Politics

ZAGREB, 4 February 2021 - A total of 34,056 reports about properties damaged by the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Sisak-Moslavina County on 29 December, have been submitted, and of them, 23,513 have been examined, show the updated ArcGIS data. A total of 279 are unfit for use due to the danger of adjacent buildings collapsing, while a further 2,857 are unusable due to damage caused by the quake. Following a detailed examination, 2,395 buildings have been declared as temporarily not fit for use while 2,835 buildings that are temporarily unusable require urgent intervention. A total of 576 buildings were left unscathed while 5,393 have…

February the 4th, 2021 - The Swedes are continuing to try to sell their Gripen aircraft, about which there has been a lot of talk for months now, to Croatia. They're even ready to lower the price even more. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, after the ad hoc Advisory Interdepartmental Commission for the Procurement of a Multipurpose Fighter Aircraft was submitted to the Croatian Government in mid-December last year, it submitted a "Feasibility Study for the Procurement of a Multipurpose Fighter Plane (VBA)". Although the Commission was expected to reach a conclusion that the government would then only confirm, possibly seeking…

ZAGREB, 3 February 2021 - Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Ćorić on Wednesday commented on a protest organised by the Voice of Entrepreneurs (UGP) association in Zagreb's main square earlier in the day, saying that in democracy protests are a normal way of expressing dissatisfaction. Addressing reporters in Sisak after a meeting on a programme of support to SMEs in Sisak-Moslavina County, Ćorić said that he had heard that his name was mentioned a lot during the rally and that protestors called for his resignation. "Do not expect me to comment on that or on the wishes of those who are generally inspired by the…

ZAGREB, 3 February 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Wednesday protested to European Parliament President David Sassoli over four Italian Socialist MEPs' recent private visit to the green border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, who, he said, wanted to cause an incident. The four MEP are members of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament. The press release issued by the government said that Plenković had spoken via video link and underscored that the purpose of the visit by the Italian MEPs was to cause an incident and undermine Croatia's international reputation by disrespecting its laws and institutions. Croatia sent…

ZAGREB, 3 February 2021 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) deputy whip Mirela Ahmetović said on Wednesday that her party supported the protest held earlier in the day in downtown Zagreb by the Voice of Entrepreneurs Association (UGP), "primarily because of workers and the self-employed who pay large amounts into the state budget."  "Entrepreneurs have reason to protest, that is their legitimate right and we support them in that regard... the SDP has been saying ever since the beginning of the crisis that there is a lack of systematic care for them and I'm talking here about both health and economic…

ZAGREB, 3 February 2021 - Vukovar Mayor Ivan Penava has established a party called the Ivan Penava Independent Slate with which he will run in local elections in May this year on his own. Presenting the new party on Wednesday, Penava said that he expected to be re-elected mayor and that he would continue to focus on the well-being of the town and its residents. Even though it was speculated that Penava could run in the elections in a coalition with the Homeland Movement of Miroslav Škoro, Penava denied the speculation. "We cooperate with the Homeland Movement and I headed their…

ZAGREB, 3 February 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Wednesday that Croatia was among more liberal European countries in terms of COVID-19 restrictions and that there was no room for easing the measures in place. "People's yearning for the old way of life is understandable, but we must not make a wrong move. We are among more liberal countries in Europe in restricting different rights," Beroš told a press conference, noting that 17 European countries had imposed a curfew and 20 were in some sort of lockdown. "There is no room for relaxing, we must continue to be…

ZAGREB, 3 February 2021 - Some of the parliamentary opposition parties on Wednesday criticised the appointment of former deputy prime minister Martina Dalić as the chair of the management board of the Podravka food company. "Podravka today is a classic example of political appointment where it is not clear according to which criteria the chair of a management board is appointed," Social Democratic Party (SDP) MP Mišel Jakšić said. Jakšić said he was unhappy because none of the company's people took its helm. "As if the people who have been building the company for 70 years know nothing about it…

ZAGREB, 3 February 2021 - The acting director of the Reconstruction Fund, Damir Vanđelić, said on Wednesday that he would not be the Croatian Democratic Union's (HDZ) candidate for Mayor of Zagreb in the coming local elections, stressing that post-earthquake reconstruction was a greater priority. "I have decided what is a greater priority for the City of Zagreb. The biggest problem currently faced by residents is reconstruction, so my thoughts are focused on reconstruction and I am not thinking about anything else," Vanđelić said in response to questions from reporters after presenting the Fund's activities. He said that the reconstruction…

ZAGREB, 3 February 2021 - The Serb National Council (SNV) president and member of the Croatian Parliament, Milorad Pupovac, has condemned the recent incident in Knin as "extremely harmful" and "disgraceful", saying that a member of the Serbian humanitarian delegation used "the language of war" that has no place anymore in relations between the two countries. "It is a disgrace that a noble gesture on the occasion of the feast of Saint Sava – when packages are handed out to children for this great holiday among Serbs, which is supported by relevant institutions so that children preserve their identity – was…