Politics

ZAGREB, Dec 19, 2020 - The foreign ministers of Croatia, Italy and Slovenia adopted a joint statement in Trieste on Saturday saying that they shared the vision of the Adriatic Sea as a bridge connecting all the nations in this region and as a source of prosperity for all.  The meeting was held following the announcements by Italy and Croatia that they would declare their respective exclusive economic zones in the Adriatic. The Adriatic Sea, as a half-closed sea with intensive maritime traffic and a vulnerable ecosystem, needs an integrated approach to environmental protection, risk prevention and sustainable development, says…

ZAGREB, Dec 19, 2020 - The outgoing year 2020, which was supposed to have been a year of continued economic growth, has turned into a year marked by the COVID 19 pandemic that has tested the strength of public finances. At the very beginning, 2020 seemed to be similar to the previous five or six years: nine laws regulating tax changes ushered in the fourth round of a tax reform which shouldincrease the post-tax disposable income by HRK 2.4 billion. The ordinary pace of the social and economic activities continued against a background of more and more information about the spread of the…

ZAGREB, Dec 19, 2020 - Croatian diplomats have mixed feelings about 2020, which began with the ambitious EU presidency becoming virtual due to the pandemic, but by the end conditions had been met for waiving U.S. visas, the two most important foreign ministers visited, and an exclusive economic zone was declared in the Adriatic. Croatia spent a large part of 2019 preparing for taking over the rotating six-month EU presidency six and a half years after joining and at the start of the Ursula von der Leyen-led European Commission. The presidency began dynamically, with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic going to Paris for consultations with French President Emmanuel Macron. Two days…

ZAGREB, Dec 19, 2020 - The Supreme Court has dismissed a motion to review a Zagreb County Court ruling in favour of a Geology Institute employee who sued her employer over the non-payment of a base pay rise under an agreement dating back to the Ivo Sanader cabinet, Jutarnji List reported on Saturday. This means the state risks being sued by many public sector employees which would cost the budget by over HRK 2 billion if the government does not reach an agreement with the unions which have already filed pilot lawsuits, all of which have been ruled in their favour, the daily…

ZAGREB, Dec 18, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros on Friday warned that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and people without symptoms can still infect others with coronavirus, underscoring that only vaccination can result in collective immunity.  "It is important to know that people who have recovered from COVID can still infect other," Beros told a press conference by the national COVID response team when asked how people should act after recovery. He explained that people who have recovered from COVID obtain immunity which means that they will probably not be ill in the coming period however that does not mean that…

ZAGREB, Dec 18, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday that regardless of the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, salaries and pensions would not come into question and that job-retention measures would remain in force as long as necessary. He was asked by the press how long the current lockdown could last without salaries and pensions coming into questions. "They haven't this year, they won't the next either. Salaries will be here, pensions will be here, we'll retain jobs." Plenkovic said they would do everything that a responsible government and state should do, and which proved to be good, in these particular…

ZAGREB, Dec 18, 2020 - Justice and Public Administration Minister Ivan Malenica said on Friday the e-passes system would be ready for use as of December 21, two days before a ban on leaving one's place of residence goes into force. "The decision will be published today, with justified reasons for being able to leave one's permanent or temporary residence. The reasons need to be entered into the app," he said, adding that the alignment of the app and the new decision would take a few days. Malenica said he was confident the ban on leaving one's place of residence…

ZAGREB, Dec 18, 2020 - MP Nikola Grmoja of the opposition Bridge party on Friday lost immunity at his own insistence, an almost unique case in the Croatian parliament. "I ask all my colleagues to strip me of immunity, after which I will ask the Credentials and Privileges Commission (MIP) to strip me of it completely," Grmoja said, to which Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic replied that there was no "general" stripping of immunity, rather it was done case by case. The case in question is a private defamation suit filed against Grmoja by former interior minister Ranko Ostojic after Grmoja claimed that he had evidence…

ZAGREB, Dec 18, 2020 - The Croatian parliament on Friday endorsed the decision to declare an Exclusive Economic Zone in the Adriatic Sea by 129 votes in favour and one abstention. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) will be formally declared next month after a trilateral meeting with Slovenia and Italy. Parliament instructed the government to support stronger cooperation at the trilateral meeting in January 2021 in light of the declaration of exclusive economic zones by Croatia and Italy. "By declaring the Exclusive Economic Zone, we will do our utmost to legally protect the Adriatic Sea," Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman…

ZAGREB, Dec 18, 2020 - The European Parliament on Thursday endorsed a motion to extend the status of European Capital status for the period 2020-2023 which enables Rijeka to present all the programmes it had planned but was thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With 689 votes in favour MEPs adopted a report by Croatian MEP Zeljana Zovko (HDZ/EPP) to extend the status of European Capitals of Culture in the 2020-2023 period, which gives Rijeka and the Irish city of Galway the "green light" until April 2021 to present their programmes while the next capitals will be deferred from 2021 to 2022 and from 2022 to 2023. Rijeka and…