Politics

ZAGREB, October 31, 2019 - The State Department has approved the sale of two UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and related equipment for an estimated cost of 115 million dollars to Croatia, according to information published on the website of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on Wednesday. The Croatian government has requested a possible sale of two UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters in standard USG configuration with designated unique equipment and Government Furnished Equipment (GFE), says DSCA. Its press release also specifies elements of equipment. The total estimated program cost is 115 million dollars. "This proposed sale will support the foreign…

ZAGREB, October 31, 2019 - The leader of the striking trade union of secondary school teachers, Branimir Mihalinec, said on Wednesday evening that the proposal about a two-percent rise of the job complexity index for teachers was absolutely unacceptable because the striking unions demanded a 6.11 percent rise, and that the strike would therefore go on. "If this is about an increase of the job complexity index of two percent, it is absolutely unacceptable for us as we demand 6.11 percent," the unionist told the national broadcaster (HRT) on Wednesday evening. Mihalinec made the statement after HNS leader Ivan Vrdoljak…

ZAGREB, October 31, 2019 - Croatian Parliament Speaker and HDZ party secretary-general Gordan Jandroković said on Wednesday that the ruling coalition had agreed on five important issues, and that agreement had been reached with representatives of the HNS party on the budget as proposed by the government as well as that a government regulation on job complexity indices would be finalised by June 30. The five issues are a budget revision for this year, a budget for 2020, a set of tax laws, the minimum wage and a law on holidays, said Jandroković. "We have agreed on what the prime…

ZAGREB, October 30 2019 - A Europe that develops, connects and protects and is influential on the global scene are the four pivotal areas of Croatia's presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2020, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at a news conference in Zagreb on Wednesday, outlining elements of those priorities. In the first six months of 2020, Croatia will be "at the helm of the joint project of further building a strong Europe in the world full of challenges." A growing and developing Europe, a Europe that connects economically, energy-wise and infrastructure-wise, a Europe that…

ZAGREB, October 30, 2019 - Protecting the European way of life and giving a fresh boost to European democracy are some of the priorities of the new European Commission, said Dubravka Šuica, the Croatian member of the Commission led by President Ursula von der Leyen. The agenda of the new EC President includes several headline ambitions: a European Green Deal; an economy that works for people; a Europe fit for the digital age; protecting our European way of life; a stronger Europe in the world; and, a new push for European democracy. Presenting those priorities in Zagreb on Wednesday, Šuica,…

ZAGREB, October 30, 2019 - The Conflict of Interest Commission on Wednesday established that Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Davor Bernardić had violated the principle of transparent action under the Conflict of Interest Act when he had accepted a scholarship from Zagreb's Cotrugli Business School in 2014. There are no sanctions for violations of that article of the law. In October 2018, the Conflict of Interest Commission initiated proceedings against the Opposition leader and member of parliament Davor Bernardić for receiving a scholarship from Zagreb's Cotrugli Business School. The agreement on scholarship also bound Bernardić to have 120 hours of…

ZAGREB, October 30, 2019 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Wednesday received Albanian President Ilir Meta and they talked about the priorities of Croatia's presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2020, including enlargement. Meta underlined the importance of the Croatian presidency for all of Southeast Europe, while Plenković reiterated that preparations for a Zagreb summit between EU member states and countries in Southeast Europe were among the priorities of the presidency, the government said in a press release. The European Council has refused to greenlight the beginning of accession negotiations with Albania…

"If we've waited for years, we can carry on waiting for another few months," Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said as a guest of Dnevnik Nova TV last night, answering the question of how long it may take to analyse and implement the adjustment of pay ratios, Dnevnik.hr reports. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 30th of October, 2019, Zdravko Maric has to secure 150 million kuna for compensatory measures until the issue of coefficients is resolved, and when asked if he has the money, he says that this is not planned. "So, as far as salaries are concerned, you'll see…

ZAGREB, October 30, 2019 - Croatian People's Party (HNS) leader Ivan Vrdoljak said at a news conference on Tuesday that the ministers from this party would not attend the government meeting on Thursday if the draft budget, which is expected to be on the agenda, did not include allocations for education-sector employees. He told national radio that the HNS, a junior partner in the ruling coalition, "will not make a charade" of Croatian politics and budget adoption. He went on to say that coalition governments "are a matter of social intelligence and compromise, and national interests in particular moments". Vrdoljak…

ZAGREB, October 30, 2019 - The independent union in science and higher education informed a news conference on Tuesday that it would again stage a nationwide day-long strike at universities, while two striking unions of primary and secondary school teachers said at their news conference that their rotating strike would continue in Split and Virovitica counties. Igor Radeka of the independent union in science and higher education said that they would again strike specifically for three categories of employees in the science and higher education system - non-teaching staff who account for about 40% of employees at universities; lecturers of…