News

ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 - Two multi-purpose Black Hawk (UH-60M) helicopters, donated to Croatia by the USA, were presented at the Pleso military airbase on Wednesday, with Defence Minister Mario Banožić participating in the first test flight. The two Black Hawk helicopters and their equipment are valued at $138 million, with $53 million provided by the US government and $85 million by the Defence Ministry. The helicopters will primarily be used to transport people and equipment. They can transport up to 11 passengers and two technical pilots. They can develop a speed of up to 360 kilometres per hour, their ceiling altitude…

ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 - President Zoran Milanović repeated on Wednesday that Serbia should watch its actions and that he was only asking for "a fair relationship" between the two countries, adding that Croatia could have indicted Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić but made a political decision not to do it. "Look at what is happening to Sweden which wants to join NATO. Maybe it had reason to be arrogant towards Turkey over the past 30 years but now it is asking for mercy. So, watch what you say and do because what goes around comes around," Milanović said in a message…

ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 2022 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić told a press conference on Wednesday he respected the decision of the Conflict of Interest Commission, which fined him HRK 7,000 for granting himself an official apartment, but he does not want to return the apartment to the state property management company. During a ceremony for the handover of the Black Hawk helicopters, donated by the United States, the Croatian defence minister recalled the period when he was the state assets minister. In September 2019, Banožić signed a decision granting himself an official 92-square-metre apartment in Gundulićeva Street in Zagreb.…

ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 - The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) has indicted ten Croatians, including the Mayor of Nova Gradiška, Vinko Grgić, former Velika Gorica mayor Dražen Barišić and entrepreneur Krešo Petek. The EPPO reported that the indictment was filed after an investigation of active and passive corruption and abuse of office between 2018 and 2021. All four cases are related to construction projects with a total value of €22.6 million and the damage to the EU budget was largely prevented thanks to the efficacy of the investigators, the EPPO said in a statement. Corruption in Nova Gradiška Mayor Grgić is being…

ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 - Small farmers in the EU could soon receive up to €15,000 in one-off aid and agricultural SMEs up to €100,000 thanks to a Croatian initiative. Croatia launched the initiative at a meeting of agriculture ministers last month and it was supported by 13 member states. According to the initiative, due to the hikes in energy, fertiliser and animal feed prices, every member state would pay small farmers and agricultural SMEs up to 5% of their budgets as part of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development for 2011 and 2022. The Commission endorsed the initiative and last week proposed a decree which the agriculture…

ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 - Due to the war in Ukraine, Western Balkan countries seek accelerated EU accession, but Brussels officials say there is no political will among the 27 member states for their accession and that their entering too quickly makes no sense. At an Adriatic-Ionian region forum held in Tirana last week, ten countries signed a declaration calling on the EU to step up the journey of the Western Balkan countries as their accession would be an investment in a stable, strong and united Europe. EU enlargement is a policy which has always exported peace and stability to…

ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 - Less than one third of citizens think Croatia is ready to introduce the euro on 1 January 2023 and a big majority, fears the introduction will lead to tacit price rises, according to the findings of a survey presented on Wednesday. The survey was initiated by MEP Biljana Borzan and conducted by the Hendal agency in March and April, covering 805 respondents. The findings show that 29.9% agree with the claim that Croatia is not ready to introduce the euro on 1 January 2023, while 45.5% do not agree and 24.7% neither agree nor disagree. Also, 86.2% of…

ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 - In the past 24 hours, 587 coronavirus cases, out of 3,826 tests, and three related deaths were registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Wednesday. There are 2,895 active cases, including 240 hospitalised patients, five of whom are on ventilators, while 1,028 persons are self-isolating. To date, Croatia has registered 1,135,128 coronavirus cases, the death toll is 15,973, and 70.79% of the adult population has been vaccinated, including 68.73% fully.  

May the 25th, 2022 - The new Law on Tourist Boards and the Promotion of Croatian Tourism, more precisely the legal provisions which entered into force on the 1st of January this year, has made it so that the term of office of elected directors of tourist boards will now last for four years, and contracts concluded for indefinite periods will be changed to fixed-term contracts. Bol Tourist Board director Markito Marinkovic has taken his argument all the way to the Constitutional Court. As Dalmatinski portal writes, this resulted in some very serious headaches to multiple local tourist boards. More and…

May 25, 2022 - The Bol&Culture tourism film has won the Golden Bear Award in the “Art & Culture” category! Everybody knows that the sun and the sea are not enough for memorable summer holidays anymore. The town of Bol on the island of Brač, a famous Croatian tourist destination, is especially aware of that. This picturesque town has a rich and versatile offer irresistible for international and domestic visitors. Apart from the cycling tourism and many other sports activities and one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Golden Horn (Zlatni Rat), the citizens of Bol also take pride…