Politics

ZAGREB, May 23, 2020 - Economy Minister Darko Horvat has said that following analysis on the profitability of open shops on Sunday, the government will propose that 14 Sundays in a year will be working days and employers will choose on which 14 Sundays they will open their shops. This proposal of 14 Sundays in a year when shops can be open is the result of an analysis which has been conducted for more than two years and also of a high amount of consensus reached with social partners and the segments of the public interested in this matter, said Minister Horvat in…

ZAGREB, May 23, 2020 - Former HDZ leader and deputy prime minister Tomislav Karamarko said on Saturday that the accusations against his wife Ana Karamarko made by the prosecutorial authorities who are probing nine companies and 38 persons on suspicion of tax fraud are "the theatre of the absurd". In his lengthy Facebook account on this investigation against his wife and other 37 persons believed to have committed tax evasion and other murky dealings, Karamarko said that "this theatre of the absurd" was another attempt to find anything that could incriminate him. Karamarko criticizes the media coverage of the whole case and…

ZAGREB, May 23, 2020 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Davor Bernardic said on Saturday in Dubrovnik that voting for the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) meant voting for corruption. Responding to Plenkovic's statement in an interview that a vote for Miroslav Skoro was a vote for the SDP, the opposition leader thus reiterated his accusations against the HDZ. He went on to say that during the four-year of the term of the current government Plenkovic "has hidden behind Brussels, his aides, various task forces, the virus, and crisis management teams." Commenting on Plenkovic's statement that the ban on Sunday work will be lifted…

ZAGREB, May 23, 2020  - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic on Saturday extended greetings on the occasion of Ramadan Bayram to the head of the Islamic Community in Croatia, Mufti Aziz Hasanovic, and all Islamic believers. Ramadan is a holy month for all Muslim believers during which you reinforce the values of Islam through fasting, abstinence, prayer, solidarity, and care for the fellow man, Jandrokovic said in a note sent on his and parliament's behalf. Unfortunately, you lived this year's Ramadan time of spiritual well-being in different circumstances because of the pandemic. I am convinced that, despite the absence of traditional joint…

ZAGREB, May 23, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has said the ban on Sunday work will be lifted if it is established that it is no longer required epidemiologically, but that he is for Sunday to be a non-working day. "The ban on Sunday work was an epidemiological measure introduced at a moment that was quite different from today's circumstances, when we have single-digit numbers of new (COVID-19) infections. The objective of the measure was to reduce the intensify of the population's mobility one day in the week. If it's now concluded epidemiologically that it's no longer necessary, the measure will…

ZAGREB, May 22, 2020 - Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said on Friday that a virtual EU summit with the six Eastern Partnership countries would be held in June. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Minister Grlic Radman met at the National and University Library in Zagreb with ambassadors from EU member countries in Croatia. They discussed Croatia's EU presidency in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and economic recovery. Grlic Radman said that a summit would be held on the Eastern Partnership as part of Croatia's EU presidency in the second half of June, slightly more than a month after the…

ZAGREB, May 22, 2020 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Davor Bernardic said during a visit to Sisak on Friday that the SDP-led coalition would assume responsibility for the country after the July 5 election, and that President Zoran Milanovic's statement that he would not go to the polls was a symbolic gesture of neutrality. Commenting on the political situation in Sisak, Bernardic said that its Social Democrat mayor Krstina Ikic Banicek was working miracles without any support from the state. "Not only has the state not implemented the necessary reforms, but it also has not even let the town use the premises…

ZAGREB, May 22, 2020 - The Conflict of Interest Commission on Friday decided to launch proceedings against Member of Parliament Milorad Pupovac because he had received two allowances for performing two different public duties. During a regular inspection the commission determined that Pupovac, a Member of Parliament on behalf of the Serb ethnic minority, was also a member of the Council of the Serb National Minority in the City of Zagreb. Holding these two positions is not contentious, however, Pupovac violated the law on the prevention of conflict on interest because he also received an allowance for the second position, which he should not…

ZAGREB, May 22, 2020 - An agreement on upgrading the Central Registry of Affiliates (REGOS) services on the labour market, worth HRK 54 million and to be co-financed from the European Social Fund (ESF), as part of the Operational Programme Efficient Human Resources 2014-2020, was signed on Friday. The Central Registry of Affiliates will improve its efficiency and additionally enhance its promptness and quality of service related to pension insurance schemes. The project includes establishing pension information centres, developing a website and the mREGOS mobile phone application, as well as training staff at Regos. Minister of Labour and Pension System Josip Aladrovic said that this, like…

ZAGREB, May 22, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday that President Zoran Milanovic's statement that he might not go to the polls to vote in the parliamentary election is a striking message to Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Davor Bernardic and voters on the left. "I didn't have time to see his interview because I was in Rijeka. I think that that is a striking message for Davor Bernardic, and for voters on the left," Plenkovic said when asked to comment on Milanovic's statement about considering not to go to the polls on 5 July for the reason of impartiality.…