ZAGREB, March 13, 2020 - President Zoran Milanović said on Friday he was refraining from commenting on coronavirus because he felt that his interventions would cause confusion and he was confident the government had not made one mistake about it so far.

Speaking to reporters, the president said he still felt it was his duty to say something. He said he was talking with the prime minister and the head of the national civil protection authority and that he was being briefed about everything.

He said coronavirus was also a political issue and one on which even experts did not see eye to eye. "The approach to solving with this problem and dealing with this challenge isn't the same in every state, independently of their economic development, tradition, culture, the epidemiology of the public health sector."

The president said he feared it might never be known what happened in northern Italy, where the first oversight was made, and that this would make analyses harder. "When we see what happened in such a developed and wealthy state, then we see that luck plays a very important part, as do permanent action and analysis."

Asked if he thought kindergartens, schools and faculties should have been closed earlier, the president said he supported it and that it was good that a decision to that effect was made now.

"You have no one to clearly look up to. You must take responsibility. It depends from state to state. This is the Croatian approach. It's in force as of yesterday and I believe it has its logic. We don't know many things."

The president underlined the importance of people keeping 1.5 m apart, as recommended by the Croatian Institute of Public Health. "People will have to, especially in the next two weeks, withdraw into their nucleus a little, into the family, go out less. This can't be fully stopped, but we'll have to socialise and communicate less. That's the reality."

He also commented on empty shelves in supermarkets across the country due to mass shopping. "If (people) don't do it, they will have to leave the house more often, so it's good that they buy as much as they can in a couple of days. That's not panic," he said, adding that "we must create conditions for a life indoors, isolated... with all its limitations. Unfortunately, that's the way it is."

The president said he was confident there was no danger of a greater panic but that one could read and hear all sorts of things in the media "and people are easily influenced."

He hopes that in Croatia the epidemic will peak in the next two weeks and then start decreasing. He said the situation in Croatia was different than in other countries and that for now he supported the closure of schools.

More coronavirus news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, March 11, 2020 - President Zoran Milanović on Wednesday expressed support to the Croatian Scientists for Climate - Appeal for Systematic Climate Action and their initiative to raise awareness of climate change and conduct activities to prevent the further worsening of that process globally.

Milanović and his special adviser for energy and climate, Julije Domac met with the delegation of scientists from the Ruđer Bošković Institute, Ivo Pilar Institute, Zagreb University's Geophysics Department of the Faculty of Science, and the Engineering and Shipbuilding Faculty, who expressed their concern due to the increasingly evident consequences of climate change and the lack of systematic debate on that topic in Croatia, the president's office said in a press release.

Having in mind the scientific findings concerning climate change, its cause, consequences, forecasts and prospects, the delegation called for ambitious measures to create the preconditions for a systematic and comprehensive approach to the climate crisis.

Milanović underscored the importance of science for the sustainable development of society and of timely scientific response to changes that are occurring in the environment and the preparedness to face the challenges of the day and of the future.

"It's time to turn to the highest standards in environment and nature protection. I am ready to help you to achieve your demands and I support them entirely. My vision is a Croatia as one of the EU leaders of clean energy and one of the first steps to achieve that vision is to raise awareness of Croatia's vulnerability and key risks," said Milanović.

More environment news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 11, 2020 - The deputy president of the ruling HDZ party, Milijan Brkić, said on Wednesday that by removing the busts of Croatian greats from his office, President Zoran Milanović had minimised and rejected the history of Croats.

In a Facebook post, Brkić said those busts were also "symbols of the love, sacrifice and fight for Croatia" and that all those who kept quiet about Milanovic removing them also minimised and rejected the history of Croats.

We must resolutely and publicly condemn those who show with their acts that they don't respect Croatian history, Brkić said.

He especially took issue with Milanović for removing the bust of Croatia's first president, Franjo Tuđman.

Without Tuđman, there would be no modern Croatia and Milanović has shown that he is not the president of all citizens, Brkić said.

In today's sovereign and democratic state, which we have thanks to Tuđman and Croatian defenders, we should take a clear stand on our fundamental values and historical great men, he added.

Croatian Sovereigntists MP Hrvoje Zekanović condemned Milanović's decision to remove the busts of Croatian greats from his office, saying they were thereby equated with Josip Broz Tito, whom he called a criminal.

Speaking in parliament, Zekanović said the main question after Milanović was elected president was whether he would return Tito's bust to the president's office.

Milanović did what we expected, he forgot that Croatia has a glorious history and that the busts of King Tomislav, Josip Juraj Strossmayer, Stjepan Radić and Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac deserve to be in the President's Office, Zekanović said, adding that "Milanović's policy has no place either in the public sphere or in a museum."

More news about President Zoran Milanović can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 10, 2020 - The busts which used to be placed in the vestibule of the Pantovčak presidential office were removed last week, a source from the office of President Zoran Milanović told Hina on Monday adding that the talks are being held with museums and other institutions for the storage of those statues.

The vestibule was until recently decorated by the busts of prominent Croatian politician sand leaders including the first Croatian president Franjo Tuđman, as well as renowned leaders and dignitaries from the past: Josip Juraj Strossmayer, King Tomislav, Ivan Mažuranić, Ante Starčević, Stjepan Radić and Alojzije Stepinac.

The bust of Strossmayer will be given back to the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU), which is its owner.

The Office of the fifth Croatian president explains that by removing the busts, President Milanović delivered on his pre-election promise that they should be put on display in museums and not in the presidential office.

His predecessor, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, removed only one bust, and that was of Yugoslav Communist leader Josip Broz Tito, at the start of her term in 2015.

More news about Zoran Milanović can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 6, 2020 - President Zoran Milanović said on Friday the National Security Council did not discuss sending army to the border or changing the law to give the army different powers than those currently envisaged by the constitution.

"We know the army's tasks. It protects the integrity, independence and sovereignty of the state. Those are difficult categories and a migrant crisis is not a threat to them," Milanović told reporters a day after the National Security Council discussed the possibility of the army helping the police in case of a new migrant crisis.

At this moment, the army is not needed on the border, as could be seen in the press release issued after the meeting, which does not mention it at all, the president said.

The situation is being followed in the hope that it will not come to it that the army has to help the police as it did in 2015, he said, referring to that year's migrant wave. "In 2015, the Croatian army did a huge job without any legislative framework."

As for calls by the Croatian Sovereigntists party to amend the law and give the military different powers in case of a crisis as Slovenia has done, the president said Slovenia's deterrence tactic was "an operetta."

"In Slovenia it's been done so that soldiers walk along the border together with the police. The police are armed, the soldiers aren't. I don't want Croatian soldiers on the border with their hands in their pockets. We don't want them with weapons either, we see no need for that," said Milanovic.

More news about the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 5, 2020 - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Wednesday in Zagreb that North Macedonia would become a NATO member within the next few weeks, and the alliance's chief thanked Croatia for its support to the open door policy.

We welcome the fact that Croatia has been a staunch advocate for NATO's open door policy. And soon, within the next few weeks, North Macedonia will become the 30th member, which shows that our door remains open, Stoltenberg said at a press conference after his meeting with Croatian President Zoran Milanović.

The Croatian president, who was sworn in on 18 February, said that "his old acquaintance and friend" Stoltenberg was the first foreign guest since he took office, noting that his own diplomatic career had started in NATO.

The focus of the two officials' meeting was on the involvement of Croatian troops in NATO-led missions, and they also discussed current challenges faced by the entire world.

Croatia is a committed and highly appreciated ally contributing in various spheres, the general secretary said, mentioning the presence of the Croatian contingents in Lithuania and Poland, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo, and welcoming the fact that Croatia is increasing funding for defence.

Speaking about the recent agreement between the USA and Taliban on peace in Afghanistan, which should result in the withdrawal of Western forces from the Asian country, Stoltenberg reiterated that the path towards peace was difficult, but that one should remain dedicated to it.

When the moment comes and all conditions are met, we will leave together, Stoltenberg stated.

Milanović said that Croatia would follow the developments and that it would slowly but definitely pull its troops from that mission. "However, this will not happen overnight," he said.

Milanović recalled that one of the first decisions he signed since his recent inauguration referred to the deployment of a new contingent of Croatian soldiers in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, plans are being drawn up in the meantime on the departure of the Croatian troops from that country, he added.

A few days ago, the US and Taliban signed an agreement which sets into motion the potential of a full withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and could pave the way to ending the war which has been lasting for 18 years.

The Doha deal lays out a 14-month timetable for the withdrawal of "all military forces of the United States, its allies, and Coalition partners, including all non-diplomatic civilian personnel, private security contractors, trainers, advisors, and supporting services personnel."

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

ZAGREB, March 4, 2020 - The current migrant flow from Turkey to Europe is not the same as in 2015 when Germany said refugees and migrants were welcome, Croatian President Zoran Milanović said on Tuesday, recalling that Ankara then was not as involved in the war in Syria.

Speaking on RTL television, the president said he was confident the situation would calm down and that he saw the latest developments as a consequence of a rushed decision of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who, because of the death of over 30 Turkish troops in conflicts in Idlib, Syria, "reacted impulsively".

"I understand him to a certain extent but Turkey is involved in the conflict there in a way in which it was not involved in 2015."

Milanović said he was confident there would not be a repeat of the 2015 migrant crisis, which he called "unprecedented".

He recalled that migrants were currently heading for the Turkish-Greek border but that they had not entered Greece and said he did not think they would.

He voiced confidence that it will not be necessary to deploy the Croatian army along the Croatian border.

He said that during the 2015 migrant flow, the Croatian police did their job but that the army did the bulk of the logistical part.

The president said that under international humanitarian law, people must not be returned back to where they were in danger, recalling that during the 1990s war Croatia took in hundreds of thousands of refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina, although "we ourselves had problems."

In this case, "even five years ago, the people coming from Turkey were in no danger at all," he said.

Asked why he chose Slovenia and Austria for his first visits as president and not BiH, Milanovic said BiH had been his first stop when he was prime minister.

"We have the Slovenia-Austria-Croatia trilateral initiative. That's the main framework for action in this region, with states that historically have been very close."

Given that the 12th Croatian army contingent is going to Afghanistan on Friday, the president said, "That's certainly the last one. A few days ago, we saw that the Americans too are leaving." As the armed forces supreme commander, he will visit the Croatian troops in Afghanistan before the end of the mission.

More news about the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 3, 2020 - President Zoran Milanović said on Monday after a meeting with Burgenland Croats that Croatia should allocate more funds to that minority community.

"From this position it is easier to say that we should give them more money, because I was prime minister and could have done so myself. However, I was surprised by how little we as a state give to this community," Milanović said in Eisenstadt, the capital of Burgenland, where he met with the Burgenland Croats' representatives.

"I think we should give more, the funds Croatia allocates are very limited, and I am certain that even some people in power are not aware of that," Milanović added.

Since the 16th Century, ethnic Croatians have inhabited Burgenland, a region covering parts of contemporary Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia. It is estimated that 50,000 ethnic Croatians live in the area today.

The representatives of the community told Milanović about the problems they are facing, and about their goals, such as opening a bilingual school, like the ones which already exist in Burgenland and in Vienna.

Milanović's visit to Eisenstadt, a town which was named in 12th Century for its history in mining and trading in iron, ended his one-day visit to Austria.

Earlier in the day, Milanović met with President Alexander Van der Bellen and visited the Croatian Centre in Vienna.

More news about Croats in Austria can be found in the Diaspora section.

ZAGREB, March 2, 2020 - A very small number of migrants will manage to reach Europe, and tensions caused by this matter will decrease in the coming days, Croatian President Zoran Milanović said after meeting with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen in Vienna on Monday.

"It is precisely because of what we as Europe went through nearly five years ago and what has been done in the meantime that it is impossible for a refugee wave of that scope to occur again, it is simply physically impossible," Milanović said, referring to 2015 when over a million refugees had arrived in Europe from the Middle East.

"What we are seeing is a political struggle and manipulating with people," he said and added: "I dare predict that a very small number of people will manage to break through the barriers" and "tensions will calm down within a few days."

Milanovic said that in 2015, when he was prime minister, "certain lessons had to be learnt", and that today it was simply not true that migrants currently staying in Turkey were in danger. He noted that the rules of international humanitarian law needed to be respected.

Van der Bellen said that the border countries such as Greece and Bulgaria should not be left in the lurch in that regard, adding that he did not know what Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan actually wanted to achieve by opening the border to Europe for migrants.

Erdogan said in Ankara on Monday that European leaders were now calling him to discuss closing the border, but that it was too late for that now and that the path to Europe would remain open.

"There will be talks with Turkey to see what they actually want," the Austrian president said, adding that Europe would continue to face the problem of illegal migration as long as the situation in Syria does not change.

More news about the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 29, 2020 - President Zoran Milanović on Saturday attended a graduation ceremony at the Zagreb Faculty of Law and told the masters of law that in their professional life they should make a contribution, build their knowledge, ask questions and be critical of politics.

Speaking as an alumnus of the school, Milanovic said, "I went my own way, thinking that I was fighting against injustice, and I still feel that, but on that path, as a politician, you make injustices without realising it."

He also spoke of the emigration of young people, saying that when he graduated in 1990, the bulk of young people wanted to go abroad too.

"That's human and curious. That's a quest for knowledge and for improvement, with the desire and the ambition to come back. In that I see a challenge for Croatia, because people are leaving en masse, but also coming back. One should be careful and create all the conditions to make people stay, without spreading a moral panic."

Countries like Lithuania and Poland have large numbers of emigrants but haven't collapsed because of that and are considered examples of a successful transition, Milanović said.

"Let's look around us, let's learn, let's not jump to conclusions, let's be sceptical but loyal, committed and faithful to ideals and our country," he added.

Dean Igor Gliha said three of Croatia's five presidents were lawyers and that eight of the 12 prime ministers studied law.

More politics news can be found in the dedicated section.