Politics

ZAGREB, 24 Sept 2021 - The Croatian DOK-ING company on Friday signed a letter of intent with the Croatian Orqa and Slovenian MIL Sistemika, Bijol and Defensphere OU companies on forming a consortium of complementary companies in the field of security and defence. An agreement was signed at the same time between Croatian and Slovenian defence industry competitiveness clusters with the aim of supporting the two countries' defence industries in absorbing available EU funds. The signing ceremony was held at the 8th International SOBRA Defence, Security, Protection and Rescue fair, which is being held from 23 to 25 September in…

September 24, 2021 - The Energy And Climate Change Program published three public calls for green energy projects. The deadline for new ideas is November 24. Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar (EIHP) is already enrolled in the DANUP-2-Gas Project (concerned with introducing renewable energy to the Danube region) and the REPLACE Project (for replacing current heating and cooling systems in Primorska Goranska county with eco-friendly variants). But, this doesn't mean that it isn't keeping an eye for new initiatives and endeavors in the energy-efficient sector. In part of the „Energy and Climate Change“ (ECC) Program, the EIHP informs that the first three calls…

ZAGREB, 24 Sept 2021 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović supported in the UN on Friday the establishment of healthier, more sustainable and more just food systems and progress in all sustainable development targets, with special emphasis on food security as the most important global target. He was speaking at a virtual summit on food systems held as part of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres presiding. The summit sets a foundation for the transformation of global food systems in order to step up recovery from COVID-19 and achieve sustainable development targets by 2030. We are increasingly witness…

ZAGREB, 24 Sept 2021 - Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman met with representatives of the Croatian Fraternal Union in Pittsburgh on Thursday, thanking them for the assistance in the creation of the Croatian state, during the Homeland War, and after last year's earthquakes. "The Croatian Fraternal Union is the oldest Croatian diaspora organisation which today, as it has done during the 127 years of its existence, is working on the promotion of Croatian identity and Croatia, caring for and connecting the community of Croats whom life has taken to faraway parts of the world," the minister said. The Croatian government will continue to support and strengthen the cooperation…

ZAGREB, 23 Sept 2021 - The government on Thursday sent a referendum bill to parliament with the aim to improve the vague referendum legislation, notably concerning referendum petitions by people's initiatives. The bill aligns the legal aspects of referendums with the constitution, removes the shortcomings and vagueness of the current law, and ensures referendum transparency and openness, as well as a more effective influence of citizens in political decision making, Justice, and Public Administration Minister Ivan Malenica, said at a cabinet meeting. The bill incorporates recommendations from the Council of Europe Venice Commission, he added. For the first time, the bill…

ZAGREB, 23 Sept 2021 -  Health Minister Vili Beroš informed a cabinet meeting on Thursday that the number of health workers who have been inoculated has increased, adding that almost 90% of doctors have been vaccinated against COVID. "So far nine out of ten doctors in Croatia have been vaccinated. Last week the increase in the number of people inoculated in the healthcare sector was two and a half times greater than the week before that." "With 68% of health workers inoculated, and those who have obtained immunity after recovering from COVID, and with the introduction of COVID certificates in the healthcare system in…

ZAGREB, 23 Sept 2021 - Members of the nurses union protested in downtown Zagreb on Thursday, saying there was no Health Ministry plan to improve their status and that they were being threatened and forced to get vaccinated against COVID-19. They pointed to problems with inadequately paid overtime, job classification, accelerated retirement, and the recognition of university education. Nurses said they were aware of their responsibility towards patients but that due to everyday fatigue and stress, they were becoming patients themselves. They said COVID certificates in healthcare were unenforceable and that the rate of vaccination was so high that the minister…

ZAGREB, 23 Sept 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that he will not accept the theory of media freedom being stifled in Croatia, referring to a comment by Social Democratic Party (SDP) MP Mirela Ahmetović's assessment that banning someone from writing is unprecedented pressure on the media. "It's not normal and it isn't possible to accuse the government because of a ruling by one judge on a temporary measure in one case. The government, the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union), none of us has anything to do with the judge's decision on that temporary measure... I reject such insinuations, even about influence on the…

ZAGREB, 23 Sept 2021 - During his stay in New York, where he is attending the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, Croatian President Zoran Milanović has met with representatives of the Croat expatriate business and scientific communities in New York, his office said on Thursday. Representatives of the Croat community in New York informed Milanović of their activities in establishing connections between Croat expatriates in New York and strengthening their ties with Croatia. They also presented proposals on how to improve that cooperation and offered their help in promoting Croatia in New York and elsewhere in the United States,…

ZAGREB, 23 Sept 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Thursday that a union protest of nurses is a legitimate and democratic way of expressing one's position and demanding rights but he noted that there is no room for manipulation of facts. The introduction of new anti-epidemic measures for employees in medical and social care institutions at the beginning of October has elicited debates in a part of the public, prompting some of the unions representing health sector employees to stage a public protest, said the minister. "The protest to be held today by the Nurses Union... is a legitimate and…