Politics

ZAGREB, 28 Aug, 2021 - The political secretary of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Ante Sanader, said on Saturday that the fake sovereignists were scaring the people about the euro", however they themselves had rushed to the European Parliament to get earnings in that currency. Sanader wrote on his Facebook account that there was no need for any referendum about the introduction of the euro in Croatia. There is no need and no legal possibility for a referendum on Croatia's admission to the euro area and the changeover to the euro, as the decision on that matter was made in 2012 when Croatia…

ZAGREB, 28 Aug, 2021 - A member of parliament from the Croatian Sovereignists party, Marko Milanović Litre, said on Saturday that his party was launching a campaign for a referendum on the introduction of the euro, criticising the government for ignoring citizens' opinion on the matter. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Croatian National Bank Governor Boris Vujčić and a whole set of Brussels bureaucrats have decided on their own that Croatia should join the euro area, Milanović Litre said in a Facebook post, noting that his party had launched a campaign to protect the national currency, the kuna. "Referendum is the…

ZAGREB, 27 Aug 2021 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Friday that he could be pleased with the state of the budget and that it was in line with expectations, with some tax revenues exceeding them, such as VAT, which outperforms its 2019 level since the beginning of the year. As the level of employment has been preserved, and even increased, Marić is also pleased with the amount of paid contributions for pension insurance. He underscored again that the key to the sustainability of public finance lay on state budget expenditures, on which great emphasis was placed. Asked by…

ZAGREB, 27 Aug 2021 - The government has allocated 19.4 million kuna (€2.6 million) for a public works programme for the removal of consequences of the December 2020 quakes in Sisak-Moslavina County, whereby 520 people will be employed. Labour Minister Josip Aladrović presented the programme in Sisak on Friday, noting that these public works would contribute to the positive trends on the labour market and economic recovery. "This is one of the measures which the government and the ministry have been implementing since the (December 2020) earthquakes. Apart from this activity, the government has disbursed 300 million kuna to 3,000 employers in this…

ZAGREB, 27 Aug 2021 - War Veterans' Affairs Minister Tomo Medved, who heads the task force dealing with the aftermath of last year's earthquakes in Sisak-Moslavina County, said on Friday that priority in the reconstruction process would be given to houses whose owners were now accommodated in prefab containers. So far, roughly 400 family houses have been rebuilt, next week over 1,500 contracts will be signed with property owners for the reconstruction of their family houses. By 15 September, we will have about 6,000 active contracts on reconstruction, Medved said in Sisak. He said that priority would be given to the reconstruction of…

ZAGREB, 27 Aug 2021 - Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, who heads the national COVID-19 crisis management team, said on Friday that there were still no plans for the introduction of COVID certificates in the educational and health sectors, but the authorities were considering such a move. He announced the extension of the validity of the current COVID certificate, whose current validity is nine months. Božinović called for compliance with anti-epidemic rules such as social distancing, room airing and mask wearing. Croatia's 14-day incidence 143.4 per 100,000 The head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), Krunoslav Capak, said that…

ZAGREB, 27 Aug 2021 - Croatia's GDP growth of more than 16% in Q2 2021 shows that the country's economy is recovering faster than expected, and that confirms that the government has responded strongly to the crisis, ensuring economic stability in the current pandemic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday. The Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) on Friday published its preliminary estimate showing that GDP in Q2 grew by 16.1% from the same period of 2020. This is the first time the country's GDP has grown after going down for four consecutive quarters and it has grown at the highest rate since 1996, when the…

ZAGREB, 26 August 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that there would be no tight lockdown and called on citizens to show personal responsibility and get vaccinated against COVID-19. It is crystal clear that Croatia will not opt for a tight lockdown, the PM said after a government meeting. He said that the government had secured sufficient amounts of vaccines against coronavirus. "The threat (of the spread of the disease) will be considerably lower, provided that people get vaccinated, comply with basic measures: wearing masks, keeping a social distance, and airing rooms," Plenković said when asked by the press to…

ZAGREB, 26 Aug 2021 - Croatia now has the strongest position in foreign affairs since it gained independence, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told reporters on the sidelines of a conference of Croatian diplomats in Zagreb on Thursday. Pointing out the country's strongest status on the foreign policy front since its international recognition, the premier recalled that Zagreb's main foreign policy priorities were now admission to the Schengen area and to the euro area. As for the current challenges, Plenković cited economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis and the developments in Afghanistan and potential migrant waves, while Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković cited the coronavirus pandemic, economic recovery,…

ZAGREB, 26 Aug (Hina) - The government on Thursday decided to add the project of reconstruction and extension of the port of Sjeverna Luka in Split to its list of strategic projects in the country. This €44.5 million project aims at reconstructing and extending the port in the Vranjic-Solin basin, under the management of Split Port Authority. The extension envisages seven new berths for the reception of ro-ro ships. The project also envisages the construction of some other port facilities. For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.