Yearbook 2019
Croatia. In the European Parliament elections on May 26,
the ruling right-wing party of the Democratic Democratic
Union (HDZ) became the largest party with 22.7% of the vote,
giving four seats - a decline compared to the 2014 election.
The Socialist opposition party SDP received 18.7% and three
seats (could be four mandates if and when the UK leaves the
EU). The four remaining mandates joined a mandate was for
the Amsterdam Coalition, which is a group of liberal
parties, populist party Živi zid, Croatian sovereigns and
finally an independent candidate, Mislav Kolakušić.
According to
CountryAAH, Croatia still has major corruption problems. In early
February, the former Chief of the Police Department for
Organized Crime, Željko Dolački, was sentenced to six years
in prison for theft of gold and cash from the Zagreb police
headquarters. He was also sentenced to a fine of SEK 4.5
million. When the crime was discovered in 2016, among other
things, the national police chief was forced to resign.
Neither the money nor the gold has been found. In April, the
penalty for Ivo Sanader, the country's prime minister
2003–09, was sharpened. He was now given six years in prison
for having received bribes of SEK 20 million as prime
minister.
In July, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković was forced to
retire in the government precisely because of corruption
problems. Several ministers have been forced to resign on
suspicion of fraudulent real estate deals. Plenković chose
to re-furnish the government for next year's elections and
the fact that Croatia will become EU President in the first
half of 2020.
The government's plans to raise the retirement age from
65 to 67 from 2033 encountered great resistance during the
year. In June, trade unions filed 740,000 signatures with a
request for a referendum on the matter. There was more than
twice the number required for a referendum. Croatia has the
same problems as so many other countries with an aging
population.
In October, the European Commission announced that
Croatia now meets the requirements for accession to the
Schengen Agreement, which means free movement within the 22
states of Europe that are part of the Schengen area.
However, other member states must approve it. EU Commission
President Jean-Claude Juncker praised Croatia for having
adapted to the EU in areas such as judicial cooperation,
visa management and data protection.
In mid-November, the government announced the
announcement of presidential elections until December 22,
with a possible second round on January 5, 2020. Sitting
President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and former Social
Democratic Prime Minister Zoran Milanović were the heaviest
names. Both went on to the second round - Grabar-Kitarović
got 26.7% of the vote while Milanović got 29.56%. On January
1, 2020, Croatia will take over the EU's rotating
presidency.
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