Politics

ZAGREB, 21 Jan 2022 - A HRK 58 million (€7.7m) deed of gift transferring state ownership of a 55,000-square-metre complex of the former ironworks and tools plant in Osijek to Osijek-Baranja County was signed on Friday by State Assets Minister Darko Horvat and County Prefect Ivan Anušić. At the document-signing ceremony, it was emphasized that the local authorities are planning to conduct a brownfield investment to revitalize the area. The brownfield revitalization envisages the construction of scientific and research centers for the agricultural and food-producing sector as well as the IT industry, a sports incubator which will have a swimming pool and other…

ZAGREB, 21 Jan 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and retired General Ante Gotovina on Friday paid tribute to the Croatian soldiers killed in 1993 Operation Maslenica. "This is an opportunity to remember all Croatian defenders, soldiers, and police, who gave their lives for the freedom of Croatia and the Croatian state, which had been desired by generations of Croats for centuries and which we now have," Plenković said during a ceremony at the monument near Maslenica Bridge in Zadar County. "Croatia is now a free, democratic, and developed member of NATO and the European Union, and all this would not…

ZAGREB, 21 Jan 2022 - The Bridge and Social Democrats groups in the Croatian Parliament on Friday used the discussion on the new law on consumer protection to criticize the government for its poor handling of "galloping inflation." "Everyone is protecting their citizens except the Croatian government, which says it might do something (about the inflation)," Social Democrat Davor Bernardić said, calling on MPs to support their proposal to freeze the prices of staples. "In the last 10 months, every other food product has gone up in price. Prices of some products have increased by 150 percent, and the price of…

ZAGREB, 21 Jan 2022 - The Split-Dalmatia County emergency medical service on Friday received ten new emergency medical vehicles and ambulances valued at almost HRK 4 million. During the handover ceremony, County Prefect Blaženko Boban said that the one emergency medical vehicle and nine ambulances were fully financed by the county administration. Three ambulances will remain in Split while the others will go to Vrgorac, Imotski, Omiš, Makarska Sink, and Kaštel Stari.  The head of the county emergency medical service, Leo Luetić, said that ambulances are a key working resource and the service conducted about 60,000 runs a year and traveled more…

ZAGREB, 21 Jan 2022 - Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević has hosted the traditional New Year reception for foreign diplomats accredited in Croatia, acquainting them with the policies of his administration, the city administration said in a statement on Thursday evening.  Thanking them for their constructive cooperation, the mayor acquainted members of the diplomatic corps with "the implementation of policies of change for a better Zagreb, for which he received support from the citizens" at the local election in May 2021, the statement said. "One of the most important priorities is to stabilize the city's finances, as we have shown in the new…

January the 21st, 2022 - Rising Croatian fuel prices was an issue for drivers several weeks ago, more precisely back at the tail end of 2021, and the government had to step in and place a cap on the price of fuel in order to make the situation sustainable. It looks as if the same is going to need to be done again with a new packet of measures. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the government is set to compile a new package of measures to reduce the impact of rising energy prices on people if prices continue to rise, Prime Minister…

ZAGREB, 20 Jan 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday he wanted no involvement in the conflict between the Defence Ministry and the Office of the President, adding that President Zoran Milanović's letters to him were irrelevant but that the ministry and the president's office had to communicate. "Sending me letters and then making them public via the media is absolutely unacceptable, I consider all of his letters totally irrelevant," Plenković told reporters after a government session. Defence Minister Mario Banožić said earlier today that President Milanović should declassify documents on his travels and that he would then declassify the…

ZAGREB, 20 Jan 2022 - Due to its low vaccination rate, Croatia, for now, cannot consider lifting some of the COVID restrictions, and medical professionals continue to recommend compliance with the epidemiological measures in place to contain the virus, Health Minister Vili Beroš said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday. He was commenting on plans by countries such as the United Kingdom and Israel, which have high vaccination rates, to lift the restrictions and the COVID pass mandate. He warned that in Croatia, a considerable number of people aged 75 and over were unvaccinated. Despite the surge in the number…

ZAGREB, 20 Jan 2022 - In a bid to enable better integration on the labor market and more practical knowledge of vocational students, changes to vocational education are defined to base learning on work practice and determine locations to achieve such goals: at school, with an employer or at a regional competence center. Outlining the draft amendments, Education Minister Radovan Fuchs presented the cabinet meeting on Thursday with the findings of a survey conducted by the ministry together with the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) in the period from 2016 to 2018 which show that there is a growing gap between the supply of qualified…

ZAGREB, 20 Jan 2022 - The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been present in Croatia for several weeks now, but it "seems slightly less dangerous than was previously the case," Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in his opening remarks at a regular cabinet meeting on Thursday. "The number of new infections is not proportionately reflected in the number of hospitalizations and those placed on ventilators," Plenković said, adding that this was why the Omicron variant seemed less dangerous. He, however, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic was continuing to spread and that Omicron was spreading faster and was more infectious.…