PM calls for enabling Serbia Croats to enjoy same rights as ethnic Serbs in Croatia

The government advocates the same rights for the Croats in Serbia as the rights which the Serbs enjoy in Croatia, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at a traditional Christmas Eve reception which the Serb National Council (SNV) held in Zagreb today.

Addressing the press after the reception which the SNV traditionally holds for Christmas, celebrated on 7 January by Orthodox believers according to the Julian calendar, Plenković said that the authorities in Croatia and ethnic Serb minority established "partnership, dialogue, cooperation through projects, and first of all, political trust that has provided Croatia with strong political stability in the last eight years."

He said that his cabinet advocates the same rights for the Croats in Serbia notably when it comes to the implementation of the agreements between Croatia and Serbia  which should make it possible for the Serbia Croats to have their political representatives at the national level, that is in Serbia's parliament, and in Vojvodina's parliament.

In 2023, the Croatia-Serbia relations were marked by the opening of the Croatian House in Subotica and meetings with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, however the dialogue has decelerated in the recent months due to the snap elections in Serbia, Plenković recalled.

In November, Serbia expelled a Croatian diplomat from Belgrade over the alleged espionage, and Zagreb reciprocated.

Plenković today dismissed allegations about the espionage scandal and said that the developments in November were unnecessary.

That was a part of the context in the run-up to the elections. I am more concerned about the fact that the Democratic Party of Vojvodina Croats (DSHV) did not manage to win a seat in Serbia's parliament after that party had a deputy in the previous parliament, said the Croatian PM.

Text: Hina
 

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