ZAGREB, February 18, 2020 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Tuesday President Zoran Milanović's inauguration speech was a good start to his term, highlighting the need to cooperate to Croatia's benefit.

"I can assess it as a fair speech in which he gave several essential messages, the most important being that we should cooperate and work to Croatia's benefit regardless of political differences and different world views," Jandroković said.

"I think it's a good start and hope President Milanović's term will pass in that spirit."

Jandroković said he did not find it contentious that Milanović opted for a minimalist inauguration and an unpretentious speech. "That's his decision, he's the president, he won the confidence of citizens and that needs to be respected."

Although he often argued with Milanović when the latter served as prime minister, Jandroković said he hoped the cooperation now would be fair and that both would keep their positions and views on life and politics.

"I hope for a fair cooperation, which is the task and obligation of all of us holding a senior office. Regardless of different political preferences, we have to cooperate. The people expect that of us and I hope we will abide by that."

Former President Ivo Josipović said on Tuesday that he expects President Zoran Milanović to lead the country in a pro-European way and help the Croatian society to end wars and become a peacetime civic society, as well as that the best values of antifascism and the Homeland War to be part of Milanovic's policy and a basis of Croatia's policy.

"I consider his statement that wars are over to be very important. I believe that Milanović has an ambition to help the Croatian society put an end to World War II and the Homeland War and to help it become a peacetime civic society, with the best values of both antifascism and the Homeland War being part of his policy as well as a basis of Croatia's policy," Josipović said in a comment on Milanovic's inauguration speech.

He described the inauguration as low-key, pleasant and dignified.

Commenting further on Milanović's speech, Josipović said that the new president had pointed out three important areas - judiciary, science and education, and the welfare component of society.

"That means that he sees the role of the president in a broader sense, as one surpassing their formal powers," he said, adding that he expected Milanović to promote European values.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković did not wish to comment on the inauguration of Croatia's fifth President Zoran Milanović on Tuesday and just waved off reporters who were waiting for him at the president's office.

Plenković was one of about only forty guests invited to Milanović's inauguration and oath-taking ceremony but was virtually the only person who did not wish to make a comment on the ceremony nor on what he expects from Milanović during his term in office.

It seems that Plenković is sticking to his announcement that he and Milanovic will have a "tough cohabitation."

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

ZAGREB, February 18, 2020 - President Zoran Milanović said in his inaugural address on Tuesday that elections are a way of reaching a peaceful compromise between the opposed wishes of different people, and that he will play a constructive role as President.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Milanović said that the truth and voters' desire should be kept apart and that elections are not the way to find the truth but to reach a peaceful compromise between the opposed wishes of different people.

"It seems to me that there is only one right way, and that is full and active support by the government to academic and scientific independence and independence of the judiciary and media. That's the strongest defence against tyranny, tyranny of any kind," he said.

The scientific community, judiciary and media must work incessantly on perfecting the anti-corruption mechanisms. Protection and promotion of the independence of the judiciary, media and science are the most important constitutional responsibilities of the President of the Republic in ensuring the stability of government, Milanović said.

He stressed that he is not going to be a corrective, but a constructive factor in areas of direct competence or co-competence of the President of the Republic, adding that this arises from the spirit of the Constitution.

In foreign policy, he said he will focus on promoting cooperation and prosperity. There is no doubt that there are incomparably more points on which we can build cooperation and prosperity than those that distance us from our neighbours and from the world, even when it comes to countries with which we have the largest number of unresolved issues, he added.

In his speech, Milanović asked beforehand for "a seed of understanding" for possible mistakes on his part, stressing that they will never be intentional or made to hurt or degrade somebody. "I will do my best to make sure that this seed produces a presidential term to the benefit of Croatia and its citizens."

He said it would be a mistake to doubt a person's motivation or patriotism because of differences in opinion, noting that patriotism, unlike raw nationalism, is a critical commitment and negation of exclusiveness.

Patriotism implies an indelible memory and an eternal gratitude to men, women and children who were killed and who suffered for our freedom both in the 1991-1995 Homeland War and during the antifascist struggle in the Second World War. "Patriotism is also awareness of the failures of triumphalism that unfortunately sometimes accompanied our victories in the wars, but we should not compare or equate those failures," he said.

Milanović said that the wars are over and that it is our duty and responsibility to ensure that no citizen of Croatia feels intimidated, discriminated against or in any way excluded just because they are different.

"When I say different, I also mean weaker or smaller in number, and that according to several criteria: gender, ethnic, social, religious, work and age. Such patriotism is based on the highest values of our constitution and our sheer humanity, if you will, and not on myths, past traumas and prejudice," he said.

Our future depends, first and foremost, on the quality of education and the belief in the fact that knowledge is key to a more fulfilled and successful life, as well as on our treatment of our own culture, Milanović said.

He said that Croatia is the home of an unskilled worker and a respectable academic alike, stressing that promoting solidarity in society, a fairer division of national wealth, and the fight against clientelism, a culture of lies and greed is the most effective instrument in combating inequality and the growing gap between rich and poor.

"Our republic needs every person and every person in Croatia must be given a chance to find their way and their place, to live in dignity from decent work. This is a home to us all, to us who live here and to the generations to come, as well as to those who are yet to return," Milanović said in conclusion of his speech.

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

ZAGREB, February 18, 2020 - Zoran Milanović will be sworn in as the fifth President of Croatia at a low-key ceremony starting at noon on Tuesday in the President's Office in Zagreb's Pantovčak neighbourhood and not in Saint Mark's Square as has been the tradition so far.

There will be a total of 43 guests, the lowest number to date, including state officials, Milanović's family and members of his campaign team. It will be the first time that a presidential inauguration is not attended by party leaders, diplomats and church dignitaries.

Attending will be the outgoing President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the two previous presidents Stjepan Mesić and Ivo Josipović, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and the five deputy speakers, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and three of his deputies (Finance Minister Zdravko Marić is away on business), Constitutional Court President Miroslav Šeparović, and the Armed Forces Chief of Staff, General Mirko Šundov. Nineteen members of Milanovic's campaign team will also be present at the event.

The ceremony will begin with the performance of the national anthem by Croatian pop and jazz diva Josipa Lisac, accompanied by pianist Zvjezdan Ružić.

The first part of the ceremony will include the oath of office and the President's speech. An a cappella vocal group of the Croatian Navy will perform singer Vice Vukov's song "Tvoja zemlja" (Your Country).

After that, there will be a short cocktail followed by the transfer of power ceremony.

The event will be followed by 250 representatives of the media, including 66 accredited journalists, far more than the number of guests.

Milanović was elected in a runoff election on 5 January, beating the incumbent Grabar-Kitarović. He received 1,034,389 votes and she 929,488.

Milanović was the prime minister from 2011 to January 2016 as the Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader. He took the helm of the SDP in 2007 and stepped down in 2016 after the party lost the 2015 parliamentary election.

Milanović was born on 30 October 1966 in Zagreb where he grew up and went to school. After graduating from the Zagreb Faculty of Law, he became an intern at the Zagreb Commercial Court, and then at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993. The following year he joined an Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission to war-torn Nagorno Karabakh (Azerbaijan). In 1996 he was appointed an adviser at Croatia's mission to the EU and NATO in Brussels where he obtained his post-graduate degrees in European and Comparative Law in 1998.

In 2004 Milanović left his position as assistant foreign minister and, at the invitation of the then leader of the SDP Ivica Račan, became a member of the party's executive committee and secretary for international relations. After Račan's death in April 2007, Milanović was elected the party's president in June of the same year, beating his rivals Željka Antunović, Milan Bandić and Tonino Picula.

In 2007, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won a parliamentary election once again and Milanović became the leader of the opposition as the SDP's president and chairman of the party's group in the Croatian parliament.

During the election campaign for the 2011 parliamentary election he signed a coalition agreement with the Croatian People's Party (HNS), Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) and Croatian Pensioners' Party (HSS), which was dubbed the Kukuriku (Cock-a-Doodle-Do) Coalition. On 4 December that year, the coalition won the election, securing 80 seats (an absolute majority) in parliament. After losing the 2015 parliamentary election Milanović stepped down as the leader of the SDP and started a private consulting company. He announced running for president in June 2019.

Milanović is married to Sanja Milanović, an epidemiologist, and they have two sons.

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

ZAGREB, February 15, 2020 - President-elect Zoran Milanović has confirmed that Dragan Lozančić will be his advisor on national security and defence, declining to comment on outgoing President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović's decision to dismiss Lozančić as Security and Intelligence Agency chief and saying only that she had the right to do so but that her explanation was unusual.

Answering reporters' questions in Pazin, where he attended an event marking the 30th anniversary of the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS), Milanović recalled that the Lozančić case happened five years ago and that "the President of the Republic had the right, together with the government, to dismiss and appoint officials."

"And that is what she did. But I must say that her explanation was really unusual, that's all. Politics goes on, parties compete and I don't see anything that would require my comment. That happened five years ago, it remains to be seen if the competent institutions will conclude or take action to establish if there was anything illegal in that case."

Milanovic confirmed that Lozančić would be a member of his team, as an advisor on national security and defence.

He added that the information on his advisors published by the media so far was mostly correct and that he would make their names public once he took office.

"I have made, more or less, all the decisions. The inauguration will be held on February 18, at the Office of the President, it will be a republican inauguration, not ceremonial as it used to be. Forty people have been invited and I hope no one is offended by my choice of inauguration," Milanović said.

Asked by reporters if after taking office he would meet with the leadership of the Croatian Bishops' Conference (HBK), he said that he would do it very gladly.

"Those details and forms are very important. I did it when I was Prime Minister, particularly in the first year and a half of my term. The situation later got a bit complicated, I still don't know why because I was very much careful about what I did and even more about what I said. Orsat Miljenić was the person in charge of high-level liaison also back then. Contact has been maintained and I look forward to cooperation," he said.

He added that the situation regarding the Vatican agreements "is a done deal".

"Everything I said during the campaign and in debates has been recorded and should I start acting differently, bring that to my attention," Milanovic said.

He would not comment on the latest developments in the ruling HDZ party in the context of intraparty elections.

Speaking of his cooperation with the IDS, he said that he would not have attended today's event if he did not have a good opinion of the party. "The philosophy and practice of regionalism has brought a lot of good to Istria. This region has made progress much faster than other Croatian counties, and not only because there was no war here. Istria is a well-governed region and a lot of credit for that goes to the IDS," Milanović said.

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

ZAGREB, February 8, 2020 - President-elect Zoran Milanović on Saturday attended a session of the SDP Main Committee to say goodbye to his soon-to-be former party colleagues, saying that "if the truth were the only election criterion, the SDP would be in power forever."

"Even when we slip, we speak with the best intentions, and it has been so for 30 years. We had governments and people didn't leave those governments nor were they expelled because of corruption scandals, dishonesty, betrayal of the public trust, practically ever. I'd say the choice is simple: the truth, vote for Croatia's left wing, you're on the right track," Milanović said in a closed-door speech which Hina obtained unofficially.

However, that is not so and when you prepare for the parliamentary election, which you have already started to do, keep that in mind, he told the Social Democratic Party members. People vote first and foremost according to their wishes, he added.

"Fight for the truth, and the guarantor of the truth in democracy are three institutions: an independent academia in the broad sense, notably in natural sciences, freed and independent media, and civil society. There's no democracy without that."

Thanking the SDP members for helping him win the presidential election, Milanović said he won "only 100,000 more votes than his opponent, the incumbent president."

In democracy, that is sometimes the fate of the truth. This time it was a good fate, we are successful, we won, we were given the chance to set the rhythm, dynamic and pulse of society and I to do so over the next five years within the limited presidential powers, Milanovic said.

"Over the next five years all those who fight for the truth, for justice, which is a somewhat less tangible phenomenon and notion, will have my support. To fight for those who are weaker is our mission. We are not the Church, we are Social Democrats and we do that by civil means, and that job is full of substance and sense."

Milanović was the presidential candidate of 13 left-liberal parties led by the SDP.

According to unofficial reports, he will leave the party, which he must do under the law, on Monday.

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

ZAGREB, February 6, 2020 - A total of 39 guests have been invited to Zoran Milanović's presidential inauguration, set for 18 February in the President's Palace on Pantovčak Hill in Zagreb, and the guests are divided in three categories: state officials including two ex-presidents, Milanovic's family members, and the members of his campaign staff.

Informing the press about the list of guests, the head of the President-Elect's Office, Orsat Miljenić said on Wednesday that the presidential transition ceremony will be held immediately after the official part of the inauguration, that will start at noon..

"The inauguration will be held on 18 February at the President's Office, it will last for about an hour, or an hour and 15 minutes. The first part of the ceremony will consist of the oath of office and the President-Elect's speech. After that, a short cocktail will be organised, and after that, we have planned that the takeover ceremony be held, which is not a part of the inauguration. However, considering that this is an inauguration at the workplace, in a way, maybe those two should be connected," stated Miljenić.

As for the 39 guests invited to the inauguration, he said that they were divided into the three categories.

"They are state officials, the Prime Minister and the inner cabinet, the Parliament Speaker and Deputy Speakers, the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, the Constitutional Court's President and judges, who are a part of the ceremony. The other part are the President-elect Milanovic's family, and the third are his campaign staff, the people who took part in his campaign," said Miljenić.

As only state office-holders have been invited, it means that there will be no political parties' presidents, diplomats, or church representatives.

Apart from the Incumbent President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the inauguration at the President's Office will be attended by the following state officials: the Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and the five Parliament Deputy Speakers, the Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the four Deputy Prime Ministers, the Constitutional Court President Đuro Sessa, the Chief of the General Staff and General Mirko Šundov.

Two ex-Croatian heads of state, Stipe Mesić and Ivo Josipović will also attend the inauguration, as well as 19 members of the Milanović's campaign staff.

The ceremony will also be attended by the Constitutional Court President and judges, the national anthem performers and the a cappella vocal group of the Croatian Navy, and the Croatian Army Orchestra with the Honour Guard Battalion will be present at the plateau in front of the President's Office.

Milanović will take his presidential oath of office in front of the Constitutional Court President.

Miljanić said that everything was arranged in agreement with the incumbent President's Office.

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

ZAGREB, February 5. 2020 - President-elect Zoran Milanovic has transferred his EuroAlba Advisory consulting company to the Biro Kvaka accounting service owned by Ankica Bajić-Lukačević, Zagreb Commercial Court has informed.

Milanovic has suspended his position as the director of EuroAlba Advisory as of February 3 ahead of his presidential inauguration, transferring the management rights to the Kvaka accounting service, however, he is still registered as the sole owner of the consulting company.

EuroAlba Advisory was entered in the companies register in 2016 as a limited liability company with management consultancy as its sole line of business. Milanović is registered as the sole founder and employee. The company's subscribed capital was 20,000 kuna.

The financial statement of January 24 shows that in 2019 the company's revenue totalled 258,596 kuna and expenditure amounted to 121,538 kuna. Pre-tax profit was 137,058 kuna and profit tax was 17,674 kuna. Thus, net profit came to 119,384 kuna.

By comparison, in 2018 the company generated a higher profit, of 552,952 kuna; revenue was 745,292 kuna, expenditure 115,407 kuna and profit tax was 76,933 kuna.

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

ZAGREB, February 5, 2020 - Outgoing President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović spent 9.57 million kuna on her presidential campaign, while President-elect Zoran Milanović spent 3.75 million kuna, their campaign financing reports show.

Milanović ran a deficit of one million kuna; he had received 1.28 million kuna from his Social Democratic Party (SDP) and 1.44 million kuna in donations. However, under a government decision, he is entitled to 1.2 million kuna to cover his campaign costs. Milanović spent most of the money on advertising - slightly over 2 million kuna.

Grabar-Kitarović, the candidate of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), spent 9.57 million kuna on her campaign, almost reaching the maximum amount she was allowed to spend under the law.

Under the law on the financing of political activities, election campaigns and referendums, the maximum amount a candidate may spend is 8 million kuna, or 9.6 million kuna if they make it into a second round of voting.

Grabar-Kitarović spent most of the money on advertising - 4.78 million kuna. She received nearly 7 million kuna from the HDZ and about 2.6 million from donors.

The HDZ candidate spent more on her campaign this year than five years ago when she had spent 8.13 million kuna.

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

ZAGREB, February 2, 2020 - Croatia's President-elect Zoran Milanović says that Slovenia is Croatia's most natural ally and that the relations will go forward after the completion of the proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

In his comment on Friday's judgement by the Luxembourg-based court on its non-jurisdiction over an action Slovenia brought against Croatia due to their border dispute, Milanović said in Rijeka on Saturday, that the for the sake of its general public, the Slovenian side had had to use all means at its disposal which it found logical when it came to the border dispute and Croatia's rejection to implement the 2017 border arbitration award.

The action brought by Slovenia did not succeed, as this matter really does not fall within the jurisdiction of the court in Luxembourg. Otherwise, it would have received similar actions from many countries, Milanović said, noting that there are still cases that the arrangements of border delimitation and demarcation between some EU member-states are not completed yet.

"Now, when these proceedings (initiated by Slovenia) are over, I can see only good relations and even better relations with Slovenia, because it is closest to us politically," the newly elected Croatian president said.

Asked whether the arbitration award could be the starting point for the talks, Milanović answered in the affirmative.

Asked by the press where he would first travel abroad after taking oath as the president, Milanović said that he still did not know. "There may be Slovenia, Austria. Those are possible variants, however, it is not necessary to be so," said Milanović in Rijeka where he was attending the opening ceremonies for inauguration of that coastal Croatian city as the European Capital of Culture in 2020.

He commended the day-long programme and ceremonies at which Rijeka took the title of one of the two European Capitals of Culture in 2020. The other city is Galway, Ireland.

In response to reporters' questions why he had chosen Rijeka and those opening programmes for his first appearance at official events since his electoral victory, Milanović said that he did not make a choice, explaining "it happened to be so" due to the date of the events.

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

ZAGREB, January 27, 2020 - President-elect Zoran Milanović on Monday said that the presidential inauguration would be "decent and dignified."

The presidential inauguration will be held on February 18 in the President's Palace on Pantovčak Hill, he said and added that it will be "decent and dignified."

"Tradition has to exist but I have decided for this. I have said what the criteria are and I hope no one will be offended," he said.

Asked whether the former director of the SOA Security Intelligence Agency Dragan Lozančić has agreed to be one of his advisers, Milanović said that talks on that were still under way.

"An adviser for national security has to exist because he is the only one, who in some way is mandatory by law because he represents the president in a particular institution. Other matters are an indicator of preference and the president's aspirations," he said and added that he would not have an adviser for social activities because that is not in his remit.

He added that there would not be many advisers in the Office of the President, not for the sake of austerity but that he "does not want to compete with the government in every segment of its authority and have advisers for all of the government's departments."

President-elect Zoran Milanović on Monday said that there has been too many scandals over the past two years with officials incorrectly completing their Declaration of Assets, so that this is not just a matter related to Health Minister Milan Kujundžić and his assets, said Milanović.

"There has been too much of that in the past two years, I'm not thinking of Kujundžić, there's just been too much. The government will have my support however the government has to be a political body comprising people who have some political clout, reputation, status, influence in the political organisation that has nominated them where they are. If the government is too technical, then it has a problem," said Milanović after testifying at Zagreb County Court in the "travel allowance" scandal.

This is not just a matter concerning Kujundžić but an entire series of officials who complete their declaration of assets incorrectly and it is interesting that they always report that they have less assets than they truly own.

Milanovic noted that that system is a lot more flexible in the European Parliament and less rigorous because there MEPs just have to sign a statement of the interests they may have. He believes that the system in Croatia has existed long enough for people to have become accustomed to it and in his opinion, it should be even more rigorous.

The statement was given by Milanović before he entered Zagreb County Court where he is supposed to testify in the trial dubbed travel allowance scam in which Tomislav Saucha, who was Milanovic's chief of staff during his premiership, and his secretary, Sandra Zeljko, are indicted for forgery of travel expenses documents.

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