Politics

ZAGREB, 16 July 2022 - Croatia will keep insisting that Serbia starts implementing the 2005 bilateral agreement on the protection of respective minorities, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said in his message on Twitter on Saturday. Extending his best wishes to the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina (DSHV) on its 32nd anniversary, the FM tweeted that Croatia's government would continue intensified cooperation with Croatian political representatives and the DSHV in Serbia. We will continue offering "political and material support to the ethnic Croat community in Serbia and its efforts to preserve its ethnic identity and rich cultural tradition and…

ZAGREB, 16 July 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Saturday that the upgrade of Croatia's credit rating by all the three major credit rating agencies was a consequence of Croatia's admission to the euro area on 1 January 2023, which  is also an important signal to investors. "The upgrade of our credit rating by the Standard & Poor's, Fitch and Moody's agencies is a consequence of Croatia's euro zone membership, which also provides security to Croatian citizens in times of crisis. Croatia's highest investment rating so far in history is a message of trust and an important signal to investors. The direction…

ZAGREB, 16 July 2022 - The Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina, the oldest political party representing ethnic Croats in Serbia, marked its 32nd anniversary at a ceremony in Subotica on Friday. Addressing the event, the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina president Tomislav Žigmanov spoke about the importance of being included in dialogue and talks on the formation of Serbia's new government. "We want to be actors in policies that will steer Serbia into European integrations," said he. Žigmanov, who won a seat in the Serbian parliament in the last elections in April, said that this would open new prospects…

ZAGREB, 15 July 2022 - A small unit of the Slovenian army on Friday started removing the anti-migrant wire fence on the Slovenian side of the border with Croatia near the small border crossing Vivodina-Krmačina and the town of Metlika. Slovenia's Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar attended the removal of the fence, saying that it had a great symbolic meaning. Bobnar said that the removal of anti-migrant barriers, which Prime Minister Robert Golob described as inhumane and as not serving the purpose for which they were set up, is a sign of a change in the new government's policy towards migrants and refugees, as it has committed to the…

ZAGREB, 15 July 2022 - The Sabor on Friday confirmed Marko Primorac as the new Minister of Finance with 77 votes in favour and 55 against, after former minister Zdravko Marić left the government at his own request. After Minister Primorac swore that he would conduct his duties conscientiously and honourably, in accordance with the Constitution and laws, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković wished him success in his demanding and responsible work. Primorac is an associate professor at the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb. He studies public finances, local finances, the tax system and public debt management. He has worked with the Ministry…

ZAGREB, 15 July 2022 - President Zoran Milanović said on Friday the Constitution stated very clearly that the president is the commander in chief of the Armed Forces. Commenting on a Jutarnji List article that by amending the Defence Act, the government plans to strip the president of his power to command the army in peacetime, Milanović told the press in Zaton these announcements were coming because Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and his HDZ party "want to take over the Croatian Army as well," calling it "a constitutional coup." The commander in chief can be only one, command is vertical, there is no minister,…

ZAGREB, 15 July 2022 - Consumer prices in Croatia rose by 12.1% in June 2022 compared with the same month in 2021, the highest inflation rate since the national statistical office (DZS) monitors these data, mostly as a result of increased energy and food prices. The prices of consumer goods and services, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, increased by 1.1% from May 2022 and by 12.1% from June 2021, the DZS reported on Friday. In May, consumer prices rose by 10.8% year on year. The annual inflation rate continued to accelerate in June, reaching a historic high of…

ZAGREB, 15 July 2022 - The Croatian Parliament voted confidence in the Minister for the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, to take up the office of Deputy Prime Minister, previously held by Finance Minister Zdravko Marić who had resigned at his own request. The longest-serving minister in the present government received votes from 79 lawmakers, 49 voted against and one abstained from the vote. Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković wished Butković success in his new office. Butković thus become one of the four deputy prime ministers, alongside Tomo Medved, Davor Božinović and Anja Šimpraga. He will take charge of the government's…

July the 15th, 2022 - Croatian Eurozone accession is now very rapidly approaching, but with all of these changes and upheavals on the way, should you take out a loan now in Croatian kuna, or wait until after January the 1st, 2023? As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian National Bank (HNB/CNB) said that "Croatian Eurozone accession has no implications for the riskiness of kuna loans". Regarding interest rates - if the interest rate is fixed, it will remain fixed, and if the interest rate is variable, it will remain so, they claim. "On the day of the introduction of the…

ZAGREB, 14 July 2022 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Thursday that we were ready for the wildfire season and the services did a good job at the site of Wdnesday's wildfire near Šibenik. "We were prepared for the wildfire season and services did a good job. We have to be aware that climate change is the main change that is occurring and will continue in the years to come." Božinović underscored that the Mediterranean, along with California, is one of the world's two biggest hotspots when it comes to global warming. Speaking about the wildfires that hit the Šibenik…