News

May the 6th, 2022 - Croatian residence permits come with certain rules when it comes to travelling outside of the country which vary from case to case, nationality to nationality, and reason for applying. Once you've received your first temporary residence permit, be it valid for a year, two years, three years, four or the full five year stretch before you can typically apply for permanent residence, you're faced with certain limitations when it comes to how long you can be absent from Croatia without risking the termination of your permit. The same is true for permanent residence holders, albeit…

ZAGREB, 5 May 2022 - The right-wing opposition said on Thursday that Croatia was not ready to introduce the euro and that it would lower living standards, while Finance Minister Zdravko Marić talked about the benefits and said much had been done to reduce the negative effects as much as possible. A number of regulations reduce the negative effects of introducing the euro on citizens and employers, from stimulating healthy competitiveness to including civil society associations, Marić said in a debate on the final proposal to adopt the euro as legal tender in Croatia. The benefits are significantly bigger than the damage, he…

ZAGREB, 5 May 2022 - The City of Pula on Thursday marked its day and the 77th liberation anniversary with a City Council session attended by President Zoran Milanović. Congratulating the people of Pula on their day, he recalled the time when "Croatian Partisans added Istria to Croatia" and Istria, notably Pula, was not populated only by Croats. Tens of thousands of people left Istria, he said. "In order to be able to morally ask some things from others, we must admit what happened in Istria. I see this level of maturity and honesty in Istria. I'm glad to look at this multiculturalism…

ZAGREB, 5 May 2022 - The Central State Office for Reconstruction and Housing has agreed on the construction of 216 substitute family houses at 43 locations in the earthquake-struck Banovina region, the Office said in a statement on Thursday. The office said that 59 contracts, worth a total of HRK 180 million (€24m), were signed for this purpose with 11 contractors. Also agreed was the removal of 150 damaged family houses, which would cost HRK 14.12 million (€1.88m) and would be carried out by 12 companies. The office has so far repaired 2,354 family houses and 910 houses are being…

ZAGREB, 5 May 2022 - Female lawmakers from the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Social Democrats, Green-Left Boc, Centre, GLAS, Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS) and Workers' Front announced on Thursday they would once again send a motion to Parliament for abortion to be made available in all hospitals in Croatia. "The case where a child was diagnosed with a malignant tumour in the 26th week of pregnancy and could die, and if it doesn't, it will live like a vegetable has shaken us all but unfortunately, this is just the consequence of a problem that Croatia has been faced with for…

ZAGREB, 5 May 2022 - Delivering a ruling on the right to compensation for overpaid interest for loans pegged to a foreign currency after conversion, the EU Court of Justice has found that these loans fall outside the scope of the consumer protection directive. The court published a decision on Thursday saying that the directive of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts should be interpreted in such a way that contractual provisions that reflect national law under which the seller or service provider was obliged to propose to the consumer an amendment to their original contract by…

ZAGREB, 5 May 2022  - Headquarters Multinational Division Centre (HQ MND-C), an international military initiative launched by Croatia and Hungary, has been integrated into the NATO Force Structure, the Croatian Defence Ministry said on Thursday. Located at Székesfehérvár, Hungary, HQ MND-C was integrated into the NATO Force Structure in line with a decision on activation and integration, made by the North Atlantic Council on 3 May, the ministry said. The commander of HQ MND-C is Major General Denis Tretinjak. "The integration of MND-C into the NATO Force Structure completes the procedure for the integration of this initiative into NATO's security architecture, which will significantly contribute to strengthening the alliance's deterrence and…

ZAGREB, 5 May 2022 - Croatia has recorded 961 new coronavirus cases and nine COVID-related deaths in the past 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Thursday. The number of active cases in the country now stands at 5,621, and 401 patients are being treated in hospital, including 17 placed on ventilators, while 2,746 people are self-isolating. To date, 4,804,096 people have tested for the SARS CoV-2 virus, including 4,421 in the past 24 hours. A total of 5.24 million COVID vaccine doses have been administered, and 59.50% of the total population, or 70.76% of the adult population, have been inoculated, including 68.69% of adults…

ZAGREB, 5 May 2022 - Croatia will give Ukraine a donation worth €5 million at a donor conference taking place in Warsaw on Thursday, and the event will be addressed virtually by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Croatian government on Thursday decided to donate to Ukraine financial aid in the amount of four million euros plus a €1 million worth of water and medicines donated by Croatian companies. "Croatia knows what is means to be attacked and will continue helping Ukraine from the heart and out of principle," PM Andrej Plenković told reporters while arriving for the conference, organised by the…

ZAGREB, 5 May 2022 - The president of the Croatian National Council of BiH, Dragan Čović, on Thursday called on Croatia's leaders, while there is still time, to warn the EU and NATO of the threat of the "gross and organised" outvoting of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina at October's general elections. Čović met separately on Wednesday with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and President Zoran Milanović.  Čović appealed to the two officials to additionally raise the issue and warn of the gross and organised outvoting of the Croat people in BiH within the framework of the international associations they belong to - the EU, NATO, and all others…