Politics

ZAGREB, September 10, 2020 - President Zoran Milanovic said on Thursday that the American offer for multi-purpose fighter jets should be given priority in principle, although price and expert judgement would ultimately be the decisive factors. "American aircraft should be the first choice. I say that completely openly. There are many reasons for that -- they have donated a lot of equipment to us, they are still donating. I can say this publicly because I am not participating in the procurement," said Milanovic, asked about the best offer for fighter jets after four countries submitted their bids, and the United States…

ZAGREB, September 10, 2020 - President Zoran Milanovic said on Thursday that he was against the administrative division of Croatia into regions, as he believed that five political regions would mean uneven standards in various parts of the country. If everybody takes care of themselves and collects taxes for themselves, which is the motive for that kind of decentralisation, that would force Lika, Zagora (the Dalmatian hinterland) and Slavonia to depend on some external sources, since they do not have the same assets as, for instance, Varazdin and Istria, he said. This would be the dissipation of the Croatian state,…

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 9th of September, 2020, neighbouring Slovenia has lost another lawsuit against Croatia before the General Court of the European Union (EU), although in this case the European Commission was sued for allowing the name Teran to be mentioned as a grape variety on the label of wines produced in the Republic of Croatia, according to a report from Vecernji list. Before Croatia's accession to the European Union back in July 2013, Slovenia sought the protection of the Slovenian Teran with a protected designation of origin valid for the entire European Union, and the European…

As Hina/Novac writes on the 9th of September, 2020, the Croatian state budget can withstand the crisis, there's no need to panic, PM Andrej Plenkovic assured on Wednesday on the Croatian Radio show "A sada Vlada/And now the Government", adding that he believes in a quick recovery of the Croatian economy. When asked how much space there is in the budget and how much more it can endure in this crisis, PM Andrej Plenkovic said that it can endure it all and that there shouldn't be any panic. He added that those in the public space and the media space…

ZAGREB, Sept 9, 2020 - Lawmakers on Wednesday debated a bill on workers posted to Croatia as well as the implementation of a cross-border agreement on money fines in an attempt to protect their rights, and the Opposition also warned about the status of Croatian workers and that Croatia does not have a sensible industrial policy. The bill refers to workers who are deployed by a foreign employer to temporarily work in Croatia, which is not their usual place of work, and the proposed bill on workers is being aligned with European legislation. Davorko Vidovic (SDP bench) welcomed the implementation of EU legislation…

ZAGREB, Sept 9, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday the aim of Zagreb Reconstruction Law on the post-earthquake reconstruction of the City of Zagreb and Krapina-Zagorje and Zagreb counties was quality and sustainable law which would ensure long term restoration. He was speaking at a cabinet meeting which adopted a conclusion giving a government representative consent to accept about 30 amendments to the final bill submitted by others. The government's approach is inclusive and consensual, so we decided to accept any amendments and many of them were identical, Plenkovic said, adding that the relevant ministries analyzed the proposals thoroughly, consulting experts.…

ZAGREB, Sept 9, 2020 - The Defence Ministry is receiving offers for the fighter jets from 9 am to 11.30 am today, which will be followed by a three-month evaluation period before a final proposal is addressed to the government, Defence Minister Mario Banozic told the press outside the government offices on Wednesday. Asked whether the public would be informed of the details of the offers, he replied in the negative, adding that the offers would go through a three-month process of evaluation based on which a proposal would be made for the government. A final decision on the best…

ZAGREB, Sept 9, 2020 - The Croatian parliament resumed its extraordinary session on Wednesday with a discussion on amendments to Protection Against Noise Act proposing measures to prevent excessive noise emissions, reduce the existing noise levels to the permissible levels, and align with EU law. State authorities, local and regional government units, legal and natural persons are required to ensure protection against noise nuisance, while inspections are done by sanitary inspectors from the State Inspectorate, said MP Ivan Kirin of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). Anka Mrak Taritas of the Civic Liberal Alliance (GLAS) asked if it was possible…

ZAGREB, Sept 9, 2020 - President Zoran Milanovic said on Tuesday evening while attending a formal session of the Varazdin County Assembly marking County Day, that renewed division of Croatia into regions would be disintegration. "What was done in 1993 without a referendum, at the height of the war, when there were more pressing priorities than local government, will not be easily reversed," he said and added that the counties, as the form of administration and "transmission between the central government (and regional government) in a country of just four million people", made more sense than regions. A renewed division of…

ZAGREB, September 8, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told CNN on Monday that the decision to reopen Croatia to foreign tourists was a calculated risk. This summer, an estimated seven million guests arrived in Croatia and the overnights are around 50 percent of the results in 2019, which was the record breaking year for the country's tourism sector, which makes up a fifth of the national GDP. During his interview with the CNN Anchorman Richard Quest, Plenkovic was asked whether Croatia was now paying a price for its decision to reopen to holiday-makers, since there was now a spike in new COVID-19…