Politics

ZAGREB, 26 May 2022 - A new package of measures to help Croatians to address inflationary pressure is very likely to be prepared, we are working on it, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Thursday after a meeting of coalition partners, however, he stopped short of saying when those measures could enter into force. The new package of anti-inflationary measures is being discussed in the government and in the coalition, Marić said. "We will see when it is ready, we are working on it," he said. According to Marić, the new package "is very likely given the development of events," and it will…

ZAGREB, 26 May 2022 - The Dugine obitelji (Rainbow Families) NGO said on Thursday the High Administrative Court delivered a precedent ruling that all life partners may be evaluated for adoption suitability and must not be discriminated against on sexual orientation grounds. "They can no longer discriminate against you based on sexual orientation, they can turn you down based on some criteria," said the NGO's president, Daniel Martinović. He said there might be difficulties based on discrimination, but hoped there would not be any, calling on everyone who encountered obstacles to contact the NGO. The court dismissed the relevant ministry's argument that same-sex couples should not…

ZAGREB, 26 May 2022 - The Science and Education Ministry on Thursday condemned in the strongest terms a case in Slavonski Brod where senior-year students of a local secondary school took a photo of themselves with their right hand raised in the air. The students posed for a photo with their teacher on the last day of school, wearing camouflage trousers, black berets, and black T-shirts with the message "For muck-up day ready", an allusion to the salute "For the homeland ready", used by Croatia's World War II Nazi-allied Ustasha regime. The ministry said that it had requested more information on the case from…

ZAGREB, 26 May 2022 - Croatia supports Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and will continue providing Kyiv with humanitarian, political, and technical assistance, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Thursday in Zagreb at a meeting with a deputy chair of the Verkhovna Rada, Olena Kondratiuk. The Ukrainian deputy parliament speaker thanked Croatia for the support it has extended so far to her country, including the reception of several thousand refugees. A press release issued by the Sabor quotes Jandroković as saying that he conveyed Croatians' strong solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Croatia, which itself was a victim of military aggression in the 1990s, can…

ZAGREB, 26 May 2022 - Russia is disappointed with the hostile actions of the Croatian authorities in recent months, but hopes their mutually beneficial cooperation will be restored, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. The statement was released on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Croatia and Slovenia, and the latter is also accused of "destroying bilateral relations." Croatia and Slovenia have condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and joined in European sanctions against Moscow. As part of those measures, Zagreb in April expelled 18 Russian diplomats and…

May the 26th, 2022 - Is LNG Terminal Zadar on the cards as Croatia, much like the rest of Europe, continues to reduce its reliance on Russian gas imports? It certainly looks that way. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Ministry of the Economy and Sustainable Development has issued a Decision for the ecological network, which means that Zadar could soon be the next Croatian location drawn onto the gas map of the Adriatic. The decision is now going to remain valid for four years, and the holder of the project is LNG Hrvatska d.o.o. which, through three phases, plans to build a…

ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 - Two multi-purpose Black Hawk (UH-60M) helicopters, donated to Croatia by the USA, were presented at the Pleso military airbase on Wednesday, with Defence Minister Mario Banožić participating in the first test flight. The two Black Hawk helicopters and their equipment are valued at $138 million, with $53 million provided by the US government and $85 million by the Defence Ministry. The helicopters will primarily be used to transport people and equipment. They can transport up to 11 passengers and two technical pilots. They can develop a speed of up to 360 kilometres per hour, their ceiling altitude…

ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 - President Zoran Milanović repeated on Wednesday that Serbia should watch its actions and that he was only asking for "a fair relationship" between the two countries, adding that Croatia could have indicted Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić but made a political decision not to do it. "Look at what is happening to Sweden which wants to join NATO. Maybe it had reason to be arrogant towards Turkey over the past 30 years but now it is asking for mercy. So, watch what you say and do because what goes around comes around," Milanović said in a message…

ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 2022 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić told a press conference on Wednesday he respected the decision of the Conflict of Interest Commission, which fined him HRK 7,000 for granting himself an official apartment, but he does not want to return the apartment to the state property management company. During a ceremony for the handover of the Black Hawk helicopters, donated by the United States, the Croatian defence minister recalled the period when he was the state assets minister. In September 2019, Banožić signed a decision granting himself an official 92-square-metre apartment in Gundulićeva Street in Zagreb.…

ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 - Due to the war in Ukraine, Western Balkan countries seek accelerated EU accession, but Brussels officials say there is no political will among the 27 member states for their accession and that their entering too quickly makes no sense. At an Adriatic-Ionian region forum held in Tirana last week, ten countries signed a declaration calling on the EU to step up the journey of the Western Balkan countries as their accession would be an investment in a stable, strong and united Europe. EU enlargement is a policy which has always exported peace and stability to…