MP Anka Mrak-Taritas said on Wednesday that Croatia was in the minority of EU countries that did not sign a letter against attacks by Hungarian PM Viktor Orban on basic human rights and values, because "our prime minister likes socializing with the sinister semi-dictator who undermines EU values," state agency Hina reported. 

“Presenting the position of her Centre/GLAS group,” Hina wrote, “Mrak-Taritas named 17 EU countries whose prime ministers last week opposed and had something to say about yet another assault by Hungarian PM Viktor Orban and act of trampling on the fundamental rights and freedoms, primarily of homosexuals.”

“Orban has turned from a Soros scholarship recipient and young pro-European liberal into a radical, sinister semi-dictator from provincial Europe who undermines EU values whenever possible, and decent politicians and people do not associate with the likes of him,” said Mrak-Taritas.

She recalled that the list of EU countries that signed the letter against Orban did not include Croatia, whose leadership’s “sympathies are evidently with Orban” while its foreign minister explained that Croatia had not signed the letter because it wanted to promote the unity of EU countries and that letters such as the one against Orban caused disagreement.

Mrak-Taritas stressed that 17 European prime ministers opposed violation of the basic European values and ideals, noting that for the country as small as Croatia, the only path to progress was consistent advocacy of international law, European unity, a liberal and democratic order and human and civil rights and freedoms.

MP says Croatia has not managed to define quality regional policy

Social Democrat MP Davorko Vidovic said that on Tuesday six months had passed since the biggest natural disaster in Croatia’s recent history and three months since a programme for the reconstruction and revitalisation of the earthquake-hit Sisak-Moslavina County was put forward.

Recalling the county’s difficult economic situation and the fact that since 2000 43,000 people or a quarter of the local population had emigrated from the county, Vidovic pointed to a dramatic gap between the county’s GDP and the national GDP.

He said this required the government’s emergency assistance, noting that the state had been failing to define a quality regional policy for the past 30 years.

“The program on the prime minister’s desk focuses primarily on bringing life back to the county because… it is the only county in Croatia where the number of pensioners exceeds the number of workers and from which young people are emigrating on a daily basis,” Vidovic said, calling on PM Plenkovic to take the helm of the task force in charge of revitalizing the region of Banija.