Politics

ZAGREB, 3 Feb 2022 - Ahead of a parliamentary debate on a government report on the effects of epidemiological measures taken to fight coronavirus between 1 September and the end of December 2021, the issue of COVID certificates divided the parliamentary majority and opposition deputies. Opposition deputies stressed that the introduction of those certificates was the worst decision in the two years of the pandemic and that they should be abolished while the ruling HDZ insisted the certificates had to be kept. Abolishing the certificates would leave us within our borders, and we want to be European citizens and travel, said…

ZAGREB, 3 Feb 2022 - The price of natural gas for households is to increase by an average of 78% per kilowatt-hour as of 1 April if the VAT rate remains at 25%, shows a projection of the price of gas for households, made by experts of the Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency (HERA). Given that Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić has been announcing for more than three months that the government's measures aimed at alleviating the impact of rising energy prices on consumers will include a reduction of the VAT rate and that it will not stay at 25%, HERA has made three calculations of…

February 3, 2022 - Croatia continues to increase its military capacity, after acquiring the 12 Rafale jets from France in November and the 89 Bradley fighting vehicles from the United States in January, now awaits the arrival of two Black Hawk helicopters today. Two UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters arrive in Croatia today, reports HRT News. Both helicopters will be delivered to Zagreb's Franjo Tuđman airport via a US military plane for strategic transport. It is a donation from the United States, and Croatia will buy two more of such helicopters and set aside up to $100 million for them.  The helicopters will be…

ZAGREB, 2 Feb 2022 - Members of the Croatian Parliament's Home Affairs and National Security Committee on Wednesday failed to agree on whether the attack committed by Danijel Bezuk on government offices in Zagreb in October 2020 was an act of an individual or if certain social and political groups were behind it.  "Conclusions have been adopted but there will be dissenting opinions, by me and Mišel Jakšić, because we partly did not agree with the position of the ruling party," Committee chair Siniša Hajdaš Dončić of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said after the session. "My impression is that it…

ZAGREB, 2 Feb 2022 - Parliamentary opposition parties on Wednesday mostly agreed with President Zoran Milanović's statement that if only half of what whistleblower Maja Đerek had said about the Državne Nekretnine state property management company was true, it was reason enough for the government to fall. Social Democrat Ivana Posavec Krivec said there was no reason to doubt Đerek's statement and that Parliament should investigate further.  Bridge's Marija Selak Raspudić said that the government should fall first and foremost because of its failure to rebuild Zagreb and the Banovina region after the earthquakes, and because of its incompetence and irresponsibility which…

ZAGREB, 2 Feb 2022 - The parliamentary opposition on Wednesday strongly criticised amendments to a set of laws regulating the judiciary, noting that contrary to the government's claims, they did not constitute a reform, yet members of the parliamentary majority confirm the amendments "are a step forward." "This is yet another fake reform, an attempt to show that something is being done with the aim of actually preventing any radical change in the judiciary," said Sandra Benčić of the Green-Left Bloc. Peđa Grbin of the Social Democratic Party, too, believes the proposed amendments would not result in any improvement to the…

ZAGREB, 2 Feb 2022 - PM Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday upon the conclusion of a session of the parliament's National Security Committee, that discussions included creating an atmosphere in society that would reduce hate speech.  Discussions were motivated by the 2020 attack on the government headquarters by Danijel Bezuk, which was condemed as a terrorist attack. "We discussed the terrorist attack of October 2020. Everyone agreed that it was a terrorist attack and an unacceptable act, and we discussed ways to create an atmosphere in society that will reduce hate speech which, when it evolves, unfortunately can lead to cases like this…

ZAGREB, 2 Feb 2022 - The agriculture ministry has prepared two programmes to alleviate the impact of growing costs on farms and fisheries. The aid scheme for mitigating costs during the spring sowing season is worth HRK 80 million, while the aid scheme for fishermen and livestock farmers is worth HRK 50 million. The draft aid schemes will be forwarded in the coming days to the European Commission to give its consent and comments, the ministry reported on Wednesday. Apart from these two packages, the ministry is also seeking a way to help cattle breeders who have not been entitled to…

ZAGREB, 1 Feb 2022 - The ruling HDZ's political secretary said on Tuesday that with his latest statements, President Zoran Milanović was trying to remove the government, waging a political coup against it and meddling in the work of state institutions, which he said was unprecedented in Croatian history. "Since 2000, this is the first time that the president of the republic is waging a political coup against the Croatian government and trying to remove the government, and all based on a whistleblower," Ante Sanader told the press. He said the president was also exerting direct pressure on institutions and estimated that he "became…

ZAGREB, 1 Feb 2022 - There is no European, Western European or EU stability without Russia and it is necessary to reach an agreement with it, Croatian President Zoran Milanović said on Tuesday, accusing the West of inciting a war that he hopes will not break out. "I don't even want one Ukrainian to be killed, even one Russian. As for Croats, not a chance," he told the press. "There is no European stability, no Western European stability or European Union stability without Russia in the equation, and it's necessary to reach an agreement with Russia." After telling a female journalist…