Politics

ZAGREB, 17 Jan 2022 - Russia is absolutely sure that it would renew its strategic cooperation with the European Union sooner or later, and Croatia is playing an important role as a bridge between Moscow and Brussels, the former Russian ambassador to Croatia, Anvar Azimov, said on Monday. Relations between Russia and Croatia prove that any country's membership of NATO and the EU is not an obstacle to improving relations, Azimov told Hina ahead of a meeting at the Russian-Croatian Friendship Association, which was also attended by Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Gordan Grlić Radman, at the end…

ZAGREB, 17 Jan 2022 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić on Monday called on all stakeholders in the society, including media and major actors in the euro changeover in Croatia, to do their utmost to prevent anyone from using this process to "fish in troubled waters" and charge unfair and excessive prices. Addressing a news conference at which he, together with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Croatian National Bank (HNB) governor Boris Vujčić, outlined a draft act on the introduction of the euro as legal tender in Croatia, Marić underscored the obligation to display prices both in kuna and euro from 5 September through the whole of…

ZAGREB, 17 Jan 2022 - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has awarded Marinko Pozder, convicted in absentia for war crimes committed in Škabrnja, a compensation of €4,000 for non-pecuniary damage and €2,000 for the costs of the proceedings due to the violation of his right to a fair trial, ECHR has reported. ECHR notes that the court's decision is final. Pozder was convicted in absentia in 1998 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes against civilians in the village of Škabrnja in the Zadar hinterland, after which he called for a retrial in 2012 which was rejected…

ZAGREB, 17 Jan 2022 - Croatia's EU entry was difficult because it was necessary to make up for the lost war years, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday, adding that some could not appreciate that today. Speaking at the Zagreb Faculty of Law on the topic "Croatia's international position: from independence to new challenges and opportunities," he recalled Croatia's difficult path to the recognition of its independence during the Greater Serbia military aggression and later on to EU membership. "Entering the Union was a process that was anything but simple... In the 90s, unlike other Central and Eastern European countries,…

ZAGREB, 17 Jan 2022- Croatian National Bank Governor Boris Vujčić said on Monday that inflation might be the most serious potential "cost" of introducing the euro, however, this year, that influence on the total inflation rate could be less than 10%, so he believes this isn't something to be overly bothered about. Vujčić added that the rest of the inflation will be generated from entirely different sources, primarily the prices of energy. He expects that the first half of this year will see strong inflationary pressure whereas "deflating" is expected in the second half. Vujčić said that the best prevention against…

ZAGREB, 17 Jan 2022 - Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman thanked his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on Monday for Moscow's support when Croatia was gaining independence in the early 1990s and said that Croatia's "good relations with Ukraine do not rule out good relations with Russia." Grlić Radman was on a return visit to Lavrov and the first EU minister in Moscow this year. Croatia and Russia will mark 30 years of diplomatic relations on 25 May. Russia recognized Croatia on 17 February 1992, a month after EU member states did. Speaking at a press conference, Lavrov said Russia saw Croatia as "a respected European…

ZAGREB, 17 Jan 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday that no one can be pleased with the population decrease but it was not unexpected, stressing that the government will do everything to mitigate the negative trends and improve the positive ones and noting that demographic issues go beyond the framework of one government. After presenting the bill to adopt the euro as legal tender in Croatia, the prime minister was asked by the press to comment on the 2021 population census, which shows that Croatia has 396,000 fewer residents than ten years ago. "Naturally, these results are not good, no one…

ZAGREB, 17 Jan 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday announced a dual display of prices in Croatia, both in kuna and in euro, from 5 September through the whole of 2023. Plenković made the announcement at a press conference where he unveiled the bill proposing the adoption of the euro as legal tender in Croatia. He was accompanied by Finance Minister Zdravko Marić, Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Ćorić, and Croatian National Bank (HNB) Governor Boris Vujčić. The bill was put to public consultation today and the final proposal is expected to be sent to Parliament for…

ZAGREB, 17 Jan 2022 - Prices of consumer goods and services in Croatia, as measured by the consumer price index, increased by 5.5% in December 2021 compared with December 2020, while in the whole of 2021 they rose by 2.6% year on year, the State Bureau of Statistics (DZS) said on Monday. The annual inflation rate in December was the highest since October 2008, when it was 5.9%. Compared with November 2021, consumer prices on average stayed the same. The highest year-on-year price increase was observed in transport, of 11.4%, which was largely generated by fuel price increases, of 22.5% on an annual…

ZAGREB, 17 Jan 2022 - Croatian Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek said on Sunday that the recent adoption of the Cultural Heritage Act by Serbia, which lays claim to old literature from Dubrovnik, was scandalous, calling on Serbia to refrain from usurping Croatia's territory and cultural heritage. "We will react through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Our embassy has already been contacted in this regard," Obuljen Koržinek said in an interview with public television HTV. The Cultural Heritage Act, passed by Serbia two weeks ago, says that old literature from Dubrovnik belongs to both Serbian and Croatian cultures.…