Politics

ZAGREB, September 19, 2020 - Wreaths were laid and candles lit at the Monument to the Revolution of the People of Moslavina in Podgaric on Saturday, to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the northwestern Croatia in World War II. "The current government shows much more understanding and tact regarding certain things than the previous governments. We are marking here today the 75th annivesary of one of the biggest victories over evil. One side chose the right way, the other the wrong way. Our side won the war and a country that is based on antifascism," President Zoran Milanovic…

ZAGREB, Sept 19, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Saturday that Standard & Poor's decision to affirm Croatia's credit rating proves that the country entered the corona crisis with a resilient economy and that the cabinet has adopted robust and timely measures to respond to the economic challenges. The Standard & Poor's agency on Friday affirmed its 'BBB-/A-3' long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings on Croatia, with a stable outlook, pointing to fiscal and monetary measures which can alleviate the consequences of the corona crisis and thus thwart permanent damage to credit indicators. The decisions prompted the government to state on…

ZAGREB, September 18, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday that the latest arrests in the Janaf graft affair were proof of the government's active policy of zero tolerance to corruption, regardless of names and surnames, position or party. "It is this government's policy, my own personally and that of the HDZ, that our independent judicial bodies, the State Prosecutor's Office, USKOK, PNUSKOK and the police are independent, unbiased in their work. No one tells them what to do or not to do. That is the fundamental principle of our functioning," Plenkovic told reporters after a meeting with county prefects and mayors.  …

ZAGREB, September 18, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who on Friday presented an economic recovery plan to county prefects and representatives of cities and municipalities, said that digitisation and the Green Deal were the centrepiece of Croatia's economic recovery. "Digitisation and the Green Deal are the centrepiece and framework for projects that will be financed," Plenkovic told the press in the city of Gospic after meeting with county heads and representatives of the associations of cities and municipalities. Plenkovic added that participants in the meeting were also informed about the allocation for Croatia within the Multiannual Financial Framework of the European Union. The…

ZAGREB, September 18, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic met with county prefects and mayors in the central town of Gospic on Friday to present the government's economic recovery plan, tax reform, local government reform, possibilities of using EU funding, and five development priorities. Plenkovic said that the government's aim for the next six months was to develop programmes and documents for the long-term strategic development of Croatia in five priority areas: social security, a prosperous future for the enterprise sector with emphasis on new technologies and job creation, self-sufficiency in food production, promoting solidarity in society and strengthening Croatia's…

ZAGREB, September 18, 2020 - Members of the Croatian Parliament on Friday supported the Council of Europe's Convention on an Integrated Approach to Safety, Security and Service at Football Matches and Other Sports Events.  Presenting the document, the interior ministry's State-Secretary, Zarko Katic, said that incidents occurred too frequently at football matches as a consequence of poor security management at stadiums. "Violence is on the rise both inside stadiums and outside as well as in city centres," Katic said. The purpose of the Convention is to ensure that football and other sports events provide a safe, secure and welcoming environment…

ZAGREB, September 18, 2020 - The Croatian parliament on Friday lifted the immunity of three MPs to face corruption charges. It was an unprecedented decision in parliament's recent history because never before had three lawmakers been stripped of immunity from criminal prosecution in a single day. The MPs in question are Drazen Barisic (HDZ), the mayor of Velika Gorica, Darko Puljasic (HDZ), the mayor of Pozega, and Vinko Grgic (SDP), the mayor of Nova Gradiska. The decision was carried by 121 votes in favour and one abstention in the case of Barisic and by 123 votes in favour and two abstentions in…

ZAGREB, Sept 17, 2020 - The government on Thursday accepted an agreement on the establishment of the National Council for Pensioners and the Elderly, an advisory body that discusses the issues of pension and health insurance, social policy and the protection of the elderly and that submits opinions to the government. The agreement regulates the scope of work of the Council and its composition, and it consists of 12 members -- four government representatives, six representatives of pensioners and the elderly and one representative each of the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO) and the Croatian Health Insurance Institute (HZZO). In…

September the 17th, 2020 - We recently reported on the fact that the much anticipated abolition of an extremely unpopular tax had been reconsidered by Finance Minister Zdravko Maric, who explained that those who believed the change was due to come into force at the beginning of 2021 had got their wires crossed. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 16th of September, 2020, Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said on Wednesday that the abolition of property transfer/sales tax is indeed planned during this government's term, and that it has never been specified that this will happen on the first day of…

ZAGREB, Sept 16, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told the parliament on Wednesday that currently there was no valid reason for the engagement of army troops to protect the country's border against illegal migrants. Our policy is that the Croatian police protect the border, and more than 6,000 police officers safeguard the border around the cock, the premier said in response to a question by Bridge parliamentarian Miro Bulj, who asked during Question Time whether the authorities would deploy the military along the border because local inhabitants in the Dalmatian hinterland felt insecure due to the influx of illegal migrants. Plenkovic said that…