ZAGREB, May 19, 2019 - Frans Timmermans, the Party of European Socialists (PES) lead candidate for president of the European Commission, visited Rijeka on Sunday together with Social Democratic Party (SDP) president Davor Bernardić and the SDP candidates for the European Parliament, supporting them in the European elections.

Timmermans, who serves as the Commission's first vice-president and commissioner for better regulation, interinstitutional relations, the rule of law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, said Rijeka symbolised what Europe should be and that this meant living diversity, leaving historical trauma behind and turning to the future.

Whenever nationalism was dominant, Rijeka suffered, which is why now we should insist on building bridges, friendship and looking for common solutions, he said at a press conference.

Timmermans said the hosts had informed him about the problems of Croatia's Uljanik and 3. Maj shipyards, adding that social democrats had the task of preparing citizens and workers for a new economy in the future. Shipbuilding has a future in the building of sustainable vessels which use less energy as well as in specialisation, he added.

The European Commission will participate in looking for solutions to the problems in shipbuilding and if I'm elected president, rest assured that I'll be on your side, but it's important that shipyards have good managements, such as workers deserve, Timmermans said.

He pushed for higher salaries and better jobs, saying he advocated three measures - that the minimum wage in each member state be at least 60% of the average salary in that country, that multinational companies pay 18% in profit tax in the country they generate it, and that the pay gap between men and women be reduced or eliminated.

Bernardić said Timmermans's remit, the rule of law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, was important to Croatia. He said it was important that the Commission be headed by a fighter for freedom and equality and against corruption because, he added, in Croatia the corruption perception index was rising and press freedoms were under threat.

Bernardić said the ruling HDZ "and their friends, the European People's Party, with their lead candidate Manfred Weber, failed to salvage Uljanik and 3. Maj, even though they had all the levers of power and the institutions, so it's important that the EC president be a social democrat."

Asked about the possibility of post-election agreements with the EPP and ALDE, Timmermans said the conservatives' basic problems were that they wanted to continue behaving as they had until now, which he said was unacceptable, and their cooperation with the far right.

Now we see, in Austria and Italy, where that leads. We will never cooperate with the far right because our heritage is the struggle against fascism and the struggle of the Partisans, and if elected EC president, I will never seek their support, he said.

Bernardić said Croatia should ban fascist insignia like Austria did.

More news about European elections can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 12, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Sunday that he respected every referendum initiative and that parliament would decide on the union-led referendum initiative "67 is too much" after examining the signatures gathered for a referendum petition.

The initiative's organisers announced at a midnight press conference that they had gathered over 600,000 signatures for a referendum against the statutory retirement age being raised to 67.

"I respect every referendum initiative, including this one. Parliament will decide on this matter after the signatures have been presented," Plenković told reporters in Zagreb.

Asked if Parliament would ask the Constitutional Court to assess whether the referendum question was in line with the Constitution, the prime minister said that this would be decided by Parliament.

Branko Grčić of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Sunday congratulated the union-led "67 is too much" initiative on gathering 600,000 signatures for a referendum on the pension system.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an SDP convention in Zagreb, Grčić said this was a good initiative for future pensioners, especially for people for whom it would be difficult to work until 67 years of age for health reasons.

Asked if the referendum would be held, Grčić said that the unions' proposal was very consistent. "It is basically a substitute for the law that was already passed by parliament. I think that everything will be clear after confirmation by the referendum. I don't think the government will have any choice there."

He said that the government's reaction to the signature gathering campaign was arrogant because it used all means available to deter people from supporting the referendum initiative.

Responding to a reporter's remark that five years ago the SDP had supported a similar measure, Grčić recalled that their proposal was that the retirement age be raised as of 2038 and that it was prompted by efforts to speed up economic growth. "Unfortunately, the government that succeeded us went in a totally different direction. The circumstances today are completely different from those of three years ago," he said.

Ines Strenja of the opposition MOST party said on Sunday she was glad that the union-led referendum initiative "67 is too much" had gathered over 600,000 signatures for a referendum on the pension reform.

She said that this was a message to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković that the people wanted further consultations on the pension reform.

"MOST has supported this referendum initiative just as it did all other referendum initiatives because the people have the right to say what they want the country to look like," she said during a presentation of her party's platform for the forthcoming European Parliament elections in the northern Adriatic city of Rijeka.

Strenja said that the pension reform was not good. "There's much more than the retirement age of 67. Croats have a shorter life expectancy than EU citizens, so perhaps the retirement age should be even lower than 65. We want EU standards while forcing our people to be in an unequal position in relation to EU citizens," she said.

Speaking of the EP elections, Strenja said that if elected, MOST's MEPs would be advocating the interests of Croatian citizens rather than of different political groupings. "We want a just Croatia that will be an equal member of the EU and that will fight for its sovereign rights such as the right to an exclusive economic zone. Croatia can do so much more, especially with regard to EU funding," she said, adding that they would also insist on better healthcare for all, especially for people in rural areas and on the islands.

More referendum news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 8, 2019 - The Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Monday submitted its slate for the European Parliament elections to the State Election Commission (DIP), and on that occasion the no. 1 candidate on that slate, Tonino Picula, who is also a Croatian member of the current EP, said that the European Union did not pose a threat to Croatia.

"We see the EU as a space of opportunities for Croatia which has not used them to a sufficient extent in the first six years of its membership," Picula told the press after the slate was submitted.

He said that the EU was not a threat to Croatia and it could only turn into a menace if the EU project is taken over by politicians such as Antonio Tajani or Viktor Orban.

The strongest opposition party is hopeful of winning three of the 12 seats allotted for Croatia in the next EP.

The second candidate on the SDP list is another MEP, Biljana Borzan. The other ten candidates are Predrag Fred Matić, Romana Jerković, Joško Klisović, Ivana Posavec Krivec, Gordan Maras, Barbara Antolić Vupora, Mladen Novak, Sanja Radolović, Mirela Holy and Ranko Ostojić.

More elections news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 31, 2019 - Opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Davor Bernardić said on Saturday that Croatia could not be free or progressive without a strong social democracy and a strong SDP, recalling that his party had led Croatia into the EU and that now it should lead a fight to ensure equality for Croatia in the EU.

Addressing a convention of the SDP branch in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in Čavle, Bernardić presented candidates on the SDP's slate for elections for the European Parliament, including former minister of the interior Ranko Ostojić, former SDP member and environmental protection minister Mirela Holy, member of parliament Gordan Maras, former deputy foreign minister Joško Klisović, former war veterans minister Predrag Matić, and members of the European Parliament Biljana Borzan and Tonino Picula.

Bernardić said that the number of male and female candidates on the slate was the same.

The head of the SDP county branch, Zlatko Komadina, said that the SDP still carried the banner of free thinking in Croatia.

If our government puts an equal sign between Jasenovac and Bleiburg, it is only natural that Austrians have to enlighten us, said Komadina in reference to a recent decision by the Gurk-Klagenfurt Diocese in Austria to deny permission for this year's Mass in the Loibach field as part of a ceremony commemorating members of Nazi-allied Croatian forces killed there at the end of World War II.

Answering reporters' questions, he said that the EU had slid into neo-liberal capitalism, that 18 EU countries used to have Social Democrat governments while today there were only eight such governments, and that only Social Democrats could reverse current neo-fascist and extremely conservative trends.

Commenting on the current situation in the shipbuilding sector, Komadina said that the shipyards had not been managed well and that no government had controlled how state guarantees for ships were spent. He called for a solution to the current situation in the ailing Uljanik shipbuilding group that would enable its takeover by another legal person.

MEP Tonino Picula said, among other things, that the government's response to the crisis in Uljanik was not as proactive as had been the case during the crisis in the Agrokor food and retail group, when, he said, the government reacted promptly to prevent its negative impact on the economy.

More news on the European elections can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 29, 2019 - The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) is set to win six of the 12 seats, allotted to Croatia in the next European Parliament, (EP), while the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) can expect three seats and the Živi Zid, the GLAS-led Amsterdam Coalition and the MOST party, can win one seat each, shows the latest projections released by the European Parliament on Friday.

This is the third such projection of the composition of the next EP released by the Parliament and based on polls on voting intentions in the EU member-states.

Initial projections of the composition of the new European Parliament indicated that of 12 seats reserved for Croatia the HDZ will win six, the SDP three, Živi Zid two and MOST one.

The projects are compiled in collaboration with Kantar Public, Parliament’s Public Opinion Monitoring Unit.

These projections of the composition of the next European Parliament are based on the structure of the outgoing Parliament and should be seen as a snapshot of the current political situation as represented in the voting intention polls.

The poll in Croatia was carried out by Promocija Plus. According to the poll taken, HDZ will win 30.7% of the vote or 6 seats. SDP would win 19.2% of the vote or 3 seats, followed by the Živi Zid (10.2%) Amsterdam Coalition (7.7%) and MOST (6.8%) and would win 1 seat each.

The next European Parliament will have fewer MEPs then the outgoing parliament, 705 compared to the current 751 seats. The new division of seats will apply only if Great Britain exits the EU before the elections which are set for May 23 - 26.

Based on current voting intentions in the EU27, the European People's Party group (EPP) would have 188 seats, followed by the Socialists and Democrats (142), Liberals (72), Europe of Nations and Freedom (61), European Conservatives and Reformists (53), European United Left (49), and the European Freedom and Direct Democracy group (30).

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

ZAGREB, March 17, 2019 - The Main Committee of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Sunday adopted the party's slate for European Parliament elections with 12 candidates led by incumbent MEP Tonino Picula.

The second candidate on the slate is another incumbent MEP, Biljana Borzan.

Debating the slate, a number of Main Committee members complained about the inclusion of non-party member Mirela Holy. She told reporters she had anticipated objections and criticisms. "I see it as part of party infighting."

The Main Committee also endorsed the joining of Ivo Josipović's Forward Croatia party to the SDP, which SDP president Davor Benardić called a "gathering of all progressive forces in society."

"There's no tolerant, open, progressive, just, modern Croatia without strong social democracy and a strong SDP," he said, reiterating that they wanted Croatia and its citizens to be the equals of other European Union countries and citizens.

More news about European elections can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 17, 2019 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) president Davor Bernardic on Saturday commented on MP Siniša Varga's leaving the party, saying he appreciated people who did not give up, who fought and did not leave the SDP when it got tough.

Varga left the party on Friday, citing the inclusion of Mirela Holy, a former member of the SDP, on the party's slate for May's European Parliament election, and the fiasco at last Sunday's local election in Lika-Senj County as the reasons. He said he would continue as an independent MP.

Responding to questions from the press in Osijek, Bernardić said Varga could thank the SDP for his professional successes, notably in politics, and that he should give his seat in parliament back to the party that had made it possible for him to become an MP.

Bernardić said the SDP's goal was to win three seats in the EP, one more than now, and that he was sure the party would do well in the election.

Asked about the party's poor results at last weekend's local elections in Lika, he said local SDP leaders were responsible.

Asked if a joint commemoration for the victims of the Jasenovac WWII concentration camp was possible this year, Bernardić said he would like "one procession" and that a "joint commemoration is a necessity," but added that the government had missed the chance by "de facto legalising the occasional use of the Ustasha salute 'For the homeland ready'."

He said members of the ethnic minorities that had the most victims in WWII at the hands of the Ustasha, such as the Roma and the Jews, could not walk together with ruling HDZ party members Stevo Culej, Josip Đakić and Milijan Brkić or HDSSB member Branimir Glavaš.

More news about SDP can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 9, 2019 - The president of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Davor Bernardić, in Požega on Saturday commented on the decision by the Roman Catholic Church in the Austrian federal state of Carinthia to withhold permission for this year's memorial mass at Loibach, a field near Bleiburg, saying that the time had come for Croatia to ban fascist symbols, recalling that Austria, regardless of the right-wing and conservative government, had banned the display of fascist symbols and the use of Holy Mass for political purposes.

"The time has come for those who lead the Croatian government to raise awareness about that issue and ban those symbols and for Croatia to finally turn to the future. But to do so, it first must cut all ties with ghosts of the past once and for all and ban the use of fascist symbols," Bernardić said.

The commemoration in Bleiburg is being exploited for political purposes and you can see there uniforms for failed fascists, Nazi and Ustasha regimes under whose insignia millions of people were killed.

The Roman Catholic Church in the Austrian federal state of Carinthia has turned down a request by the Croatian Bishops Conference (HBK) to hold a mass at Loibach, a field near Bleiburg because the event is used for political purposes, the local church said on Friday.

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.

More news on SDP can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 8, 2019 - The under-representation of women in politics is considered a symptom of an unhealthy democracy and a crisis of political representation, a round table on women's equality in politics and society, organised by the Social Democratic Party (SDP), was told in Zagreb on Thursday.

In the 1980s, the last decade of the socialist system in Croatia, the proportion of women in parliament ranged between 13 and 17 percent. In the early 1990s, their share dropped to between four and seven percent as a result of the retraditionalisation of society, the head of the SDP Women's Forum, Maja Sporiš, said at the round table, organised ahead of International Women's Day which is observed on March 8.

The proportion of women in the Croatian parliament increased again following the 2000 election, reaching between 18 and 21 percent and staying at that level over the next 15 years. In 2015, their proportion fell to 15 percent and in 2016 to 12.5 percent.

Sporiš said that the present share of 20 percent was the result of male candidates withdrawing to take government positions and women, positioned at the bottom of election slates, moving up to fill their positions in parliament.

She noted that European average of women's representation in national parliaments was 28 percent and the global average was slightly over 23 percent.

Sporiš said that, compared with 2013, the number of female municipal councillors increased the most, by over 10 percent, the number of female town councillors rose by 4 percent and that of county councillors by about 6 percent. None of the present county prefects is a woman, and the number of female county deputy prefects has increased by 7 percent from 2013.

In 2017, of the total of 555 mayors, only 50, or 9 percent, were women.

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

ZAGREB, March 2, 2019 - The Split branch of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) organised a walk on the city's waterfront promenade on Saturday, with participants carrying a banner "For an open and tolerant Split" and expressing their opposition to any form of violence in the city.

"This is a symbolic gesture to show that Split is an open and tolerant Croatian and Mediterranean city in which our citizens and guests feel good," said the head of the SDP town branch, Goran Kotur.

"This town is not like it is being portrayed because of the behaviour of some individuals or groups," he added.

"Attacks and graffiti are an attempt to cast a shadow over Split and I believe that today's march will remove that shadow," Kotur told reporters hinting at a recent attack on Serbian water polo players.

SDP invited citizens as well as Mayor Andro Krstulović Opara (HDZ), City Council President Igor Stanišić (HGS) and councillors from other parties, to join the march.

"This walk is a civilisational gesture and not political and that's why we didn't display any party signs because we wanted to attract people of different political views. I don't know why they didn't joint us," he said.

More news on Split can be found in the Lifestyle section.