Politics

September the 7th, 2021 - The country's many exporters are set to have life made that bit easier for them with Croatian Schengen entry on the horizon, further aided by the country finally entering the Eurozone. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Tomislav Coric recently said that for small and open economies, such as that boasted Croatia, exports are a prerequisite for development and survival. "The country's GDP has been growing for years now, and of late, exports have been one of the main factors when it comes to economic growth and economic recovery. Exports…

ZAGREB, 6 Sept 2021 - The Minister for Regional Development and EU Funds, Nataša Tramišak, on Monday presented Osijek-Baranja County Prefect Ivan Anušić with six contracts for co-financing the implementation of EU projects at the local and regional level. The contracts concern projects in which the Osijek-Baranja County administration is the holder or beneficiary of grant contracts, and their total value is HRK 10.9 million. According to Minister Tramišak, the most valuable contract concerns the construction of a business center in Osijek. The project is worth HRK 65.5 million, of which HRK 45 million has been secured from the EU's Competitiveness and…

ZAGREB, 6 Sept 2021 - The new High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, said on Sunday Croats were underrepresented in BiH's central institutions and that it was necessary to change the country's electoral law. Željko Komšić is the Croat representative in the state Presidency, but he was elected more by Bosniaks than Croats, and the fact that Croat representative Dragan Čović lost to Komšić shows how complicated the system is, Schmidt said in Neustadt an der Aich, Germany at a conference on BiH's Euro-Atlantic prospects, organized by the German Atlantic Society. Schmidt said BiH's Croat population felt underrepresented in what he said…

ZAGREB, 5 Sept, 2021 - The Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs stated on Sunday that it was closely following the developments in Montenegro, and that it condemned any form of violence. The ministry calls for dialogue in the search of solutions to the current problems and expressed hope that the latest developments will not have repercussions for the status of ethnic Croatians in that country. "We expect all political protagonists in Montenegro to solve all the issues facing the Montenegrin society in the European spirit and through inclusive and constructive political dialogue," the ministry said after the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) bishop Joanikije…

September the 4th, 2021 - Former Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic, a deeply controversial figure even for Croatian politics, has been dead for six months now. The longtime mayor died suddenly and prematurely from a massive heart attack in the spring, and despite jokes that he'd still somehow run for mayor from beyond the grave, the capital has a new government headed by Mozemo! (We Can!) leader Tomislav Tomasevic. Six months after his death, where are Bandic's former associates? As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the people who once decided on the fate of the City of Zagreb for years, apparently untouchable, are…

 September 4, 2021 - The Croatian School Museum, despite marking 120 years of existence, isn't really in a celebratory mood as it remains closed to the public and awaiting earthquake reconstruction. With this weekend being the final one for the summer break before the 2021/22 school year begins in Croatia, families in Zagreb could've ideally used the weekend to introduce the kids to the importance of education by taking them to the Croatian School Museum. However, with the building still undergoing reconstruction after 2020's earthquakes, it would be wise to wait a bit longer before going to see the collection…

ZAGREB, 3 Sept 2021 - The process of amending the Labour Act to regulate teleworking will be initiated before the end of this year, and the amended legislation should be passed no later than August 2022, a conference on remote work was told in Split on Friday. The conference was held within the Devote programme, which is being implemented by the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) in cooperation with the Oil Industry Union (SING) and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO). "It is our duty to adjust our legislation, including the Labour Act, to the European Union's 2019 directives, and deadlines expire…

ZAGREB, 3 Sept 2021 - The Central State Office for Reconstruction and Housing will on Friday publish a tender for the construction of family houses, which is the first step in the structural reconstruction of houses in Sisak-Moslavina County, hit by a strong earthquake on 29 December 2020, Večernji List daily said on Friday. Interested contractors will be able to apply over the next 30 days, with bids that fit one of the two envisaged models of construction - prefabricated or classically built houses, and the contracting procedure and construction work is expected to start on 1 November, Gordan Hanžek,…

ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - Attorney Nicole Kwiatkowski, who represented holders of loans previously pegged to the Swiss franc who won a class action against banks, said on Thursday that banks would not cancel tacit overdrafts abruptly. "That is not something banks could afford because... this case indicates very non-transparent behaviour by the banks with regard to tacit overdrafts, and I think (cancelling tacit overdrafts) would be too big a reputation risk," Kwiatkowski said in a comment on the Croatian National Bank's initiative to change regulations on overdraft to cap the interest rate on tacit overdrafts. Bank clients in Croatia who use…

ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - Croatian Defence Minister Mario Banožić on Thursday took part in an informal meeting of EU defence ministers in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, which focused on the situation in Afghanistan, the Croatian ministry said. Banožić said at the meeting that lessons learned in Afghanistan should be applied in the common security and defence policy so as not to repeat the same mistakes. "In cooperation with our partners, we must focus on the prevention of a humanitarian disaster in the form of uncontrolled migrations and make sure Afghanistan does not become a haven for terrorist organizations," he said. As for…