Page 13 - SE Outlook Regions 2024

reporter from Mreza TV. Filipovic denied involvement in the affair but said he is taking political responsibility.
So far, Plenkovic has replaced 30 ministers to avoid corruption scandals. However, this burden might hit HDZ in the election in 2024 and the party could either lose the vote, or face hard times forming a ruling coalition.
Meanwhile, the rift between President Zoran Milanovic and the government continued through 2023 and as the election is getting closer, the tensions between them should escalate further.
Plenkovic’s HDZ will also face a challenge to its dominance in politics from two right-wing parties, Most and the Croatian Sovereignists, that decided in July to join forces for the 2024 general election. They called on other right-wing parties to join them in order to defeat the HDZ. The two opposition parties have often worked together in the current parliament, including filing several no-confidence motions against Plenkovic or some of his ministers.
In external policy, Croatia continued actively supporting Ukraine against its invader Russia. In August, Plenkovic announced that the government will provide an additional €30mn military assistance package for Ukraine. Plenkovic also said the country will aid Ukraine's demining process, building on Croatia's experience. The Croatian government has been actively supporting Ukraine since the start of the war, unlike Milanovic who has taken rather pro-Russian positions.
Plenkovic faced another external political challenge when mass football riots raised tensions with Greece. One Greek football fan was killed in violent clashes between supporters of AEK Athens and Dinamo Zagreb on August 7 ahead of a Champions League qualifying match in Athens. More than 100 fans, most of them Croatians, have been charged in connection to the violence. In December, most of them were released from detention and returned to Croatia, not without help from the government in Zagreb and its diplomatic efforts.
Among Croatia’s other neighbours, Plenkovic took steps to warm up relations with Serbia, paying his first official visit to Belgrade in June. The visit followed an earlier meeting between Plenkovic and Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic in Croatia and was seen as a sign of a warming of the tense relations between the two countries, which have many unresolved issues related to their joint past as parts of ex-Yugoslavia.
1.5 Politics - Kosovo
After years of anticipation, Kosovo has at last been granted visa
13 SE Outlook 2024 www.intellinews.com