Croatia

Croatia PM Downplays Germany’s EU Concerns

In Berlin, Croatia’s Prime Minister described the recent controversy over Germany’s position on his country’s EU bid as a “storm in a teacup.”Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic on Thursday said concerns over recent negative statements by a German politician about Croatia’s readiness to enter the European Union were “a storm …

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Sanader Sentence Expected Late November

The first sentence on former Croatian PM Ivo Sanader for taking bribes could be issued by the end of November, the trial chamber presiding Judge Ivan Turudic announced.”The sentence could be issued between November 15 and 20 but it’s not definite yet,” Judge Turudic said at Thursday’s trial session. Sanader, …

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Murder of Zec Family Led to Mercep’s Men, Says Witness

The evidence trail concerning the murder of the Mihajlo Zec family, Croatian Serbs from Zagreb who were killed in December 1991, led directly Tomislav Mercep’s police unit, Antun Gugic testified on Tuesday.At the war crimes trial of Tomislav Mercep, a top advisor in the Croatian wartime Interior ministry, Gugic, who …

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Croatia Removes Security Chief Amid Phone Tapping Scandal

Croatian leaders have removed the country’s head of national security following a phone-tapping scandal, while insisting the police did not violate any laws.Croatian President Ivo Josipovic and Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said on Monday they had decided to remove Petar Misevic as head of the Office of the National Security …

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Kerestinec Commander Admitted Abuse, Witness Says

At the trial for war crimes committed at the Croatian military prison Kerestinec, a witness testified that the prison commander, Stjepan Klaric, admitted that the prisoners were abused.Testifying on Friday at the trial of the Kerestinec prison commander, Klaric, and his four subordinates, Ivan Ivankovic, a former officer of the …

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German MP Warns Croatia Not Ready for Europe

A German MP has questioned whether Croatia is ready to join the European Union.Norbert Lammert, president of the Bundestag, the German parliament, last week told the German media that the country is not yet prepared to become a member of the union. “Croatia’s obviously not ready for accession yet,” said …

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Croats Demonstrate Against Spending Cuts

About ten thousand Croatian teachers, university professors and nurses demonstrated on Thursday in Zagreb against austerity measures and cuts in wages and healthcare.”You betrayed us” and “You protect the wealthy” were among the angry slogans held up at the protest in Zagreb organised by the union of public service workers. …

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Experts Criticise Croatia Over Property Rights

Seventeen years after the Dayton accords which stopped the Bosnian war, the signatory countries are yet to fully implement the agreement.The US-brokered Dayton Peace Agreement, which was signed in 1995, includes sections on citizenship and property issues which the three signatories – Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, have still …

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Croatian President Wants Serb Refugees to Return

Croatia wants Serb refugees to return, the Croatian president Ivo Josipovic said on Friday.Speaking at a session of the Presidential Council for Social Justice, Josipovic said that Croatia has to solve all its refugee problems before it could “enter the EU as a country which offered equal chances to all …

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