Politics

January 19, 2020 - Dario Hrebak, the mayor of the town of Bjelovar reported on Friday on his Facebook page how the reduction of the surtax rate in the town led to the increase of the total tax revenue. His Facebook post shows the numbers of income to the town, and his comment: "It's interesting... In the first 17 days of 2020 the town of Bjelovar made 250,000 kunas more than in the same period of 2019, although the surtax rate was 6 per cent higher then. We'll continue to follow what happens in the tax collection, and if the…

ZAGREB, January 19, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenković said in Split on Saturday that the competent agencies would step up the fight against drug dealers and people involved in organised crime, and in a comment on coming intraparty elections, he said that he expected fair conduct from all candidates. "We will step up activities that concern legal security. We will change laws if necessary, step up the fight against those who are involved in drug dealing and organised crime and who turn young people into delinquents," Plenković said at an event marking the 30th anniversary…

ZAGREB, January 19, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenković said at an event marking the 30th anniversary of the party's branch in Split on Saturday that his government had achieved its goals and that Croatia today was a better country than four years ago. "Four years ago, when the party membership supported our mission to restore voters' trust in the strongest Croatian party, we had several clearly defined goals and we have achieved them all, despite attempts to weaken or destablise us," Plenković said, adding that Croatia today was a better country, with sound economic development.…

ZAGREB, January 18, 2020 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Davor Bernardić said on Saturday in Ogulin, where the party leadership met to discuss preparations for parliamentary elections, that as the SDP's leader, he was the party's only candidate for prime minister. Bernardić said the fairest thing to do would be to hold parliamentary elections as soon as possible as the current parliament had long stopped representing voters' will, with "as many as 28 deputies having crossed the floor." "The ruling coalition is a result of political trade-offs in the parliament, so the fairest thing to do would be to…

ZAGREB, January 18, 2020 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the visiting Austrian Minister for the European Affairs, Karoline Edtstadler, said that their countries would advocate the opening of the accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania at the level of the European Council in March. A press release issued by the Croatian government after the Plenković-Edtstadler talks in Zagreb on Friday evening reads that the two countries would push for the adoption of a decision on the start of the negotiations with the two aspirants at the level of the European Council, which is supposed to hold a…

ZAGREB, January 18, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ leader Andrej Plenković on Friday dismissed interpretations that the party under his helm "has gone too much to the left," reiterating that Croatia was enjoying political stability and economic growth thanks to the responsible policy of his government. "I lead the party really transparently and, in my opinion, politically successfully as well," said Plenković in his comment on criticisms from hopefuls for the presidency of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). He rejected claims by possible challengers that the party had moved towards the left of the political spectrum and added that…

Croatian President-Elect Zoran Milanović gave his first interview to Mislav Bago of Nova TV on January 16, 2020. When asked what people should expect from him as president, Milanović indicated that he would defend the constitution, fight against thieves and do everything which he promised during his campaign. He also spoke about the murder which occurred in Split last weekend, as Slobodna Dalmacija reported. Here are some highlights from that interview. What can people expect from you as Croatian president? To defend the constitution, I will fight against thieves and all that I have said in the campaign. I haven’t…

ZAGREB, January 17, 2020 - The first compressor station in the Croatian gas transport system was formally put in operation on Friday, with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković saying that this investment marked a strategic step that would change Croatia's position on the gas supply market. The compressor station at Velika Ludina, about 60 kilometres east of Zagreb, is the technologically most complex structure in the Croatian gas transport system. The gas pipeline operator Plinacro has invested 209.5 million kuna (28.3 million euro) in the project, launched in mid-August 2018. The compressor station will increase gas supply security and enable bi-directional…

ZAGREB, January 17, 2020 - Constitutional Court president Miroslav Šeparović said on Friday that the Constitutional Court would not meddle in the president-elect's decision that the inauguration would take place at the Office of the President at Pantovčak, and not in St. Mark's Square, as has been the case until now. "The president-elect has the right to choose the location of his inauguration, and we will respect that choice. What matters to the Constitutional Court is the presidential oath," Šeparović told Hina adding that the Constitutional Court does not choose the location of the inauguration. "The only thing that matters…

ZAGREB, January 17, 2020 - The initiative "Zagreb is calling you" and the associations Siget, the Green Action, and The Right to the City, have announced a new protest against Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, to be staged on February 1 in Zagreb's central Ban Josip Jelačić Square. The activists said the reason for the new protest against the mayor, after two were held during a recent campaign for presidential elections, was that Bandić "is keeping the 'Manhattan Project' and valuable city land for his cronies, while leaving residents of Zagreb to drown in garbage whose collection he plans to charge…