Politics

May 7, 2020 - An extraordinary press conference of the Ministry of Defense started at 7:45 pm in Zemunik, after a military plane crashed after 4 pm, killing two soldiers. During the press conference, Defense Minister Damir Krsticevic announced his resignation. Minister of Defense Damir Krsticevic and Armed Forces Chief of the General Staff spoke at the conference concerning the military plane crash, reports Dnevnik.hr. Admiral Robert Hranj said instructor Lieutenant Marko Novkovic was killed in the crash. The cause of the crash is still unknown. An investigative commission has been formed. Hranj expressed his condolences to the families. It was…

ZAGREB, May 7, 2020 - President Zoran Milanović has told Croatian fourth-grade secondary school students ahead of school leaving exams to learn from history but to look to the future, thus responding to the publication of a historical map of the so-called Great Hungary on the Facebook page of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Writing in a Facebook post on Thursday, Milanović said that most European countries had in their closets historical maps showing them bigger than they are today, but they are unachievable and they always irritate the neighbours. Orban has been extending best wishes to Hungarian students ahead…

ZAGREB, May 7, 2020 - The government on Thursday sent to parliament a draft 2020 budget revision which reduces revenues by HRK 23.2 billion to almost HRK 122 billion and keeps expenditures at HRK 147.3 billion. Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said the revised budget was appropriate to the current circumstances and that it ensured the functioning of the state and all its institutions and systems. Under the revised budget, revenues are planned at HRK 121.95 billion, down from the originally planned HRK 145.1 billion. This decline is a result of bailout measures in dealing with…

ZAGREB, May 7, 2020 - The Croatian government has secured emergency aid in the amount of HRK 20,000 per household for the necessary protection and repair of buildings damaged in the March 22 quake that hit Zagreb and its environs, and it will soon put to public consultation a bill on the reconstruction of buildings. The aid to be granted as emergency relief to households amounts to HRK 141 million in total, it was said at a government meeting on Thursday. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković asked the competent ministries to finalise a bill on the reconstruction of buildings damaged in…

May 7, 2020 - TCN is delighted to welcome Courtney Long to the writing team. With a BA in Asian studies and currently studying Mandarin in Zagreb, some thoughts on the relationship between Croatia and China. Welcome, Number 151! Last month, a majority of European nations agreed to implement strict quarantine measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. The decision reflects a worldwide movement intended to reduce the COVID-19 infection rate. As of this writing, there were already 1,436,617 patient cases across Europe and 139,586 deaths, according to recent reports from Worldmeter’s COVID-19 data. In Croatia, there have been 2,088…

ZAGREB, May 7, 2020 - The European Union sent from the Zagreb Summit on Wednesday a strong message to Western Balkan countries that they have an unequivocal European perspective and that their future is in the EU. Leaders of the EU's 27 member states and six Western Balkan countries held a summit via video link because of the coronavirus pandemic. "Although the meeting, unfortunately, was not held as would have liked, by physically coming together in Zagreb, in terms of content we have achieved results in line with our expectations and those of our south-eastern neighbours," Croatian Prime Minister Andrej…

ZAGREB, May 6, 2020 - Croatian People's Party (HNS) whip Milorad Batinić said on Wednesday that the ruling coalition would like the parliamentary election to be held in the second half of July at the latest. "The second half of July at the latest," Batinić told reporters in Parliament House when asked when the ruling coalition would like the election to be held. Once parliament is dissolved, the "conductor's wand" is in the President's hands and he will determine the date of the election, added Batinić. Batinić believes that the election should be held as soon as possible and notes…

ZAGREB, May 6, 2020 - Croatian People's Party (HNS) leader Ivan Vrdoljak said that the meeting of the ruling coalition held on Tuesday focused on a budget review and an education bill as the basis for the adoption of decisions necessary to bring the school year to an end and regulate school leaving exams and enrolment. "We primarily discussed the budget review and what the topics of our meeting next week will be. I wanted the budget review... to contain a clear message that public sector investments would continue and be stimulated," said Vrdoljak after the meeting. "The second topic…

ZAGREB, May 5, 2020 - The State Electoral Commission (DIP) is preparing for parliamentary elections while it is not clear yet how the elections will be implemented. DIP spokesman Slaven Hojski said that the commission in charge of parliamentary elections had begun to prepare for them as soon as the presidential election was concluded. Our preparations include preparing a draft of compulsory instructions and forms, working on applications to be used by the commission, and so on, Hojski told Hina. The date of the parliamentary election has still not been decided but there has been speculation that it could be…

ZAGREB, May 5, 2020 - President Zoran Milanović on Tuesday met with the leadership of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU) for talks on the reconstruction of Zagreb after a magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck the capital on March 22. The HAZU delegation included President Velimir Neidhardt, Vice-Presidents Davor Miličić and Frano Parać and Secretary-General Dario Vretenar, according to a press release issued by Milanović's office. Neidhardt presented a document in which HAZU presented their vision of the reconstruction of Zagreb after the March 22 earthquake, proposing a multidisciplinary approach that would take into account both public interest and…