Politics

ZAGREB, 22 December, 2021 - Thirty-one years ago the Republic of Croatia got its first Constitution, which was adopted on 21 December and was officially promulgated on the day after that, that is on  22 January 1990, and became known as the Christmas Constitution since its promulgation happened a few days before Christmas. The decision to promulgate the Constitution was passed at a plenary session of the first Croatian parliament (Hrvatski Sabor) on 22 December 1990. At the time the legislature consisted of the three chambers: a social and political council, the council of associated labour, and the council of municipalities. That was…

ZAGREB, 22 December, 2021 - Addressing a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the National Community of Montenegrins in Croatia in Zagreb on Tuesday, President Zoran Milanović said that Montenegro deserved to be part of the European Union. During the ceremony, held under the auspices of President Milanović and Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović who also attended the event in Zagreb, the Croatian head of state highlighted the European identity and values characteristic of the Montenegrins. Milanović praised them for being distinguished by that "unique and ineradicable" identity. Croatia strongly supports Montenegro on its journey to the membership of the European Union and would like that the…

ZAGREB, 21 Dec (Hina) - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday that President Zoran Milanović was playing the part of opposition leader and that the MOST party's referendum petition against COVID certificates was evil and perfidious, whose only goal was the self-promotion of several actors. "This is the first time since... 2000 that someone elected to the office of president of the republic works solely for the opposition and not for a harmonious, uniform functioning of all branches of government," Plenković told the press in Bjelovar. Milanović is playing the part of someone who should be the leader of the opposition and…

ZAGREB, 21 December, 2021 - The police in Bjelovar will press misdemeanor charges against a 27-year-old man for urinating on a building housing the offices of the HDZ party branch in Bjelovar and for posting on a social network, under a pseudonym, a video of his act that was later carried by web portals. Without specifying the political party in question, Bjelovar police said on Tuesday the man would be reported for insulting citizens of different political views. Over the past month the local HDZ branch reported several attacks on its offices in Bjelovar, including an act of urination on its offices…

December 21, 2021 - Constitutional expert Mato Palić believes that both issues that Most Party put to the COVID certificates referendum are unconstitutional, and as such will not pass. Most party members said on Sunday that they had collected enough signatures for the referendum question, which touches on COVID certificates, and counting is now underway, reports Net.hr. After all the signatures are counted, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia must decide whether the issue in the COVID certificates referendum is in accordance with the constitution, and constitutional expert Mato Palić told N1 television that there is nothing disputable in the COVID certificates. "Judging…

December 21, 2021 - Mayor Tomislav Tomašević and his associates opened a separate post-COVID polyclinic of the Special Hospital for Lung Diseases in front of the Health Center Zagreb - East. He also referred to the new cable car and epidemiological measures for the New Year celebrations in a subsequent press conference. Announced a few months ago and finally opened today by Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević, the new polyclinic will focus on providing treatment to patients who have recovered from COVID and have physiological sequelae from contracting the virus, Večernji List reports. ''As more than a few hundred thousand people in…

ZAGREB, 21 December, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday that he wanted signatures for a referendum on COVID passes to be checked transparently. Plenković said this in response to the statement by President Zoran Milanović that the government would most likely try to declare some of the signatures invalid and thus rob the MOST party, which initiated signature collection. Commenting on Milanović's statement after a ceremony marking the 145th anniversary of the existence of the Croatian Fire Service, Plenković wondered how Milanović knew whether MOST had collected enough signatures for a referendum, ironically adding that the President must…

ZAGREB, 20 December, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković hinted on Monday that there had been no serious security threats that would have justified President Zoran Milanović's decision to cancel his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Milanović on Sunday cancelled his visit to Travnik and Nova Bila for unspecified security reasons. His decision was preceded by severe criticisms from Bosniak politicians over his statement concerning the qualification of the 1995 massacre of Bosniaks at Srebrenica as an act of genocide. "I don't know why he did not go to Nova Bila. If there had been anything of relevance to security, anything…

ZAGREB, 20 Dec 2021 - The Croatian Fire Service marked the 145th anniversary of its existence on Monday, with senior state officials stressing the importance of its new organization. President Zoran Milanović praised the integration of the Fire Service into the state administration through the establishment of the State Firefighting Office, saying that there were about 1,800 voluntary firefighter associations in the country. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković thanked all firefighters for their commitment to this humane, responsible, and important job. "Firefighting is an important and noble activity which is socially beneficial and which brings people together," he said. Plenković said…

ZAGREB, 20 Dec 2021 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Monday commented on claims about stolen referendums, saying that it is not good to create an atmosphere in which someone is accused of theft in advance. "I wouldn't like the creation of an atmosphere in an attempt to impose the picture that someone has stolen signatures," he said on Croatian Radio. "The organizers should show how many signatures they collected. It's important that this time the public is included in the process as well as possible in order to eliminate any doubts as to whether there are enough signatures or not," he said…