our Week in Croatian Politics articles which are published every Friday.

ZAGREB, 13 July 2022 - During his visit to the mechanized armored brigade (GOMBR) at the Vinkovci barracks on Wednesday, Defence Minister Mario Banožić said that the heavy infantry battalion will be equipped with Bradley fighting vehicles which will be maintained by the Đuro Đaković Special Vehicles company.

"We will carry out the reorganization and equipping of one mechanized battalion into a heavy infantry battalion that will be part of the medium infantry brigade," specified Banožić.

The minister recalled that at the beginning of this year the Government decided to accept a donation of 89 Bradley vehicles, to bring 62 vehicles into the operational condition and deliver equipment and services for 62 vehicles. He added that in the first period of the Long-term Development Plan (DPR ), the heavy infantry battalion will be equipped with Bradleys that will be maintained by the Đuro Đaković Special Vehicles company.

"In the new DPR, our priority is to invest in the barracks where you live and work. Since the beginning of this government's term, the Croatian Army is focused on the soldier and that is why we are constantly working to improve their living and working conditions and material rights,'' said Banožić.

Banožić mentioned the KFOR peace support operation in Kosovo, in which members from the GOMBR units are expected to participate in the next contingent, as well as NATO's enhanced vigilance activity in Hungary with up to 70 troops.

The minister pointed out that the soldier is the center of the defense system and that 200 soldiers were recently accepted into active military service.

The DPR of the Armed Forces of is a fundamental strategic document that projects the development of the capabilities of the Croatian Army until 2034. It will soon be put into procedure alongside Croatia's Defense Strategy. In addition to equipping the infantry with Bradley fighting vehicles, the acquisition and equipping of Patria armored fighting vehicles is planned.

"A short-range air defense system will be procured for the Croatian Army, followed by a medium-range one," Banožić underscored.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 23 June 2022 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić on Thursday during a working visit to the Croatian Navy at the "Admiral Sveto Letica-Barba" barracks in Split commented on the upcoming Defence Strategy of the Republic of Croatia and Long-Term Development Plan of the Croatian Armed Forces.

Thanking the members of the Croatian Navy (HRM) for impeccably carrying out their duties, the defence minister said that the Croatian government would continue to pursue a policy of strengthening the capabilities of the Croatian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence (MORH) said.

He recalled that many measures had been adopted with regard to the improvement of the material rights and living and working conditions of soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers, and that since 2016 the salaries of active military personnel had been rising continuously every year, MORH said.

Banožić said that amendments to the law regulating the service in the Croatian Army introduced the first, two-year fixed-term, contract for sailors and soldiers and after that the next contract as permanent one.

"The new solution provides job safety and the possibility of life planning with all the rights related to permanent employment. In 2020 and 2021, 70 sailors were employed in this way," the defence minister said.

He also underscored significant investments in the Croatian Armed Forces, such as the procurement of multi-purpose fighter jets and the Black Hawk helicopters for the Croatia Air Force, Bradley fighting vehicles for the Croatian Ground Army, and the construction of patrol vessels for the Croatian Navy.

Patrol vessels will improve the ability to monitor and protect the rights and interests of Croatia at sea, the minister said.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 13 June 2022 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić said at the 27th edition of the Eurosatory fair in Paris on Monday that the Croatian military industry had become a respectable player on the world market, the Defence Ministry said in a press release.

Banožić and a Defence Ministry delegation visited the Eurosatory defence and security fair in Paris.

In addition to global manufacturers of military equipment and weapons, Banožić toured the exhibition spaces of Croatian defence companies taking part in this year's fair, together with the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the press release reads.

They have confirmed once again that the Croatian defence industry has become a respectable player on the world market, the defence minister said, adding that the cooperation between domestic companies and the defence ministry has been going on since the 1991-1995 Homeland War.

Banožić noted that this branch of the Croatian economy had become a serious, competitive player on the world market and that Croatia and Croatian soldiers were known in the world for its products.

The Eurosatory fair, launched in 1967, is the leading international air and land defence and security exhibition. It is held every even-numbered year in June at the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition centre, the Ministry said.

Meeting with Lecornu

The fair was opened by French minister of defence Sébastien Lecornu, with whom Banožić had a bilateral meeting.

The ministers spoke about the current situation caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine and exchanged views on the current initiatives with the European Union and NATO.

They signed a letter of intent between the two ministries on cooperation within the European Defence Fund (EUF) and expressed satisfaction with strengthening bilateral defence cooperation, which has been significantly increasing since last year's signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between Croatia and France, according to the press release.

Banožić and Lecornu exchanged views on the situation in Southeast Europe, notably in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the Croatian minister underscoring the importance of Bosnia and Herzegovina passing an election law that would enable legitimate representation of its constituent peoples in government and institutions.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 13 June 20222 - Croatia's Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović spoke with European Football Federation (UEFA) President Aleksander Čeferin in Geneva on Monday about ways to improve safety at football matches.

Čeferin underscored the importance of cooperation between federations, clubs, and fans in order to exchange all information that contributes to the smooth organization of football matches during the preparation, planning, and implementation of security measures.

The aim is to encourage clubs to develop and maintain proactive and regular communication with fans and their representatives with the aim of forming partnerships and solving problems, the Ministry of the Interior said.

Prevention was identified as a key activity in combating hooliganism at sports competitions, and the European Court of Human Rights also supports member states in the fight against hooliganism and their efforts to combat violence at sports competitions.

The UEFA president welcomed the efforts of European national federations to combat the problems of modern football and offered full support in addressing problems.

Božinović presented the highlights of the security protocol for high-risk football matches, which is being prepared in cooperation between the Ministry, the Croatian Football Federation, clubs and fans. Its intention is to ensure the safety of spectators, competitors and other participants, as well as to protect citizens and property.

Božinović expressed satisfaction that the UEFA had chosen the southern Croatian Adriatic island of Hvar as the venue for the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in July this year.

The meeting with Čeferin was also attended by UEFA chief of football Zvonimir Boban and Croatian deputy police chief Damir Barić.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 2022 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić told a press conference on Wednesday he respected the decision of the Conflict of Interest Commission, which fined him HRK 7,000 for granting himself an official apartment, but he does not want to return the apartment to the state property management company.

During a ceremony for the handover of the Black Hawk helicopters, donated by the United States, the Croatian defence minister recalled the period when he was the state assets minister. In September 2019, Banožić signed a decision granting himself an official 92-square-metre apartment in Gundulićeva Street in Zagreb. However, the minister reiterated that he did so in accordance with legal provisions.

"I will not move out of the apartment because the Commission proved what I had said during the proceedings. However, I respect the decision and I will pay the fine," he said.

He added that as a state official he was entitled to a three-room apartment of at least 60 square metres, but he did not choose it himself, the administration of the state property management company did.

I signed the decision just because Article 49 of the State Assets Management Act explicitly states that the state assets minister makes the decisions on apartments, Banožić said.

The defence minister criticised President Zoran Milanović for the overhaul of Croatian MiG fighter jets in Ukraine during his term as prime minister. He thinks there were many irregularities in that business deal and that the aircraft had false technical documentation.

We have solid evidence that the numbers on them were overwritten, that the documents were falsified and that is why a claim for damages should be filed, in accordance with the signed contracts, he said.

However, Banožić stressed "it's insane to talk about asking Ukraine to pay damages now given the situation the country is in", adding that the blame was not on the Ukrainian state but the company that did the overhaul of the aircraft.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 20 May 2022 - The Conflict of Interest Commission on Friday unanimously determined that Defence Minister Mario Banožić, who had served as the state assets minister, abused the entitlements when he adopted three decisions including one in which he granted himself an official apartment.

Banožić was fined HRK 7,000 for the breach.

Breaches were identified in three decisions he approved; the decision to grant himself a state-owned apartment of 30 square meters, then a decision on the right to accommodation in an apartment for state officials, and thirdly, granting himself an apartment in Gundulićeva Street in the center of Zagreb.

"When office-holders find themselves in situations when they should decide on matters concerning themselves, they cannot be included in the decision-making. Those situations need to be identified and office-holders need to be excluded from the decision-making and delegate that to another person," the said the commission. 

The commission examined the case after media reports in March this year which was followed by a complaint.

Banožić told the commission that he initially agreed to the smaller apartment because it was the only one available. Later he was informed by the State Real Estate Agency that the apartment in Gundulićeva Street would soon be available and based on the criteria of the 2013 regulation, he could occupy it.

The 2013 regulation notes that first category officials are eligible for a three-room apartment (60m2) and an additional 10m2 for every other family member. In his application for an apartment Banožić noted that his spouse and two children visited occasionally however, the commission said that his family was never registered in Zagreb.

The fact that they occasionally visited did not mean that he was eligible for a larger apartment, the commission's president Nataša Novaković explained.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 18 May 2022 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Wednesday that it is not up to MPs to call for somebody's arrest, dismissing criticism from the opposition that the prime minister was pressurising chief state attorney to discourage her from prosecuting ministers suspected of criminal offences.

"Should someone commit a criminal act and that is proven, they will be arrested," Jandroković told Urša Raukar Gamulin of the Green-Left Bloc after she said she hoped State Attorney General Zlata Hrvoj Šipek would withstand pressure and make arrests.

She was commenting on Defence Minister Mario Banožić, who she said had defrauded the state of millions of kuna and committed several offences, from abuse of office to influence-peddling.

"Government ministers are falling one after another under the charges of influence- peddling and abuse of office, while the prime minister is making threats and giving instructions to the state attorney general to not prosecute them," she said, stressing that in a civilised EU country this would make the prime minister and the entire government fall.

"The legislature is not the one to decide who will be arrested, you mentioned here people by name and spoke about arrests, that is not the way to do things. You do not have the right to call on state institutions to arrest people, that is not your job," Jandroković said.

Dalija Orešković (Centre/GLAS), too, commented on the Office of the State Attorney General, stressing that in a healthy state, the chief state prosecutor does not listen to political instructions over the phone.

"We do not have a state because we do not have independent institutions," she said.

Milorad Pupovac of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) warned of a speech by an MP who after habitually spreading intolerance towards the Serb Orthodox Church and its members said, "We have reduced the Serbs to a tolerable number."

"The session chairman issued no warning and did not distance himself from that statement," Pupovac said, adding that "the 20th-century reductions of the historical minorities - Hungarians, Austrians, Germans, Italians, Jews, Roma and Serbs - to tolerable numbers has made Croatia neither freer nor safer," the Serb MP said.

Marijan Pavliček (Croatian Sovereignists) criticised Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević for refusing to sponsor the Walk for Life event and refusing to have the organisers' flag displayed on city flagpoles, saying the mayor had privatised the city and marginalised those whose worldviews he did not share.

For more, check out our politics section.