ZAGREB, May 8, 2019 - The chairman of the parliamentary committee on home affairs and national security, Ranko Ostojić of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), said on Wednesday that he would ask state agencies for their position on alleged plans by former police IT specialist Franjo Varga, a suspect in the fake text messages affair, to monitor Interior Minister Davor Božinović's emails.

Ostojić said that he was surprised that the president and the prime minister did not intend to call a session of the National Security Council despite an abundance of information on possible threats to state institutions.

Noting that he would request an opinion of the relevant state services, Ostojić said: "Ongoing proceedings in the fake text messages affair are confidential and yet we have information leaks in some weeklies and dailies."

Ostojić said that the committee would discuss the matter once the requested information was obtained but noted that he needed the consent of a part of the committee on home affairs and national security to call a thematic session on the fake texts affair.

"The president and the prime minister say that they have no information on what is going on. That's security for you, hearing the prime minister, who is in charge of all services that need to report to him, say that he has no information. It could be that I'm informed better than the prime minister. This definitely deserves a serious session and serious answers," said Ostojić. He added that he believed the current developments were due to infighting in the ruling HDZ party.

Ostojić also expressed dissatisfaction with cooperation with Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, saying that he had not attended any of the committee's sessions. "That says enough about his attitude to the parliamentary body in charge of overseeing the police's work," he said.

Prosecutors contend that Franjo Varga created fake text messages, including for former football mogul Zdravko Mamić, and that last September Blaž Curić, a close friend of Deputy Parliament Speaker and HDZ vice-president Milijan Brkić, warned Varga that he was under investigation.

The Nacional weekly, which has been following the fake texts scandal for months, said in its latest issue that in March 2018, Varga's co-defendant Curić, asked Varga to monitor Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović's emails, which Varga reportedly refused to do.

Police said recently they had brought charges against Brkić, his brother Jozo Brkić, Varga and Curić, for committing cybernetic offences against several persons.

The police allegedly found out about computer hacking by examining the computers and documents seized in the case against Varga and Curić.

The prosecutorial authorities have said that the investigation is confidential for the sake of protection of the private lives of the women whose computer systems were hacked.

More news about Interior Ministry can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 8, 2019 - Former police IT specialist Franjo Varga, a suspect in the hacking affair, left a police station in the eastern city of Osijek on Tuesday evening while police are continuing the investigation against him on the suspicion that he revealed official secrets and committed confidentiality breaches.

"The police will inform the prosecutor's office in Zagreb of the results of today's search of the suspect's home. The search of the confiscated electronic equipment continues," sources at the Ministry of the Interior said.

The reason for the latest police action was an article in the Nacional weekly of April 30, headlined "Hacking transcripts", in which the weekly revealed the identities, along with Deputy Parliament Speaker and HDZ party vice-president Milijan Brkić's wife, of another two of four persons whose mobile phone communications were allegedly intercepted by Brkić, his brother Jozo Brkić, Milijan Brkić's friend Blać Curić, and Varga.

After the article was published, prosecutors said that they had instructed the police to launch a preliminary investigation on the suspicion of disclosure of official secrets and a confidentiality breach, with investigators searching Varga's home on Tuesday morning.

Varga was then taken to Osijek for a police questioning, with police officials saying that he is suspected of sharing, without permission, information from the investigation against him and the other suspects.

The editor-in-chief of Nacional weekly, Berislav Jelinić, was also questioned by police, in Zagreb, in connection with the latest developments.

"I cannot reveal what the questioning was about because under the Criminal Procedure Act, the investigation is confidential. I did not reveal the source of information. We discussed the broader context of the fake texts affair. I stated my opinion about it. Generally, it is good that state institutions are doing their job. Unlike some, who complain that institutions are invading their privacy, I have no objection to the conduct of state institutions," Jelinić told the nacional.hr portal.

The weekly, which has been following the fake texts scandal for months, said in its latest issue that in March 2018, Varga's co-defendant Curić, who is Brkić's close friend, asked Varga to monitor Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović's emails, which Varga reportedly did not want.

The Ministry of the Interior then said that police had relayed the information on the case to the prosecutorial authorities and that the investigation in the case was continuing.

The USKOK anti-corruption office suspects Varga and Curić of obstruction of evidence and of aiding and abetting in the commission of said crime.

Prosecutors contend that Varga created fake text messages, including for former football mogul Zdravko Mamić, and that last September Curić warned Varga that he was under investigation.

Police said recently they had brought charges against Milijan Brkić, his brother Jozo Brkić, Varga and Curić, for committing cybernetic offences against several persons.

Brkić was recently questioned for intercepting his former wife's emails by using Varga's services.

The police allegedly found out about computer hacking by examining the computers and documents seized in the case against Varga and Curić.

The prosecutorial authorities have said that the investigation is confidential for the sake of protection of the private lives of the women whose computer systems were hacked.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said during a visit to Brussels on Tuesday that he could not comment on media reports that Milijan Brkić's friend Blaž Curić had ordered Varga to monitor Minister of the Interior Božinović's emails because he did not have the necessary information on the case.

"I really do not have information related to the investigation nor can I have it as Prime Minister. We want light to be fully shed on the entire affair, which is what I have been saying from the start," Plenković said when asked by reporters if he or his team had been targeted by the alleged hackers.

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

ZAGREB, April 19, 2019 - The Osijek municipal office of the Chief State Prosecutor has launched a confidential investigation into Parliament Deputy Speaker and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) vice-president, Milijan Brkić, his brother Jozo Brkić and two more men – Franjo Varga and Blaž Curić, the two suspects in the fake text messages case – for hacking computer systems.

The prosecutorial authorities did not reveal the identities of the suspects in their press release on Thursday, and they only stated that they had initiated an investigation against the four suspects after receiving a criminal report filed by the police against those four persons for committing "offences against computer systems, programmes and data to the detriment of a number of persons."

The police statement which was released this past Monday read that members of the National Police Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (PNUSKOK) in Osijek had completed "a criminal investigation into four Croatian nationals, aged 37, 49, 50 and 50, and on 15 April 2019 filed with the Osijek Municipal Prosecutor's Office a criminal report due to the suspicion that they had committed offences against computer systems, programmes and data to the detriment of several persons."

"There is reasonable suspicion that over a longer period of time one of the suspects, acting at the instigation and with the assistance of the other suspects, committed a number of offences involving the unlawful interception of computer data and computer abuse, thus unlawfully accessing the content of the injured parties' user accounts and making it available to the other suspects," the police statement said.

The prosecutorial authorities say that their investigation is confidential for the sake of protection of private life of the women whose computer systems were hacked.

According to media reports, Brkić was questioned last week for intercepting his former wife's emails by using the services of Franjo Varga, a former Interior Ministry IT specialist accused in the fake texts case.

The media said Brkić's brother Jozo was also accused in the interception case and that the police allegedly found out about it by examining the computers and documents seized in the case against Varga and Curić, former chauffeur of Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić and a close friend of Brkić.

The USKOK anti-corruption office suspects Varga and Curić in the fake texts case of obstructing the collection of evidence and of aiding and abetting in the commission of said crime.

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 18, 2019 - The trial of Franjo Varga, a former IT specialist at the Ministry of the Interior, and Blaž Curić, a former driver at the Ministry of Agriculture, for obstruction of evidence in the so-called "fake text messages" scandal could start in about two months, Osijek County Court spokesman Miroslav Rožac told the press after the indictment against the two was upheld on Monday.

Rožac said that the ruling upholding the indictment was not subject to appeal and that the two accused would be released from investigative custody because the maximum six-month time limit for holding suspects in investigative detention had run out.

Asked by the press when the trial would start, Rožac said that that could happen "in about two months", after the ruling suspending investigative custody becomes final after the appeal process.

Defence lawyer Mario Poljak said that Varga and Curić would be released on Monday.

The USKOK anti-corruption office alleges that Varga created fake text messages "between senior state officials and other persons in Croatia" to obstruct evidence in the trial of former football mogul Zdravko Mamić before the Osijek County Court and in the extradition trial of the former owner of the Agrokor food and retail conglomerate Ivica Todorić before a court in London.

According to the prosecution, the false correspondence was meant to show that certain state officials agreed unwarranted prosecution of the persons in question and that certain judicial officials were exerting pressure on other judicial officials to convict those people without evidence.

Curić allegedly provided Varga with information such as telephone numbers for state officials and other persons.

More news about the fake taxt messages scandal can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 18, 2019 - The anti-corruption investigation agency USKOK has indicted Franjo Varga, a former police IT specialist, and Blaž Curić, a former chauffeur for Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić, for obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting in the obstruction of justice in the so-called fake text messages scandal, recommending an extension of custody for both defendants.

Under the indictment, filed with the Osijek County Court, in the period from mid-2017 to September 20, 2018, Varga made fake electronic correspondence of purported communication between high state officials and other persons in order to obstruct justice in the trial of former Dinamo football club executive Zdravko Mamić and three other defendants in that case as well as in a case involving the extradition of businessman Ivica Todorić from Great Britain to Croatia.

The purpose of the fake correspondence was to show that individual state officials had conspired to have the persons concerned indicted and exerted pressure on other judicial officials to have them convicted without any evidence. This was to be used to show that their right to a free trial had been violated.

Curić is charged with providing Varga with necessary information in the form of phone numbers of individual officials and other persons.

Varga is charged with fabricating SMS correspondence between former chief state prosecutor Dinko Cvitan and a judge who sat on an Osijek County Court panel which tried Mamić, his brother Zoran, former Dinamo director Damir Vrbanović and tax official Milan Pernar. According to the correspondence, before the first instance verdict was delivered, Cvitan pressured the judge into convicting one of the defendants without any evidence.

Under the indictment, Varga gave the fake texts to Mamić, who made them public at a press conference on June 4, 2018. Mamić's attorney then requested that the verdict be postponed, but the panel refused, finding all defendants guilty on June 6 pending appeal.

Varga is also suspected of fabricating another SMS correspondence alleging influence on Supreme Court judges so that Mamić could use it in appellate proceedings.

He was supposed to give the correspondence to Mamić but was tipped off by Curić that he was under investigation.

Curić was arrested on 26 September 2018 in Zagreb on suspicion of warning Varga by phone on September 20 that he was about to be arrested and that he should delete all his phone numbers, messages and other content.

Both Varga and Curić were recently again questioned by USKOK investigators in Osijek and according to media reports, Curić is no longer charged with inciting but aiding and abetting in the obstruction of justice.

After the scandal broke, media claimed that Varga's services were also used by the former leader of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Tomislav Karamarko, as well as HDZ vice-president and Deputy Parliament Speaker Milijan Brkić, who both dismissed the allegations.

The Osijek County Court will decide on the indictment on Tuesday, given that Varga and Curić's custody, set on 19 December 2018, expires on February 19.

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

Years pass, but some things never change in Croatian politics. The year which is about to end has again been full of drama and scandals, and just occasional good news. Remarkably, many of the same issues which you will read about here have featured prominently in our reviews for 2016 and 2017 as well, which just shows that most problems in Croatia are just swept under the rug and never solved. What follows is Croatian Politics 2018, a review of events which will be remembered from the past year, as reported by TCN.

The year began with tensions in the Bay of Piran, part of the Adriatic Sea which Croatia and Slovenia both claim. In late 2017, Slovenia decided to implement the decision by arbitration tribunal which awarded Slovenia most of the bay. However, Croatia has refused to accept the decision, saying that the arbitration process was compromised by Slovenian government representatives who were in collusion with a supposedly independent arbitrator. The tensions raged for a few weeks, with MEPs proposing military solutions and war veterans talking about organising a rather provocative regatta. Eventually, reason prevailed, and the tensions died down. However, the issue is still unresolved, despite assurances to the opposite, with Croatia calling for negotiations and Slovenia insisting on the implementation of the arbitration decision. You are sure to read about this dispute in our 2019 review as well, particularly given Slovenia’s decision to file a lawsuit against Croatia.

Relations with Serbia are always in the focus of interest, and this year was no exception. In January, the government was surprised to hear that President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović had invited Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić to visit Croatia officially. After a short argument over who is really leading Croatia’s foreign policy, Vučić arrived in Zagreb. While the visit mostly went well, the relations between the two countries deteriorated steadily throughout the year and the debate about whether Vučić should have been invited at all continued. Another turn for the worse took place in April when a Croatian parliamentary delegation’s visit to Belgrade was cut short after an incident in the Serbian parliament caused by a notorious Serbian MP and war criminal Vojislav Šešelj. Tension rose again in August when the anniversary of Operation Storm is traditionally celebrated, marking Croatia’s liberation of previously occupied territories in 1995. Serbian President Vučić gave a series of provocative statements, including comparing Croatia to Hitler.

As for the economy, January brought the first worrying signs about the future of Croatian shipyards, a low number of new orders, and about the government’s apparent unwillingness to continue to cover shipyards’ losses. Later in the year, the crisis in the Uljanik shipyard in Pula and its 3. Maj branch in Rijeka would feature prominently in our reporting. Workers spent months striking due to unpaid wages. As the year ends, the situation is still dire and “strategic partners” which the government hopes to find are nowhere to be seen.

“Reforms” is one of the most popular words of Croatian politicians. Every year in January we can hear officials saying that the year ahead is “the year of reforms” which will make Croatia much more prosperous. Needless to say, these promises are never fulfilled, and 2018 did not disappoint. The issue served the president well since she was able to attack the government for lack of reform efforts whenever it suited her.

Ideological debates and historical revisionism attempts continued in 2018 as well. In February, the government-appointed historical commission published its recommendations on issues related to the authoritarian regimes from Croatia’s past, but the conclusions did not satisfy anyone, except for the prime minister, who likes to pretend that the recommendations have solved the problem.

The year which is about to end has again brought us the problem of censorship, questions about media freedoms, warnings about the rise of the far right, separate commemorations held in Jasenovac, the parliament refusing to sponsor anti-fascism events, people destroying flower beds because they reminded them of communism, historical revisionism on the public television, assaults on journalists, satirists receiving death threats, “suspect” politicians being assaulted, photos of Tito slipping from under Croatia’s coat of arms, former prime ministers being sentenced for corruption, and media regulators receiving death threats.

The Catholic Church is undoubtedly part of the political life in Croatia, so it is no wonder that rumours about changes coming to its leadership draw considerable attention. While nothing has been confirmed, it is expected that the Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, could be replaced in the new year. In the meantime, the church has continued to receive vast amounts of money from the state budget, meddle in politics, as well as advise the government on the new abortion law, 

The demographic crisis continued, with high emigration and low birth rates bringing down the number of inhabitants. The president and the government argued about who and what was to blame. The president even presented her measures to solve the problem, which were soon forgotten, and demanded a special session of the government, which never took place. Proposals were presented on how to convince people not to move, as many sectors faced a lack of workers, while many schools started closing down. The extent of the crisis was such that even Serbian President Vučić became "worried." The only “good news” came at the end of the year when reports claimed that the emigration wave was calming down because everybody who wanted and could have left already did.

One of the issues we write regularly in these annual reviews is the construction of Pelješac Bridge, which will connect the Dubrovnik area with the rest of Croatia without the need for travellers to pass through a short stretch of Bosnian territory. After many years of delays, the project has finally moved into the implementation phase. Early in the year, a decision was made to award the tender for the construction to a Chinese consortium, despite protests made by Bosnia and Herzegovina that the bridge could not be constructed before the border between the two countries in the area is defined. The decision to award the contract to a Chinese bidder also brought about a marked change in relations between Croatia and China, which were later further improved by high-level meetings and visits.

Another perennial issue is the future of INA, Croatia’s national oil company, which is owned jointly by the Croatian government and MOL, Hungarian national oil company. In 2016, the prime minister announced that Croatia would buy back MOL’s share of INA. Two years later, nothing has changed. Earlier this year, the government selected financial advisors for the buyback, but the contract with them was never signed. One of the main issues is the future of the INA refinery in Sisak. While in January the relevant minister said he was optimistic about the refinery’s future, by the end of the year he apparently changed his opinion. Another issue is Croatia’s arrest warrant for MOL’s CEO, which Hungary does not want to implement.

Another year has passed, and the supposedly “strategic” project of an LNG terminal on the island of Krk has again gone nowhere. Multi-year delays have continued. The government announced two tenders trying to find out who would be interested in using the terminal once it is built (if that ever happens), but the results were dismal. Just two government-owned companies applied, presumably after receiving a nudge from officials to send their applications and help the government avoid a total disaster. While the project receives verbal support from foreign governments, no one seems to be interested in sending binding offers to use its capacity.

One piece of good business news was the apparently successful conclusion to the worst part of the crisis in Agrokor, one of Croatia’s largest and most important companies. The agreement between creditors was concluded, thanks mostly to Russian banks, although not without an accompanying scandal about high fees paid to consultants, some of whom actually took part in the secretive process of writing the special law which the government adopted to save the company from collapse. The scandal took out Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalić and government-appointed commissioner Ante Ramljak, who had to resign under pressure. E-mails were published which showed that the prime minister knew more about the dealings than he initially admitted, but he managed to escape more or less unharmed. Agrokor’s former owner Ivica Todorić, who fled earlier to London to avoid arrest, was extradited to Croatia late in the year, after multiple delays and court proceedings. Even Tony Blair’s wife could not help him. He has since been released on bail and is currently awaiting possible indictment. The legal proceedings are expected to last for many years.

Good economic news brought us the first upgrade in Croatia’s credit rating since 2004. Unemployment numbers were also down, although more due to mass emigration than to economic revival. Good tourism results, especially in the pre-season and post-season, helped Croatia achieve planned economic growth for 2018 (still among the lowest in the EU). Slightly more moderate growth is expected in 2019, with the lack of reforms being the main culprit. The budget recorded another good year, with spending and revenues being more or less balanced, while the public debt has continued to decline. The year ended with another round of tax cuts and pension reform. Croatia has also announced plans that it will adopt the euro as its currency. The process is expected to last many years.

The ratification of the convention on preventing violence against women, the so-called Istanbul Convention, somewhat unexpectedly turned into a crisis for the government in April when a large group of HDZ MPs decided to vote against the proposal, despite prime minister’s insistence that it should be ratified. While the convention was easily adopted thanks to opposition support, it turned into another attempt by HDZ’s right wing to weaken or possibly topple Plenković as party leader and prime minister. Just like several other similar attempts, it did not succeed.

A national security issue which has drawn a lot of media attention throughout the year is the acquisition of military fighter jets. The decision was first delayed for years, then it was supposed to be made in 2017, but again delayed first to early 2018, and then beyond. After much lobbying, the government finally decided to buy 12 F-16s from Israel. The questions about the deal persisted, with many asking why Croatia was “rejuvenating” its air force with ancient aircraft. By the end of the year, the contract for the deal has not yet been signed, amid disputes between the United States and Israel about what equipment Israel can legally sell to Croatia. Grand plans about “strategic cooperation” with Israel also appear to be on hold. Defence Minister Damir Krstičević has invested a great deal of personal effort in the deal, but the acquisition is still in question, and its final fate is yet to be determined.

As expected, the political circus took a break in June due to the World Cup in Russia. While the break was initially expected to last just a couple of weeks, until the Croatian national team is eliminated in the first phase of the competition as usual, its spectacular success extended the political break to a full month and more. Of course, leading politicians did not miss this opportunity to travel to Russia and have their picture taken with footballers and fans. Needless to say, even this occasion, which was supposed to unite the country, brought divisions, primarily due to an appearance by a controversial singer at the homecoming ceremony, which was attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

The Istanbul Convention ratification prompted one of this year’s two referendum initiatives to be launched. The other effort involved proposed changes to the election laws, which would substantially reduce the rights of national minorities to elect their MPs. The government was against the referendums, while the president seemed to be of a different opinion. While both initiatives claimed they had gathered enough signatures for the referendums to be held, the government checked the signatures and conveniently found enough irregularities to lower the number of accepted signatures below the required threshold. This was just one of several attempts to pressure the government from the right.

One of the rare reforms which have begun, at least nominally, is the reform of Croatia’s education system, the so-called “curricular reform.” The issue has caused conflicts between coalition partners, with HNS repeatedly threatening to leave the government if their proposals are not accepted. Their threats were not taken seriously by anyone since it is clear that early parliamentary elections would probably bring about an end for the party.

A scandal broke in September whose consequences are still unclear at this time. A ministerial driver was arrested under suspicion that he had informed a suspect about a police investigation against him. Interestingly, the driver is a close friend of Milijan Brkić, HDZ deputy president and Prime Minister Plenković’s chief intraparty nemesis. While Brkić has denied having any role in the scandal or leaking the information about the investigation, he has been conspicuously absent from public affairs in recent months. Other scandals involving Brkić have also resurfaced, prompting allegations that his opponents were trying to eliminate him politically. On the other hand, some potentially embarrassing documents about him suddenly disappeared. The scandal has even reached the president’s office, with the national security advisor resigning in December under still unclear circumstances.

Relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the connected issue of the status of Croats in the neighbouring country, were at the forefront of Croatia’s foreign policy efforts in 2018. With October elections looming, the year began with Bosnian Croats warning that the election law was unfair and that it could lead to a Croat representative in the Bosnian presidency being elected by more numerous Bosniaks. That is precisely what happened, with candidate Željko Komšić winning the post, although he apparently did not have the support of the majority of Bosnian Croats. This prompted Croatia’s government to launch a campaign within the EU to pressure Bosnia into changing its election law, which then brought accusations about meddling in internal affairs of the neighbouring country.

One of the potentially most explosive events of this year was a war veterans’ protest held in Vukovar in October. The veterans complained about the lack of prosecution of persons suspected of committing war crimes against Croats in the Vukovar area in 1991, which was a problem which they discussed earlier in the year as well. However, many believed that the protest was actually just a guise for a right-wing attempt to bring down the government led by moderate Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and replace him as HDZ president with a more extremist candidate. Plenković and his team appeared at first worried that the attempt might succeed, but with time they managed to limit its consequences. Once held, the protest passed without incident and has been more or less forgotten, except when occasional arrests in the area do happen, which then draw condemnation from local Serbs who say the police is arresting then just to satisfy the Croat war veterans. In the meantime, tensions in the town continue.

Throughout the year, rumours about impending ruling coalition reshuffle and/or early parliamentary elections continued. However, unlike in 2017, which brought about a change in the ruling coalition composition, with MOST being replaced by HNS, this year the government was more or less stable. One potential candidate for another reshuffle was Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, whose parliamentary group somehow manages to “convince” previously opposition MPs to switch parties and cross to his side. Numerous legal proceedings against him have not made him any less desirable patron. The substantial Zagreb city budget which he controls probably has something to do with it. In two years, he has managed to increase the number of his MPs from 1 to 12, with additional expansion of his parliamentary group expected early in the new year. The fact that people did not vote for his party did not discourage him at all. There are rumours that Bandić will use the increase in the number of his MPs, who are crucial for the parliamentary majority, to demand several ministerial posts in the new year.

As for the opposition, turmoil in SDP continued, with several attempts being made to topple the party president and “the leader of the opposition” Davor Bernardić. Fortunately for SDP opponents, these attempts have been unsuccessful, so Bernardić remains in his seat while his party’s popularity continues to plummet, with the latest polls showing it dropping to the third position, behind HDZ and Živi Zid. An increasing number of SDP MPs are leaving the party, with some of them joining the government ranks.

The migrant crisis continued, particularly on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the police employing ever harsher measures to control the borders and NGOs publishing increasingly critical reports about the alleged police violence and irregularities. The police have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, despite video evidence to the contrary.

The migration issue also brought us another controversy, this time with the signing of the Global Compact for Migration in December. President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who this year marked three years in office, initially supported the agreement, but then suddenly changed her mind, announcing she would not travel to Marrakesh where the UN conference was held. The government immediately said that Croatia would support the declaration nevertheless, which caused protests from right-wing circles. In the end, the non-binding resolution was supported by Croatia, but no-one really expects it will be implemented.

The final few days of the year brought us another major scandal, whose consequences will become clear in the following months. The president decided to dismiss her domestic policy adviser Mate Radeljić, who many believed had influenced the president to take a more critical position towards the government. After he was dismissed, Radeljić said he was threatened by a Security-Intelligence Agency (SOA) official not to try to damage the president politically after being dismissed. He was allegedly told that the agency was ready to run into him with a car if necessary. The president’s office and the SOA issued statements saying they had acted legally, but interestingly they did not outright deny all of Radeljić’s claims. It is expected that Radeljić’s dismissal will result in better relations between the president on the one side and the government and HDZ leadership on the other, just in time for the presidential elections next year.

Another exciting political year is ahead of us. It will include at least two elections (for European Parliament in May, and for president probably in December), and there is always a possibility the early parliamentary elections might take place. Stay with TCN for all the latest political and business news.

ZAGREB, Dec 19, 2018 - Former HDZ leader Tomislav Karamarko testified at the USKOK anti-corruption office about the fake text message scandal on Tuesday.

Karamarko told the RTL commercial broadcaster before his testimony that he was coming as a witness in the case which refers to former police IT specialist Franjo Varga, who has been in custody on the suspicion that he made fake text messages for a number of people and who, Karamarko said, was introduced to him by two of his friends in early 2017, when he was no longer the HDZ leader or the deputy prime minister.

"Those friends are not politicians," the former HDZ chief said, adding that the case should be cleared up as soon as possible.

He repeated that it was only after he stepped down as HDZ president and deputy prime minister that he met Varga, who mentioned Karamarko to investigators after his arrest. "He asked for a meeting with me, saying that he had information about electoral fraud in 2015. I naturally was interested in information about that, just as this institution should be," Karamarko told reporters outside USKOK.

Asked if he then hired Varga, Karamarko said that there "is an analysis of electoral fraud in Zagreb in 2015" and that he thought that Varga could make a similar analysis for the entire country, but that he never did.

"He always needed financial assistance, not big, small. The man obviously had financial problems so I responded," Karamarko said, adding that he had already told the media about that.

Asked if he would return to politics, Karamarko said, "only God knows and God will decide".

Former HDZ leader Karamarko said that he had never discussed Varga with HDZ deputy president Milijan Brkić, who has already testified in the case.

Blaž Curić, Brkić's close friend and chauffeur for Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić, has been arrested on the suspicion that he contacted Varga to tell him that he was under investigation and would be arrested.

Varga is suspected of fabricating text correspondence between former chief state prosecutor Dinko Cvitan and a judge who sat on the Osijek County Court panel which tried former Dinamo football club executive Zdravko Mamić, his brother Zoran, former Dinamo director Damir Vrbanović and tax official Milan Pernar. The correspondence indicated that before the first instance verdict was delivered, Cvitan had pressured the judge into convicting one of the defendants without any evidence.

Varga is suspected of giving the fake texts to Mamić, who made them public at a press conference on June 4. Mamić's attorney then requested that the verdict be postponed, but the panel refused, finding all the defendants guilty on June 6 pending appeal.

Varga is also suspected of fabricating text correspondence alleging influence on Supreme Court judges, so that Mamić could use it in appellate proceedings.

In late November, the media published details of Varga's deposition in which he describes his relationship with Mamićas well as his cooperation with Karamarko, Brkić, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović's former national security advisor Vlado Galić, as well as former Agrokor owner Ivica Todorć.

The Osijek County Court is to decide on Wednesday whether to extend custody for Varga and Curić or release them.

More news on the “text messages affair” can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 17, 2018 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday that the National Security Council discussed a number of topics today – the programme of activities of security and intelligence agencies, relations with neighbouring countries, the migration issue, information security – adding that there was also mention of "the text messages affair" but that no individual names were discussed.

"We can say that this issue was also mentioned and in two ways: First, that light needs to be shed on the affair all the way and second, that all those involved in information leaking, and they are part of the police or other prosecution systems, must be held responsible," Plenković told a news conference.

Plenković said that "no names have been mentioned," "only models for resolving situations like this one." Asked if the text messages scandal was dragging for too long, the prime minister said that "any topic as complex and as sensitive as this one requires time."

Asked about his opinion now, given that in the past he said that "it seems that the situation is getting worse by the day," Plenković said he stood by his statement.

Asked to comment on announcements of a further expansion of Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić's parliamentary group and media speculations that Bandić's new MPs would not be from the ranks of the Social Democrats (SDP), Plenković said he knew nothing about that. Bandić's parliamentary group has announced that it will have 13 MPs by the end of the year and 16 MPs next year.

MPs who left the HDZ parliamentary group should have never been there in the first place, Plenković said.

Plenković reiterated that the HDZ had not talked to anyone and that the question of why "some people are leaving the SDP, because that party is falling apart and they no longer see the point of them staying with the party, should be directed at the SDP," Plenković said.

The fact that they want to support the majority is their choice and we will not stop anyone from supporting the work of the government, Plenković said. He declined to comment on media headlines about a change of coalition partners and a government reshuffle.

Commenting on alleged police brutality against migrants, Plenković said this case was very well clarified by the Interior Ministry. "This is something called the institute of returning people at the very state border, where authorities see people in attempts to illegally cross the border, Plenković said.

More news on the text messages affair can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 14, 2018 - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović would not comment on the resignation of her defence and national security adviser Vlado Galić on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters in Velika Gorica, just south of Zagreb, the president said she would accept Galić's resignation, who had given "ethical and moral reasons" for his decision, but she would not say whether his resignation was prompted by the fake text messages scandal.

"According to what Galić told me, he has nothing to do with what he is being accused of," Grabar-Kitarović said, adding that the investigation was being treated as confidential and she could not go into it.

Asked if she would seek clarification of allegations that a coup and the resignation of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković had been demanded in her name, the president said she would request reports from relevant services. "I think that an attempt to replace the prime minister is a very serious matter, which is furthest from my mind. I want to hear if there is any concrete information indicating that attempts were made to create a new scandal," Grabar Kitarović said.

The president does not think Defence Minister Damir Krstičević should step down over problems relating to the delivery of Israeli F-16 Barak fighter jets, saying that she cannot see how he is responsible for that.

She, however, noted that Croatia had no time to waste. "Considering the state of our Air Force fleet, we need to act fast," Grabar-Kitarović said, adding that the 2013 overhaul of the MiGs was poorly done and that "soon we won't have any MiGs that will be able to take off, and we also need to keep the pilots."

Grabar-Kitarović confirmed she had talked with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, adding that he said he was working with the US to resolve the matter. The president said that US officials she had spoken with had expressed their principled support for the project, but she did not go into details of the deal with them.

The deputy speaker of parliament and deputy leader of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, Milijan Brkić, said on Thursday while commenting on the resignation of presidential defence and national security adviser Vlado Galić, that he did not want to take part in "this circus of lies and fabrications".

"It is regrettable that in this country it is not important who committed crimes and who was convicted, but who met whom and who had a coffee with whom. I don't want to take part in this circus of lies and fabrications," Brkić told Hina.

Presidential defence and national security adviser Vlado Galić stepped down on Thursday, citing "moral and ethical reasons". President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović has accepted his resignation, her office confirmed to Hina.

Galić's name was mentioned by the chief suspect during an investigation into the so-called fake text messages scandal. The scandal concerns the fabrication by former police IT specialist Franjo Varga of false text messages between former chief state prosecutor Dinko Cvitan and a judge in the trial of former Dinamo Football Club boss Zdravko Mamić. The purpose of the false correspondence was to show that Cvitan tried to exert pressure on the judge to convict Mamić.

In his deposition to investigators, Varga also spoke about his cooperation with former HDZ leader Tomislav Karamarko and his deputy Milijan Brkić as well as with former Agrokor owner Ivica Todorić and presidential adviser Vlado Galić, who had introduced Varga to Karamarko.

More news on the national security issues in Croatia can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 13, 2018 - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović's advisor on defence and national security, Vlado Galić, has resigned for moral and ethical reasons, and the President has accepted the resignation of the national security advisor, sources at the Office of the President confirmed to Hina on Thursday.

The resignation comes in the wake of the fake text message scandal in which police have arrested former police IT expert Franjo Varga on the suspicion that during the trial of former Dinamo football club executive Zdravko Mamić, his brother Zoran, former Dinamo director Damir Vrbanović and tax official Milan Pernar at the Osijek County Court, Varga made fake text messages for Zdravko Mamić purportedly showing correspondence between former chief state prosecutor Dinko Cvitan and a judge involved in the trial. The purpose of the fake correspondence was to show that before the non-final ruling in the case, Cvitan tried to pressure the judge into making a sentencing verdict.

In his deposition to USKOK anti-corruption agency investigators, Varga also spoke about his cooperation with former Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Tomislav Karamarko and his deputy Milijan Brkić, as well as former Agrokor owner Ivica Todorić and President Grabar-Kitarović's advisor Galić, who introduced Varga to Karamarko.

Another person who has been in custody in this case is Blaž Curić, a chauffeur for Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić and close friend to HDZ vice-president Milijan Brkić. Curić was arrested on the suspicion that he informed Varga that he was under investigation and was about to be arrested.

More news on the text messages scandal can be found in the Politics section.