Politics

ZAGREB, 20 Jan 2022 - Opposition MPs on Wednesday criticized a report on European Council meetings in 2021, warning about population problems, the poor status of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, higher energy prices, and inflation, while the majority said Croatia's interests were defended well at those meetings. The report was presented by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. Nino Raspudić (Bridge) said the Council of the EU rejected Croatia's amendments on legitimate political representation and the equality of three constituent peoples in BiH through an electoral reform ahead of a vote due in October. He said that instead of Croatia blocking those conclusions in line…

ZAGREB, 20 Jan 2022 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić said on Wednesday he was satisfied with a report by the chief defense inspector "given the circumstances in which the inspection was conducted" and invited President Zoran Milanović to declassify his own requests. Speaking to Jutarnji List daily, Banožić recalled: "a statement of 4 November 2021, at the start of the inspection, when President Milanović exerted gross pressure on the chief defense inspector by saying that 'they are saying in (power utility) HEP that the chief defense inspector's wife has been appointed director temporarily'." Thereby, Banožić said, Milanović "showed what the chief…

ZAGREB, 20 Jan 2022 - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday the EU should give a clear European perspective to the Western Balkans although he is not an advocate of enlargement without reforming the EU, while several Croatian MEPs feel that part of Europe is important to him for security reasons. We must not distance ourselves from the Western Balkans anymore. They should get from us a clear perspective of EU accession within a reasonable time, Macron said at a plenary in Strasbourg, but added that enlargement is not possible without reforming the EU. Croatian MEP Tonino Picula (S&D/SDP) told Hina "Macron is looking for his…

ZAGREB, 19 Jan 2022 - Labour Minister Josip Aladrović said on Wednesday that he was confident 2022 would be the best year in the past 30 years regarding the labour market. Aladrović made the statement while answering a question by HDZ MP Ankica Zmajić on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the labour market during Question Time in the parliament. The minister said he based his optimism on data which showed that at the end of 2021 there were 35,000 more insured persons than in 2020, adding that positive indicators were visible also in the first 18 days of…

ZAGREB, 19 Jan 2022 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday that Croatia would react "clearly and resolutely" if Russia attacked Ukraine. Russia has caused concern in Kyiv and the West by amassing troops and equipment near the border with Ukraine and there are fears that it is preparing for an attack. Moscow denies this and says it has the right to deploy its troops on its territory any way it wants. Speaking in the Croatian parliament, Plenković said that the situation in the east of Ukraine was very worrying and the tensest since 2014 and conflicts between…

ZAGREB, 19 Jan 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday that the insider trading case involving Croatian National Bank (HNB) employees had nothing to do with his Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party. "This thing at the HNB has nothing to do with the HDZ," Plenković said in response to a question from Sandra Benčić (We Can!) during Question Time in Parliament. She accused the prime minister that he had made it possible through rules and regulations for HNB employees to trade in bonds and shares of banks supervised by the central bank and thus allowed the elite to…

ZAGREB, 19 Jan 2022 - During Question Time in the Sabor on Wednesday, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that the government might once again limit the prices of fuel if they increased again next week. "If we estimate that prices will increase next week, we will again limit the prices of all fuels, except for premium fuel," Plenković told MP Miro Bulj (Bridge) who claimed that Croatia currently had the most expensive fuel and that fuel prices were increasing while the price of crude oil was decreasing. Plenković recalled that the government had capped the fuel prices three months ago at HRK…

ZAGREB, 19 Jan 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Wednesday called out Social Democratic Party MP Siniša Hajdaš Dončić for alluding in his questions about the purchase of Rafale fighter jets to corruptive activities between him and French President Emmanuel Macron. The MP asked during Question Time how much the 12 French aircraft cost. "Since you are the president of a party convicted of political corruption and a French commission investigated a procurement of planes with India, I'd like to know why you don't show citizens that agreement. Will you make it public or not?" "You are directly alluding to…

ZAGREB, 19 Jan 2022 - The government will design a package of measures to buffer energy price hikes for citizens if prices continue to rise, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in parliament on Wednesday during Question Time. If prices continue to rise, besides capping fuel prices, we will raise allowances for socially vulnerable households, and as for electricity and gas prices, we will rely on (power utility) HEP, which can share the burden and buffer the blow to citizens, he told Mirela Ahmetović of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who asked what he planned to do about price rises. As a third…

January the 19th, 2022 - There are many things responsible for the ongoing Croatian demographic crisis, from corruption to salaries to a bad economy, the list goes on and on. Croatian youth typically live with their parents for far longer than we see in most other European countries (with the exception of a few similar ones), could this be why they'd rather take their chances abroad? As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, in the media presentation of the results of last year's damning census, the increase in housing units was singled out as a surprise, but this is not really unexpected. In…