\u201cI cannot organize this package of Constitutional and Supreme Court judges. I am responsible for proposing candidates for the President of the Supreme Court. It is up to the HDZ and Plenkovi\u0107 to decide whether or not they will. This delay is already problematic because a stain has been cast on a person who is completely clear. They are trying to link her to some spy stories. That is low. They also smeared the previous candidate,\u201d said President Zoran Milanovi\u0107 in \u010cakovec, ahead of the ceremonial observance of the Day of the Unification of Me\u0111imurje with the motherland, Croatia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Plenkovi\u0107\u2019s recent words, it turns out: whoever allows him to get two constitutional judges \u2013 he will let any candidate through. Now, how credible is that? On the other hand, we have 90 diplomatic positions to fill. Well, here\u2019s the rule \u2013 everyone will be entertained until dawn with the devil. Well, that\u2019s impossible. And about the constitutional judges, he would agree with an axe \u2013 everything to me, nothing to you,\u201d added President Milanovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commenting on the election of Constitutional Court judges, he also said: \u201cI have no competence over that. I can only observe and conclude how it was a year and a half ago, how those 10 vacant positions were filled. Half and half, just like in 2016. Let him talk about that with the opposition. Unlike the judiciary, which is independent and must be strictly dedicated to law and justice, constitutional judges are, unfortunately, largely political figures. The authorities care who will be in those positions and how they will be filled. And that clearly worries Plenkovi\u0107, but I am not the address for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for the Supreme Court, he reminded everyone, \u201cwe have a serious candidate.\u201d \u201cShe even had a conversation with Plenkovi\u0107 and was told to get in touch. I can\u2019t interpret it any other way than that she will be elected. And then we stopped. Even if I wanted to negotiate, I have nothing to offer,\u201d said the President, adding that \u201cit matters to me whether Croatia will have a Supreme Court President or not, and who that will be.\u201d Regarding suspicions about the judge he is proposing for Supreme Court President, President Milanovi\u0107 confirmed that he had \u201caddressed the security agency regarding that person.\u201d \u201cI asked generally if there were any obstacles regarding that person, and I was told there are none. And that\u2019s how I always operate,\u201d said the President.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding the election of constitutional judges, President Milanovi\u0107 also stated, \u201cI cannot participate in the process, I am not the proposer, let them come to an agreement.\u201d \u201cI will not even beg them not to mix the two procedures. That water is already contaminated, and there is no going back. As far as I\u2019m concerned, another very professional and politically neutral person will head the Supreme Court. That is my contribution, after the agony that has lasted for half a year,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 concluded on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a media statement, President Milanovi\u0107 also discussed the appointments of Croatian diplomats, saying: \u201cIt is clear that Plenkovi\u0107 doesn\u2019t want an agreement. Every agreement and every change to the current situation cuts into his balance sheet. The standard and threshold he won\u2019t go below is total control over diplomacy \u2013 from the porter to the last ambassador and, of course, the Ministry. The Constitution clearly states how ambassadors are selected and what their role is in the formation of foreign policy. He systematically destroys and tramples on this. This behaviour is fundamentally contrary to the spirit and letter of the Constitution. He can do this because he is aware there are no consequences. Citizens don\u2019t see this, they even feel a kind of contempt for diplomats. And Plenkovi\u0107 can manipulate that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s desire to acquire Greenland, an overseas Danish territory, President Milanovi\u0107 said: \u201cIt\u2019s Danish territory, you can\u2019t help but be on Denmark\u2019s side. Things are completely clear.\u201d He described American claims toward Greenland as \u201cproof that international law doesn\u2019t even exist as fiction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe European Union must finally understand what it is and where it belongs. It is not a power in the way others are, because it is composed of more than twenty heterogeneous nation-states that will never be able to function as a single centre of decision-making and will,\u201d said President Milanovi\u0107, emphasizing that one of the proofs of this is the so-called Coalition of the Willing. \u201cA Coalition of the Willing, where everyone should think as one \u2013that is impossible. Croatian interests will not always be the same as French or British ones. And it\u2019s not possible for all of us to always raise the same hands, because that means someone else is thinking for us. We have our own head, which may not be perfect, but we have our own interests. Without malice, without intrigue, but we will simply decide our fate, as much as possible, on our own,” said President Milanovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also commented on the \u20ac15 million that Croatia recently donated to Ukraine and warned that, at the same time, the Government refuses to allocate \u20ac12 million to complete the construction of Croatian patrol boats. \u201cThe Government proudly announced the other day that it gave \u20ac15 million to Ukraine. For Croatia, that\u2019s not an insignificant amount of money. How secure is that money in Ukraine? More secure than in the hands of HDZ members, but that money is gone,\u201d he said, recalling that almost 12 years ago, when he was Prime Minister, Minister Kotromanovi\u0107 signed a contract with the Split Shipyard to build five coastal patrol boats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur shipyard won the contract. A year and some later, the Government changed, and to this day, only two ships have been launched. The others remain on the slipway, and the private owner has registered them. Nothing will come of those boats. The Government, Plenkovi\u0107, has simply given up on them. The state is in a dispute with the contractor, the Split Shipyard, over around \u20ac12 million. So, \u20ac12 million stands between the decision to finish those boats, to launch them, to fly the Croatian flag on Croatian seas, or to leave them in the scrapyard and end up with nothing. Meanwhile, billions are being spent on foreign products, some kind of extortion is being paid to the French for upgrading planes previously bought,\u201d emphasized President Milanovi\u0107, who believes the Croatian Government should have long ago resolved the dispute with the Split Shipyard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cI cannot organize this package of Constitutional and Supreme Court judges. I am responsible for proposing candidates for the President of the Supreme Court. It is up to the HDZ and Plenkovi\u0107 to decide whether or not they will. This delay is already problematic because a stain has been cast on a person who is completely clear. They are trying to link her to some spy stories. That is low. They also smeared the previous candidate,\u201d said President Zoran Milanovi\u0107 in \u010cakovec, ahead of the ceremonial observance of the Day of the Unification of Me\u0111imurje with the motherland, Croatia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":41642,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-41643","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n