News

Istanbul - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko in Istanbul on Thursday held talks with several Turkish businessmen, who have already invested in Croatia, and discussed future investment plans, sources in the Croatian delegation on a visit to Turkey. A dinner organised by the Croatian Ambassador in Turkey, Drazen Hrastic, was attended by representatives of Dogus, Suezer and Rixos groups.

(Ankara) - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko met in Ankara on Wednesday with Turkey's Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek, President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who called on Turkish business people to invest in Croatia.

Zagreb/Vilnius - Roma need to be integrated into society and given access to education, employment, health care and housing, according to a joint declaration adopted in Vilnius on Tuesday at a conference of the European Union's 28 parliament speakers, including Josip Leko of Croatia.

Zagreb/Vilnius - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko is in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on Monday and Tuesday for an annual conference of European Union parliament speakers.

Zagreb - Apostolic nuncio to Croatia Alessandro D'Errico said on Friday, at a meeting with Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko, that bilateral relations between Croatia and the Holy See were good, saying however that he regretted the fact that the Dajla case has not yet been closed.

Mostar - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko on Thursday met with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and the Islamic community in Mostar, stressing that Croatia supports their dialogue as a contribution to the restoration of trust and building Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state of three equal peoples and equal citizens.

Sarajevo - Croatia is not bringing any recipes to Bosnia and Herzegovina, but wants to help its neighbour find a solution that will ensure the equal status of all three of its constituent peoples, Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said during a visit to Sarajevo on Thursday.

Zagreb - Croatia and Qatar are developing friendly relations and are seeking to intensify their economic cooperation, notably Qatari investments in Croatia, Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said during a meeting with Qatar's Ambassador Mozi Nasser Al-Thani in Zagreb on Tuesday.

Rome - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko held separate meetings in Rome on Friday with Italian House of Representatives President Laura Boldrini, Maltese Parliament Speaker Angelo Farrugia, and Latvian Parliament Speaker Solvita Aboltina. The talks were held on the margins of the international conference "What Europe stands for: Growth, jobs and rights: will the European Union rise to the occasion?".

Rome - Croatia is one of the European Union members in which the consequences of the economic crisis are still strongly felt, despite its measures to encourage the economy and reform the social system, Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said in Rome on Thursday.

The Hague - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko on Tuesday held talks with members of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Dutch bicameral legislature.

The Hague - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko, currently on a two-day visit to the Netherlands, met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the speakers of both houses of parliament in The Hague on Monday.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko met with visiting Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar in Zagreb on Friday to discuss ways of promoting political and economic relations between the two countries as well as multilateral cooperation within international organisations, Leko's office said in a press release.

Zagreb - The parliamentary Judiciary Committee on Thursday unanimously endorsed the government's proposal to appoint the head of the anti-corruption office USKOK, Dinko Cvitan, as the new chief state prosecutor.

Zagreb - France strongly supported Croatia's European Union accession and after achieving that goal Croatia has a new one, helping the countries in the region in their EU integration, French Senate President Jean-Pierre Bel said in Zagreb on Thursday.

Zagreb - National parliaments should take a more active part in the European Union's legislative procedure, Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said on Friday at a session of the European Affairs Committee dedicated to the principle of subsidiarity in said procedure.

Zagreb - Switzerland's decision to introduce immigration quotas for workers from the European Union is contrary to European standards, Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said after talks with his Bulgarian counterpart Mihail Mikov in Zagreb on Monday.

Zagreb - Croatian lawmakers stood up during a session of Parliament on Friday in symbolic support of the "One Billion Rising" campaign aimed at ending violence against women in the world and promoting gender equality.

Zagreb - Croatia and Slovenia are economically linked, they have common goals and expect to succeed in drawing European Union funds for joint projects, the chair of the Slovenian parliamentary economy committee, Alenka Pavlič, said in Zagreb on Wednesday after meeting with her Croatian counterpart Igor Rađenović.

Zagreb - From the beginning of legislative alignment until Croatia joined the European Union last July, the Croatian parliament adopted 683 aligned laws, according to Friday's parliamentary discussion on a plan to align national legislation with the EU acquis, under which 42 laws need to be aligned this year.

Zagreb - A member of the Croatian Parliament's delegation to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, Gvozden Flego of the Social Democratic party (SDP), has been elected as one of the PA vice presidents at this year's first meeting in Strasbourg.

Zagreb - Croatia advocates Macedonia's efforts to join the European Union and NATO, and is hopeful that the long-standing Macedonian process of coming closer to the Euro-Atlantic institutions will be son unblocked, Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said on Friday after the talks with his visiting Macedonian counterpart Trajko Veljanoski in Zagreb.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko on Thursday received for talks the incoming Chinese Ambassador Deng Ying, saying he hoped that she would continue developing the very good relations between the two countries, notably in the economy, Leko's office said in a statement.

Zagreb - The equality of the Croat people in Bosnia and Herzegovina is an internal issue of that country which cannot be solved until all the three constituent peoples take over responsibility for themselves and the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia's Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said during his talks with Bosnian Croat leader Dragan Čović in Zagreb on Monday.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko on Thursday received Japan's Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Nobuo Kishi, for talks on cooperation, and on that occasion it was said that Croatia was open to Japanese investors in different areas ranging from energy to tourism.

Zagreb - The Croatian Scouts Alliance this year again organised the arrival of the Bethlehem Light to Croatia, handing it to Parliament Speaker Josip Leko on Sunday, who handed it to the rector of the Zagreb Cathedral, Msgr. Josip Kuhtić.

Zagreb - The Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System on Monday took into account some of the objections stated during a public debate on a bill of amendments to the Constitution and unanimously proposed to parliament to discuss a partially amended draft Constitution, with novelties referring mostly to the referendum issue.

Croatia and Austria have excellent economic relations which need to be broaden, said Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Josip Leko yesterday at the meeting with Austrian Parliament Speaker Barbara Prammer. He reminded that Austria is the largest source of foreign investments in Croatia.

Ljubljana - Croatia's and Slovenia's parliament speakers Josip Leko and Janko Veber said in Ljubljana on Thursday that relations between the two countries were stable and their cooperation, particularly economic, was at a high level, underscoring that the parliaments were urging the governments of both countries to resolve remaining outstanding issues, including the question of foreign savings accounts in the now defunct Ljubljanska Banka (LB), where there seems to be a difference of opinion.

Strasburg - The Croatian Christmas Village was officially inaugurated on Saturday within the Christmas Market in Strasbourg by the city mayor Roland Ries and Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko. Croatia, the newcomer in the European Union, is a special guest at this Market, the oldest Christmas market in Europe with its tradition dating back to 1570.

Strasbourg - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko held talks in Strasbourg on Friday with Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland on reforms in the CoE and the situation in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Zagreb - The beginning of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights which celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, was marked in Zagreb on Wednesday by kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched Menorah or Hanukiah.

Zagreb - Croatia and France are friends and their growing partnership is important for both countries and for their partnership in the European Union, Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko and member of the French National Assembly Patrick Bloche said in Zagreb on Tuesday.

Zagreb - Croatia supports Turkey's objectives on its path to the European Union and advocates enlargement and open door policies, Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said at a meeting with Turkish parliamentarians.

Strasbourg - An exhibition about the eastern Croatian city of Vukovar was staged in in the European Parliament's building in Strasbourg on Monday on the occasion of Vukovar Remembrance Day observed on 18 November to commemorate the fall of the town in the hands of the occupying forces consisting of local Serb rebels and the then Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) in the late autumn of 1991.

Zagreb - The 2014 European election will be, in these challenging times of economic crisis, a test of public support for European Union institutions, Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said on Monday at a presentation of a campaign for the European Parliament election to be held on May 22-25 next year.

Bucharest - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko began a two-day official visit to Romania on Sunday by meeting with representatives of the Croatian community in the country.

Bucharest - Croatia and Romania believe that Southeast European countries must accelerate the process of joining the European Union and are prepared to help them on that path, Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said in Bucharest on Monday.

Vareš - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said during his visit to the central Bosnian town of Vareš on Wednesday that Croatia would continue providing support not just to Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state, but also to local communities to encourage and sustain the return of Croats to their pre-war homes.

Sarajevo - At the end of the first day of his official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday, Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko met in Sarajevo with members of the Interreligious Council, which brings together representatives of the largest monotheistic religious communities in the country, and held separate talks with the Archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljić.

Sarajevo - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said in Sarajevo on Tuesday that good relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina were exceptionally important for Croatia but that some issues such as the construction of the Pelješac bridge connecting Croatia's southern most region with the rest of the country should be resolved in line with Croatia's interest and that this was an interior matter.

Otočac - The ceremonies were held on Saturday in the town of Otočac, 120 kilometres southwest of Zagreb to mark the 70th anniversary of the first convention of the te Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia (ZAVNOH) and on that occasion Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said that the conventions of the anti-Fascist fighters of Croatia in Otočac in 1943 were "legal and constitutional foundations" for the present-day Republic of Croatia.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament on Friday passed a law on strategic investment projects which is expected to create prerequisites for launching investments and expediting the issue of documents required for public and private projects of strategic interest.

Zagreb - Law School lecturer Anamarija Musa has been appointed Croatia's first Information Commissioner, the Croatian parliament decided on Friday. In a secret ballot involving 93 of the 151 MPs, Musa received 83 votes.

Zagreb - International Necktie Day is celebrated on 18th October since the spectacular installation “A Tie Around the Arena” was performed in Pula on 18th October 2003. Croatian Parliament showed a special honour in 2008 declaring the Cravat Day following the proposal by the Academia Cravatica.

Zagreb - Croatia and Iran are interested in deepening their cooperation in the economic sector, trade, culture, science, sport, agriculture and energy, and also intend to enhance their parliamentary cooperation, the parliament speakers of the two countries, Josip Leko and Ali Larijani, said in Zagreb on Thursday.

Budapest - The dispute between Croatia and Hungary about the Ina-MOL issue is not a conflict between the two countries' institutions but a business dispute which should be resolved in a way that all bodies do their part of the job, Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said in Budapest on Tuesday after a bilateral meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Laszlo Koever.

Budapest - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said in Budapest on Tuesday that by entering the European Union, Croatia helped "break the ice" for other Southeast European countries and that it felt special responsibility for further integration of the countries in the region with the EU.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Josip Leko during a special session of the Sabor on Saturday marking the 22nd anniversary of Croatia's independence said that the events of 22 years ago should serve as a sign post for the future of the country which we wish to build in freedom, democracy and peace.

Zagreb - Listen to the people, take the side of the weak, strengthen economy, decrease unemployment, stop moving abroad – these are just some of the “tasks” Croatian scholars would tackle if they were MPs.