Politics

ZAGREB, 9 November, 2021 -  The Centre party's leader Ivica Puljak and parliamentary deputy Dalija Orešković on Tuesday presented the party's programme for the territorial reorganisation of Croatia, proposing that the current 21 counties be tailored into five regions and the City of Zagreb. Orešković said that if the number of counties were reduced by four times, the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) would have four times less opportunity to engage in corruption. The two officials said that their plan also envisaged the reduction of the present number of 556 cities and municipalities to 122 urban agglomerations. They said that the…

ZAGREB, 9 November, 2021 - Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs said on Tuesday that the ministry is currently discussing the mechanism and manner of COVID testing in the education system, adding that there are three options, while the final decision will be known by Friday. "Testing will be introduced for everyone who needs to be tested. People who have a COVID certificate will show their certificate and will not need to be tested," said Fuchs. "We are currently discussing the mechanism and manner of testing. There are three options on the cards - testing in certified institutions or laboratories,…

ZAGREB, 9 November, 2021 - The defence ministry on Tuesday dismissed an article in the Nacional weekly regarding the allocation of a flat to Minister Mario Banožić as malicious and untrue and underlines that the minister did not choose which flat would be made available to him during his ministerial term. The size of the flat, and in this case it is 92 square metres, depends on the number of household members, the ministry says adding that the minister, who lived in eastern Croatia before he was appointed minister, has three children and as such eligible for to a larger flat.…

ZAGREB, 9 November, 2021 - The police are investigating threats which columnist Boris Dežulović received after he published his article headlined "F*ck Vukovar" on the N1 broadcaster's website on 2 November, the ministry of interior affairs reported on Tuesday. The ministry said the investigation was underway. In the meantime, the Croatian Writers Society (HDP) and the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) condemned institutional and non-institutional threats against journalist Dežulović. "The Croatian Writers Society most strongly condemns institutional and non-institutional threats against our renowned, internationally awarded journalist and writer Boris Dežulović, made over his article headlined 'F*ck Vukovar'," the HDP said last week. The HND condemned…

ZAGREB, 9 November, 2021 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić has decided that segments of the armed forces that provide support to the Office of Croatian President for protocol and other activities can offer that assistance only if the minister signs the approval to that effect, Croatian media outlets reported on Monday evening. The decision on the necessary signature was made by Minister Banožić on 4 November, and the Office of President Zoran Milanović on Monday slammed it as being against law and the Constitution. The N1 commercial broadcaster says that Banožić's decision means that support for protocol activities, which is offered without…

November the 8th, 2021 - Five Croatian companies are suing the state as a clap back against the epidemiological decisions made by the National Civil Protection Directorate in the face of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Tomica Drvar from the Svikoncerti (Allconcerts) agency said on Dnevnik Nova TV that they're seeking compensation for what he believes are ''double standards''. ''For example, we as travel agencies didn't receive any compensation for any drop in traffic we had, but only for preserving jobs,'' explained Tomica Drvar, who will sue the state because he believes that the government's economic measures…

ZAGREB, 7 Nov 2021 - The Homeland Movement (DP) party on Sunday condemned the plan to require COVID certificates and testing for entry into the Croatian Parliament building, saying that under the Constitution power derives from the people and not from the national coronavirus response team. "The Homeland Movement considers the announced violent introduction of so-called COVID certificates and testing in the Croatian Parliament by a para-state body called the national response team as the nullification of the will of the people expressed in elections and the most dangerous encroachment yet upon basic human and political freedoms, civil rights and the…

ZAGREB, 7 Nov 2021 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić has been found to be positive for COVID-19 after undergoing a test at the weekend, the government announced in a press release on Sunday. Marić underwent a test after a member of his family had developed symptoms of the infection. His test returned positive, after which epidemiologists have ordered him to stay in isolation for ten days. The minister "is feeling well and for now, he has no symptoms of the COVID-19 disease. He will stay in isolation and perform his duties from home while following orders from his doctor and…

ZAGREB, 6 Nov 2021 - Croatia joined the Council of Europe 25 years ago and that was "a great achievement", the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Gordan Grlić Radman, said at an event marking this anniversary in Zagreb on Saturday. On 6 November 1996, Croatia became a member of the oldest pan-European organization whose role was to strengthen European unity and prosperity by promoting common values, fundamental human rights and freedoms, democracy, and the rule of law, Grlić Radman said. "Twenty-five years ago it was a great achievement for Croatia to be admitted to the Council of Europe. Our membership…

ZAGREB, 6 Nov 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Saturday that all Croatian citizens should get vaccinated against COVID-19 as that would certainly reduce the rate of new infections, the number of hospitalizations, and consequently the number of deaths, also advising people to get a booster dose. Plenković was speaking to the press after visiting Zagreb's Dubrava hospital, where he and Health Minister Vili Beroš met with the hospital's management and the national coronavirus response team and visited the intensive care unit. Plenković said that Croatia had sufficient quantities of COVID-19 vaccines, adding that vaccination would reduce the…