Παρασκευή 29 Οκτωβρίου 2010

Croatian politics


Kosor gets Brussels support

26. 10. 10. - 15:00

Croatian Times
Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor met with European Commissioner for Justice Viviane Reding in Brussels yesterday (Mon).

Reding stressed her full support for Croatia and PM Kosor in the fight against corruption.

"It was my pleasure and honour to participate in a very successful working lunch with the strong woman who is needed to bring powerful solutions at this moment to Croatia. Mostly we talked about the need to combat corruption, which can be done only with an independent judiciary and an independent public prosecutor who is fighting against corruption, regardless of political party or family," she said after meeting Kosor.

The Prime Minister said that by the end of the year Croatia will complete all criteria in the chapter "Judiciary and Fundamental Rights", which is the most difficult chapter in the accession negotiations.

"I'm sure we'll end all this great work by the end of the year, and it is realistic to expect its closure early next year", said Kosor.



Croatian soldiers join EU military excercise

Croatian Times
Croatian soldiers are participating in the international military exercise of the European Union Nordic battle group, which began in Sweden yesterday (Tue).

Some 21 soldiers and two helicopters will join the formation, which is one of the 18 European Union battle groups intended for quick deployment in cases of extraordinary circumstances.

The standby period for 2011 would be regulated by a special agreement, while the majority of the costs of Croatian participation would be covered by Sweden, the daily Vecernji List writes.



Croatia in 62nd place on Corruptions Perceptions Index

Croatian Times
Croatia ranks 62nd in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index of 178 countries.In the report published by Transparency International, Croatia received 4.1 points on a scale from 0 to 10, where zero represents a totally corrupt state and 10 a state without corruption.

The least corrupted states are Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore, while worst off are Iraq, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Somalia.

Looking at the neighbouring countries, Slovenia is the only one ahead of Croatia at the 27th place. Croatia and Macedonia share the 62nd spot, and behind them are Italy (67th), Montenegro (69th), Serbia (78th) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (91st place).



EC President cautious about setting deadlines for Croatia´s EU negotiations

Croatian Times
The president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso has avoided mentioning a concrete deadline to the end of Croatia’s European Union negotiations, prompting some to believe that he was sending a message of caution.

In a recent meeting with the Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, Barroso avoided mentioning any deadlines for the possible end of the negotiations or Croatia' accession to the European Union. He said however, that what local media has described as caution is just a new standard procedure. According to new European Union politics, dates will no longer be set for anyone.

The European Commission said last year that the negotiations could potentially end in the year 2010. It is clear, however, that this deadline will not be reached, replaced by the the vague prediction of sometime "during 2011." Barroso added, however, that the accession date can only be set once negotiations are finished.

In his cautious and categorical statements that there is no date, Barroso wanted to send Croatia a message that it has not finished its job yet, the daily Jutarnji List writes. The main obstacles that remain are the judicial system and the shipyards that have not yet been privatized.

With its financing of the shipyards, Croatia is not only breaking the EU agreement but also its laws on market competition, the daily writes.

The best case scenario will see the issues surrounding the judicial system resolved in the next few months.

While Croatia has received accolades for its progress in de-politicization of the judicial system, Barroso’s caution is a message that there is still work to be done.



Jadranka Kosor´s government receives Parliament support

Croatian Times
Croatian Parliament has voted not to uphold the opposition Social Democratic Party’s initiative for a vote of no confidence for the Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and her government.

After almost 15 hours of heated discussion, the 79 representatives of the governing majority voted against and 62 representatives of the opposition voted for the initiative. One representative abstained from voting, the business portal Poslovni Dnevnik writes.

The parliamentary discussion for which 60 more speakers were scheduled was interrupted after the chairman of the Constitution Committee Vladimir Seks said SDP was violating the Constitution.



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