Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia to wait with recognition

A number of countries have today said they will not immediately recognize Kosovo.

The province's ethnic Albanians' unilaterally declared independence Sunday. Serbia rejected the decision as illegal and declared it null and void. So far, 17 countries have recognized the unilateral secession.

Yesterday, an announcement was made that Hungary and Croatia will wait with the recognition.

The two country's foreign ministers, Kinga Goncz and Gordan Jadroković met in Budapest.

"Croatia will wait until most of the EU member states recognize Kosovo independence," Jadroković said, and added that Zagreb was "closely following the events in Kosovo".

"It will not be easy for Hungary to recognize Kosovo because of the fact that Serbia is its neighbor and that a numerous Hungarian minority lives in Serbia," Goncz assessed.

"It is important for us to maintain good relations with Serbia," she said and underlined that because of all that, Hungary would not be among the first countries to acknowledge Kosovo, adding, however, that her country would do that "in the next couple of weeks", the Hungarian news agency MTI reported.

In Slovenia Friday, the parliament said it will not debate Ljubljana's recognition of Kosovo since the proposal the government sent was "not according to the procedure".

For this reason, officials said, the proposal will not be on the agenda of the next session, scheduled for the end of the month.

Croatia champions cancel trip to Belgrade after riots

Croatian champions Cibona Zagreb cancelled a trip to Belgrade on Friday after Croatia's foreign ministry said it would be too risky in the light of recent unrest in both countries.
Rioters in Belgrade attacked several foreign embassies on Thursday, including Croatia's, after a mass rally against Western support for Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia last Sunday.
A group of Croatian soccer fans burnt the Serbian flag in Zagreb's main square on Thursday and police arrested 44 people.
"Following our own assessment of the situation and recommendations of our ambassador in Serbia, the ministry advised Cibona not to travel to Belgrade," said a Croatian ministry statement carried by state news agency Hina.
Cibona were already halfway to Belgrade when they were advised to turn back. They were due to face the top Serbian team, Partizan Belgrade, in a regional championship game on Saturday.
Partizan president Djordje Colovic told Serbian news agency Tanjug the safety of Croatian players was not at risk and that his club would demand the match be awarded to them.
Croatia's foreign ministry advised its citizens earlier this week to be careful if travelling to Serbia or Kosovo and to avoid any large public gatherings.
Croatia broke away from Serbian-led Yugoslavia in 1991 and waged a war with its own Serb minority until 1995.
Croatia and Serbia have established diplomatic ties but sports competitions involving the two countries have remained fraught with tension and the potential for violence.

Hungary and Croatia to hold off on recognizing Kosovo

Hungary and Croatia are to wait before acknowledging Kosovo's independence, the foreign ministers of the two nations said on Thursday after meeting in Budapest.

'It is important for us to keep good relations with Serbia ... Hungary won't be among the first to recognise Kosovo's independence, but this will surely happen in the next few weeks,' MTI news agency quoted Hungarian Foreign Minister Kinga Goncz as saying.

Hungary has a large ethnic minority in neighbouring Serbia, and Goncz said this made recognising Kosovo a delicate question.

Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic said Croatia would only recognise Kosovo after 'the majority of European Union member states' took the plunge.

The breakaway Serbian province declared its independence on Sunday, triggering mass protests in Belgrade.

Country profile

OVERVIEW


OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA

Accession talks were postponed because of Croatia's failure to detain Gen Ante Gotovina, wanted by the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague. However the green light for the talks to proceed was given in October 2005, and the fugitive general was arrested in Spain shortly afterwards.

Main town square, Zagreb
Zagreb's old town blends the Gothic and Baroque

Croatia hopes to become a member of the EU by 2010, remarkable progress since the time of Tudjman's death in December 1999 when the country was in a parlous state. Its citizens suffered from government-backed attacks on their civil and political rights. The governing party, the HDZ, was then corrupt and the economy was in difficulties, with around 20% of Croatians unemployed.

Presidential and parliamentary elections at the beginning of 2000 ushered in politicians who pledged commitment to Croatia's integration into the European mainstream.

The constitution has been changed to shift power away from the president to the parliament. Croatia has joined the World Trade Organisation and has pledged to open up its economy. It has achieved growth and inflation is under control.

It has rumbling disputes with Slovenia over sea and land borders dating back to the break-up of Yugoslavia and the construction of a controversial coastal bridge that will allow motorists to skirt Bosnian territory has drawn criticism from Bosnia.

A country of striking natural beauty with a stunning Adriatic coastline, Croatia is again very popular as a tourist destination.

FACTS


OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA

* Full name: Republic of Croatia
* Population: 4.6 million (UN, 2007)
* Capital: Zagreb
* Area: 56,594 sq km (21,851 sq miles)
* Major language: Croatian
* Major religion: Christianity
* Life expectancy: 72 years (men), 79 years (women) (UN)
* Monetary unit: 1 kuna = 100 lipa
* Main exports: Machinery and transport equipment, clothing, chemicals
* GNI per capita: US $8,060 (World Bank, 2006)
* Internet domain: .hr
* International dialling code: +385

LEADERS


OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA

President: Stjepan (Stipe) Mesic

Stjepan Mesic won a second five-year term in January 2005. The presidency is a largely ceremonial role.

The president proposes the prime minister but it is for parliament to approve the nomination. The president can dissolve parliament and call elections.

Prime minister: Ivo Sanader

Croatian PM
Ivo Sanader says his party has changed since Tudjman's time

Ivo Sanader, who has been prime minister since 2003, was given a new mandate by the president to form a government after his conservative HDZ party won the most seats in parliamentary elections in November 2007.

The HDZ failed to secure an outright majority in parliament and will therefore need to govern in a coalition.

Mr Sanader, leader of the right-wing Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), has said his party has undergone major change since he took over from the late nationalist president, Franjo Tudjman, and describes it as a traditional conservative party. He has pledged commitment to democracy and the rule of law as well as to upholding human rights and promoting a free market economy.

He has said that EU and Nato membership are the top priority in foreign policy. On the economic front, he aims to address a budget deficit and to reduce the foreign debt.

He comes from an academic background and speaks several languages, including English.

MEDIA


OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA

Croatia's media now operate in a climate of relative freedom following the restrictions of the Tudjman era. The constitution bans censorship and guarantees press freedom.

Croatian Radio-Television, HRT, is a national state-owned public broadcaster and is financed by a mixture of advertising and licence fee revenues. The frequencies of HRT's third national TV network were allocated to a private bidder in September 2003.

Public TV is the main source of news and information for most Croatians. National commercial networks and dozens of private local TV stations compete for viewers.

The press
# Vecernji list - daily, mass-circulation tabloid
# Jutarnji list - mass-circulation daily
# Slobodna Dalmacija - Split-based daily
# Novi list - Rijeka-based daily
# Glas Istre - Pula-based daily
# Poslovni dnevnik - business daily
# Globus - Zagreb-based political weekly
# Feral Tribune - Split-based weekly
# Nacional - Zabreb-based political, cultural weekly
# Business.hr - business weekly

Television
# Croatian TV - public, operates national networks
# RTL Televizija - national, private
# Nova TV - national, private

Radio
# Croatian Radio - public, operates three national networks
# Radio 101 - private, Zagreb area, music-based
# Otvoreni Radio - private, national
# Narodni Radio - private, national

News agencies
# Hina - English-language pages
# Croatian Information Centre - English-language pages