Politics

ZAGREB, April 27, 2020 - President Zoran Milanović met on Monday with a delegation of freelance artists who informed him of the unenviable situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, because a majority of freelancers in creative industries are not covered by any government aid scheme. According to the delegation, freelancers were left out and were only subsequently able to apply for incentive measures and only a small portion of them are entitled to those measures, while a majority of freelance artists are still not covered by relief measures, the president's office said in a press release. "We expect unity and…

ZAGREB, April 27, 2020 - Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković on Monday did not say when the new Attorney General could be appointed nor whether the Croatian government had decided, having interviewed six candidates, on whom they would propose for the office to the parliament. "We will see. We will analyse everything these days," Bošnjaković told reporters in front of Government House where a commission in charge of selecting a nominee for the position of Attorney General on Monday interviewed six candidates who had submitted their application. Applications had been submitted by Deputy Attorney General Zlata Hrvoj Šipek, Split-Dalmatia County Deputy…

As Novac/Frenki Lausic writes on the 27th of April, 2020, for HDZ, when it comes to the Croatian economy, the state budget and other standards that regard citizens, it would be best to hold parliamentary elections now. With each new passing day and month, even if we go with the baseline scenario, where the recovery of the Croatian economy would begin to be felt in the second part of the year, and the coronavirus pandemic would be kept under control, economic disadvantages on all levels would be visible. The business results of Croatian companies will be much worse, the state budget…

April 26, 2020 - Croatia is at a great turning point: continue on with the old ways, or take a new path of reforms. As 24sata writes on the 25th of April, 2020, in spite of the gravity of the situation in which we've come to find ourselves because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has been intensified by the recent Zagreb earthquake, today, Croatia has a chance that is rarely presented: the nation's dysfunctional, inefficient and expensive institutions, functions and positions that are all too often merely self-serving and nothing more, can be replaced by a more efficient apparatus that…

ZAGREB, April 26, 2020 - The Croatian Agriculture Ministry on Saturday dismissed media reports that Croatia will have to pay back HRK 3 billion (€400m) to the European Union because inspectors from Brussels have found that only two percent of grants made available for organic farming are justified. The ministry stresses that the two assertions are unverified and entirely incorrect. "Since 2015, €128.3 million has been made available to Croatia for organic farming through the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, or one billion kuna in total for the seven-year period, of which 15% are funds from the state budget and the…

ZAGREB, April 26, 2020 - Croatian jurist Ksenija Turković has been elected a Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights, the Strasbourg-based court has said on its website. Turković will take office on May 18. A criminal law professor at the Zagreb School of Law, Turković was elected a judge of the European Court of Human Rights in October 2012. The number of judges of the European Court of Human Rights is equal to the number of contracting states to the European Convention on Human Rights. Judges perform their duties in an individual capacity and do not represent any…

ZAGREB, April 25, 2020 - Britain's Prince Charles has made a donation to the Croatian government fund for the reconstruction of Zagreb after the March 22 earthquake, expressing deep distress and sadness over the casualties and devastation caused by the earthquake, the British Embassy said on Saturday. Because my wife and I have such fond and special memories of visiting Croatia four years ago, I was immensely shocked to hear that so many valuable historic buildings in Zagreb had suffered so much damage, the Prince of Wales said in a letter to President Zoran Milanović. In recognition of the good…

ZAGREB, April 25. 2020 - The head of the national coronavirus crisis management team, Interior Minister Davor Božinović (HDZ), said on Saturday that the decision banning Sunday work was made based on recommendations by epidemiologists, declining to comment on the speculation that the present situation was being used for political purposes. "We have regulated shop opening hours as part of our measures. This decision was made based on recommendations by epidemiologists. All decisions are made in accordance with recommendations from professionals. All shops will be working as they worked before, except on Sundays and national holidays," Božinović told a regular…

ZAGREB, April 25, 2020 - The Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Saturday presented measures designed to help the farm sector in the current coronavirus pandemic, describing the decision to ban Sunday work for shops as an attempt by the HDZ "to improve its rating and curry favour with the far-right and conservative electorate." "The question is whether the virus spreads differently and is more dangerous on Sundays than on other days or if the decision by the national civil protection authority is motivated by reasons... of a political nature. It is clear that this is being done with the aim…

ZAGREB, April 25, 2020 - Croatian lawmakers on Friday discussed and mostly endorsed a report on the work of the national council monitoring the implementation of the anti-corruption strategy from 15 September 2018 to 15 July 2019, which shows that the country's readiness to fight corruption declined slightly. The Transparency International corruption perceptions index for 2018 shows a drop of one point and three places for Croatia in relation to 2017. According to the index, Croatia has 48 points, ranking 60th among 180 countries, which makes it one of the more corrupt countries. Ante Babić of the ruling HDZ party…