Page 51 - bne IntelliNews monthly magazine October 2024

bne October 2024 Southeast Europe I 51
"Croatia did not buy Black Hawk helicopters to use them like a taxi," Plenković told reporters, adding that military resources are not intended for casual use. "I do not see any of the rest of us using the army’s resources so nonchalantly."
Milanovic has now ordered the military secret service (VSOA) to investigate leaks from the Ministry of Defence regarding his helicopter flights,
which he claimed posed a threat to national security. Milanovic expressed frustration after national television cameras filmed his helicopter landings on two occasions, prompting him to question how journalists were informed of his movements.
In a retaliatory strike, Milanovic criticized Plenkovic for using government planes, which he claimed were "10 times more expensive”.
On September 4, the president took
to Facebook to criticise Anusic. He claimed to previously have had a good relationship with the defence minister until the current row, saying the current
“I would therefore like to hear from
the minister; what has changed in
the last month? I can only guess and somehow it seems to me – and I am not the only one – that Minister Anusic's dissatisfaction with our cooperation coincides somehow with the beginning of Mr. Primorc's campaign,” Milanovic wrote on his Facebook page.
“And this can only mean that Minister Anusic also unquestioningly put himself at the service of Andrej Plenkovic.”
The scandal has drawn widespread public attention, raising questions about the balance between the president’s role as commander-in- chief and the government’s oversight of military expenditures. It follows previous high-profile debates between Milanovic and the government over issues such as Croatia’s stance on the Ukraine war and the actions of the right-wing Homeland Movement, the HDZ’s junior coalition partner.”
Bulgarians outraged after North Macedonia’s deputy PM calls them "miserable"
Denitsa Koseva in Sofia
Bulgarian politicians were outraged when North Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski called President Rumen Radev an “uncivilised host” and Bulgarians “miserable” in response to the recent escalation of diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Earlier in September, during a meeting between Radev and North Macedonia’s President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova in Sofia, the flag of North Macedonia was absent, which angered Skopje.
Following Nikoloski’s interview, the Bulgarian foreign ministry issued a statement, calling his words insulting, and his tone un-European and incompatible with good manners.
“Our partners have been notified of the unprovoked provocations, aimed, among other things, at destroying the dialogue. Once again, we recall the key importance of the development of good neighbourly relations for the European future of the Republic of North Macedonia,” the ministry said in the statement.
Siljanovska-Davkova visited Bulgaria to attend a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Nabucco by the Macedonian Opera and Ballet, which opened the new season at the Sofia Opera. The Macedonian delegation included Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski and Minister of Culture Zoran Ljutkov.
The president used her visit to Sofia to meet with her Bulgarian counterpart. The discussions were focused on resolving the long-standing tensions that have persisted since Bulgaria's veto of North Macedonia’s EU accession talks in 2020.
Radev also reacted, suggesting that the informal meeting has bothered some circles in Skopje and saying that he had a constructive dialogue with Siljanovska-Davkova. He also pointed out that the visit of North Macedonia’s president was not official and that he hoped Siljanovska-Davkova to soon pay a formal visit to the country.
Several political parties also called for an official reaction to Nikoloski’s statement, saying it can blow up the good neighbourly relations.
North Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski is at the centre of
a new political scandal after he called Bulgarians “miserable”.
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