ZAGREB, 7 May, 2021- Serbia wants to have good and fair relations with all neighbouring countries but Croatia's actions and statements by its officials are not expressions of respect for Serbia but an attempt to humiliate it, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Friday.

In a comment on the statement by Croatia's foreign minister that Croatia would increase the number of its troops in the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) because that was important for maintaining peace in the region and on disputes triggered by Serbian Minister of the Interior Aleksandar Vulin's statements, Vučić said that Croatia could have refused to serve in KFOR but opted to do the contrary "in order to additionally humiliate Serbia."

Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Ministry stated earlier in the day that Serbia's strong reaction to the planned deployment of a greater number of Croatian troops in Kosovo was "a hysterical speculation" intended to divert attention from the introduction of the Bunjevci dialect as an official language in the northern Serbian town of Subotica, which it considers an attempt to fragment the Croat community in Serbia.

The Serbian president today wondered "why anyone would need to participate in the KFOR mission or brag about it", alluding to Croatia's involvement in the international peace mission.

"They could have refused to take part in KFOR, but they intentionally made that decision to additionally humiliate Serbia. We get the message," Vučić told Serbian reporters during a visit to Obrenovac.

In a message to Serbs in Kosovo, he said that they "should not worry" and that he would soon talk with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, stressing Serbia's commitment to avoid conflicts and maintain peace.

"My message to all those who think that there will be new Storms, new pogroms and expulsions - I guarantee that that will not happen," Vučić said in reference to the 1995 Croatian military and police operation that liberated areas previously held by local Serbs who rebelled against the Croatian authorities.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 7 May (Hina) - Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek said on Friday that she was shocked by President Zoran Milanović's attack on the HRT public broadcaster, adding that she had always stood up for press freedom.

"The government has no ambition whatsoever to influence any media outlet in Croatia. Quite the contrary, I believe that we strengthen democracy and all the values in society if we try to ensure conditions for reporters to do their job professionally and without any pressure," Obuljen Koržinek said after a ceremony of opening a library in the town of Delnice.

She condemned Milanović's statements in which he attacked an HRT correspondent in Split, refusing to answer her questions and saying that the HRT was not a public broadcaster but was serving the interests of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).

"I think that Milanović is the last person who can call out anybody," Obuljen Koržinek said, stressing that the concept and legislative framework for the HRT management had been inaugurated during his term as prime minister.

She went on to say that in her capacity as the minister of culture and media, she had always stood up for the autonomy of the media, notably reporters.

Union leader: Milanović attacks journalists who are not responsible for HRT's policy

Croatian Journalists' Union leader and HRT reporter Maja Sever said on Thursday that the reporters whom Milanović verbally attacked earlier in the day were not responsible for the public broadcaster's editorial policy and that he was among those who had failed to ensure HRT's autonomy. 

Also on Thursday, the Journalists' Union and the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) branch at the HRT condemned Milanović's statements, but also noted that the HRT under current director Kazimir Bačić was not an independent public service and that the government led by PM Andrej Plenković was responsible for that.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 7, 2021 - As part of NATO, Croatia participates in a large military exercise called DEFENDER-Europe-21, and UK and US navy ships arrived in Zadar with valuable equipment to be distributed among training areas in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Large-scale, multinational, and army-lead, DEFENDER-Europe is a joint exercise designed to build readiness and interoperability between the U.S., NATO, and partner militaries. This year's edition DEFENDER-Europe-21, as reported by U.S. Army Europe and Africa website, focuses on „Building operational readiness and interoperability with a greater number of NATO allies and partners over a wider area of operations is defensive in nature and focused on responding to the crisis if necessary“, and also shows that „the U.S. commitment to NATO is ironclad.“

The exercise also includes strict COVID prevention and mitigation measures, such as pre-deployment COVID testing and quarantining and the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy show significant involvement and will utilize key ground and maritime routes bridging Europe, Asia, and Africa – continues the website.

„Exercises new high-end capabilities such the new U.S. Army Security Force Assistance Brigades, air, and missile defense assets and the recently reactivated V Corps and demonstrates our ability to serve as a strategic security partner in the western Balkans and the Black Sea regions while sustaining our abilities in northern Europe, the Caucasus, Ukraine, and Africa“, adds the exercise goals the official U.S. Army website.

Apart from the U.S., Approximately 28,000 multinational forces from 26 nations conduct nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas in 12 countries, and as a NATO member, Croatia has not been left out of the drill.

U.S. Naval Ship Yuma arrives in Zadar, Croatia © Sgt. Alexandra Shea

As part of the exercise, U.S. Naval Ship Yuma and U.K. Vessel Hurst Point off-loaded more than 300 pieces of military equipment in Zadar, Croatia’s Gazenica port, after ferrying it from Durres in Albania. The delivery started on Tuesday, May 4, and it was concluded on Friday. The journey of the equipment started back on March 24 at the Port of Jacksonville in Florida. The local U.S. National Guard units were shipping the equipment for three days onto USNS Bob Hope (T-AKR 300) after which, the ship stopped by Portsmouth in Virginia for the final pieces of equipment before heading towards Durres in Albania. In Durres, the smaller vessels took the equipment and finally loaded it to Yuma, and Hurst Point, which brought it to the gem of Northern Dalmatia, Zadar.

„This process is called Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, a method used to ensure swift delivery of supplies and equipment in a variety of port situations“, explained the press release.

U.S. equipment leaves for training area © Sgt. Joshua Oh 

While many would probably stop at Zadar and chill for a lovely holiday, the equipment, however, will continue its journey. Part of the equipment will remain in Croatia, but it will be transferred to Slunj, home of the Main Training Area, and the rest goes to training areas scattered in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). In BiH, the drills and maneuvers for which the equipment will be used are under the umbrella of the linked exercise named "Immediate Response 21” which will culminate in a joint, multinational live-fire demonstration called “Croatian Rampart 1991-2021” at the end of May. Not just as a test of possibility in the „God-forbid-we-are-attacked“ scenario, Croatian Rampart 1991-2021“ also celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Croatia Armed Forces.

The Main Training Area in Slunj, Croatia and training areas throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina to be used in drills and maneuvers alongside members of the Croatian Armed Forces, under the umbrella of the linked exercise named "Immediate Response 21.” The exercise culminates in a joint, multinational live-fire demonstration called “Croatian Rampart 1991-2021” - which celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Croatian Armed Forces at the end of May.

British Major Dan Cornwell talking to Croatian press, screenshot / Defense Flash News

British Major Dan Cornwell told the Croatian press that the idea of being in Zadar is that Croatian, U.K., and U.S. forces operate together in loading U.S. equipment and personnel.

„We've done this before, on exercise last year in Germany, and I can say, it's a lot better down here in the south, it's absolutely amazing to be here in Croatia to do this alongside Croatian Armed Forces where we can better understand how we operate differently, how we operate similarly and equally building up our interoperability and our ability to operate better in the future“, said Maj. Cornwell, indicating that perhaps he can find Zadar, like many others, as a great holiday destination and not just the line of duty.

Learn more about Zadar on our TC page.

For more about the army in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 7 May, 2021 - The Croatian Parliament is the only parliament in the European Union that, on the pretext of the coronavirus pandemic, has not been publishing reports on the voting of MPs for a year, the non-governmental organisation GONG said on Friday, considering this to be an attack on democracy.

"The epidemic has seriously affected the democratic standards in the work of the Croatian Parliament. It is unacceptable that since March 2020 and the declaration of the state of the pandemic, the Sabor has denied the public key information on the work of lawmakers, hiding behind the epidemiological measures and the shortcomings of the electronic voting system, which is designed for use only in the main chamber," GONG said in a statement.

The governing parties are relying on a slim majority of 76 MPs in the 151-seat Parliament, and the information on how each lawmaker voted on a bill is of great interest to the public, it noted.

GONG said that Parliament has been neglecting the basic democratic standards in adapting to the epidemiological measures, recalling that the Constitutional Court had found the provisions of Parliament's Rules of Procedure limiting the number of MPs at plenary sessions to be unconstitutional.

It said that after the Constitutional Court ruling Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković had announced a possibility of forming a task force to draw up amendments to the Rules of Procedure, but that six months have gone by since then and there has been no mention of amendments any more.

GONG appealed to Parliament to start looking for a way to regain the public confidence it has lost and urged MPs to demand greater accountability from Parliament.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 5 May, 2021 - Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy Minister Josip Aladrović on Wednesday denied reports that "a union tax" would be introduced, noting that media had wrongly interpreted the social dialogue on the new labour law and that that was just one of the proposals. 

"I must specifically decline the possibility of introducing a so-called union tax in the form that the media tried to depict it," Aladrović told reporters after a meeting of the inner cabinet.

As for speculation that the government could accept the union proposal for the introduction of such a tax, that is, obligatory payment of a union membership fee even for workers who are not union members, Aladrović said that "the media had misinterpreted the social dialogue."

In the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and talks with unions on the new labour law, the government has decided to strengthen and encourage social dialogue and collective bargaining but that does not mean that all proposals are automatically accepted, he said.

"Certain proposals and solutions have been interpreted as if they are going to go into force immediately, but that is only one negotiating possibility, one of the proposal by workers and nothing more," said the minister.

He added that consultations with unions and employers on the new labour legislation were finished, that agreement had been reached on many issues and that soon a task force would be set up to draw up a new law.

No comment on court ruling in case of gay couple's motion for adoption 

Aladrović would not comment on the Zagreb Administrative Court ruling in the case of life partners Mladen Kožić and Ivo Šegota, stressing that it was a non-final ruling.

The Rainbow Families association of LGBTIQ couples and individuals who have or want to have children said earlier in the day that the court had decided that Kožić and Šegota had been discriminated against when in 2016 they were prevented from undergoing the process of evaluation for adoption.

In 2020 the two men were granted the right to provide foster care.

The association's president, Daniel Martinović, said the court ruled that the two men must not be discriminated against because they are life partners.

The ruling, Martinović said, confirms that life partners in Croatia can adopt.

He noted that the ruling was still not final and expressed a wish for the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy not to appeal against it, thus respecting a Constitutional Court ruling of 2020 in which the court concluded that everyone should be enabled to participate in the provision of  foster care under equal terms.

"We saw the ruling this week, we are still analysing its effects and legal possibilities," said Aladrović.

He noted that the HDZ party had expressed its political position on the matter through the Family Act and the Foster Care Act.

"We will act in line with decisions of Croatian courts, but this is only a non-final ruling," said the minister.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 5 May, 2021 - The parliamentary majority on Wednesday rejected a bill by MP Katarina Peović of the Workers' Front party proposing the introduction of a tax on digital services, saying that Croatia advocated a global solution rather than unilateral measures.

"The government has from the start advocated a global solution because it believes that unilateral measures cause distortion in the EU market and disrupt competition, which is why it did not launch an initiative to tax digital services," Finance Ministry State Secretary Zdravko Zrinušić said.

The deadline for an international consensus on the matter was moved because of the coronavirus pandemic to the middle of this year, he said.

"One should propose a balanced and stimulating tax policy rather than a restrictive one that would reduce Croatia's competitiveness," said Darko Klasić of the HSLS/Reformists caucus during a debate on the bill.

The purpose of the bill is not to tax small and development-oriented digital companies, but only technological giants whose revenue, from the global perspective, exceeds HRK 5.6 billion and who have not suffered any damage due to the coronavirus crisis but have seen an increase in revenue, Peović said while presenting the bill.

She said that several EU countries had introduced such a law and that her party was proposing the same for Croatia.

"The basic purpose of the tax would be to ensure additional budget revenue, which would be used to develop telecommunications infrastructure in Croatia, because we know that the internet here is among the slowest in the EU," said Peović.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 5 May, 2021 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić on Wednesday met Hungary's incoming Ambassador to Croatia, Csaba Demcsák, expressing satisfaction with Croatian-Hungarian friendly relations.

"Both sides expressed their satisfaction with the long-lasting friendly relations between the two countries while Minister Banožić said that the two countries have developed excellent bilateral military cooperation," a press release from the defence ministry notes.

Banožić spoke about Croatian-Hungarian cooperation within the RACVIAC centre for security cooperation and the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) and at the Multinational Division Command Centre in Hungary, established jointly by Hungary and Croatia, as well as about their cooperation in the EU and NATO.

Ambassador Demcsák presented Hungary's current defence policy, underlining that he believes in the continuation of the two countries' good cooperation, the ministry's press release notes.

For more about diplomacy in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 5 May, 2021 - Minister of Justice and Administration Ivan Malenica said on Wednesday that at the moment he was not considering the possibility of amending the Constitution with regard to the selection of Supreme Court President, commenting on a proposal by Supreme Court Vice-President Marin Mrčela under which judges should elect the chief justice themselves.

Mrčela believes that the dispute over the selection of Supreme Court President could be avoided if judges themselves elected the court's president, similarly to the election of the president of the Constitutional Court.

"In amending the Courts Act we acted in line with the recommendations of GRECO - Group of States against Corruption which is the Council of Europe's anti-corruption body, where we additionally analysed the entire process of selecting the President of the Supreme Court. The procedure is defined by the Constitution itself and at the moment that is not on the cards nor has any consideration been given to changing the Constitution regarding the selection of Supreme Court President," Malenica said ahead of an inner cabinet meeting.

Malenica doesn't think that Mrčela has overdone it with his proposal or that he is meddling in politics.

"I wouldn't say that he's overdone it nor that he is meddling in politics. He expressed his opinion. I don't think that was a political statement. That is an opinion he has as a Supreme Court judge and president of GRECO. I don't see it as political meddling," said Malenica.

Malenica said that, as part of the anti-corruption package, which is based on the National Resilience and Recovery Plan, the ministry foresees 13 reform activities aimed at improving the work of the courts. The objective is to reduce the duration of court proceedings and the number of unresolved cases.

"We have certain tools within the framework of the anti-corruption package that we are putting at the disposal of the State Judicial Council and the State Prosecutorial Council with regard to checking declarations of assets by judges and state attorneys, and we are considering introducing security checks for judges," said Malenica.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 5 May, 2021 - The Official Gazette's printing office in Zagreb started printing 13.7 million ballot slips for the coming local election on May 16 and this project costs about HRK 4.5 million.

There are 1,232 different voting slips that need to be printed for the election of county prefects, mayors, county and city assemblies.

In addition to ballot slips, forms to take minutes and procedures by election committees also need to be prepared including ballot boxes and cardboard screens for ballot booths.

The State Electoral Commission (DIP) is expected to release instructions on Friday regarding epidemiological measures during the election.

Anti-epidemic rules could be more stringent in comparison to last year's parliamentary election and masks will probably be compulsory at polling stations as will keeping a distance of at least 2 metres.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 5 May, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović on Wednesday described as absurd and dangerous the proposal by Supreme Court Vice President Marin Mrčela that it was judges who should elect the president of the highest court in the country.

Mrčela told the public television service HTV on Tuesday evening that disputes over the appointment of the Supreme Court President could be avoided if the system of selection was changed so that judges themselves elected the chief justice.

In order to change the process of selection of the Supreme Court President, it is necessary to amend the Constitution, which, however, requires a political consensus, Mrčela said on HTV's prime-time news programme.

President Milanović today criticised the appearance of a judge in the national broadcaster's prime time news programme.

"I consider it very dangerous that judges should appear in prime time news programmes to say what the Croatian Constitution should look like, after they themselves have destroyed it many times," Milanović said. "I don't dare come out with ideas that can change the world, while a judge, who obviously serves a life term, does," he added.

Milanović said that as the head of state he did not see himself in the role of someone who amends the Constitution but someone who guards it.

He  went on to say that Mrčela's proposal was "absolutely absurd" and such a model did not exist anywhere in Europe.

Milanović said that Mrčela, as a judge, was promoting political ideas. "That was a political statement. I urge judges not to comment on the political system in Croatia," the president said.

Mrčela also said that the current disputes about the future Supreme Court President were purely political, and pushed for removing politics from the process of appointment of the Supreme Court President.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.