Politics

January the 2nd, 2022 - Earthquake-stricken Sisak-Moslavina County in Central Croatia has been suffering ever since the end of December 2020, when the devastating natural disaster with its epicentre frighteningly close to Petrinja struck. Intense support for the local economy is apparently heading their way, finally. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, the programme of social and economic revitalisation of the assisted areas of Sisak-Moslavina County affected by the 2020 earthquake in the amount of 15.3 billion kuna, for which the Government received a broad consensus, has just been adopted by the Government and is starting to be implemented immediately. The…

ZAGREB, 1 January 2021 - Entry into the U.S visa waiver program, French President Emmanuel Macron's visit, and the Rafale jets purchase deal, the fulfillment of the criteria for the Schengen Area, and diplomatic efforts to help solve the Bosnia and Herzegovina crisis are major features of Croatia's diplomacy in 2021. In the year which will be remembered for global travel restrictions due to the COVID pandemic, Croatia entered the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which makes it possible for Croatians to travel to the United States for business or tourism purposes without visas, after obtaining approval via the online Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or…

ZAGREB, 1 Jan 2021 - France took the six-month rotating EU presidency from Slovenia on Saturday. The French chairmanship comes during a key period for French President Emmanuel Macron, who is expected to run for reelection in April. Recently, Macron unveiled Paris' priorities for the French EU presidency: sovereignty, the defense policy, the Western Balkans, economic growth. The EU presidential trio led by France includes also the Czech Republic that will preside over the EU in the second half of 2022, and Sweden in the first half of 2023. Slovenia's achievements A few days ago, just before the completion of Slovenia's chairmanship,…

January the 1st, 2022 - Croatian Eurozone entry is rapidly approaching, and if all goes to plan, the kuna will enter into the history books early next year. How will we go about exchanging Croatian kuna for the euro, however? There are slightly different rules for coins and for banknotes. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, if anything in the economic field will mark 2022, it will be all of the hurried final preparations for the introduction of the euro and Croatian Eurozone entry in 2023. The green light for a step towards stronger integration into the European Union (EU) should, apparently,…

ZAGREB, 30 Dec (Hina) - Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić said on Thursday the negotiations on buying back Hungarian energy group MOL's stake in Croatian peer INA would be on hold until after a review of an arbitration award to be instigated at the Swiss Supreme Court. The government today tasked the Economy Ministry with requesting the Swiss Federal Supreme Court to review a decision of the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) of 23 December 2016 in order to declare null and void an amended agreement on relations between INA shareholders and an agreement on INA's gas business, both signed in 2009. The ministry was also tasked with continuing activities concerning Croatia's…

ZAGREB, 30 Dec 2021 - The government on Thursday adopted a plan for legislative activities in 2022, envisaging 195 laws, with the Justice and Public Administration Ministry expected to put forward 33 bills and the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of the Interior 30 bills. Twenty-one bills refer to the assessment of the effect of legal regulations, 78 bills refer to the euro changeover, and 11 laws will be amended in the context of indicators determined in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The government adopted a conclusion obliging the competent state administration bodies to fully meet the obligations taken over and…

ZAGREB, 30 Dec 2021 - The government on Thursday adopted an HRK 15.3 billion program for the social and economic revitalization of assisted areas in Sisak-Moslavina County following last year's earthquake, and the companies there will receive the most in both domestic and EU support. Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Nataša Tramišak recalled that the government decided to draw up the program on 14 January 2021, two weeks after the quake, and said the program would run until 2029. The new regional support map, which enters into force on 1 January, allows for considerably higher co-financing of regional state…

ZAGREB, 30 Dec 2021 - The government on Thursday adopted the National Healthcare Development Plan 2021-2027, which is aimed at ensuring a balanced geographical distribution and availability of health services and improving healthcare outcomes as a key national priority. The plan provides for five special objectives - better living habits and effective disease prevention, improving the healthcare system, improving care for key healthcare challenges, improving the financial sustainability of the healthcare system, and making the healthcare system a desirable place of work. Health Minister Vili Beroš said that this is an overarching sectoral planning document setting out goals, measures, projects,…

ZAGREB, 30 Dec 2021 - Retail sales in Croatia rose for the tenth month in a row in November, indicating a further recovery of consumption and the economy from the coronavirus crisis, according to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) on Thursday. Retail sales fell by 2.0% from October 2021 and increased by 5.2% compared with November 2020, which is slower growth than in October 2021 when consumption had jumped by 9.2% year on year. "This confirms a slowdown in the pace of growth partly due to the base period effect and partly due to the renewed…

ZAGREB, 30 Dec 2021 - The government decided on Thursday to suspend the buyback of INA from MOL due to new legal circumstances stemming from the Supreme Court's final ruling against former PM Ivo Sanader, who was found guilty of receiving bribes from MOL executive Zsolt Hernadi. Sanader was given six years and Hernadi, who is beyond the reach of Croatia's authorities, was given two years in this graft case. The Andrej Plenković government also decided to launch a review of the 2016 ruling of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) under which Croatia lost an arbitration case it brought against…