Politics

ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - The latest macroeconomic trends indicate the upward revision of forecasts of the growth for this year and we now can expect a 7% rise on the year, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Thursday. He recalled that the government's current forecast is five percent. Marić said that tax revenue from 1 January to 31 August was 0.7% higher than fin the corresponding period last year while VAT was over four percent more year on year. YTD profit tax is a little lower as against the same period last year, but that was to be expected given that that is calculated…

ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday commented on the latest ECDC map on which Croatia's coast has stayed orange, saying that foreign tourists had recognized Croatia as a safe destination and that this year's tourism results could exceed 70% of tourism results in the pre-crisis year 2019. "According to the new ECDC map, the Croatian coast has stayed orange into September. Foreign tourists have recognized Croatia as a safe destination and we could exceed 70% of the tourism results from the pre-crisis year 2019," Plenković said on his Twitter account. Prema novoj karti @ECDC_EU, hrvatska obala ostala je ?…

ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - Cooperation between Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy in protecting the Adriatic Sea is at its highest level in history, the foreign ministers of Croatia and Slovenia, Gordan Grlić Radman and Anže Logar, said at the Bled Strategic Forum. Logar and Grlić Radman participated in a panel discussion on cooperation in the Adriatic, which was originally to have been attended online also by Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio. "The Adriatic Sea obliges us to cooperate," said Grlić Radman addressing the panel discussion and adding that the three countries were working to connect ports in the northern Adriatic and…

ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that job-retention grants of HRK 4,000 per employee for August would remain in place for the catering industry, the event industry, passenger transport, and travel agencies. The grants will be disbursed in September to the event industry, travel agencies, and nightclubs, he said, recalling the relaxation of the anti-epidemic measures as of 1 September. All other businesses are more or less going back to normal, he said, adding that in case the need for grants emerges in some other sectors, the authorities will consider the matter. The shortened working week…

ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - Two agreements, worth a total of HRK 55.5 million, were signed in Rab on Thursday to upgrade port infrastructure in this town on the northern Adriatic island of the same name and in the nearby mainland town of Senj. The first agreement concerns the award of a grant for the reconstruction of the wharf in Rab, while the second one relates to the construction of a new ramp in Senj's Stinica ferry port. The signing ceremony was attended by Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković, Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds…

ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - The Croatian government on Thursday agreed on amendments to the Consumer Protection Act and sent them to parliament for consideration. Under the proposal, consumers will be able to address their comments and objections to retailers via chat, and retailers will be required to display both reduced prices during discount sales and the lowest price of the same product that applied 30 days before the discount sale. The proposal also extended the list of circumstances constituting unfair commercial practices, including dual quality of products. Bill ratifying guarantee agreement with IBRD Also sent to parliament was the bill ratifying…

ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday at the beginning of his cabinet's meeting that amendments to the relevant legislation could be made regarding tacitly accepted overdrafts of consumers. Earlier on Thursday, Plenković met with Croatian National Bank (HNB) Governor Boris Vujčić, and he informed his cabinet that they had agreed that the HNB would provide the Ministry of Finance with a thorough analysis of this topic that has made headlines recently. The government is seeking the best solutions, and if necessary, we will change the law, he added. The premier mentioned a possibility of reducing the…

ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - Croatia's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Gordan Grlić Radman, met with Belarusian dissident Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on the margins of the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia on Thursday. Tsikhanouskaya was the main opposition candidate in the 2020 Belarusian presidential election, which was declared rigged by Western countries. The election was followed by mass protests, and President Lukashenko, in power since 1994, used force to suppress the opposition. "We, the European Union, strongly condemned the prosecution, detention, and harassment of protesters and appealed for respect for human rights, media freedom and all the freedoms on which…

ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that the government would do everything to accelerate the process of post-earthquake reconstruction, and recalled that new tenders for about 4,000 houses in Banovina would be advertised already today and tomorrow. "We will make every effort to speed up that process... and the Ministry of Construction and State Assets will present a comprehensive proposal of measures and possible legal changes which should make the entire reconstruction process more efficient and faster," Plenković said at the beginning of a government session. As for the beginning of the new school year,…

ZAGREB, 1 Sept, 2021 - Croatia and Slovenia have improved their relationship during the term of the incumbent Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at the start of the 16th Bled Strategic Forum in the Slovenian lakeside town of Bled on Wednesday.  "I think that during the term of Prime Minister Janez Janša we have established excellent dialogue, excellent communication and cooperation. Economic relations, tourism, outstanding issues - they are all being dealt with to the satisfaction of both countries," Plenković said. He added that unresolved issues between the two countries, such as the border dispute,…