All Contributions (102)
Institutional relations between the EU and the Council of Europe (A9-0056/2023 - Loránt Vincze)
Date:
18.04.2023 20:49
| Language: HR
Dear Chair, I cannot support this report because it improperly regulates relations between the two organisations. One organisation is the European Union, the other is the Council of Europe. We are now here in Strasbourg, in the European Parliament, just a few metres across the Council of Europe building, a few hundred metres away is the building of the European Court of Human Rights. And it is precisely this European Court of Human Rights that should respect human rights, but in many cases it does not. Many Croats, after being disappointed in the Croatian judiciary, take advantage of all the tools of the Croatian judiciary, have the right to come here to Strasbourg by convention and what happens to them then? 97%, 97% of all cases of Croatians eager for justice who reach Strasbourg are declared inadmissible. So, one does not enter the essence at all, one does not see the judge, but only rejects him. This document does not deal with this essence, and this is what should be one of the key things, but it is not. I can't support a report like this.
Social Climate Fund (A9-0157/2022 - David Casa, Esther de Lange)
Date:
18.04.2023 20:43
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, I cannot support such a policy. And while with one hand the Commission is giving money through the climate fund to save the environment and households, with the other hand it is destroying the environment and households. I will give you an example in our Croatia where JASPERS and DG REGI, i.e. Commission bodies, send dozens and even hundreds of millions of euros to create waste disposal projects that destroy Croatian households, local communities and the environment. Recently, we had a finding of a national state audit of Croatia that confirmed what I have been talking about here for years, which has not changed yet, but I will continue to insist. Thus, these are waste management centres, which are in principle one garbage bale factory that will not have anyone to sell to, nor will it have quality and only a new landfill will be created. We already have environmental pollution in the built centers of Marišćina and Kaštijun and now on the same principle we want to make nine more such centers on completely missed, bad projects. I ask the Commission to finally stop verifying catastrophic projects that are destroying Croatia's budgets, communities and households!
The need for a coherent strategy for EU-China Relations (debate)
Date:
18.04.2023 09:05
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, thank you colleagues. We are now witnessing the creation of a multipolar world. He's inevitable. Let's talk about the vision of the future. This is not just about China, which is being discussed here today, but India, Latin America, Indonesia, Africa and others. The time of a strong West is forever passing, and this is mostly due to the political elites in the West. Elites who are always right, who never make mistakes or apologize, and certainly never answer for anything. They prefer meetings with the Davos team to looking for millions of their citizens who flood the streets at protests because their lives are unbearable. Elites who, instead of strengthening citizens and their prosperity, prefer to strengthen BlackRock's portfolio. Such elites lead to the fact that the West's share in the population, the economy, but also in political influence will be the shadow of what it was. This is where he loses the most, and this is where he will lose, Europe. If current policies continue, Europe will turn into an orphanage that no one respects or asks for anymore, and its economy into an Industrial Heritage Museum. A multipolar world is good for smaller countries like Croatia because it will have more choice and space for development. If there is no understanding in one place, it will be in another place. No more pressure and blackmail. Croatia will be able to take advantage of business opportunities in Asia and Africa that it could not before because they bothered some in the West. It's time for a new era!
The EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders (A9-0034/2023 - Hannah Neumann)
Date:
16.03.2023 14:40
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, today we talked about standards for the protection of human rights. Why do we still have so many human rights issues in 2023? This is due to double standards. The rules applicable to some, do not apply to others. One can hear calls for regime change, we have seen cases of undermining individual governments, subversions, even invasions of these countries. And such things, of course, must be punished. However, then the rule must apply to everyone, then everyone must be punished. There is a lot of talk in my home about Ukraine, and these days we are marking 20 years of invasion of Iraq. This is one example of double standards and as long as there are such standards, we cannot hope that the human rights situation will change. I also want one day to talk about human rights that are under threat not to undermine a regime in that country, but because we really need to care about these people and their rights.
Advancing the 2022 Bridgetown Agenda (debate)
Date:
16.03.2023 10:04
| Language: HR
The global financial infrastructure needs a radical transformation and the Bridgetown initiative is not a big enough step towards that goal. These days we see the collapse of major Western banks. The financial system as it comes from the West, which is based on debt doctrine and endless borrowing, which is based on the fact that the real economy is subordinated to financial markets, instead of the other way around, is unfair, exploitative and unsustainable. Just look at what prices capital is offered to America, and how many African countries? The general trend in the West is a trend of increasing money, and in recent years, especially since the beginning of the corona crisis, there has been the creation of incredible amounts of new dollars and new euros. The share of the U.S. dollar in world trade, and especially oil trade, is declining year after year. So we have more and more money, and there are fewer and fewer people who want to use it. And there are fewer and fewer markets that actually need it. If these two trends continue, it cannot end well for either the dollar or the West. At the same time, the BRICS countries are working on projects to expel the dollar and exchange it with other currencies, and the West no longer has the strength to stop it. The overthrow of the yoke, the financial exploitation, will be the final step of decolonization and equality of the peoples of Africa, Asia and America.
Combating organised crime in the EU (debate)
Date:
15.03.2023 17:46
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, in Croatia the people say all states have a mafia, but in Croatia the mafia has taken over our state. She realized that there were more profitable things than rackets and smugglers, she connected with politics. What else is it than organized crime when you put your operatives in state institutions and public enterprises, when you systematically rob everything? When you steal your highways, when you steal your mail, your oil company, your shipyards, your railways. When you install your people in the judiciary, prosecution, police, judiciary, health care and defense and view everything as prey and use for your click by crashing all these systems. What is it than organized crime when you pass a special law to seize the largest company in the country? It's a kidnapped state. This is the rule of organized crime. This is what we have in Croatia today with the government of HDZ and Andrej Plenković. And they don't have enough of it. They don't have enough, so now this criminal organization is stealing from European funds. With 23 open investigations worth €313 million at the European Public Prosecutor's Office. Corruption cases go to the government itself, from which dozens of ministers had to leave because of corruption. I must congratulate citizens from here on their civic courage, on all those who have denounced them, and I invite them to continue and end this fight together.
European Central Bank - annual report 2022 (A9-0022/2023 - Rasmus Andresen)
Date:
16.02.2023 14:39
| Language: HR
A long time ago, a gap was created between the real economy and the financial economy. The European Central Bank, its main job is to maintain price stability, i.e. to set itself the goal of inflation being below two percent annually. The average inflation for last year in Europe is about ten percent. Some countries such as Lithuania also accounted for 20 percent. Of course, that's just what's on paper. I assure you that the real prices that citizens feel are many times higher. Due to high inflation, citizens are suffering and living harder, the standard is threatened, the savings they have in banks are deteriorating, real estate prices are rising, rent prices are rising. It's hard to find a place to live. The ECB, therefore, completely missed its job, completely failed citizens in fulfilling its goals and tasks. And the whole system of European central banks, not just those institutions in Frankfurt. There's no way I'm voting for such a report, i.e. I voted negatively.
One year of Russia’s invasion and war of aggression against Ukraine (RC-B9-0123/2023, B9-0123/2023, B9-0126/2023, B9-0131/2023, B9-0132/2023, B9-0134/2023, B9-0139/2023)
Date:
16.02.2023 14:34
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, I closely follow the events in Ukraine, I also followed what Mr. Zalužni said in an interview with The Economist, which the Polish President said on the last day. If we are purely military, strategically looking at the situation of the Ukrainian army, this situation is very, very bad. So, if the West is already thinking of winning, it must send serious military aid. But he doesn't send it. Therefore, the perspective is very bad. A tear goes on my eyes when I see how many people are killed in the Ukrainian war, especially on the Ukrainian side. There have been at least 150,000 deaths so far, and they have only been killed. There is such a difference in firepower that this no longer resembles war, but a massacre, and I think that sending new missiles or aircraft will not contribute to anything, that the only solution is to put an end to that pointlessness, to declare a ceasefire and to negotiate peace, to sit down at the table. I don't want the Ukrainian people to disappear, I don't want there to be 500,000 dead, God forbid, I don't want that country to be dismembered. And that's why I want him to sit down at the negotiating table as soon as possible.
European Central Bank - annual report 2022 (debate)
Date:
15.02.2023 18:47
| Language: HR
Dear Chair, today we have here at the hearing, Ms. Lagarde has come to us to ask for support for her 2022 report. Many times today Thomas Jefferson is quoted here as the high price of freedom and so on. There's another Jefferson I'd like to call. I think it's worth more to the west. So, if private banks are allowed to control the money show, eventually the people who built the continent will appear on it as homeless. So much for the secondary show, and as far as the primary show is concerned, how many, Mrs. Lagarde, have new euros been created in the last few years compared to the time before the crisis? I asked Commissioner Gentiloni directly, he couldn't answer me. I found that there is about thirty percent, and dollars - the data goes a hundred percent, and even more. There are more press releases than reports can be published at all. At the same time we have BRICS, which plans to make a new, regular currency. What is the future of the dollar and the euro over the next 10 years? Second, you mentioned Croatia's entry into the Eurozone. First you mentioned that, well, it turns out that the euro area is still attractive. The other thing you mentioned is that it strengthens the community. These are all political arguments. Where are the economic arguments? Why did you barely touch them? Because they're not really there, are they? I certainly won't support this report.
Electoral rights of mobile Union citizens in European Parliament elections - Electoral rights of mobile Union citizens in municipal elections (debate)
Date:
13.02.2023 19:13
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, my Croatia is a country of spirit voters. Electoral lists are unregulated, often voted by the dead or those who have emigrated, and there are many more voters than there are inhabitants. When I first ran, there were a dozen voters registered at my address, most of whom I never knew or had anything to do with that address. In Croatia, the voter is not signed anywhere, so there is no evidence of whether he ever voted or not. Electoral units are so reprehensible that a few days ago, after a lawsuit, the Constitutional Court finally overthrew the Electoral Units Act. Some MPs were elected with tens of thousands of votes, while some were backed by only a few hundred votes in the 12th constituency. This unconstitutional system bore both God and the people, and the professional and political public. Equality of voting rights has been undermined, i.e. not everyone’s vote is equally valid and not everyone has the same influence on the outcome of the election. All this and much more goes hand in hand for those who have built such a system to remain in power. All this disorder and injustice was recognized by Europe, so it gave us Dubravka Šuica, Commissioner for Democracy. However, here today we have a proposal for the introduction of electronic and on line Votes, however, only for local and European parliamentary elections so far. This is an incentive to edit the electoral lists in Croatia as well. It is a stimulus that even those Croats who have been driven abroad by the authorities can vote and choose much more easily, no matter how far away they are from the consulate. Finally, one useful from Brussels!
Need for urgent update of the EU list of high-risk third countries for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing purposes (debate)
Date:
01.02.2023 17:20
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, when we talk about risky third countries for laundering and hiding money, we must remember that this money should first be stolen, that is, it should be illegally acquired somewhere. We're talking about money that isn't stolen in Jamaica or Barbados. We're talking about money being stolen right here in Europe. What to do when for years you have been warning the authorities that hundreds of millions of kunas of our money are being stolen shamelessly, and the authorities or the prosecuting authorities have done nothing about it? We had the case of the so-called anti-entrepreneur Tomislav Debeljak, the ruiner of Croatian shipbuilding, to whom the government paid hundreds of millions of kunas a year, and he mutated and cheated with them. And everything went through the accounts of a shell company in the Marshall Islands. And there was a plejada of other companies. Despite the constant warning of all audits, including state audits, Prime Minister Plenković has consistently allowed money to be paid in this way and to operate in this way. The Marshall Islands at the time refused to cooperate with the European Union, and they were blacklisted. The system has to respond to crime, and the government of Andrej Plenković, who sent Debeljak money, enjoys a great reputation in these institutions. What does that say about us as an organization? It is time to stop tolerating such criminal practices on our own continent, and then there will be less stolen money that could be traced in some third countries, in this case the Marshall Islands.
Protection of the EU’s financial interests - combating fraud - annual report 2021 (debate)
Date:
18.01.2023 14:56
| Language: HR
When it comes to protecting the financial interests of the European Union, the Honourable Chair should emphasise that it is an organisation made up of people, above all people. Therefore, the financial interest of the EU must be that of its inhabitants. Croatia is a member of the EU, and our country is failing, people are displacing themselves, and in stores they are mostly selling expensive and lower quality products, which are imported by foreign corporations. Some will say that it is a free market, but we have seen enough in the past few years to say that there is very, very little left of the free market, and the helm has taken over the combination of top politics and owners of the world's largest corporations and investment funds. Where in such social and economic relations do we find the interest of the inhabitants? He's gone. Is it perhaps the financial interest of the EU that Croatia pays more and gets less into the common budget? Are you aware that even those incentives that we get in Croatia go into the hands of criminals, often linked to politics? Crony capitalism, some would say. Show fake farmland, fake livestock and get real taxpayer money. You get a job building some infrastructure, and you've never done it, you don't have references, but you have connections. What about the financial interests of Europe when the President of the Commission arranged astronomical jobs through text messages, which turned out to be completely missed. It seems that the greatest interest of the inhabitants would be precisely to stop taking money like this and to distribute it to the eligible.
Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter - annual report 2022 (debate)
Date:
17.01.2023 18:45
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, Europe swears by the protection of human rights and human dignity. We want to be the champions of freedom and democracy in the world, we want to look down and judge others, but we are not capable of cleaning our own house. For the past two years, we have had the opportunity to witness major human rights violations in the EU, and most MEPs were not brave to even write about it. When it comes to transparency and corruption: Let us remember only how the leaders of the European Commission and the CEO of Pfizer negotiated a deal with vaccines, knowing that the product does not prevent its spread. When it comes to freedom of expression: whether numerous scientists and public figures have not been subjected to major censorship; and fact checker terror? When it comes to human rights and children's rights: where there were many when non-scientific COVID certificates were imposed, untested experimental drugs that we know today are not effective and degrading, dehumanizing masks for everyone and everywhere, when MPs elected by the people were prevented from entering the parliament building and children from entering school, which left lasting consequences on children's psyche. He has no right in the world to impose his vision of democracy, one who sells the rights of his citizens. We must be able to clean up our yard first. We cannot do this with politicians without attitude and strength. Guys, wake up.
Shipments of waste (debate)
Date:
16.01.2023 19:39
| Language: EN
Mr President, Commissioner Sinkevičius, as I have warned the Commission and JASPERS on many occasions, waste management in Croatia is still done in a very bad way. Bad projects are still approved and they endanger the environment and destroy local communities that host them, since their operational costs are very high. In the latest case of the Šagulje waste management centre, JASPERS even allowed the implementation of the project contrary to the already adopted and existing spatial planning documents of counties and cities in Croatia. Is JASPERS unable to read existing documents before approving projects? There are also many other problems. Questionable technology approved by JASPERS has led Croatia into a situation that design and construction work is being given to companies without any experience in design, construction and management. All the details I have elaborated in the meetings and letters. There is no progress on this issue, despite written assurance given to me by the Commission. In order to properly spend taxpayers’ money, but also to prevent that due JASPERS Croatia does not lose funds for the construction of WMCs from the OPCC programme financial envelope, please take the appropriate steps. Croatia needs and deserves better projects and it can be done since EU standards that are good do exist, but they are not followed in Croatia.
Defending democracy from foreign interference (debate)
Date:
14.12.2022 16:07
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, defending democracy from foreign interference is today's topic, has been discussed many times and has always been a festival of hypocrisy. It served the most for the settlement of the Brussels establishment with dissenting voices within the Parliament, the member states, but also outside the countries of the Union. As soon as someone thinks differently and does not think as he should, he is immediately seen as an agent. If the election or referendum does not go well, a repeat is requested, from the Lisbon Treaty to the second Brexit referendum. As soon as a government is elected that is not 100% obedient, it begins to talk about external influences and even rigged elections. Corruption suddenly becomes a topic and a problem in that country. The Hungarian government, the Polish government, and the new Swedish and Italian governments are criticized because they have their own views, but never obedient governments like Croatia. In the past six years, dozens of ministers have had to leave the Croatian government because of corruption scandals, and so much more should be left that they have a minimum of conscience and integrity. But that has nothing to do with it, because Prime Minister Plenkovic is obedient, raises his hand when he needs to and God forbid to use his veto. The ruling party in our country has been convicted by a final judgment of a criminal organisation by a decision of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia. There are no appeals against this decision, but that has nothing to do with it either, as it is obedient to Brussels. The message to be sent is as follows: "It doesn't matter if you're corrupt, as long as you're obedient".
At the outset, I will call once again for a ceasefire and the conclusion of peace in Ukraine. My interest is that of Croatian citizens and I am interested in where this assistance that goes to the Government of Zelenskyy ends. Even before this war, many funds went there, but according to the findings of the Court of Auditors, we do not know exactly what they were spent on. This year, 2022. The West has provided $90-100 billion in aid to Ukraine, which is one to two annual military budgets of the state of Russia. Despite the great help, the situation in Ukraine is very bad and getting worse. About 50% of the energy infrastructure has been destroyed, including many power plants. According to the WHO, another 2-3 million people will leave Ukraine because of the great cold that is coming. 60% of Ukraine’s 2022 budget comes from foreign donations. What can the people of Ukraine hope for in such a situation? It's time for Ukraine to start talking about peace, and even the Pentagon invited them to do so a few days ago. And on all this, we now have this proposal of indebtedness on the international market of our citizens for another 18 billion euros, or one and a half billion a month, to patch up the budget of Ukraine. How to explain this, let's say to our Croatian citizens, when Croatia, hit by two earthquakes, did not even rebuild three houses for its citizens, which, in addition to all this, is plagued by inflation?
Digital finance: Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) - Digital Finance: Amending Directive regarding Digital Operational Resilience requirements (debate)
Date:
09.11.2022 20:13
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, when cryptocurrencies appeared, people flocked because they felt that they could be free there from the conventional financial system, which is essentially centralized, debt and unfair. Digital assets and digital money can now go in one of two directions: or as tools of liberation or enslavement. We can live in a world where capital can be easily accessed, where small businesses and ideas can be financed, where value can easily and safely be transferred from one end of the world to another - or - another version is a world where centralized entities control what we can buy, or can buy, and what rights we have in accordance with social credit and biometric surveillance. A world in which our account, a digital cage, will be blocked on the basis of unsuitable statuses on social networks. The crypto market needs to be regulated, but in a way to get the implementation and acceptance of cryptocurrencies as early as possible. However, the proposed regulation here will require measures that undermine the very nature and idea of cryptocurrencies - the idea of freedom and decentralization - which slows down rather than encourages development. We want security, but not at the cost of freedom, never at the cost of freedom. Also, citizens should be left with the right to choose for payment. I am absolutely against restricting, and even cancelling, cash payments. Without cash, we have no control, but the banks and the state.
Outcome of the first meeting of the European Political Community (debate)
Date:
19.10.2022 18:17
| Language: HR
The Honourable Chairman, at the meeting of leaders of European countries from Iceland to Azerbaijan in Prague, discussed, among other things, energy and energy independence. The Croatian Prime Minister went there only a few days after it turned out that he made the decision to shut down our refinery in Sisak and export oil from Croatia. It has pushed our Croatian colonial position, so although we have our own crude oil, we are now exporting it and importing finished petroleum products. After this scandal, every normal government resigns, but not the corrupt despots in Croatia; responsibilities unfamiliar to them. Our Prime Minister, who works against his own country and its energy capacities, cannot give advice on energy, in Prague, to other countries. Recently, people of an oil company in Croatia, set up by him and his party, were arrested for a large gas heist. Directed by this ruling party, various corrupt networks have developed in Croatia that undermine the energy system. They could hardly wait for the opportunity, under the guise of an increase in energy prices on the international market, to grab additionally into the pockets of citizens in order to take themselves. Such people should be banned from entering the European institutions and not called upon to decide our destinies.
Keep the bills down: social and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine and the introduction of a windfall tax (debate)
Date:
18.10.2022 08:12
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, the budgets of the citizens are attacked on at least three sides: inflation that dates back to before the war, rising energy prices and eventually the collapse of the economy, which will reduce employment and income for many. Here in France, unions have called for a general strike since 18 October. We were in Brussels last week. Every now and then, someone protests around the Parliament, from farmers to citizens, because of the increased cost of living. Winter hasn't even started yet. The first three months of autumn have not yet passed. In Croatia, even before this crisis, a significant part of household budgets went to budgets compared to many other European countries. Prices for citizens have mostly not changed and most of the burden falls on Hrvatska elektroprivreda, which has started to accumulate large losses, and is threatened with imminent bankruptcy if this continues. These costs can be remedied for some time from budgets and funds that will become more difficult to fill with the recession and collapse of the economy. This dam can hold water for a while, but very briefly. The only solution is to get enough cheap energy, otherwise our economies and households will collapse. When our Croatia was at war, no one shared the crisis with us like this, but we still got an arms embargo. Such a suicidal policy should be abolished.
The situation of human rights in Haiti in particular related to gang violence
Date:
05.10.2022 17:07
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, colleagues, at the beginning I will only state that, unfortunately, this resolution on Haiti does not have a translation into Croatian, so that at least in the language we are equal. Today, the European Parliament talks about human rights in Haiti, Myanmar and Ethiopia. Croatia was hit by two earthquakes in 2020. Two and a half years have passed since the Zagreb earthquake and almost two years since the earthquake in Banovina. To this day, Zagreb, the European Union, the Croatian Government or the City of Zagreb have not renovated any houses. Collecting documentation, people spent over ten thousand kunas or over three Croatian minimum wages. To this day, on Banovina at the expense of the state, only one house has been renovated. The European Union and the Government of the Republic of Croatia did not provide a minimum for the start of reconstruction. Entire families sleep in containers in winter and summer. In the third winter, Banovina will sleep in 15-square-foot ice containers. Five, six people sleep in them. In them they are cooked, provided there is something to cook, in them the children write homework. What kind of human rights do you dare to talk about today when Croatia, a member of the European Union, is choking in ruins two and a half years after the devastating earthquakes, without basic living conditions.
Implementation of the Updated New Industrial Strategy for Europe: aligning spending to policy (debate)
Date:
15.09.2022 08:43
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, the civilization as we know it has risen from the 18th century by an industrial revolution and is based on fossil fuels and electricity. In the past, 90% of people worked in agriculture, and 90 people needed to produce food so that 100 people would have to eat. Today it's the other way around. Today, about 10% of our workforce is working in agriculture. In order for a farmer to produce, in addition to himself and his family, and for others, he needs, therefore, a tractor or machinery made of steel for which we need either coal, or gas. Then he needs artificial gas fertilizers, he needs that tractor to move oil, pesticides that are largely produced from fossil fuels, and that's where the food production we know has grown. And now because of these sanctions and the interruption of energy connections, this cheap and easily accessible energy is disappearing and the whole system is collapsing. Many companies, such as manufacturers of fertilizers, are already reducing production. We all want better, cleaner, healthier alternatives, but they are not ready yet. There is no agricultural machinery on hydrogen or electricity, it will not exist for some time. If we continue on this path, through deindustrialisation, Europe is facing severe poverty. Therefore, a turnaround is needed!
EU response to the increase in energy prices in Europe (debate)
Date:
13.09.2022 15:40
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, the EU's response to the energy crisis shows that the authorities do not understand what awaits us. The only way to solve the crisis is to find enough cheap energy on which the current economy originated. You can't be a developed country, not waste energy. Limiting prices will not help because no one will produce or sell a product without losing it. Already this leads to the removal of these products from the shelves of stores. Tips to reduce heating and showering in cold water are ridiculous, and people will spend less because they will not be able to pay, not because the government tells them so. Enormous gas prices are also destroying the fertilizer industry, which is announcing a major food production crisis. The construction of alternative and renewable infrastructure will take decades, so Croatia is now building a new gas storage facility, which will be almost until 2027. In the long run, all countries should strive for energy independence. However, for the winter to come and the next, if we want to avoid the collapse of the European economy, a future without industrial products, without enough food and heating, we need to abandon counterproductive energy sanctions and restore trade with the Russian Federation.
Better regulation: joining forces to make better laws (debate)
Date:
07.07.2022 09:25
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, better laws, what is the meaning of laws and standards if they are not implemented? Let's go, say, to environmental protection in Croatia, to waste management. There are standards of how quality projects are done in Europe, for example, a red book or a yellow book and others. Why are bad projects approved in peripheral countries such as Croatia? Such projects shall be approved by the European institutions. Why are wastewater plants made with multiple capacity than residents? Why do waste management centres fail every five minutes? You don't do all that in your country. Is it because Western European companies have to sell their equipment? Is it because the European institutions are not interested in it? It's not because you don't know, because I've made sure everyone relevant here knows it, from the commissioner onwards. The Croatian government says JASPERS and the Commission have approved the project, and the Commission says the government is responsible. Why go to the waste lobbies in Croatia? European money has become a means of devastation of the environment, more expensive services and resentment of citizens. People around Marišćina, Kaštijuna and Piškornica know what I'm talking about, and it doesn't have to be that way. Plenty of double standards.
Protection of the EU’s financial interests – combating fraud – annual report 2020 (debate)
Date:
06.07.2022 17:54
| Language: HR
Dear Chairman, thank you, financial frauds related to EU funds in Croatia are a daily occurrence. One of the most reckless examples of robbery and unintended wear and tear is the Competence Centre for Advanced Mobility. It is a research and development project whose beneficiary is the DIV Group and seven other partners, including several faculties. That's $205 million in 2020. 2023 and the source of co-financing is the European Regional Development Fund. Some of the research projects have a dose of surrealism and would also be a challenge for Elona Musk companies, not for a modest screw manufacturer. The idea of the DIV Group was never the development of new technologies, but they viewed CEKOM as an ATM. It fictitiously registers working hours, employs incompetent employees to whom false daily allowances are given and writes fictional progress on projects. DIV Group did not pay the funds to the partners and remained obliged to the faculties. All this happens with the blessing of the competent ministers who have prepared and devised everything. The government, DIV Group and everyone else will soon be asked where is the money and what is the result, and where is the year of research activities? Finally, ironically, it is OLAF and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office that could investigate the most at CEKOM.
This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenković (debate)
Date:
22.06.2022 14:29
| Language: HR
Dear President, Dear Mr Plenković, the recession in Croatia has reached its highest level. That's fine. This is the policy you are pursuing with your finally condemned organization quite legitimately because the citizens of our Croatia have chosen it. Most of the parties in our Croatian Parliament have raised their hands for sanctions against Russia. So, you had the support of your party and opposition parties in the Croatian Parliament. Therefore, the recession that has hit us cannot really be blamed on you. Of the 195 countries in the world, only 45 have been sanctioned by Russia and all have consequences, but this is the will of citizens and there is nothing to object to. However, I do not deal only with short-term policy, but with long-term policy. I investigate corruption, collect, listen to citizens, report, build a network where your corrupt members and closest associates fall one after another. Today, you may have some support from the people, the Croatian citizens, for whom information is selected and who do not know the right and the whole truth, but the one that you and your protectors want to show. But let's not forget, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov had the support of state institutions and the media. Trials against him stretched for 13 years, and Brussels unfortunately had his back. And then the Bulgarian people saw it, took to the street in 2020. Months of protest took place in Sofia. Indignant Bulgarian citizens stopped me on the streets of Brussels and begged me for help. Come to Sofia. Why does the EU tolerate so much corruption in Bulgaria ? I was a speaker at these Bulgarian protests and made my contribution to the fight against crime. In the end, Mr. Borisov fell from power. Brussels turned its back on him and is now in prison. It's time, Mr. Plenković, for you to ask yourself who laughs last, Mr. Plenković.