Politics

ZAGREB, Dec 17, 2020 - The government will continue to protect every job for as long as necessary, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at the start of a cabinet meeting on Thursday morning, announcing further support for wages and employment. "We will continue to protect every job for as long as necessary to weather this crisis together and to be ready and competitive when the pandemic ends," Plenkovic said. He said that the government was continuing the measure of HRK 4,000 per worker in January and February to protect jobs in businesses forced to close down as part of efforts…

ZAGREB, Dec 17, 2020 - Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman on Thursday urged MPs to support the decision on declaring an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Adriatic Sea. "By declaring an EEZ we will do the best we can in the legal protection of the Adriatic Sea," the minister told the Croatian Sabor. He said that that all necessary preliminary work had been done so far through diplomatic and other activities and that appropriate conditions had been created for the adoption of the proposed decision, at the beginning of next year. Exclusive Economic Zone to be…

ZAGREB, Dec 17,  2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Thursday appealed to the public to refrain from large social gatherings during the forthcoming holiday season in order to bring down the number of coronavirus infections. "We can expect a decline in the number of infections only if we all give up on large social gatherings during the holidays. Let's keep our elderly ones and those of frail health safe. The virus certainly isn't the best Christmas gift to our loved ones," Plenkovic said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday morning. He appealed to everyone, especially young people, to adhere to…

December the 17th, 2020 - Minister Tomislav Coric has praised the Croatian Government's economic measure which was introduced in order to help employers preserve jobs during the pandemic, and he offered further comments on the duration of the now well known 4000 kuna per worker measure. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Minister of Labour, Josip Aladrovic, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Tomislav Coric, and the director of the Croatian Employment Service, Ante Loncar, came together to sign a contract for the “Stimulating education for related trades based on the PHASE II apprenticeship system'' project. The aim of the…

ZAGREB, Dec 16, 2020 - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Croatian Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Korzinek signed on Wednesday the sixth Programme of Cooperation in the Field of Culture for the 2020-2022 period, the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media said. The program was signed as part of the Russian Foreign Minister's official visit to Croatia, and it encourages exchange and cooperation between artists, cultural and art institutions, and associations, as well as direct cooperation between cultural institutions of mutual interest, the MKM said. Mutual cooperation, the Ministry said, encompasses a wide range of activities related to museums,…

ZAGREB, Dec 15, 2020 - Speaking to reporters after his release from custody on Tuesday afternoon, the former CEO of JANAF oil pipeline operator, Dragan Kovacevic, said he had not stolen "a single penny" and that he would prove his innocence in court. "I come from a relatively wealthy Slavonian family, I didn't grow up poor. This is not an easy thing to go through when you know that you are not responsible, but I will prove my innocence in court," Kovacevic said. Speaking of what the media have described as his club in Zagreb's Slovenska Street, which was frequented by numerous state…

ZAGREB, Dec 15, 2020 - Ignoring the legitimate representation of the three constituent peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina as defined by the Dayton Peace Accords "would be a serious mistake," Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday at a conference on the occasion of the accords' 25th anniversary. Speaking at the "25 Years of the Dayton-Paris Peace Agreement" conference, he said its Annex 4 stipulates legitimate representation for the three peoples in BiH institutions, which "was decisive for the successful conclusion" of the Agreement. "Overlooking this crucial part of the Agreement or, worse, deliberately ignoring it, would be a serious mistake,"…

ZAGREB, Dec 15, 2020 - During the next local election in May 2021, Croats will elect 568 fewer deputy mayors than there are now and about 10% fewer councillors which, for example, means that the Zagreb City Assembly will have 47 councillors instead of the current 51, the parliament decided on Tuesday. Lawmakers, by a majority vote, adopted amendments to the law on local and regional government (77 yeas, 55 nays), the law on local elections (78 yeas, 47 nays, 3 abstentions) and on the City of Zagreb (78 yeas, 51 nays). Even though the government originally proposed to reduce the number…

ZAGREB, Dec 15, 2020 - The Croatian parliament on Tuesday amended the Identity Card Act, whereby the new identity card will contain biometric identifiers in the form of a facial image and two fingerprints and be valid for five years. The exception to this rule is ID cards issued to persons aged 70 and above, which will have a validity of 40 years. Identity cards without a validity period that do not meet the minimum security standards will no longer be valid. The amended law makes it possible for a parent, as their child's legal representative, to apply for and collect…

December the 15th, 2020 - You might remember the mammoth article I did a couple of years ago on the minefield which is Croatian residence procedures. I'm going to do a brand new one as opposed to constant updates to that one. The Croatian Law on Foreigners, often somewhat amusingly referred to as the Aliens Act, is an extensive document full of legal jargon and references to Articles that most (normal) people have somewhat of an allergic reaction to. For some unknown reason, I don't, so I'm going to explain the changes due in 2021, one by one.  I'm not…