Politics

ZAGREB, November 6, 2020 - Social and Democratic Party (SDP) leader Pedja Grbin told a press conference on Friday that the SDP was today launching its campaign for the local election in Rijeka because Rijeka was the best example of how to love and lead your city in the right way. At the press conference, the SDP introduced its candidates for Rijeka Mayor and Deputy Mayor, Marko Filipovic and Sandra Krpan. "Rijeka is an excellent example to everyone in Croatia of what needs to be done to improve the lives of people who put their trust in you as a…

ZAGREB, November 6, 2020 - Construction Minister Darko Horvat said on Friday that the organised post-earthquake reconstruction of Zagreb and Krapina-Zagorje and Zagreb counties would start in early spring and that EU funds for that purpose should be paid already around December 1. "A certain number of projects are nearing completion and we will start with them. I am optimistic that organised reconstruction will start already in early spring," Horvat said after a meeting of an expert group in charge of EU reconstruction grants. The minister said that requests for the payment of close to HRK 80 million worth of finished…

ZAGREB, November 6, 2020 - Parliament will debate the Homeland Movement's interpellation on the government's work in connection with the Krs-Padjene wind park project on Tuesday, Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic announced on Friday. He said parliament would debate amendments to a revised 2020 state budget in the morning, then debate three bills, and begin a debate on the interpellation at 3 p.m. Voting will take place on Wednesday. Parliament today added 13 items to the agenda, including a set of bills related to the fifth round of the tax reform and the interpellation submitted by the opposition Homeland Movement, which was backed by…

ZAGREB, November 6, 2020 - The Opposition in the parliament on Friday welcomed changes to the parliament's rules of procedure enabling, in the current epidemic, all MPs to participate in parliament sessions by sitting in several halls and following sessions via video link. The chair of the parliamentary committee on the constitution, rules of procedure and political system, Drazen Bosnjakovic, said that the changes were in line with a Constitutional Court decision, making sure MPs were not denied the right to participate in debates. The changes also enable the parliament speaker to authorise an MP to chair over sessions if…

ZAGREB, Nov 5, 2020 - Not denying the negative impact of the corona crisis on public finance, opposition parties in the parliament on Thursday said that the epidemic of coronavirus was not the only problem for Croatia and its economy, and that the lack of reforms needs to be taken into account too. It is true that the coronavirus epidemic could not be predicted however it has exposed all our weaknesses. It has come across an abandoned state that has neither the will nor the idea of how to implement reforms, MP Anka Mrak Taritas said during a debate in parliament…

ZAGREB, Nov 5, 2020 - Croatia will wait for the official result of the US presidential election which is always "interesting, with "lots of drama," Foreign Minster Gordan Grlic Radman said on Wednesday, confident that democratic standards would be respected. "We've heard, we are following, it's very interesting. There is always expectation and drama with the election of the American president. We'll know when the official results are called," he told the press. He would not speculate if the situation in the US might escalate after incumbent Donald Trump made accusations about a theft of votes, while his opponent Joe Biden believes every…

ZAGREB, Nov 5, 2020 - At the end of July 2020, Croatia's public debt totalled HRK 325.4 billion, up 11.1% from the end of 2019, according to central bank data. Month on month, the public debt decreased 1.3%. The increase was due to the response to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which increased the state's financing needs in the wake of a strong drop in budget revenues resulting from unfavourable economic trends and the financing of job-retention measures, Raiffeisenbank (RBA) analysts say in a comment on the data. They note that the public debt increase at the end of July was…

ZAGREB, Nov 5, 2020 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has sent a letter to Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, extending his condolences to victims' families and support to the Austrian people after a terrorist attack in Vienna, the government said on Wednesday. Plenkovic stressed that all of Croatia stood by Austria and its citizens after the brutal attack. He said he was deeply confident the people of Vienna, a European and world capital which has always been one of the centres of world science and art, would find the strength and successfully overcome the difficult moments, the government said in a press…

ZAGREB, Nov 4, 2020 - Split Mayor Andro Krstulovic Opara, 53, said on Wednesday that he would not stand for another term as mayor in local elections next May, citing his health reasons. "After medical examinations conducted last week and after talks with my family and consultations with my doctors, I have decided to be fully committed to the struggle for my health and to spend more time with my family," Krstulovic Opara told Hina. He said he would continue performing his duties as a parliamentary deputy for the benefit of Split. In late January 2018, Krstulovic Opara was diagnosed with melanoma. Krstulovic…

ZAGREB, Nov 3, 2020 - All European Union citizens, including Croatian citizens who want to be vaccinated, will be vaccinated, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said while presenting a report on European Council meetings to the Sabor on Tuesday. The Prime Minister informed lawmakers of European Council meetings held in October in Brussels and of an informal meeting last Thursday. The main topic was the coronavirus pandemic. He underlined that the main "solution" to the pandemic is a vaccine and that once it is approved, it will be available to all Croatian citizens. A few vaccines are in the final stages of testing…