News

ZAGREB, 25 Nov 2021 - State secretary at the Ministry of Transport, Tomislav Mihotić, confirmed in parliament on Thursday that electronic toll collection (ETC) would be introduced throughout Croatia, and the intention is for the system to be unified in the entire European Union. In the end, there will be no toll booths on the motorway, Mihotić said in response to Marina Opačak Bilić's (Social Democrats Group) question of whether modernizing the ETC was considered, like in some other countries. Presenting the amendments to the roads act, the state secretary said their goal was to ensure free passage through all places…

ZAGREB, 25 Nov 2021 - The remains of at least five persons which, according to preliminary findings, dating back to the Homeland War, were found in the Bobota area in Vukovar-Srijem County on Thursday as part of the tracing of those who disappeared in the 1991-95 war. The war veterans ministry said it had organized the exhumation of the remains and further search of the site. The remains will be taken to the Forensic Medicine Institute in Zagreb for processing and identification. Croatia is still looking for 1,853 persons gone missing in the Homeland War, including 520 from Vukovar-Srijem County. For more on…

ZAGREB, 25 Nov 2021 - The opposition Croatian Sovereignists want the Civil Protection System Act to be amended so that parliament could approve decisions made by the national COVID-19 crisis management team, and began on Thursday to collect signatures to table the motion. The party wants the decisions the team makes to protect people from infectious diseases to enter into force only after being approved by parliament. The crisis management team is an artificially created body with artificial powers which, by its decisions, restricts citizens' liberties, and only parliament should decide on that, MP Marijan Pavliček told the press. MP Vesna Vučemilović…

ZAGREB, 25 Nov 2021 - The Croatian parliament on Thursday observed a minute of silence to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Let us pay tribute to all women who have been victims of violence, and let us raise awareness in society through personal action about the need to protect them, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković told members of parliament. He called on all institutions to step up the punishment of those who commit violence against women. The parliament observed a minute of silence at the incentive of MP Sandra Benčić of the opposition Green-Left Bloc. We…

ZAGREB, 25 Nov 2021 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić on Wednesday expressed concern about narcotics in the military, saying they should be eradicated after a member of the special forces commands tested positive for cocaine. "A clear instruction about zero tolerance has been given. Constant checks are being done. In that way, there are certain results every week and I am sure that we will eradicate this thing from the Croatian Army," the minister told Nova TV. He said this was not a new problem and that no one wanted to tackle it seriously until now. The latest case was discovered on Monday…

ZAGREB, 25 Nov 2021 - Croatia has registered 6,246 new coronavirus cases and 64 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national COVID-19 response team reported on Thursday. Currently, there are 34,953 active cases and 2,529 patients are receiving hospital treatment, including 316 who are placed on ventilators. 29,853 people are self-isolating. Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 589,015 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, of whom 10,569 have died and 543,493 have recovered, including 4,792 in the last 24 hours. A total of 3,396,608 people have been tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to date, including 15,526 in…

November 25, 2021 - A new Hajduk fan song was released on Thursday - a duet including Croatian music icon Mate Mišo Kovač and Split musician Saša Antić, which many may already recognize.  In 1975, Hajduk won the championship, and Mate Mišo Kovač won the Split Festival with the song "I can't help but love her." At the time, he could not even imagine that 46 years later, at the invitation of Hajduk, he would have the opportunity to sing a fan version of the song that has been regularly heard in the stands of his favorite club since the mid-1980s, reports the…

ZAGREB, 25 Nov 2021 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and French President Emmanuel Macron signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement in Government House on Thursday, which will further strengthen relations between Zagreb and Paris. The agreement was signed after their bilateral meeting. France and Croatia already agreed on a strategic partnership in 2010, but the new agreement will expand and deepen it to a number of new areas. It will be a framework for the further strengthening of relations with that country, it was announced. With the new strategic partnership, France is supporting Croatia in several areas, political, economic, and cultural, including those that are…

ZAGREB, 25 Nov 2021 - Croatia and France signed an agreement in Zagreb on Thursday on the purchase of French Rafale fighter jets, which will raise the defense capability of the Croatian Army to a much higher level. The agreement was signed by the two countries' defence ministers, Mario Banožić and Florence Parly, in the presence of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and French President Emmanuel Macron, who arrived on Wednesday for the first official bilateral visit of a French president to Croatia. Croatia is buying from France 12 Dassault Rafale F3R used multipurpose fighter jets - ten single-seats and two…

ZAGREB, 25 Nov 2021 - President Emmanuel Macron said in Zagreb on Thursday that France and Croatia would continue cooperating in the sectors of security and migrations, and hinted at French support for Croatia's plan to join the Schengen Area. Marcon was received by Croatian President Zoran Milanović in his office on Thursday morning with the highest state honors. Addressing the press after their talks, Milanović said that it was a special honor for him to receive the French head of state. Macron said that he was proud of being the first French president to visit Croatia since the country gained independence. He said…