Politics

ZAGREB, November 15, 2020 - Croatian politician Anto Kovacevic, who was political prisoner in the Socialist Yugoslavia, died at the age of 68 from the consequences of COVID-19, his family reported on Sunday. Kovacevic, born in 1952 in the northern village of Ada in Bosnia and Herzegovina, served 8.5 years in the prison in Zenica for his political opinions in the Communist-led Yugoslav Federation, and was declared by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience. He was a member of the fourth parliament from 2000 to 2003 after Croatia gained independence. Kovacevic stood in Croatia's presidential elections in 2005. He used to be a…

As Ljubica Gataric/VL/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 14th of November, 2020, back in July this year, Croatia joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) and the Banking Union, which is one of the last formal steps towards Eurozone entry. The positive response from Frankfurt and Brussels was waited on for about a year, and it came during an extremely difficult period in which the coronavirus pandemic dominated, acting as an important signal that Croatia will not have to fight the consequences of this unprecedented crisis alone. Three months earlier, the decision was preceded by an agreement between the European and…

ZAGREB, November 14, 2020 - Croatia, in cooperation with the European Union, has ordered COVID vaccines from several companies, and the delivery of the reserved doses can be expected in the country as soon as the vaccinations are registered, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at a news conference in Zagreb on Saturday. Croatia, in agreement with the EU, has concluded several Advance Purchase Agreements. For instance, the European Commission and AstraZeneca have concluded such agreement on the delivery on 300 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine for the whole EU, and Croatia has ordered 2.7 million doses from that company. Sanofi is…

ZAGREB, November 14, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Saturday that he would support the imposition of tighter restrictions if the current situation regarding the spread of coronavirus did not improve, however, there would be neither lockdown nor curfew. Beros visited the city of Varazdin and the local hospital that is currently caring for 156 patients diagnosed with the coronavirus infection. The minister held meetings with local authorities and admitted that the epidemiological situation in the north of the country was not good. All that heightens the pressure on the healthcare system, and cooperation between the counties as well…

ZAGREB, Nov 14, 2020 - The President's Office issued a press release on Saturday ahead of the Remembrance Day commemoration in Vukovar on November 18, saying that it is people and not political elites that make up the Remembrance Procession. President Zoran Milanovic is of the view that the commemoration of people killed in Vukovar and Skabrnja during the Homeland War "has true significance only if it is open to all citizens wishing to pay their respects and gratitude to those killed and gone missing, and not just to those selected and to the political elites. The Remembrance Procession in…

ZAGREB, Nov 13, 2020 - Explaining the non-final judgment in the Fimi Media case on Friday, presiding judge Irena Kvaternik said that former prime minister and HDZ leader Ivo Sanader had abused his office and power to the detriment of all citizens because of his insatiable needs. "Sanader grossly abused his position and power. He enjoyed the privileges, but because of his insatiable needs he did that to the detriment of all citizens, including those who elected him. He created a narrative that political corruption was a rule rather than an exception," the judge said. She said that Sanader had…

ZAGREB, Nov 13, 2020 - The Trogir City Council held a special session on Friday on the occasion of the city's day which was attended by President Zoran Milanovic, who said few cities had such a rich history. The president said he could see that work was under way in Trogir. "I told them how much money to take from the European Union. That's the measure of success... to absorb as much as possible... For now, we are among the weakest in Europe, that is the last, but it will be better." Responding to questions from the press, Mayor Ante Bilic said Trogir…

ZAGREB, Nov 13, 2020 - The head of the Vukovar-Srijem County Public Health Institute, Kata Kresic, has warned members of the public against going to Vukovar on Vukovar Remembrance Day, November 18, due to the deteriorated epidemiological situation, calling on them to mark that holiday by lighting a candle at home. Kresic said that the epidemiological situation in the county was serious and noted that the number of positive coronavirus cases in the total number of tests had been 30% on average in the last 14 days, but that what was worrying was the share of positive cases, which in the past seven days had…

ZAGREB, Nov 13, 2020 - If the government persists in imposing Brussels' policies blindly and attempts to introduce the euro, the Croatian Sovereignists will launch a referendum initiative so that the electorate gives its opinion, the party said on Friday, describing that decision as detrimental to Croatia's economy. Addressing a press conference, the party's whip, MP Hrvoje Zekanovic, said that the party was opposed to that policy and called on other parties, civil society organisations and anyone who disagrees with "undemocratic behaviour by Andrej Plenkovic" to join the initiative. "We believe that introducing the euro is an economically detrimental political decision…

ZAGREB, Nov 13, 2020 - Former PM and HDZ leader Ivo Sanader has been sentenced to 8 years in prison in the Fimi Media case, former HDZ treasurer Mladen Barisic and accountant Branka Pavosevic have also been sentenced to prison, while the HDZ has been fined HRK 3.5 million and ordered to pay HRK 14.6 million into the state budget. Sanader and his co-defendants were charged with siphoning around HRK 70 million (€9.3 million) from state-owned companies and institutions through the Fimi Media marketing agency. The HDZ party, into whose slush fund some of the siphoned money had allegedly ended up, was found "responsible". Under…