Politics
Tuesday, 15 December 2020
Parliament Speaker: More than One-Third of MPs are/were Infected with Coronavirus
ZAGREB, Dec 15, 2020 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic said on Monday that more than one-third of members of parliament had recovered from COVID-19, were currently infected or had been in self-isolation. According to official statistics, 29 MPs have recovered from COVID-19 or are still infected, and another 25 were in self-isolation, which makes a total of 54 deputies or more than one-third, Jandrokovic said in an interview with Croatian Radio, noting that the infection rate was evidently higher in the parliament than in the general population. He called again for compliance with epidemiological restrictions and thanked everyone who over the past…
Monday, 14 December 2020
Aladrovic: Application for National Pension Allowance as of Tomorrow
ZAGREB, Dec 14, 2020 - The Croatian Pension Insurance Fund (HZMO) will start accepting applications by elderly persons for the right to a national pension as of tomorrow, and about 20,000 beneficiaries who will receive HRK 800 per month are expected next year, Minister Josip Aladrovic said on Monday. The law on a national allowance for the elderly, which enters into force on 1 January 2021, provides for an income for Croatian citizens over the age of 65 who have not secured an old age income and are not entitled to a pension. The allowance will be paid by the…
Monday, 14 December 2020
Croatia and Italy to Declare Exclusive Economic Zone in January
ZAGREB, Dec 14, 2020 - Croatia's government on Monday adopted the decision on declaring an exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which will happen formally in January after a trilateral ministerial meeting with Slovenia and Italy. The government adopted a draft proposal of the decision on the declaration of an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic Sea, and the parliament would put it to the vote at an extraordinary sitting on Thursday, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said. Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said that "an understanding has been reached" in discussion with his Slovenian and Italian counterparts that Croatia…
Monday, 14 December 2020
PM Says Additional Restrictions Possible Unless Situation Improves
ZAGREB, Dec 14, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Monday that it was evident that the current counter-COVID measures, which expire on 21 December, would be extended if the current high numbers of new infections were not reduced. Additional restrictions are also on the table, Plenkovic said while chairing today's government session via video link from his home. Commenting on the unfavourable epidemiological situation, Plenkovic underscored that in the last seven days, a total of 25,119 new cases of the infection had been registered, or 5.6% more than in the week before. Figures about coronavirus-related deaths have also been on the rise.…
Monday, 14 December 2020
MPs: Completion of Corridor Vc Motorway Important for East Croatia
ZAGREB, Dec 14, 2020 - Members of parliament on Monday backed a loan for the completion of the motorway to the border with Hungary within the pan-European Corridor Vc, stressing that this is an important project for the development of eastern Croatia. The parliament is expected to ratify the state guarantee agreement between Croatia and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for financing a portion of the project for the completion of the said motorway. That is a priority project important for the development and progress of Slavonia and Baranja, and it is also important for the port of Ploce…
Monday, 14 December 2020
Minister Says Hospital Increasing Capacity to Admit COVID-19 Patients
ZAGREB, Dec 14, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Monday that his ministry had sent the KBC Zagreb hospital, the KB Dubrava hospital and the Hospital for Lung Diseases, also in Zagreb, an instruction to urgently take steps to increase their accommodation capacity for COVID-19 patients. Beros said the instruction was sent in light of the current epidemiological situation and that the three hospitals would also secure additional staff and equipment. He added that activities related to the reassignment of medical workers and equipment were ongoing, underlining the deployment of additional doctors and nurses to the hospitals in…
Monday, 14 December 2020
Bridge's Zvonimir Troskot to Run in Zagreb Mayoral Election
ZAGREB, Dec 14, 2020 - MP Zvonimir Troskot of the opposition Bridge party will be the party's candidate for Mayor of Zagreb in local elections in May next year, Bridge announced on its Facebook page on Sunday. Troskot has been a financial manager and auditor for large foreign companies and has led one of the biggest referendum initiatives in Croatia. He is well respected in his party as a person full of empathy and understanding for others. He has demonstrated remarkable leadership qualities and seeks to restore the citizens' trust in politics and politicians, Bridge said.
Monday, 14 December 2020
Brexit Brits in Croatia: Withdrawal Agreement Residence Explainer
December the 14th, 2020 - A clear and concise guide for Brexit Brits in Croatia wanting to make sure they retain all of the rights they have afforded to them being nationals of the EEA as the UK withdraws from the bloc. I want to apologise in advance for the sheer length of this article, but in order to set out everything needed, there was no way to make it shorter. The UK's transition period is quickly coming to an end. The UK might have formally left the European Union on the 1st of February, 2020, but all EU law…
Sunday, 13 December 2020
Constitutional Court Rejects Sanader's Claim in Planinska Case
ZAGREB, Dec 13, 2020 - The Constitutional Court rejected the lawsuit by former prime minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Ivo Sanader in the Planinska case, due to which he is serving a six-year prison sentence. With this decision all legal means of challenging the verdict before national courts have been exhausted. The verdict in the Planinska case, in which Sanader was charged with receiving a commission of HRK 17.5 million after the state bought a building in Zagreb's Planinska Street from the company of former HDZ MP and butchers chain owner Stjepan Fiolic during his term as prime minister,…
Sunday, 13 December 2020
LiPO Regional Party Established
ZAGREB, Dec 13, 2020 - A new regional party, called LiPO, was established in Lika-Senj County on Saturday, and its leader, county head Darko Milinovic, said that with 1,500 members it was the strongest regional centre-right party in Croatia. Milinovic said the party's statute, adopted today, allowed for the formation of factions. The party's name, LiPO, is an acronym formed from the initial letters of the names of the regions that constitute Lika-Senj County - Lika, the Croatian Littoral and islands. Milinovic said that the founding assembly was held at six locations in Gospic, Otocac, Novalja and Senj due to epidemiological restrictions. With…
Sunday, 13 December 2020
PM: Decision on Declaring Exclusive Economic Zone in Adriatic to be Adopted Monday
ZAGREB, Dec 12, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Saturday that on Monday his government would adopt a draft decision to declare an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic. Plenkovic said on Twitter that he had "consultations with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte regarding the declaration of a Croatian exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic" and that "the Croatian government will adopt a report on the process of consultations and a draft decision on the declaration of an exclusive economic zone on Monday." The ruling HDZ party caucus said earlier this month that the parliament…
