Politics

ZAGREB, October 19, 2020 - President Zoran Milanovic on Monday visited the Knowledge Centre and the Centrometal company in Medjimurje County, saying his impressions were excellent and that Medjimurje "has no special resources other than people." Asked by the press what he would highlight, he said "work, organisation and resources... there are no special resources (here) other than people." "This should be a model to everyone in Croatia," he added. Centrometal is one of the leading manufacturers in Medjimurje, primarily manufacutring central heating boilers and solar systems, and it is mainly focused on renewables. Its director Davor Zidaric said the company managed to weather this…

ZAGREB, October 19, 2020 - The Social Democratic Party called out the government on Monday, saying that even though it knew that the moratorium on enforcement procedures expired today, it did nothing to facilitate the position of citizens who could not settle their obligations due to the economic crisis. The strongest opposition party said in a press release that Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and his HDZ party jeopardised the livelihoods of thousands of citizens by rejecting the SDP proposal that the moratorium be extended for at least three more months so that an aid package could be prepared and a new law passed. The SDP…

ZAGREB, October 19, 2020 - The Croatian government remains committed to the strategic goals of the Three Seas Initiative, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at a virtual summit of this initiative on Monday. He said that Croatia would contribute up to €20 million to the initiative's investment fund through the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development. We hope that our cooperation will free up huge potential for growth, connectivity and prosperity, Plenkovic told the summit formally hosted by Estonia. The Three Seas Initiative is a joint Croatian-Polish project launched at a meeting in Dubrovnik in the summer of 2016 with the aim…

ZAGREB, October 17, 2020 - PM Andrej Plenkovic has said that President Zoran Milanovic's activity contains elements of destabilisation, that he is minimising and downplaying the fight against coronavirus and social radicalisation and that if he continues acting like that, he will bring into question the purpose of his office. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with HDZ members who are war veterans, Plenkovic said that the attack on the government building this past Monday was a criminal act with elements of terrorism and that the line had been crossed. "I have no problem with anyone attacking me politically... I live with that, more than…

ZAGREB, October 17, 2020 - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman have expressed a readiness to intensify dialogue and improve relations between their countries for the benefit of both nations and the Croat minority in Serbia and the Serb minority in Croatia. The Serbian president has expressed a willingness to ensure "representation of the Croats in the provincial and in local parliaments in Serbia in the way Croatia has ensured for its Serb minority," Grlic Radman told a joint press conference after bilateral talks with Vucic on Friday evening. The meeting was held after the formal handover…

ZAGREB, October 16, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Friday in Brussels dismissed claims that Monday's attack on Government House could have occurred anywhere and condemned any approval or downplaying of that grave crime by the right and left. In a statement to the press on Thursday Plenkovic hinted that he personally was the target of the attack on Government House that occurred on Monday because certain individuals in political and media circles incite intolerance and hate towards him. He also hinted that President Zoran Milanovic was among those who used that sort of language against him in the 2016 election campaign. Milanovic…

ZAGREB, October 16, 2020 - Parliament on Friday ratified two agreements which enable Croatia to access the European Investment Bank (EIB) Pan-European Guarantee Fund in Response to Covid-19. The parliament adopted legislation confirming the Agreement on contributions between EIB and Croatia related to the Pan-European Guarantee Fund in Response to Covid-19 and the Agreement on guarantees upon first call between initial guarantors and temporary guarantors. The Covid-10 guarantee fund is part of an EU €540 billion package to bail out enterprises. The fund is valued at €25 billion earmarked for EU member states and it is estimated that it will mobilise an additional €200 billion.…

ZAGREB, October 16, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Friday that Croatia had a serious increase in new COVID-19 cases and called on citizens to act seriously otherwise the virus would control their lives. "Today the number of new infections for the first time has exceeded one thousand. The virus is spreading to the health system, retirement homes and is a serious threat all around. It is high time we took matters into our own hands. If we give up on personal responsibility, the virus will control our lives," Beros said and called on the citizens to adhere…

ZAGREB, Oct 15, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that it should be looked into whether he personally was the target of Monday's attack on the government headquarters, criticising right-wing politicians and media for spreading hatred and aggression against him. Speaking to Croatian reporters in Brussels ahead of a two-day EU summit, Plenkovic said that the attacker who shot and seriously wounded a police officer guarding the government building in St Mark's Square in Zagreb on Monday did not get this idea on his own, but was prompted by the atmosphere in society created by hatemongers. "It…

ZAGREB, Oct 14, 2020 - Russia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov will visit Croatia on October 27 and will meet with senior state officials, Russia's new Ambassador to Croatia Andrey Nesterenko announced on Wednesday, the day he presented his credentials. Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet on October 27 with Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and President Zoran Milanovic, the ambassador told the HRT national broadcaster. He did not exclude that those meetings might discuss a visit by Russia's President Vladimir Putin to Croatia in 2021. Nesterenko presented his credentials to President Milanovic today and said that he left a strong…