The president highlights some of the problems of Croatia’s fishermen.
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović met yesterday afternoon in Kanegra with representatives of the professional fishermen association “Mare Croaticum” and later toured the Savudrija Bay in a boat. The president once again warned about the slow pace of bureaucracy and state administration with regards to the issuance of licenses to fishermen, reports Novi List on September 17, 2015.
“For years, I have been following the problems of fishermen, even while serving as minister, and today we have talked about specific problems and how we can improve their status”, said president Grabar Kitarović, adding that unfortunately it all “boils down to the slow pace of bureaucracy and state administration which are seeking a lot of permits which are not being issued simultaneously, and some are not even being issued at all”. She believes that such situation has been going on “for too long, and it completely discourages anybody from investing and expanding their businesses”.
According to the president, that area is particularly successful in the field of aquaculture, which is a very profitable business, in contrast to fishing since there is less and less fish. “It is therefore necessary to encourage the development of aquaculture by timely issuance of permits, in accordance with all legal regulations and regional plans. These people deserve to have the state administration which will be a service to the citizens, and not an obstruction. The bureaucracy needs to help them expand their operations, so they would earn enough money to stay in this area, and thus encourage and develop the economy of Istria”, said the president.
Asked if they discussed the issue of the border dispute with Slovenia which is centered on the Savudrija Bay, the president said that they “only touched on the history of this matter”.
“I’m glad that after what has happened with the arbitration process, which is now irretrievably compromised, there have not been any incidents in the Savudrija Bay and the tensions have not been increased”, concluded the Croatian president. She added that, as far as Croatia and she personally are concerned, “the arbitration proceedings are dead”.
