Politics

ZAGREB, 27 Oct 2021 - Zagreb schools are in serious financial problems because the city has been late for months with the payments it owes them as their founder, Jutarnji List daily said on Wednesday. Due to the budget deficit encountered upon coming to power, the new city administration is evidently at quite a tight stop, and schools are affected, the paper said. Headmasters have confirmed that the last payment they received from the city for energy was in August to pay the bills for March, for food in September to pay the bills for April, and only this week to cover the material costs of the last…

ZAGREB, 27 Oct 2021 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović on Tuesday held talks with Milorad Dodik, the representative of the Serb people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the president's office said in a press release. The meeting with the Serb member of the tripartite BiH Presidency was part of Milanović's activities that are aimed at achieving the stability and functioning of BiH as well as the legitimate representation of all three constituent peoples in line with the Dayton peace agreement, the press release said. For that purpose, the president already met with Bakir Izetbegović, the representative of the Bosniak people, and with…

October the 27th, 2021 - Finance Minister Maric has been discussing the completion of the rebalance of the state budget for 2022, and has stated that all of the processes and procedures which need to be done have been passed, as reported by N1. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Finance Minister Maric stated that the rebalance and domestic economic growth is higher than expected, that he and his team are busy finalising the macroeconomic projections and that they're going over 8 percent, which is a very good result and we can be satisfied with it. ''The Republic of Croatia will reach…

ZAGREB, 26 October, 2021 - The Vukovar City Council decided on Tuesday by a majority vote that conditions had not yet been met to enhance the rights of local Serbs, primarily the right to bilingual official signs in the area of this eastern Croatian city. The Council adopted a conclusion which reads that the degree of mutual understanding, solidarity, tolerance and dialogue among residents of Vukovar -- the Croats and members of the Serb ethnic minority -- had not reached the benchmarks required to upgrade the rights of ethnic Serbs, and this primarily refers to the use of the Cyrillic script. Under recommendations…

ZAGREB, 26 October, 2021 - MP Marijana Puljak of the Centre party said on Tuesday that the Split city administration had not signed a contract for a HRK 135 million loan with OTP Bank but had just agreed an overdraft, to be used if necessary. Split city councillor Davor Matijević of the Social Democratic Party said last Friday that Mayor Ivica Puljak had signed a HRK 135 million loan agreement with OTP Bank in mid-July about which the public and the partners in the then ruling majority knew nothing. "The SDP has evidently never had a bank account with an overdraft.…

ZAGREB, 26 October, 2021 - Bosnia and Herzegovina can function better only if all its constituent peoples are satisfied, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Zagreb on Tuesday, stressing that it is necessary to ensure that the Croats choose their own representatives at all levels of government by themselves. "Our position towards Bosnia and Herzegovina is clear and friendly," Plenković told reporters after a meeting of the ruling coalition. Bosnia and Herzegovina can function better, it can be easier for it on its reform path and it can be faster on its EU journey only if all its constituent peoples…

ZAGREB, 26 October, 2021 - The Voice of Entrepreneurs (UGP) association believes that the healthcare reform being proposed by Health Minister Vili Beroš is disastrous for Croatian entrepreneurs, citizens and the economy. UGP is particularly critical towards the sections of the proposals that appeared in media reports on Monday according to which sick leave and maternity leave will not be paid by the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO), and that young people under the age of 30 will lose the benefits they were entitled to until now. "The question is who is going to pay for sick leave and maternity leave…

ZAGREB, 25 Oct 2021 - Croatia and India wish to improve bilateral relations, notably cultural cooperation, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Indian Council for Cultural Relations Director General Dinesh Patnaik said on Monday. They met in Zagreb to discuss the development of the relations between the two countries, notably through the 2019-22 cultural exchange program between the two governments, and preparations for an international Roma conference to take place in Zagreb in April, the government said in a press release. Plenković said he wished for the bilateral relations to intensify, adding that the EU-India strategic partnership which began in 2018 and the future…

ZAGREB, 25 Oct 2021 - The Croatian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday strongly condemned the frequent attacks on Croatian symbols in that country and warned that these are serious incidents that authorities in the country must not ignore as they create feelings of fear and insecurity. After a monument to killed soldiers of the Croatian Defence Forces (HVO) had been desecrated in Vitez over the weekend, the embassy today issued a statement to condemn in the strongest terms the incident and underscore that the Vitez case, as well as another recent incident against the Catholic church in Bihać, are just two in a series…

ZAGREB, 25 Oct 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday received Ljerka Perešin, the widow of the legendary Croatian pilot, Brigadier Rudolf Perešin, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his flight with a Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) MiG-21 fighter jet from Bihać to Austria. On 25 October 1991, Perešin, a Croat, defected from the JNA from Bihać to Klagenfurt and joined the Croatian Army. His plane was returned from Austria to Croatia in 2019 owing to the efforts of former defense minister Damir Krstičević and Croatia's diplomacy. Perešin is known for his statement in Klagenfurt: "I'm a Croat and I cannot…