Politics

ZAGREB, 16 Oct, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Saturday that he did not consider today's HDZ to be a criminal organisation due to the Supreme Court's ruling in the Fimi Media case, but he noted that PM Andrej Plenković's statement, in which he linked the ruling with Milanović's rhetoric, was "silly". "I think that it is irresponsible to link the ruling, whereby the Supreme Court actually upheld a lower court's ruling, with my statements. The idea that my rhetoric had influence on the Supreme Court's decision is silly," he told reporters during a visit to Samobor, a town west of…

ZAGREB, 15 Oct 2021 - Radovan Dobronić, a Commercial Court judge, was appointed by the Croatian Parliament on Friday as new Supreme Court President. The legislature voted 120 to 3 to approve his appointment, ending the months-long imbroglio about the selection, nomination and confirmation of the new chief justice. Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said that Dobronić would be sworn in on Monday. The Supreme Court President also serves as the head of the State Election Commission (DIP). Dobronić, who was nominated by President Zoran Milanović, was given a positive assessment by the parliamentary Judiciary Committee. Judge Marin Mrčela, too, was assessed positively, however,…

ZAGREB, 15 Oct 2021 - Croatian parliamentary parties on Friday welcomed the adoption of the law ratifying the Croatian-German Visiting Forces Agreement, with some expressing concern about the article on criminal jurisdiction and coercive measures. The agreement concerns temporary stays of members of the armed forces of Croatia and the armed forces of Germany in the territory of the other state. "We are concerned about the article on criminal jurisdiction and coercive measures, which narrows the right to exercise criminal jurisdiction over members of the armed forces of the sending state," Vili Matula of the Left-Green Bloc said during the discussion. "It is not…

ZAGREB, 15 Oct 2021 - The Croatian Medical Chamber (HLK) and Croatian Medical Association (HLZ) on Friday condemned the anti-vaxxer protest outside Health Minister Vili Beroš's home. About a dozen citizens gathered outside Beroš's home on Thursday evening after a Religious Instruction teacher from Križevci called on them to do so on his Facebook profile. In the post entitled "House visit to COVID response team", Ivan Pokupac wrote that they would come unannounced in front of the home of one member of the national response team every day and stand around for 15 minutes to let them, their families and neighbours…

ZAGREB, 15 Oct 2021 - Independent member of parliament Karolina Vidović Krišto said on Friday she had collected signatures of 34 lawmakers for her initiative to launch a no-confidence vote in Finance Minister Zdravko Marić because he had stayed on a yacht owned by a private businessman this summer. Vidović-Krišto said that she was glad that the initiative was supported by 34 MPs from different ideological groups. "This is great news for citizens, as the MPs have overcome their partisan frameworks and are fighting for the common good, and that is the fight against corruption," she told a news conference in the parliament. She…

ZAGREB, 15 Oct 2021 - In the second quarter of this year, 1.69 million people in Croatia were gainfully employed, while 146,000 were unemployed, and the survey unemployment rate was 8%, according to a labor force survey carried out by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS). The survey found that of the 146,000 unemployed people, 89,000 or 61.3% were registered with the employment bureau and the remaining 38,7% were not. At the same time, of 138,000 job seekers registered with the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ), 48,000, or 35.1% did not meet the international employment criteria. The survey showed that in the…

ZAGREB, 15 Oct 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš on Thursday told parents who had demonstrated in front of his home against restrictions on visits to sick children that he understood their dissatisfaction, but that the place for dealing with such matters should be the Health Ministry. "Neither the Health Ministry nor epidemiologists limited the duration of visits to your sick children," Beroš told a group of parents who had said on Facebook they were protesting because the duration of visits to their sick children was limited to 15 minutes. The minister said that the national COVID-19 crisis management team and…

ZAGREB, 15 October, 2021 - The Croatian parliament broke off its meeting on Thursday evening after opposition MPs obstructed discussion on the appointment of Robert Šveb as Director-General of the HRT public broadcasting service.  "This is democracy opposition style," said deputy speaker Ante Sanader of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) as the opposition lawmakers lined up in front of the rostrum. He then adjourned the meeting until Friday, when the amendments discussed this week would be put to a vote. The opposition claims that Šveb is in a potential conflict of interest and that his appointment is a farce because he…

ZAGREB, 14 October, 2021 - The farcical call for applications for the HRT public broadcaster's director general shows the need for urgently amending the HRT Act, the Croatian Journalists Association's  (HND) Croatian Television branch and the Croatian Journalists Trade Union (SNH) said on Thursday. They accused the government and Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek of inaction. The Andrej Plenković cabinet had enough time, the law could have but has not been amended, for which the Culture and Media Ministry, with the minister at the helm, is also responsible, the HND and the SNH said in a press release. They said they could…

ZAGREB, 14 October, 2021 - Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić told a news conference on Thursday that household gas prices in Croatia would not change until 1 April 2022. The correction of the price of gas supplies for households can be expected after 1 April 2022, the minister said, adding that "certain actions in the coming period and bringing more order and stabilisation to gas prices on the global market will result in a much lower gas price rise (in Croatia) than the hikes affecting residents of most EU member states currently." Asked by reporters to comment on Zagreb's Gradska Plinara, the city-run company…