Politics
Wednesday, 14 April 2021
Croatian Exporters Say National Recovery Plan Needs Transparent Project Criteria
ZAGREB, 14 April, 2021 - The National Recovery and Resilience Plan calls for extremely transparent criteria for selecting projects and contractors, as well as defining criteria which will protect the domestic economy, the Croatian Exporters Association said on Wednesday. One of the priorities is for hundreds of thousands of young expats to return to Croatia, the association underscored. Croatian Exporters said that they welcomed the 2021-2026 draft national plan, aimed at strengthening economic and social resilience of the Croatia economy, that is, "mitigating the social and economic impacts of the crisis and contributing to the green and digital transition", because many…
Wednesday, 14 April 2021
PM Andrej Plenković Calls for Broadest Possible Consensus on National Recovery Plan
ZAGREB, 14 April, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Wednesday called for "the broadest possible consensus" on his government's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, a document including projects worth more than HRK 49 billion (€6.5bn) in total. "This is a chance in a generation on which we should reach the broadest possible consensus if we can," Plenković said after presenting the document to lawmakers, rejecting claims by opposition MPs that Croatia was "begging" in the EU. "We are not begging, but are trying to help Croatia catch up with the countries that have been in the Union longer than…
Wednesday, 14 April 2021
Croatia to Call Local Elections For May 16
ZAGREB, 14 April, 2021 - The Croatian government is due to call local elections for 16 May at its meeting on Wednesday afternoon. Croatian citizens will be choosing executive and legislative authorities in 576 local and regional government units - mayors, county prefects and their deputies as well as local councils and county assemblies. Compared with the elections held four years ago, there will be 568 fewer deputy mayors and about 10 percent fewer members of local councils and county assemblies. The number of local councils and county assemblies depends on the size of the population of the unit concerned. Units with…
Tuesday, 13 April 2021
Social Workers File Charges Against Social Media Activists For Hate Speech
ZAGREB, 13 April, 2021 - Almost 200 social workers from all over Croatia have filed criminal charges against the founder of the 'Save Me' civil initiative, Jelena Veljača, and actress Nataša Janjić Medančić, claiming that their comments on social media incited violence and hate against social workers. Lawyer Klaudio Čurin filed the criminal charges with the State Attorney's Office on behalf of the social workers. In a statement to Hina, Čurin said that he was given a power of attorney on behalf of more than 150 social workers, whose number has in the meantime increased to more than 200. "I am getting calls…
Tuesday, 13 April 2021
The Serb National Council (SNV): Historical Revisionism, Hate Speech and Violence Against Ethnic Serbs in 2020
ZAGREB, 13 April, 2021 - The Serb National Council (SNV) presented its annual report on Tuesday, warning of cases of hate speech and violence targeting ethnic Serbs, including physical assaults, threats and property destruction, and expressing concern about a slow and inadequate reaction from the state authorities. The SNV said that historical revisionism and views denying the legacy of the anti-fascist struggle during the Second World War were not rare and were mostly directed against the Serbs, resulting in hatred and violence. SNV president Milorad Pupovac noted that the legislative framework included provisions that should prevent such manifestations, but they were…
Tuesday, 13 April 2021
Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ): "National Recovery Plan is Developmental and Based on Reforms"
ZAGREB, 13 April, 2021 - The ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) caucus said on Tuesday that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan was a developmental document that is based on necessary reforms and that its objective is Croatia's overall economic development. HDZ whip Branko Bačić told a press conference in Parliament House that with that document Croatia received the highest amount of all EU member states according to its GDP. "And that is one of the indicators that one loves Croatia through deeds and not words," claimed Bačić. He underscored that there is no strict difference between funds for the real sector and…
Tuesday, 13 April 2021
Green-Left Bloc, Homeland Movement Criticise National Recovery Plan
ZAGREB, 13 April, 2021 - MP Sandra Benčić of the green-left bloc said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković was "lying that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan is completed," adding that it was an unambitious and incompetent programme which recycled 20-year-old reforms and projects. Speaking to the press, Benčić said that MPs, who are due to debate the document on Wednesday, received only its summary because experts were still fine-tuning it. She said the plan contained no links between investment in innovation and investment in the economy. "The lack of ambition and incompetence of this programme is extremely worrying,"…
Tuesday, 13 April 2021
Bridge Party Says Investing in Public Sector Won't Result in Economic Recovery
ZAGREB, 13 April, 2021 - The Bridge party on Tuesday criticised the government's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, noting that investing in the public sector will not finance economic recovery but rather cause new scandals and clientelism. "Each kuna invested in the private sector will yield a return of four kuna and each kuna invested in the public sector means a maximum return of one kuna, if the money is used efficiently, which in Croatia is not the case," Bridge MP Zvonimir Troskot said at a news conference. He said that he condemned the stigmatisation of people who think critically about the…
Monday, 12 April 2021
Zagreb Mayoral Candidate Tomašević Presents Candidates for His Deputies
ZAGREB, 12 April, 2021 - Tomislav Tomašević, the candidate for Zagreb Mayor of the We Can/Zagreb is Ours! platforms on Monday presented candidates for his deputies, Danijela Dolenec and Luka Korlaet. "I truly believe that we will be a great team that will run the city well and improve the quality of life for its residents," Tomašević told a news conference. Dolenec is a reader at the Zagreb Faculty of Political Science, an award-winning researcher and founder of the We Can! and Zagreb is Ours! platforms, while Korlaet is a senior lecturer at the Zagreb Faculty of Architecture. For more about politics…
Monday, 12 April 2021
Croatian Pensioners to Receive Extra Payment As COVID Relief in Coming Weeks
ZAGREB, 12 April, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday that an agreement has been reached with pensioners' representatives regarding COVID relief that will be paid to about 850,000 seniors in the end of April or early May. The COVID supplements will be tax-free and not subject to enforcement collection. "In this budget situation, we have done the most we could and hope that this one-off payment will nevertheless help our pensioners to ease their situation to some extent," said Plenković after a meeting with pensioners' associations. The one-off supplement will be paid to relieve the consequences caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. The grant will…
Monday, 12 April 2021
Minister: Pupils Have Spent Over 2/3 of This School Year in Classrooms
ZAGREB, 12 April, 2021 - So far during this academic year, Croatian students have spent 78% of education in schools, and 22% has been organised as online learning, Education Minister Radovan Fuchs said on Sunday evening. "At the beginning of this school year, the ministry issued guidelines for the organisation of this academic year, and education has been provided in compliance with those guidelines," he told the commercial RTL broadcaster. Our interactive approach has proved to be very efficient and I am proud that all pupils have spent 78% of this school year's classes in schools, the minister added. As of Monday,…
