Initiative by Subotica authorities not good for neighbourly relations

Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Thursday that the initiative to introduce the language of the Bunjevci in official use in Subotica is "not in the spirit of good-neighbourly relations"

Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Thursday that the initiative to introduce the language of the Bunjevci in official use in Subotica is "not in the spirit of good-neighbourly relations" and called on the relevant bodies in Serbia to re-examine that decision.

Subotica city authorities today adopted a decision to amend the City Statute to allow for the introduction of the language of the Bunjevci as an official language in this city despite the objections by the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina (DSHV).

DSHV, Croatian National Council and Institute for the Croatian Language harshly opposed the initiative while Croatia's Ambassador to Serbia, Hidajet Biščević, believes that the proposal is legislatively and legally unfounded.

Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Ministry sent a protest note through its embassy on Tuesday.

"The Bunjevci dialect is not a language. It belongs to the new Stokavian-Ikavian dialect, it is one of the dialects of the Croatian language. The Bunjevci people in Hungary are also a sub-ethnic group who call their language Croatian," Grlić Radman told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

In its protest note, the ministry said that "launching such initiatives would not contribute to further improving and strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries, and it is not in accordance with nor in the spirit of EU standards or good neighbourly relations," and it would be a breach of the obligations of bilateral and international agreements on minority rights, underscored Grlić Radman.

The ministry called on the competent authorities in Serbia to re-examine that decision while Grlić Radman contacted his Serbian counterpart Nikola Selaković on Wednesday and said that they would speak again, probably on Friday.

According to the law in Serbia, the language of a minority is introduced in official use if there is at least 15% of the population of a local government unit who belong to a particular minority. There are only about 9% of the Bunjevci minority in Vojvodina.

"This is not in accordance with the statute, but a political act," Croatia's minister said.

Protection of migrant workers

Grlić Radman spoke about points discussed during the closed part of today's cabinet session.

Last year the European Commission launched proceedings before the EU Court against Austria for discrimination of foreign workers regarding the amount of child endowment paid, and in October last year Croatia submitted a request to the EU Court for an intervention in support of the EC in the case against Austria.

According to Austrian law, foreign and EU citizens working in Austria are paid a lower child endowment if their children do not live in Austria.

The EC considers that that is not in accordance with EU regulations.

The EU Court upheld Croatia's intervention in January, Grlić Radman explained.

Croatia supported the EC's complaint because "Croatian migrant workers and migrant workers from other EU countries are in an unequal position regarding income pertaining to family allowances and eligibility for social and tax reliefs," Grlić Radman underlined.

Text: Hina/MFEA

 

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