Politics

ZAGREB, 14 June 2022 - The head of the Croatian Journalists Union, Maja Sever, has been elected President of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) at the organisation's general meeting that is taking place in Izmir, Turkey on 13 and 14 June, the Croatian Journalists Association announced on Tuesday. Sever received 137 votes, while the other candidate for this position, Mariusz Pilis of Poland, gained 7 votes. Sever is the first woman to serve as EFJ President in the organisation's history. She thanked the delegates for their nearly unanimous support. "This election is a great honour to me and a…

June 14th, 2022 - The EU extends COVID certificate regulations, which are intended to facilitate the free movement of people during the pandemic, until June 30th, 2023. Using a QR code, the certificate can be used to prove whether a person has been vaccinated against, tested negative for, or has recovered from COVID-19. The European Parliament and European governments agreed Monday night that the COVID certification rules will remain in place for the next 12 months because the coronavirus disease pandemic is still ongoing, reports Večernji List. Representatives of the European Parliament and EU governments have agreed to extend the regulation until…

ZAGREB, 13 June 2022 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić said at the 27th edition of the Eurosatory fair in Paris on Monday that the Croatian military industry had become a respectable player on the world market, the Defence Ministry said in a press release. Banožić and a Defence Ministry delegation visited the Eurosatory defence and security fair in Paris. In addition to global manufacturers of military equipment and weapons, Banožić toured the exhibition spaces of Croatian defence companies taking part in this year's fair, together with the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the press release reads. They have confirmed once again…

ZAGREB, 13 June 2022 - The 18th Islands of the World Conference - Islands: Nature and Culture, organised within the International Small Islands Studies Association (ISISA), has opened at the University of Zadar, bringing together 120 scientists and other participants from Croatia and nearly all continents. The programme is extremely rich, University Rector Dijana Vican said in her opening remarks on Monday, noting that small islands would be approached from different scientific points of view. According to most world classifications, all Croatian islands, which are rich in cultural heritage and various archaeological sites, are small islands. These areas are natural-geographical…

ZAGREB, 13 June 20222 - Croatia's Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović spoke with European Football Federation (UEFA) President Aleksander Čeferin in Geneva on Monday about ways to improve safety at football matches. Čeferin underscored the importance of cooperation between federations, clubs, and fans in order to exchange all information that contributes to the smooth organization of football matches during the preparation, planning, and implementation of security measures. The aim is to encourage clubs to develop and maintain proactive and regular communication with fans and their representatives with the aim of forming partnerships and solving problems, the Ministry of the Interior…

ZAGREB, 13 June 2022 - Matica Hrvatska, Croatia's oldest cultural and publishing institution, celebrated 180 years of its existence at a ceremony at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb on Monday, with the country's prominent political and cultural figures attending. Addressing those gathered, the President of Matica Hrvatska, Miro Gavran, said that although Matica had lived in five states, it had always maintained its primary purpose of fostering culture, science, arts and education, as well as love for the homeland. He said that the new governing board, elected seven months ago, was trying to maintain the existing values, adding that…

ZAGREB, 13 June 2022 - The leader of the Bosnian Croat HDZ party, Dragan Čović, has announced that he will support the document which was adopted by representatives of 12 Bosnian political parties in Brussels on Sunday, provided that two amendments were added to the text. A source close to Čović said on Monday that he would support the document today, with an additional "two minor changes that should not be problematic." The changes will give an additional value to the text, the source said. The leaders of 12 Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) and Serb parties endorsed the document in Brussels on Sunday, committing to…

ZAGREB, 12 June 2022 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Peđa Grbin said on Sunday the fight against inflation and price growth must be a priority of any policy at the moment. "Life in Croatia is hard and even though we know that inflation is due to the pandemic and the horrible war in Ukraine, we can do a lot to alleviate its impact on Croatian citizens. The purpose of politicians and policies is to help citizens," Grbin said at the start of a session of the SDP Main Committee, held for the first time live after two years. Criticising what…

ZAGREB, 12 June 2022 - Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević said on Sunday, in a comment on the process of post-earthquake reconstruction in Zagreb, that the city administration was willing to help state institutions but that under the law, reconstruction was not the city's responsibility.  "I have been in office for a year and I have already cooperated with two different construction ministers and two different directors of the Reconstruction Fund, and those are the two institutions responsible for the reconstruction of private buildings. It is unbelievable the process is taking so long," Tomašević said at the Projekt Ilica: Q’ART event. Physical Planning, Construction…

ZAGREB, 11 June, 2022 - The financially feasible management of hospitals and a new network of public healthcare protection are some of the reform actions presented on Saturday by Minister Vili Beroš in his video message to a convention of journalists specialised in reporting on health topics. He informed the conference, which took place in the Istrian town of Grožnjan, that the public procurement procedures would be streamlined and that the lists of drugs covered by the Croatian Health Insurance Agency (HZZO) would be overhauled. Beroš said that the reform of the healthcare system would also focus on prevention check-ups, promotion of healthy…