Politics

ZAGREB, 7 April 2022- The European Parliament on Wednesday discussed a report on the Schengen evaluation mechanism and MEPs called for more frequent unannounced inspections and intensified monitoring of whether human rights are respected at the EU's borders. Migrant crises and a series of terror attacks on EU soil have resulted in differences in the application of the Schengen acquis by the member states, and the Schengen has come across a crisis. During the debate, it was also said that the coronavirus pandemic had produced an additional burden on the Schengen area and that internal border controls were restored. Swedish MEP Sara Skyttedal, who is a rapporteur…

ZAGREB, 7 April 2022 - Pope Francis has appointed priest Milan Zgrablić the coadjutor archbishop of Zadar, Archbishop Želimir Puljić said in a press release on Thursday. Zgrablić, born in 1960, is currently the parish priest of the cathedral in Poreč. He became a priest in 1986. The ceremony of ordaining Zgrablić as the Zadar coadjutor archbishop, will not be held before June, according to the press release. For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 7 April 2022 - The central commemoration of victims of the Bleiburg tragedy and what in Croatia is known as the Way of the Cross marches, held under the auspices of the Croatian parliament, will be held on 13 and 14 May at Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetery and in Udbina, a town in Lika-Senj County. Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković held a working meeting on the commemoration with representatives of the Croatian Bishops' Conference and the Honorary Bleiburg Platoon. As part of this year's commemorative events, a mass will be served at the parish church in Bleiburg, Austria, and Croatia's Ambassador to…

ZAGREB, 7 April 2022 - Sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia will not stop the war in Ukraine, Croatian President Zoran Milanović said during a visit to Switzerland, adding that the war could be stopped only with the help of diplomacy. "These sanctions will not be enough to stop the war," Milanović said at a news conference after meeting his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis. The Croatian president said that having followed "the stock exchange in Moscow and the ruble that has returned to the level of a month ago in relation to the dollar", he had to conclude that "as…

ZAGREB, 7 April 2022 - The head of the GLAS party and its sole parliamentary deputy, Anka Mrak Taritaš, said on Thursday that she would launch a parliamentary procedure to oblige the government to ensure access to termination of pregnancy services in all the hospitals in Croatia. Mrak Taritaš told a news conference that the legal regulations enabling right to conscientious objection in lawful medical care were "rather fluid" and could be broadly interpreted, which was why the application of the right to conscientious objection became the main obstacle to the access to abortion in healthcare institutions. Mrak-Taritaš presented data collected by…

ZAGREB, 7 April 2022 - Croatian fire chief Slavko Tucaković said on Thursday that the national firefighting system should brace for a tough season. Addressing a conference of firefighters in Opatija, Tucaković said that the weather forecasts for the spring and the summer show that a very tough season could be expected. He recalled that in the past period, apart from battling blazes and wildfires, firefighters had been engaged in operations in the aftermath of the two devastating quakes in Zagreb and Sisak County in 2020. In Zagreb, they participated in 6,000 operations in the wake of the tremor, and in 14,500 interventions following…

ZAGREB, 7 April 2022 - Croatian MPs on Thursday unanimously welcomed legislative amendments that will allow refugees from Ukraine to exercise the rights to healthcare and social welfare in Croatia. Parliament is amending the law on the mandatory health insurance and healthcare of aliens and the law on social welfare. There are more than 10,000 Ukrainian refugees in Croatia who have fled the Russian aggression and we have shown solidarity in various ways, but it's cleat the war won't end soon, so it's necessary to legally regulate their status, said Domagoj Hajduković of the Social Democrats. Anka Mrak Taritaš of GLAS agreed,…

ZAGREB, 7 April 2022 - In the last 24 hours 1,242 coronavirus cases, out of 5,364 tests, and six related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Thursday. There are 8,641 active cases, including 591 hospitalised patients, 25 of whom are on ventilators, while 5,167 persons are self-isolating. Croatia has registered 1,106,557 coronavirus cases to date and the death toll is 15,652. To date, 59.45% of the population, that is 70.71% of adults, has been vaccinated, including 68.61% of adults fully.   For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure…

ZAGREB, 7 April 2022 - Croatia's COVID-19 crisis management team stated on Thursday that COVID protocols would be abolished on Saturday and only the protective mask mandate remains in place in medical institutions and nursing homes. Practically all the current restrictions imposed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic will be lifted at midnight Friday, said the team's head, Interior Minister Davor Božinović. Wearing protective masks in public spaces will depend on individuals and sanctions will no longer be imposed for failure to wear masks, Božinović said, explaining that they are still obligatory in hospitals and care homes. Entering Croatia EU citizens can enter Croatia without…

April 7, 2022 - It is with great appreciation that the National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation (NFCA) applauds the United States today, April 7, for its strategic recognition thirty years ago of the Republic of Croatia as a new independent nation-state in the international community.  It was January 1992, while a third of Croatia was still occupied by the Yugoslav People’s Army, that both the European Economic Community and the United Nations granted diplomatic recognition to the Republic of Croatia.   The United States recognized the Republic of Croatia as a newly independent nation on April 7, 1992.  However, it was not until May 22, 1992 that three of…