Politics

ZAGREB, 19 May, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday that he had responded to President Zoran Milanović's request for convening a session of the Defence Council and offered that the session could be held on Thursday or Friday morning. We offered him two appointments: tomorrow or on Friday morning, so that this advisory body could be convened and that council has no role in decision making, Plenković said after the inner cabinet's meeting in Zagreb. Commenting on the planned purchase of military jets on Tuesday President Milanović said that he had invited Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to call a…

ZAGREB, 19 May, 2021 - Public Administration Minister Ivan Malenica said on Wednesday that by the time of the next election the electoral roll will have been cleaned up, following comments by reporters that it does not reflect the real number of voters considering how many people have emigrated but are still registered. There are 3,660,165 voters registered in the electoral roll that the ministry has for the local election on 16 May, with 60,000 fewer eligible voters compared to the election in 2017, Malenica told reporters. "Naturally, there are certain situations when the relevant bodies cannot determine whether a certain person…

ZAGREB, 19 May, 2021 - Croatian lawmakers on Wednesday agreed on the need to strengthen the administrative and absorption capacity for the use of EU funds and to further simplify and standardise the rules. MP Marko Pavić (HDZ) commended the bill on the institutional framework for the use of EU funds in Croatia, saying that strengthening the capacities would facilitate and improve the absorption. "So far we've had €10.7 billion and in the future period that will be €24.5 billion, and already now there is a shortage of 1,000 people to process applications for EU funds," said Pavić.  MP Marija Selak Raspudić…

ZAGREB, 19 May, 2021 - Sunday's local elections were the main topic of speeches in the Croatian parliament on Wednesday morning. Dalija Orešković, speaking on behalf of the Civic Liberal Alliance (GLAS) and Centre group, said that the results of the vote showed that citizens were becoming aware that government could be changed. She urged the opposition in parliament to begin dialogue on the reform of the electoral legislation and administrative structure of Croatia. "We have three years ahead of us to reform electoral legislation and electoral units to make them constitutional and fair, to ensure that each vote counts equally,…

ZAGREB, 19 May, 2021 - The European Parliament on Tuesday adopted a report on the review of the EU Solidarity Fund and called on the Commission to facilitate the use of aid from the fund for regions struck by natural disasters, noting that 2020 was a great challenge, in particular for Croatia. The EP pointed to the difficulties faced by beneficiary countries when it comes to determining precise amounts of damage in very short periods of time. It said that climate change and the intensification of natural disasters were making member states increasingly vulnerable and that the EU should speed up aid…

May the 19th, 2021 - Of the massive sum of 5.5 billion kuna in so-called Croatian covid guarantees, only a mere 20 percent has been approved as yet. Many people, from business owners to the banks themselves, has opinions as to why that is. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Jadranka Dozan writes, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has recently underlined the key role of the state during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, recalling the fact that the Croatian Government has so far paid out 10.5 billion kuna through job preservation measures and that the ORM measures have covered a total of 687,000 employees and 120,000 employers.…

ZAGREB, 18 May, 2021 - During the local elections held throughout Croatia on 16 May, a total of 70 cities managed to elect their heads in the first round of voting, while others will have mayoral runoffs on 30 May. Of those 70 mayors, who clinched the victory in the first round of voting when they gained the support of more than 50% of the voters who turned out for the elections, 36 winners are from the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), or six fewer than in 2017, whereas 13 Social Democratic Party (SDP) mayoral candidates gained outright victory, or one more…

ZAGREB, 18 May, 2021 - The Croatian Ministry of Finance sold HRK 880 million and €11 million worth of treasury bills at an auction on Tuesday. Ahead of the maturity of treasury bills worth HRK 300 million and €12 million, the Ministry offered HRK 300 million and €10 million in treasury bills for subscription. Financial institutions submitted offers worth nearly HRK 880 million and €11 million, and the Ministry accepted all of them. The treasury bills worth HRK 880 million were issued with a maturity of one year and at an interest rate of 0.02%, the same as at the…

ZAGREB, 18 May, 2021 - The Green-Left Coalition's candidate for the mayor of Zagreb, Tomislav Tomašević, said on Tuesday that after the 30 May runoff, which he expects to win, the coalition would embark on a reorganisation of the city administration and ask the heads of its 27 departments to offer their resignation. "If we want a change, it is our right to ask the city ministers, as well as directors of city-owned companies... to offer their resignation," Tomašević said at a news conference. He noted that he would ask current office-holders to submit reports and evaluate their work, while new department…

ZAGREB, 18 May, 2021 - The Supreme Court, meeting in a general session on Tuesday, did not give a positive opinion on any of the five candidates who applied for the position of Supreme Court President following a new call issued by the State Judicial Council. Zlata Đurđević, the candidate enjoying the support of President of the Republic Zoran Milanović, received one vote from all the judges attending the general session, while the other candidates received none, according to a statement issued by the Supreme Court. The session was attended by 33 of the total of 35 judges from all…