Politics

ZAGREB, 4 August, 2022 - The general government debt at the end of April 2022 was HRK 356.1 billion, 18 billion or 5.3% more than in April 2021, show data from the Croatian National Bank (HNB) while analysts of Raiffeisenbank (RBA) expect the debt to continue growing due to growing needs for financing. The year-on-year increase in the general government debt is due to an increase in both domestic and foreign debt, with domestic debt going up by HRK 7.6 billion or 3.5% compared to the end of April 2021 to HRK 225.9 billion, while foreign debt increased by HRK 10.4 billion or…

ZAGREB, 4 August, 2022 - War Veterans Minister Tomo Medved on Thursday issued a message on the occasion of Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day, saying that Operation Storm heralded peace and an end to the 1991-95 Homeland War. "As we remember the days that heralded peace for our people, we provide consolation and express immense respect to all those for whom the end of the Homeland War did not bring final peace - the families of Croatian defenders gone missing in the war," the minister said in his message. Croatians owe the freedom they live in today to Croatian defenders, and…

ZAGREB, 3 August, 2022 - Several NGOs held a half-hour anti-war protest in Ban Jelačić Square in downtown Zagreb on Wednesday to commemorate people killed and expelled during and in the aftermath of the 1995 Operation Storm, stressing that the crimes committed are the responsibility of the state and should be prosecuted. Participating in the rally were representatives of the Centre for Women Victims of War - ROSA, the Centre for Civil Courage, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, the Association for Social Research and Communications from Sarajevo, and the Women's Network of Croatia, who expressed solidarity with all victims of war and war…

ZAGREB, 3 August, 2022 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić clarified on Wednesday that he will not be able to attend a reception organised by President Zoran Milanović on Thursday ahead of the 27th anniversary of Operation Storm because of his scheduled work obligations. The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is holding a reception for Homeland War commanders at the Knin Fortress on Thursday on the occasion of Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Croatian Veterans Day to mark the 27th anniversary of Operation Storm. Banožić said that two years ago, the Defence Ministry decided to include the President in the event,…

ZAGREB, August 3, 2022 - After a commemoration for the WWII Romani victims of genocide in Uštica, near Jasenovac, on Tuesday, Roma MP Veljko Kajtazi said that this was the first time Roma were starting to speak publicly about the suffering of the Roma people. He noted that today's commemoration was attended by many young Roma people, and that the most senior state officials now attended the commemorative event as well. Asked if he expected an apology from President Zoran Milanović for his latest statements about Roma, Kajtazi would not give a straightforward answer. "I stand by what I have already said…

August the 3rd, 2022 - Are Croatian exchange offices doomed to failure as Croatian Eurozone accession rapidly approaches, and with the sending of the kuna to the history books set to take place on the 1st of January, 2023? As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, six hundred kuna for one hundred euros has become a common amount that is obtained when exchanging these currencies during the height of the summer tourist season when you have to convert money at local Croatian exchange offices. That is all due to alter with the arrival of the euro as the country's official currency, and the need…

ZAGREB, August 2, 2022 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković expressed hope on Monday that the international community's High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Christian Schmidt, will take steps to ensure at least minimal equality for Croats after the elections in that country on 2 October. "We hope that the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, will take steps that will ensure at least minimal equality for Croats after the elections on 2 October," Plenković said during a visit to the southern town of Imotski. He said that the Croatian government stands "firmly with Croats in Bosnia…

ZAGREB, 1 August, 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday that the dismissed chief of staff in Deputy Prime Minister Anja Šimpraga's office, Dalibor Šemper, who has been remanded in pretrial detention after causing a hit-and-run accident and injuring a child, is not a state official and is not connected with the HDZ. "He is not an office holder. He is a civil servant, a man who is not a member of any party, so he has nothing to do with the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) or the SDSS (Independent Democratic Serb Party). He was employed in the government through a regular job…

ZAGREB, 1 August, 2022 - Deputy Prime Minister Anja Šimpraga's chief of staff Dalibor Šemper has been dismissed from his post following a hit-and-run accident on Friday, in which he seriously injured a child while driving under the influence of alcohol. The decision was made during a government conference call on Monday. Šemper (45) has been remanded in one-month pre-trial detention, which was ordered due to the danger of interfering with witnesses and repeating the crime. The Karlovac Municipal Prosecutor's Office has accused him of turning onto the opposite side of the road and hitting a 10-year-old child while under the influence of alcohol. The…

ZAGREB, 31 July, 2022 - Dalibor Šemper, head of the Office of Deputy Prime Minister Anja Šimpraga, has been remanded in investigative custody after seriously injuring a child in a road accident and trying to flee from the scene.  Karlovac County Court investigating judge Elma Kaleb Mamić confirmed to Hina on Sunday after a two-hour hearing that she had upheld the prosecution motion and ordered one-month detention because of the risk of the suspect interfering with witnesses and repeating the crime. The accident occurred on Friday evening in Štikada, near Gračac, about 70 kilometres inland from the coastal city of Zadar.…