Politics

ZAGREB, 26 June 2022 - National chief of police Nikola Milina said on Sunday that Croatia was fully ready to apply the Schengen acquis and was working with others in the European Union on the implementation of new information technology systems. "The Croatian police service has done all, and there are already several decisions saying that Croatia is technically fully ready to apply the Schengen acquis. Now this process is at a political level," Milina told the press during a visit to Glina, where he attended a ceremony marking the 31st anniversary of the start of armed resistance against the…

ZAGREB, 26 June 2022 - Health Minister Vili Beroš announced on Sunday that the new National Addiction Action Strategy was in its final stage of preparation. The main aspects of the new strategy will be presented at a round table on addiction-related policies in Zagreb on Monday. "The price of drug addiction, which is paid by the citizens of Croatia and other EU countries, is very high, given addiction-related allocations for public health," Beroš said on the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, observed on 26 June. Drug addiction is one of the longest-standing threats to our…

ZAGREB, 26 June 2022 - As many as four Croatian healthcare innovation projects are included among 20 projects from central, eastern and southern Europe selected for financing by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) under the Regional Innovation Scheme. Eighty projects have applied for funding, and four Croatian ones have been selected, more than from any other country in the region, the Večernji List (VL) daily said on Sunday. The EIT Health Regional Innovation Scheme supports the development of  innovation in healthcare in the countries of central, eastern and southern Europe. The consortia behind the selected innovations will be granted up…

ZAGREB, 26 June 2022 - The European Parliament has appointed Croatian MEP Tonino Picula rapporteur on the new EU enlargement strategy, his office said on Sunday. His task will be to formulate a proposal for the new enlargement strategy, which would then need to be adopted by the European Parliament and sent to the European Council, the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Picula said after his appointment that the proposal clearly emphasises the value of enlargement policy as a strategic investment in the security and prosperity of Europe, and that enlargement policy has…

ZAGREB, 25 June 2022 - Early elections for the mayor and the city council will be held in Split on Sunday, slightly more than 12 months after the ordinary local elections which were held throughout Croatia in May 2022. The snap polls in the second biggest Croatian city were called after Mayor Ivica Puljak and his two deputies, who were elected in 2022, tendered resignation on 8 April following a scandal involving Deputy Mayor Bojan Ivošević who threatened a local reporter and was subsequently indicted for intimidation. The Office of the State Prosecutor (DORH) in Spit issued the indictment on…

ZAGREB, 25 June 2022 - Slovenia's President Borut Pahor said on Saturday that the most difficult decision which he had made in his political career had been to block Croatia's EU accession negotiations in his capacity as Prime Minister in 2008. "Blocking Croatia was my most difficult political decision," Pahor told the Slovenian national broadcaster in his interview on the occasion of Slovenia's Statehood Day, observed on 25 June. In December 2008, the Pahor cabinet vetoed the opening of new policy chapters in Croatia's EU accession negotiations over the border dispute between the two neighbouring countries. The blockade was lifted…

ZAGREB, 24 June 2022 - The European Council on Friday endorsed Croatia's entry into the euro area on 1 January next year. "Today, at the European Council, Croatia received support from the highest political level for membership in the euro area. On 1 January we will achieve the Croatian government's strategic goal of joining the euro area. The benefits of membership will be felt by Croatian citizens and the economy, which will be even more resilient to crises," Prime Minister Andrej Plenović said on his Twitter account. "The euro is the monetary expression of our shared destiny and has been part of our…

ZAGREB, 24 June 2022 - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy individually thanked each leader of the EU member states for granting his country candidate status, including Croatia's Prime Minister for "helping with the experience of defending freedom," Ukrainian media reported on Friday. "Croatia is with us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, for your help with the experience we are using to protect our freedom,” Zelenskyy said on Thursday after Ukraine was granted EU candidate status, according to the Ukrainian Kyiv Post. Addressing EU leaders on Thursday, Zelenskyy said they had made one of the most important decisions for Ukraine in its 30 years of independence. "However,…

ZAGREB, 24 June 2022 - Support for Croatia's eurozone membership bid is an excellent sign for its highly euroized economy and will also boost its resilience to crises, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday ahead of the start of the second day of the EU summit meeting. One of the topics on the agenda of the two-day summit meeting is Croatia's entry into the euro area, and the leaders of the EU members states will support Croatia's accession, which is the penultimate step in the decision-making on receiving an aspirant in the euro area. The last step is the adoption of three…

ZAGREB, 23 June 2022- The damage which was spotted at a Croatia Airlines plane after landing at Sarajevo Airport on Wednesday evening, was not caused by shooting, as earlier speculated, but by mechanical damage. The Bosnia and Herzegovina State Prosecutor's Office stated that based on the preliminary findings of an investigation there were no indications that the damage was caused by shooting from firearms. There are no traces of gunpowder at the spot where the damage was noticed, and there is no other evidence showing that the damage could have been caused by a gunshot. The damage has probably been caused by a…