Ahead of the presidential elections in the Republic of Croatia, the editorial staff of Croatians Online is launching a series of articles with the aim of bringing the candidates and their election programs closer to Croats in the diaspora.
To all those who have announced their candidacy so far, we asked the same five questions to find out their views on topics of particular interest to Croats abroad, including the right to vote, military service, double taxation and the tax on pensions. We publish the answers we received in alphabetical order according to the last names of the candidates.*
Prof. Ph.D. sc. Branka Lozo is a distinguished Croatian scientist and professor with a permanent title at the Faculty of Graphics of the University of Zagreb and a mother of five children. She announced her candidacy for president of the Republic of Croatia as a representative of the political party Dom i natsionali okupljanje (DOMiNO). Under the slogan "I choose home" in my program she points out that her wish is to return Croatia to Croats.
Read below what Mrs. Lozo told us about the key issues that interest the Croatian emigration.
1. Currently, some Consulates of the Republic of Croatia are overloaded in terms of the amount of work, and it is not possible to get a meeting in them for months. Consequently, do you think that our country has enough consular representations and employees in the Consulates in view of this, but also in view of the increasing interest in the citizenship of the Republic of Croatia?
On the one hand, the Republic of Croatia does not have a sufficient number of Consular Offices in some countries, while on the other hand it has Embassies in numerous countries. The disparity is very noticeable when considering the basic activities of embassies, which are the representation of the Republic of Croatia in a certain country, and services to Croats living in that country, and then the establishment of high-quality trade, cultural and other ties with the host country.
This is precisely where I see a big problem, and I would make uncompromising structural changes. In countries where a small number of Croatian citizens or descendants of emigrant Croats live, or in countries with a small population, I would reduce the number of embassies, and I would introduce ambassadorial services from one center - the state for several such countries, mainly in Europe.
As for the overseas countries, America, Canada, South America and Australia, I would introduce the change in the shortest time in exactly the opposite direction. I would increase the number of consular services and offices so that all Croats, of whom there are many in these large countries, can much more easily get the necessary information about Croatia, so that they can more easily solve administrative issues, submit requests for issuing documents, and so on.
Also, I would strictly supervise that embassies and consular offices stop employing old, well-served staff from the communist era, but that sincere patriots are employed in diplomacy who will work for the welfare of their homeland and its citizens and descendants all over the world.
2. If mandatory military service is introduced in the Republic of Croatia, should, in your opinion, the children of Croatian emigrants who live abroad and have received Croatian citizenship, serve military service in Croatia?
Given that military service is not yet mandatory in Croatia, and it is still planned to be introduced only for young men, my position is that military service for the children of emigrants living abroad would be voluntary, that is, only for those who want it.
3. What is your position on the proposal of Minister Primorc not to tax returnees for a period of five years, and what do you think is the key to (finally) ratifying the Double Tax Treaty? In addition, in your opinion, should returning pensioners be taxed on pensions earned abroad?
Considering the very unfavorable demographic situation in the Republic of Croatia, due to almost mass emigration of entire young families and low natural population growth, it is necessary to encourage Croatian citizens to return to live and work in Croatia. In this regard, I would advocate that the "grace" period, i.e. the tax exemption period, is up to 10 years after moving to Croatia.
Double taxation should be urgently prevented, that is, solved by agreements with all countries, based on the principle that the tax is paid only once, in my opinion, in the country where the income was generated.
In my opinion, pensioners should not be taxed on pensions earned in other countries, after they return to live in Croatia.
4. Do you think that Croatian emigrants, even though they do not live in Croatia, should vote in elections. Why?
Yes, I believe that all Croatian citizens should have the right to vote, regardless of where they live. I would also advocate for the possibility of postal or digital voting.
The reason why I have this attitude is the fact that there are more Croats living outside Croatia than in their homeland, and by enabling voting, these Croats would have a more pronounced sense of belonging to their motherland, they would know that they too have an influence on the internal political organization of Croatia, so maybe in a large number decided to move to live in Croatia.
This way, without the right to vote, they feel rejected, as if they want to completely separate them from their homeland as soon as possible. I am in favor of establishing as close ties as possible between the homeland and the expatriate Croatia.
5. Briefly outline the key points of your program, with special reference to Croatian emigration.
I am in favor of strengthening the sovereignty of the Republic of Croatia with an emphasis on protecting the borders from illegal migration and in every other way.
Furthermore, I stand for the "Croatization" of Croatia, all its institutions, i.e. purification from the spirit of the communist era, which today in the Republic of Croatia is felt in all segments of life, from politics, the educational system, cultural institutions, by allowing and financing the ideas of the "Serbian world", and the rest.
My wish is to return Croatia to the Croats, to restore pride to the Croatian citizens, to free them from everything that "bends their spines". I would bring a Declaration on the crimes of Josip Broz Tito and forbid that not a single street or square in Croatia bear his name and that all the crimes of the communist era be investigated.
I am in favor of strengthening the military training of Croatian young men in the mandatory military term of 4 months or more, mandatory for young men and voluntary for girls. I am also in favor of strengthening the professional army and restoring the USA as a strategic military partner.
I would use various measures to promote the return of displaced Croats to their homeland and their investment in the economy, industrial plants, and crafts. I would make it possible for everyone who needs it to learn the Croatian language - spouses and descendants. I would make it easier for them to integrate into schools in other ways as well. Tax benefits for returnees would last for at least 10 years. For Croats living in other countries, I would open consular services and offices, as I have already explained. I would strengthen the work of Croatian teachers in schools abroad and I would make sure that Croatian, not Serbian, is taught. I would apply the same to universities.
I want to stop the penetration of ideas of gender ideology, which is very openly promoted from the children's kindergarten age onwards, and I would prosecute all those responsible for operative "change" of sex, because it is a matter of permanent and irreversible mutilation of children.
I stand for the economic development of the country, for the development of agriculture and food independence of the country, for energy independence, for the preservation of natural resources and a dignified life for pensioners and the poor.
I would use the presidential influence to persuade the Pope to declare the Blessed. Aloysius Stepinac to the saints.
About Branka Lozo
Prof. Ph.D. sc. Branka Lozo, full professor in permanent position and scientific advisor in permanent position, maiden Vodopija, was born on November 1, 1961 in Zagreb, where after finishing the Classical High School she graduated, master's and doctorate at the Faculty of Graphics, University of Zagreb. She is the winner of the Rector's award for ac. year 1984/85.
She carried out her scientific training during the preparation of her doctoral dissertation at the Laboratory of Forest Products Chemistry at the Helsinki University of Technology, and at the PFI Institute at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim as a scholarship holder of the European Science Foundation. After completing her doctoral dissertation, she spent an ac. year 2006/07 as a visiting scientist at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Ljubljana, and trained at the Center Technique du Papier in Grenoble.
In addition to his home institution, he also teaches at the doctoral studies at the University of Ljubljana. In 2011, she won the university award for teaching in English. She was a mentor for a total of four defended doctoral dissertations, two of which were in English, and one at the University of Ljubljana.
She was the manager of the "Innovative graphic materials" project, as well as the manager of two bilateral scientific projects, with Slovenia and Germany. She was the representative of Croatia in 6 international COST projects, for one COST project she was the representative of the Grant Holder for the parent institution. During her working life, she enabled the employment of three young researchers, scientific novices, by providing funds for two of them from the foreign collaborating institutions Bumaga and IGT Testing Systems from the Netherlands.
She was a member of the Matric Committee for the field of technical sciences, and a member of the Technical Field Council of the University of Zagreb.
For the international association "Iarigai", he has been acting as the General Secretary since 2015. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the European association "Efpro" from 2015 to 2019.
She was the General Chair of the NIP/Printing technology congress in 2014 in Philadelphia, organized by IS&T, and the Publication Chair in 2013 in Seattle, for which engagements she was the winner of "The Society for Imagining Science and Technology Service Award" in 2015.
She has been a guest editor for JIST - Journal for Imaging Science and Technology since 2015, and is a member of the editorial board of Cellulosa si Hartie from 2009 onwards and Acta Graphica from 2009 to 2015. She is the editor of 5 collections of papers from scientific meetings, and is a member of program committees for about 20 international congresses.
She is the vice-president of the Dom and National Gathering party. He and his wife have five children.
*At the time of sending the questions to the presidential candidates, eleven people announced their candidacy. Candidates who joined later will receive the questions later.
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