Politics
Tuesday, 13 July 2021
Conflict of Interest Commission Head: We Have to Probe Disputed Donations Yet
ZAGREB, 13 July, 2021 - The Conflict of Interest Commission has yet to examine all the circumstances of the disputed donations concerning the Zagreb Mayor, the commission's head, Nataša Novaković, told the commercial N1 broadcaster on Tuesday. Two conflict of interest cases were opened against Mayor Tomislav Tomašević after media reports, and it is now up to the commission to explore the circumstances and decide whether or not to launch proceedings against the mayor. On Monday, the commission opened a case against Tomašević after media outlets revealed that one of the newly appointed members of the Srebrnjak hospital's steering council, Tomislav…
Tuesday, 13 July 2021
New Waste Management Legislation Will Make Bills Higher, Says Opposition
ZAGREB, 13 July, 2021 - Some opposition parties claimed on Tuesday that the new waste management law will result in higher bills for citizens and that this will in particular affect lessors and small entrepreneurs. The entire waste management system is based on waste management centres which are very expensive and that will be evident once citizens receive their new bills, said MP Sanja Udović (SDP). She claimed that in those areas where these centres have been established, citizens can expect their bills to increase by 100 percent. "We, in Primorje Gorski Kotar County can soon expect the end price to go…
Tuesday, 13 July 2021
9% More Building Permits Issued in May
ZAGREB, 13 July, 2021 - In May 2021, 835 building permits were issued, which was 9% more than in May 2020, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. By types of constructions, 82.6% of the permits were issued for buildings and 17.4% for civil engineering works, up by 9.3% and 7.4% on the year respectively. The permits issued in May 2021 envisaged almost HRK 3 billion worth of construction works, up by 12.7% on the year. Based on the types of construction works, 75.8% of the permits were issued for new constructions and 24.2% for reconstructions. The permits issued in…
Tuesday, 13 July 2021
Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević Says Owes No One Anything, Has Free Hand
ZAGREB, 13 July, 2021 - Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević said on Monday he had not promised anyone any position in the city nor owned anyone anything, adding that he had a free hand to make decisions he considered to be in the public interest. "That's how I will act until the end of my term," he said on RTL television. Tomašević said he was confident the two complaints filed against him with the Conflict of Interest Commission during his first month in office would be dismissed. Regarding the appointment of Tomislav Lauc to the Srebrnjak Hospital Steering Council, Tomašević said he had…
Monday, 12 July 2021
Jandroković: I Don't Think Vaccination will be Mandatory
ZAGREB, 12 July, 2021 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković told Croatian Radio on Monday that he thought there would be no mandatory vaccination against COVID and that for now there had been no mention of COVID passes for entering the parliament building. Jandroković also stressed that vaccination was the only way to put an end to the pandemic. "Science found the vaccine very quickly, we can fight the pandemic now, and the more vaccinated people there are, the better, more easily and more meaningfully will we live," he said, calling on citizens to get vaccinated because that will ensure their…
Monday, 12 July 2021
MPs Criticise Zagreb Mayor's Personnel Decisions
ZAGREB, 12 July, 2021 - MPs on Monday criticised the fact that the Conflict of Interest Commission had already opened a second case against Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević, with even his coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party, saying they were mistakes it hoped would not happen again. The Commission opened the second case over the appointment of Tomislav Lauc, who contributed HRK 10,000 to Tomašević's mayoral campaign, to the Srebrnjak Hospital's Steering Council. Sandra Benčić of Tomašević's We Can! party told the press that they selected people based on expertise and objectivity. "We talked to a number of people and…
Monday, 12 July 2021
HND, SNH for Urgent Change of HRT Act, Sacking HRT Leadership
ZAGREB, 12 July, 2021 - The Croatian Journalists Association (HND) and the Croatian Journalists Trade Union (SNH) on Monday demanded urgent amendments to the law on the HRT public broadcaster and a change of its current leadership. In a joint statement, the HND and the SNH recalled that HRT director Kazimir Bačić was recently relieved of duty after being arrested on suspicion of corruption. They said Bačić and his closest associates should have been dismissed long ago due to the "programming, personnel and technical devastation of the HRT." They recalled that Bačić had been appointed by parliament "with the blessing of the HDZ…
Monday, 12 July 2021
Plenković: We Expect to Enter Schengen during 2022
ZAGREB, 12 July (Hina) - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in parliament on Monday, submitting a report on European Council meetings in the past six months, that he expected Croatia to enter the Schengen Area in 2022. "I have publicly said a number of times that we expect it to be during 2022," he told Peđa Grbin of the opposition SDP. Grbin asked Plenković if and when Schengen would be enlarged and what the position of the member states was, given Slovenian Interior Minister Aleš Hojs's statement that it was not certain that Croatia's accession would be on the agenda in the next six…
Saturday, 10 July 2021
Borrell Calls for Vigilance due to Emerging New Coronavirus Strains
ZAGREB, 10 July 2021 - There is a light at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic tunnel, but we must stay vigilant due to emerging new variants, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Josep Borrell said in Dubrovnik on Saturday and called for cooperation with Russia and China. We are reaching the end of the tunnel, but the pandemic is still raging, especially in South America, Africa and India. We must stay vigilant because new strains are emerging, said Borrell at the 14th edition of the ministerial forum in Dubrovnik. This year's gathering focused on the…
Saturday, 10 July 2021
Milanović: No Concessions Concerning Bosnia Croat Rights As Long as I’m President
ZAGREB, 10 July, 2021 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović has said that during his presidential term, Croatia will make no longer any concessions when it comes to the rights of the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Milanović said in an interview, published by the Bosnia and Herzegovina edition of the Večernji List on Saturday ahead of his visit to several BiH cities and towns mainly populated by local Croats, that during the recent adoption of the NATO summit meeting's final communique, he had insisted that the document should make mention of the Dayton Peace Accords which include guarantees for the respect for…
Saturday, 10 July 2021
As Country Gets Hands on European Funds, How Will Croatian GDP Fare?
July the 10th, 2021 - Croatia has an enormous sum of money waiting to be utilised in various ways thanks to the European Union, but how will it do so? More importantly, what will be the effect on Croatian GDP? As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, this plan which involves this EU cash should raise Croatian GDP growth by 1.5 percentage points in 2021 and by 2.5 to 2.9 percentage points in all years until 2026, including that final year, which is a huge boost following the coronavirus pandemic which left horrendous scars on the Croatian and European economies. It should create…
