Politics

ZAGREB, 29 Oct 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Friday a decision was made under which family doctors would contact their patients over 65 in the next fortnight about getting vaccinated because 31.3% of people in that age group have not been vaccinated against COVID. The most vulnerable persons, those over 65, are the priority in protection from COVID, he said at a press conference of the national COVID-19 crisis management team, adding that 40% of those over 80 have not been vaccinated either. If doctors fail to contact their patients over 65 in the next fortnight, they should visit them at home,…

ZAGREB, 29 Oct 2021 - A government representative on Friday rejected all opposition amendments to the Minimum Wage Bill, of which most were put forward by MP Katarina Peović of the Workers' Front, and accepted only an amendment by Croatian Pensioners' Party MP Silvano Hrelja, who is part of the parliamentary majority. The bill makes it possible for employers to cheat workers, enabling them to sign employment contracts setting the wage below the minimum wage yet pay the worker the minimum wage but make them work additionally for it, said Peović. It is therefore important that overtime work, work on holidays, work in shifts and work…

ZAGREB, 29 Oct 2021 - The Sabor on Friday adopted Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's annual report on the government's work with 76 votes in favour, 41 against and two abstentions, after he submitted the report on Wednesday, announcing an increase in the minimum wage and parental allowance. As of 1 January the minimum wage will increase by a net amount of HRK 350 from HRK 3,400 to HRK 3,750 or a net amount of €500, Plenković said on Wednesday. This is an increase of 10.3% for 51,000 workers. Presenting the report, Plenković reiterated the importance of demography and announced that next…

ZAGREB, 29 Oct 2021 - Science and Education Minister Radovan Fuchs warned on Friday that life would not return to normal and schools would not be able to function normally until a sufficient number of citizens got vaccinated against COVID-19, noting that his ministry was carefully following the situation in schools. "There will always be someone in self-isolation unless a sufficient number of citizens get vaccinated," Fuchs said during a visit to Župa Dubrovačka. Asked about the situation after the school break next week, Fuchs said that he would be able to answer the question only if he knew how the…

ZAGREB, 28 Oct 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Thursday people not vaccinated against COVID were getting sick, urging people to get vaccinated to avoid another lockdown and saying that children should get vaccinated too and go to school as distance education no longer made sense. Speaking to the press in Delnice, the president said he sympathized and understood, but added that the situation was much more different than a year ago. As for Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's statement that he would not interfere in the retirement of Honorary and Protection Battalion commander Elvis Burčul, Milanović called it childish and said the…

ZAGREB, 28 Oct 2021 - Croatia's minimum wage for 2022 will be HRK 3,750 (€500), rising by 10.3%, and will thus be above 50% of the average net pay for the first time. The government on Thursday adopted a regulation on the minimum wage after consultations with all social partners. We have assessed that in the current circumstances, the minimum wage can be increased from HRK 3,400 to HRK 3,750, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said. He went on to say that the net minimum wage of €500 would concern 51,000 workers who now receive the minimum take-home pay. This is for…

ZAGREB, 28 Oct 2021 - A two-day conference on economic trends in central, eastern, and southeastern Europe, the consequences of the corona crisis, climate change, and inflation, which was organized by the European Bank Coordination "Vienna" Initiative and the Croatian National Bank (HNB), started in Split on Thursday. The European Bank Coordination “Vienna” Initiative is a framework for safeguarding the financial stability of emerging Europe. The Initiative was launched at the height of the first wave of the global financial crisis in January 2009. Opening this annual conference, the HNB Governor and Chairman of the Vienna Initiative Steering Committee, Boris Vujčić, said that the availability…

ZAGREB, 28 Oct 2021 - The Croatian government has projected growth for this year at 9.0 percent, while budget revenue for 2022 is forecast at HRK 164.5 billion, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday. "Based on macroeconomic indicators for the national economy and external environment, and prevailing expectations, real GDP growth for 2021 is projected at 9 percent, which surpasses the real GDP level from 2019," Plenković said. Under the amended budget for 2021, revenue has been increased by HRK 3.3 billion to HRK 153.6 billion and expenditure by HRK 6 billion to HRK 173.3…

ZAGREB, 28 Oct 2021 - Independent MP Karolina Vidović Krišto has sent a letter to European Commissioner for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová, warning her about "systematic disregard for laws to which Croatian citizens have been exposed", which, she says, causes poverty and injustice in society. "Croatian citizens' rights are constantly violated by the ruling structures, and politicians and the judiciary openly and publicly demonstrate arrogance and them being untouchable. Such conduct is not possible in stable democracies because it causes social chaos, which, in turn, causes poverty and injustice," Vidović Krišto said at a news conference. In her letter to the…

ZAGREB, 28 Oct 2021 - The Croatian government will extend the deadline for the completion of the population census, which should have been finished by 29 October, until 14 November because of difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday. "Considering the present circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic, where our census-takers are encountering certain difficulties on the ground, and following consultations with the director of the National Bureau of Statistics, the government will today extend the deadline for the completion of the census until 14 November," the prime minister said. Plenković said…