Politics

January the 16th, 2022 - There have been a varied range of reactions to the recently revealed official Croatian 2021 Census results, from shock and references to ''catastrophe'' to those who most absolutely expected such an underwhelming result. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, after the Central Bureau of Statistics published the first official data from the Croatian 2021 Census, according to which 3,888,529 people live in the Republic of Croatia, the first reactions have arrived. "We expected the population to be less than 3.8 million," said Croatian demographer Stjepan Sterc, who was a recent guest on N1's live studio. He added…

January the 16th, 2022 - Economic analyst Andrej Grubisic has spoken among a series of others to state his feelings about the recently released official Croatian 2021 Census data, noting an uncomfortable truth about just how many people are employed in the country's public sector. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, economic analyst Andrej Grubisic was a recent guest of N1 on which he commented on the repercussions of a smaller number of residents of the country on the sustainability of the pension system. He says fewer people in the country means that they will see the greatest repercussions of pressure on…

January 15, 2022 - When Croatia achieved international recognition on 15 January 1992, the Homeland War was on and almost one-third of the country was under occupation by the Yugoslav People's Army and Serb rebels. On the evening of 15 January 1992, the then president Franjo Tuđman said that date would be carved in golden letters into the 14-century-long history of the Croatian people on the territory between the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers and the Adriatic Sea. To his associates, he said, "We have created the internationally recognised Croatia. Let's celebrate tonight and then roll up our sleeves in building…

January the 15th, 2022 - The European Commission (EC) has told the Croatian Government that there will categorically be no deadline extension for spending on reconstruction projects for post-earthquake procedures. As Index vijesti writes, the European Commission has refused to extend the deadline for the Republic of Croatia to use the funds from the Solidarity Fund and added that there is no consideration whatsoever being given to the proposed deadline extension of eighteen months to use the funds from the day the money was paid to the country, Jutarnji list unofficially reported. Another Croatian publication, Telegram, has since published accurate quotations…

January the 15th, 2022 - Following former Health Minister Milan Kujundzic's reign, few are likely to easily recalled Sinisa Varga, who served as Croatia's health minister in Zoran Milanovic's centre-left government from 2014 to 2016. The ex minister, otherwise a doctor of dental medicine, has returned to his original vocation. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, at the beginning of the year, former Minister of Health Sinisa Varga, a doctor of dental medicine, opened the Institution for Health Care - Centre for Smiles (Centar za Osmijeh) in Zagreb's Malesnica district. According to a recent announcement, the Sinisa Varga's new dental practice…

ZAGREB, 14 Jan 2022 - Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman on Thursday and Friday attended an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers (Gymnich), organised in Brest by the French Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Croatian ministry said. The meeting opened with a debate by foreign and defence ministers on a revised draft of the EU Strategic Compass. "We welcome the global ambition of this document as well as the fact that it underlines the EU's role in the neighbourhood, including the Western Balkans. We also mentioned the importance of the partnership with the USA and…

ZAGREB, 14 Jan 2022 - The Danish Embassy congratulated Croatia on Friday on 30 years since international recognition and the establishment of diplomatic relations. In cooperation with the Zagreb design studio Beton, the embassy presented a Danish-Croatian logo as a sign of partnership and friendship which will be used for all embassy activities in Croatia this year. The logo is a symbolic platform on which we wish to additionally strengthen our relations. Most projects will be related to sustainable development and the green transition, such as the Green Together exhibition, as well as the common historical and recent links in arts and culture,…

ZAGREB, 14 Jan 2022 - The federation of associations of disabled persons in Croatia is satisfied with the final bills on social welfare whereby the monthly disability allowance has been raised from HRK 1,500 (€200) to HRK 1,750 (€233), and the means test has been abolished for eligibility to this entitlement. Presenting the changes, lawmaker Ljubica Lukačić on Friday explained that the abolishment of the means tests to be eligible for the disability allowance would enable all disabled people, regardless of whether they are employed or receive pensions, to be entitled to the monthly disability allowance. Currently, 40,000 people are eligible…

ZAGREB, 14 Jan 2022 - Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Nataša Tramišak and the director of the Split University Hospital Centre (KBC Split), Julije Meštrović, on Friday visited the construction site of the future Integrated Emergency Services (IES), where building works are being carried out intensively. The minister said that the works are going on according to the plan and the first stage is expected to be completed by the middle of this year. Tramišak revealed that KBC Split has plans and is preparing documents for other strategic projects, including the construction of a new hospital building and that EU funds have been…

ZAGREB, 14 Jan 2022 - Opposition Homeland Movement party deputy leader Mario Radić said on Friday that the results of the latest census showed that Croatia was perishing, with the largest population drops having been registered in peripheral counties due to lack of any state policy for those areas. "Everything that has been happening to us, all the scandals - JANAF, Krš-Pađene, HNB - are resulting in Croatia's going to ruin and the only thing we are doing is trying to prove who is less responsible for it," Radić told a news conference, stressing that two parties (HDZ and SDP) had ruled…