Politics

ZAGREB, 23 June 2022 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić on Thursday during a working visit to the Croatian Navy at the "Admiral Sveto Letica-Barba" barracks in Split commented on the upcoming Defence Strategy of the Republic of Croatia and Long-Term Development Plan of the Croatian Armed Forces. Thanking the members of the Croatian Navy (HRM) for impeccably carrying out their duties, the defence minister said that the Croatian government would continue to pursue a policy of strengthening the capabilities of the Croatian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence (MORH) said. He recalled that many measures had been adopted with regard…

ZAGREB, 23 June 2022 - Croatia has registered 175 new COVID-19 cases and four related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday. Currently, there are 2,770 active cases, and 210 patients in hospital treatment, including five patients on ventilators. Since 25 February 2020, when the first infection with the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus was confirmed in the country, COVID-19 has claimed 16,043 lives in Croatia. As of 22 June 2022, 59.54% of the total population or 70.81% of the adult population has been vaccinated. For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to…

ZAGREB, 23 June 2022- Croatian President Zoran Milanović on Thursday again urged the European Union to grant membership candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina. EU leaders are meeting in Brussels on Thursday for a two-day summit to decide on the membership candidate status for Ukraine and Moldova, for which there is widespread support. Milanović on Thursday requested the same status for Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has Slovenian President Borut Pahor's strong support for this, and Austria has also joined the initiative. "We have heard from all member states that Ukraine will get the candidate status, which is fine, but Ukraine,…

ZAGREB, 23 June 2022- Germany wants the Western Balkan countries to be given a realistic opportunity to join the European Union, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the press in Brussels on Thursday ahead of a meeting of EU and Western Balkan leaders.  "The citizens in the Western Balkans have been waiting for almost 20 years for the opportunity to become members of the European Union. It is of utmost importance that this becomes a credible promise because the many efforts that these countries have undertaken must in the end actually lead to their admission," Scholz said. The EU leaders are meeting their Western…

BRUSSELS, 22 June - The leaders of the EU member states will gather on Thursday and Friday at a summit to support the recommendation on Croatia's entry into the euro area and to decide on the candidate status for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. The European Council welcomes Croatia's fulfilment of all the convergence criteria set out in the Treaty. It supports the Commission's proposal that Croatia adopts the euro on 1 January 2023 and calls on the Council to swiftly adopt the relevant Commission proposals, a draft conclusion said. This is the second-last step in the decision-making process on Croatia's accession to…

ZAGREB, 22 June - Addressing the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that the Council of the EU would next week send a draft decision on Croatia's admission to the Schengen area on 1 January 2023, and the final decision could be adopted this autumn. Next week the Council of the EU will send to the European Parliament a formal proposal for Croatia's accession into the Schengen, the Croatian PM told the European Parliament. The decision on the entry into the Schengen area is adopted unanimously by the Council of the EU, and the procedure also includes…

ZAGREB, 22 June - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Tuesday spoke on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to express support to Ukraine ahead of the European Union's decision to grant the candidate status to Ukraine. The European Council will convene for 23-24 June in Brussels to discuss the wider Europe, Ukraine, EU membership applications from Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, economic issues, the Conference on the Future of Europe and external relations. "Ahead of the meeting of the European Council I spoke on the phone with President  Zelenskyy to convey our support to Ukraine in obtaining the status…

ZAGREB, 22 June - Wreath-laying ceremonies were held at the Brezovica Memorial Centre on Wednesday on the occasion of Croatia's Anti-Fascist Struggle Day, observed on 22 June in memory of 22 June 1941 when the first Partisan detachment and the first anti-Fascist unit in this part of Europe were founded near Sisak. President Zoran Milanović, who laid down carnations in front of the "Debeli Brijest" monument, said in his speech that anti-Fascism had deep roots in Croatia. "It is a feeling, emotion, it is an integral part of Croatia's journey and one of the segments that make up our roots," said the…

ZAGREB, 21 June 2022 - It is unfair and incorrect to set conditions for Sweden and Finland's NATO membership, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday after a meeting with his Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin, expressing the government's support for Finland and Sweden's NATO membership bid. "The position of the Croatian government and parliamentary majority has been continually clear and firm - we support Finland's ambition and believe that, if that is what our EU partner wants, its choice should be respected and supported," Plenković said at a news conference he held with the visiting Finnish PM. "We believe that at this…

ZAGREB, 21 June 2022 - Science and Education Minister Radovan Fuchs on Tuesday congratulated pupils, teachers, head teachers, Ministry and local government officials on the successful completion of the school year, the first two-thirds of which, he said, were extremely difficult due to the pandemic and earthquake. The minister also expressed hope that the next year would pass without too much stress, the pandemic, and other difficulties. Addressing the press after a government session, the minister added that according to World Health Organisation surveys, Croatia had the lowest number of days of online classes in the 2021/2022 school year. Fuchs said…