Call for internship in the EP for candidates from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina * Will Commissioner Mimica protect Croatian consumers? * The government is putting on shows instead of informing young people about EU aid * Office in Dubrovnik * Unmasking Hajdaš Dončić
It is difficult to follow, let alone to fulfil all of the duties of the Croatian Democratic Union's members of European Parliament. Constantly between home and Brussels/Strasbourg, with regular "trips" to other EU members and neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, on a daily basis they either ask parliamentary questions, or receive answers to them, or they debate in sessions of the EP and its specialized committees, or they are studying working materials, travelling or holding meetings as delegates, or they have media appearances, they are commenting on current controversies ... or ...
However, they do all of this without neglecting either the party base, their county, city or regional councils. Dubravka Šuica, head of the HDZ's delegation in the EP and party vice-president, can also boasts – without any exaggeration – a "backbreaking" pace; a pace that she herself has set since day one.
Transparent undermining from the Minister of Transportation
Among other things, in the past ten days, in line with her colleague Nikola Dobroslavić, Prefect of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, and through continuous media appearances, she exposed the deception of the Minister of Transportation Hajdaš Dončić that the HDZ was supposedly "guilty" for the delay in the publication of the Prefeasibility Study for the Pelješac Bridge, commissioned by the European Commission, which will be postponed until November.
Thanks to the Prefect’s and Šuica’s timely responses, even the widest public could see that the SDP’s minister is that which those who are more informed already know – a petty hustler, without any vision or strategy, that obviously tries to shift the responsibility for his own failures onto others. Like Milanović, Linić or Grčić anyways. Obvious and already a bit boring.
So let’s begin with Šuica’s recent activities – in reverse chronological order. Due to limited space, we will only cover a part of them.
September 30th – opening of office in Dubrovnik
Yesterday was our member of European Parliament opened a fourth office: after Brussels, Strasbourg and Zagreb - in her hometown. Led by: Luna Polić. Address: Petilovrjenci 2, Dubrovnik.
At the opening ceremony Šuica briefly presented the work of her team in the European Parliament where so far they have dealt with topics such as youth unemployment, construction of the Pelješac Bridge, Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the protection of Mali Ston shellfish farmers...
˝I want my office doors to always be open to citizens for inquiries regarding the work of the EP, but also the EU. It is important to immediately establish a strong dialogue with citizens and to actively provide information. Especially for us in Dubrovnik, given our geographic dislocation, and knowing what the Union can provide.˝ The ceremony – which, among others, was attended by the County Prefect Nikola Dobroslavić, the Mayor of Dubrovnik Andro Vlahušić and the Mayor of Ploče Kresimir Vejić who came to congratulate Šuica – ended with the premiere of the video for the new EP campaign whose slogan is ˝Act, react, impact – European Parliament˝.
September 27th – answer from the EC and the government’s neglect of youth
On Saturday, at the session of the Dubrovnik City Council, Šuica initiated the discussion regarding the City of Dubrovnik’s candidacy for the European Capital of Culture 2020. Just the day before, while she was still in Brussels, she received a reply from the European Commission received a reply to the parliamentary question that was asked at the end of August – what is the amount of funds earmarked for youth employment in Croatia?
In the response signed by Commissioner László Andor (in charge of Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) he states that the amount of funds for each member of the Initiative for Youth Employment will be known by the end of September.
˝By the end of this month, then, we will know the how much is earmarked for youth employment. I urge the government to quickly declare how they intend to spend the money. I am particularly concerned because youth are not informed enough about this subject although it is actually about them. While the government is engaged in political performances, opportunities pass by in silence˝, commented Šuica.
In response Brussels also highlights a ˝investment in education, skills and lifelong learning˝ as one of the three most important goals for combating youth unemployment. ˝Upon recommendation from the European Commission, we have to invest more in education. But according to the draft budget of the Republic of Croatia for 2014, there will be further cutting of resources in education. This is a shame! The government views youth as a cost, not as our future, and in which we must invest˝, concluded Šuica.
September 26th – Mimica, protection of the Croatian consumer!
As a member of the EP 's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, Šuica participated in an exchange of views with the EC Commissioner for Consumer Policy Neven Mimica. Šuica, as an HDZ representative, presented her Croatian colleague with the results of the Slovak Consumer Association’s study (reported on the EurActiv portal), whereby products with the same name and the same label do not contain the same properties in all EU countries. Furthermore, these products of inferior quality are commonly found on store shelves in the new(er) member states.
˝That is why I asked Mr. Mimica to do something! We should advocate that the EU not be divided into rich and poor, the European north and south, into countries that are in the Eurozone and those outside of it˝, said Šuica.
Mimica answered that there is an initiative for companies to offer a guarantee of quality that should be equally respected in every country of distribution, but the legal framework is not yet in force in all EU Member States. The National Authority for Supervision and Consumer Protection is responsible for monitoring possible irregularities in the market of each individual EU member state.
The EC will seek to further coordinate with the national authorities in order to deal with this problem more efficiently in the future. If a certain product meets safety standards, but is of poorer quality than other products on the market, it still however continues to meet the set standards so it is not possible to take any legal action.
Mr. Mimica, in the EU and as well as in Croatia, we are not looking for explanations but solutions. If the ˝legal framework˝ and ˝set standards˝ harm Croatian consumers – change them!
September 24th – congratulations to Chancellor Merkel and the CDU
Dubravka Šuica, who is actually an English and German teacher (which many people ˝forget˝), is not only the HDZ Vice President and a Member of European Parliament, but she is also the national President of the party’s Committee for Foreign Policy and European Affairs.
In this function, she congratulated Angela Merkel, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and the Christian Social Union (CSU), on their great victory in the parliamentary elections: German citizens once again recognized the Christian-democratic, national option as the right path for their country.
The option for a social market economy – which guarantees the EU and its member states stability and progress. The HDZ, together with the CDU, CSU and all other affiliated parties of the EPP, is part of a large family that will continue to work on strengthening an equitable, social, democratic and modern Europe.
September 23rd – a chance for youth from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slavonia
Šuica has launched a call for hiring interns for her office in Brussels that youth from Bosnia and Herzegovina can also apply for! ˝My goal is to provide an opportunity for young, educated people to gain experience working in the EP.˝
˝Bosnia and Herzegovina is also the Croatian homeland! We have to keep supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European path, and this is one of my contributions to this end. Interns will be involved in daily organizational tasks, including preparation for parliamentary sessions, committee meetings and briefings, organizing press conferences, research and reporting, general office duties, assistance in developing projects, etc.˝
To the chagrin of many, the deadline for application expired on October 1st. In accordance with the HDZ's principle of and integrated Croatian, Šuica, although she hails from Dubrovnik, offered this chance to young people from an entirely different region of the country – Slavonia. In fact, she announced the call through the University of Osijek. From Prevlaka to the Danube.
