Politics

ZAGREB, September 21, 2019 - Gender Equality Ombudswoman Višnja Ljubičić said on Saturday that violence against women, whether physical or verbal, perpetuated the unequal balance of power between women and men in society, adding that legal changes were just one segment of the fight against domestic violence. Croatia observes National Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women on September 22 in memory of the day in 1999 when, during a divorce hearing at the Zagreb Municipal Court, three women were killed and a female court employee was seriously injured. Speaking on Croatian Radio, Ljubičić said 535 crimes in which women were…

ZAGREB, September 21, 2019 - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Damir Krstičević said in Dubrovnik on Friday that the Croatian Navy (HRM) is a basic factor of Croatia's security in the Adriatic and a steward of the country's interests in the Mediterranean. Speaking at a ceremony marking the 28th anniversary of the establishment of the Croatian Navy, Krstičević said that the government had recognised the strategic importance of developing the navy along with the other branches of the armed forces. "With the aim of securing the necessary conditions to carry out all our duties, we have steadily increased…

ZAGREB, September 20, 2019 - The Croatian parliament on Friday ratified the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism which aims at facilitating mutual cooperation between member states and ensuring the efficient prevention and combatting of terrorism. The protocol makes a number of acts, including taking part in an association or group for the purpose of terrorism, receiving terrorist training, travelling abroad for the purposes of terrorism and financing or organising travel for this purpose, a criminal offence. By ratifying the protocol each party obliges to undertake the necessary steps for the timely exchange…

ZAGREB, September 20, 2019 - Parliament on Friday debated on a bill on genetically modified organisms (GMO), with most lawmakers asking whether the bill will enable GMO products to enter the Croatian market, while the State Secretary at the Health Ministry, Željko Plazonić, resolutely denied any such possibility, stressing that the bill in fact tightened controls. The bill harmonises Croatia's legislation with the EU directive that relates to GMO and elaborates how to estimate the risk of GMO for the environment, it improves the traceability of GMO products and tightens controls, and restricts the use and effects of using GMO…

ZAGREB, September 20, 2019 - The Youth Independent List said on Friday it would put forward a proposal to lower the voting age for local elections to 16, explaining that the change did not require an amendment of the Constitution and that such an option existed in some EU countries. Addressing a news conference, MP Tomislav Panenić said that the Constitution did not set the age limit for local elections and that this was regulated by laws so his parliamentary group had decided to propose amending the Local Elections Act to enable young people under the age of 16 to…

ZAGREB, September 20, 2019 - The opposition GLAS party said on Friday it would propose the establishment of an agency to join land and cadastral registers and called for using EU funds to upgrade the country's railway network. Addressing a news conference in the parliament, GLAS leader Anka Mrak Taritaš warned that land registers were in disarray and that of 3,351 cadastral communities, only 173 or 5% had been sorted out as well as that if the current rate of sorting out cadastres was maintained, it would take 150 years to sort them out. GLAS therefore proposes that an agency…

ZAGREB, September 20, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said during a visit to the northern Adriatic city of Rijeka on Thursday that the government's acceptance of the proposals by the "67 is too much" referendum initiative was an important decision, noting that the pension reform had already had positive effects. Asked by the press if the government had capitulated to the unions, Plenković said that the government had announced an important decision at its meeting today and that it would submit to the parliament amendments to the Pension Insurance Act as proposed by the "67 is too much" initiative.…

ZAGREB, September 19, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with the Northern Adriatic States in the Parliament of Germany, Oliver Luksic, held talks in Zagreb on Thursday, describing the two countries' political relations as excellent and calling for closer economic cooperation, trade and investments, the Croatian government said in a statement. "The two countries' excellent political relations and cooperation within the EU and NATO are also owing to the Croat community living in Germany as well as the large number of German tourists visiting Croatia," PM Plenković's office said in…

ZAGREB, September 19, 2019 - The Council of Europe is going through difficult times, and this international association should be returned to its original tenets, the new Secretary-General, Marija Pejčinović Burić said after she assumed office in Strasbourg on Wednesday. In her speech, this former Croatian foreign and European affairs minister said that this organisation, which was established 70 years ago, should renew its aim. In this context she recalled the Article 1 of the organisation's statute, which reads that "the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater unity between its Members for the purpose of…

ZAGREB, September 19, 2019 - During a discussion on the report which he submitted to the national legislature on Croatia's participation in the European Council's recent meetings, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wedneday evening that the country was ready for Brexit. "We have adopted necessary laws to get Croatia prepared for Brexit," said the premier. All relevant agencies and services have full information, and the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry provides Croatian citizens with all necessary information on this topic. The available information is in the section "Brexit - General Information" on the ministry's website. "For the Republic of…