Politics

ZAGREB, March 19, 2020 - President Zoran Milanović on Thursday received the newly-appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Croatia, Archbishop Giorgio Lingua, his office said in a press release. Lingua is the doyen of the diplomatic corps in Croatia. He was appointed by Pope Francis in July 2019 and presented his credentials in October. Lingua is the sixth papal envoy to Zagreb. He previously served as Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq, Jordan and Cuba. He had also worked in the papal representations in Ivory Coast and the United States as well as in the apostolic nunciatures in Italy and Serbia. The meeting was…

ZAGREB, March 19, 2020 - The Homeland Movement party's leader, Miroslav Škoro, on Thursday proposed introducing a minimum wage for everyone except for socially vulnerable groups, pregnant women and new mothers, as well as healthcare workers, given the economic crisis in the country. "Until the crisis ends, minimum wage for everyone," Skoro wrote on Facebook, proposing that it should apply to the government, presidents, former presidents, everyone in the state administration and state and public companies and institutions. "Enough with the fake solidarity at the expense of employees in the private sector," Škoro said. More news about Miroslav Škoro can…

ZAGREB, March 19, 2020 - The GONG nongovernmental organisation has said that measures being introduced by the Croatian government and most countries to alleviate the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic must not be misused, must be in line with the Constitution and must be in force only during the pandemic. Restrictions that are being introduced must be motivated solely by reasons related to public health and they must be implemented in line with the Constitution, the NGO said on Thursday, underlining the importance of respect for rights and procedures in crisis situations. As for Minister of the Interior Davor…

ZAGREB, March 19, 2020 - President Zoran Milanović addressed the nation on Wednesday, saying that Croatia has taken appropriate action to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and calling on the public to follow instructions from the National Civil Protection Authority. "Today I signed a decision amending the Civil Protection Act giving greater powers to the National Civil Protection Authority. I expect all of us to seriously adhere to the instructions and decisions issued by the Authority because in this crisis that we are faced with, the state is working for our benefit and it is working a lot,…

ZAGREB, March 19, 2020 - Asylum seekers in Croatia are not infected with the coronavirus, the Croatian Interior Ministry said in a press release on Wednesday evening, adding that all asylum seekers at the reception centres in Zagreb and Kutina were under constant medical observation. "They did not arrive now at the time of tightened border controls from the high-risk countries. They have been warned about the outbreak of the disease and measures that need to be taken to prevent its further spreading," the ministry said. Flyers have been displayed in the reception centres containing instructions from the Croatian Public…

ZAGREB, March 18, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Wednesday presented a package of measures in parliament worth over HRK 30 billion to help the economy and called for the nation's solidarity and unity during the coronavirus pandemic. "This is a circumstance which calls for responsibility and solidarity, a circumstance in which it is time for the nation's unity," he said. We can only win the war against coronavirus if we are united, he added. If we are not united, we'll have bigger problems and greater damage, the prime minister said. He expects economic entities and employers to understand…

ZAGREB, March 18, 2020 - Croatia's EU presidency has proposed that a decision be made next week to launch accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, and that the first intergovernmental accession conference be called immediately after a negotiating framework is adopted. Draft conclusions that were made available to Hina and that the General Affairs Council is expected to adopt at its next meeting on March 24 propose that a decision be made to launch membership talks with both countries. Talks on the draft conclusions will first be held at the level of member-countries' ambassadors before the document is discussed…

ZAGREB, March 17, 2020 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović submitted to the Conflict of Interest Commission his Declaration of Assets, which shows that he is the co-owner of two flats and two holiday houses and that in addition to a garage, some agricultural land, and a meadow, he also has a saving of HRK 850,000. In the Declaration of Assets, which he submitted four days ago, President Milanović says his monthly salary is HRK 25,000, while his wife Sanja Musić Milanović, an employee of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), monthly earns HRK 14,000. In addition to that, the…

ZAGREB, March 17, 2020 - In order to prevent the spreading of the novel coronavirus, the Croatian parliament will organise its plenary sessions in line with the national civil protection authority's recommendations on minimum personal distance, sources at the parliament said on Tuesday without specifying details. Unofficial sources, however, say that a new seating arrangement has been defined for Wednesday, when the parliament will reconvene. To make sure that there is room in the parliament chamber for each of the 151 members of parliament and that they sit at the prescribed distance from one another, they will sit in every…

ZAGREB, March 16, 2020 - The Defence Ministry said on Monday that the Croatian Army's activities have been reduced to the minimum due to the coronavirus outbreak but that the army's readiness is not in question. "The safety and health of Croatian Army members is the absolute priority and all army activities have been reduced. However, the army's readiness will be maintained and tasks that cannot be postponed will be carried out," the ministry said in a statement. All army command units are in contact with local civil protection authorities and health officials and are following the situation closely. The…