Politics

ZAGREB, 23 July 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday that the Serbian National Bank (NBS), which contests Croatia's intention to put the image of Nikola Tesla on euro coins, could express its opinion on the matter and could take a stand, but that that had no influence in the decision making. "Nikola Tesla was born in Smiljan on the territory of Croatia. And he lived most of his life in the USA. It is citizens who have recommended that one of the future euro coins should include the image of Nikola Tesla, we do not appropriate anybody," Plenković said after the NBS said on Thursday that…

ZAGREB, 23 July 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday he expected additional reports from all security services about last year's terrorist attack on the government building in St Mark's Square in Zagreb, because he doubted that the attacker did not have any accomplices. "This matter is too important and too serious and it was not discussed much. If it happened in any other country, believe me, no stone would be left unturned until it was found who got this person to do something like that," Plenković told reporters during a visit to the southern island of Hvar. The…

July 23, 2021 - The response by the Croatian Institute of Public Health on vaccinating Roma people arrived few hours after TCN published the first article on the subject. TCN, true to its words, will now publish the response as promised to our readers. A recent TCN report about vaccinating Roma people people saw the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) send the answers that didn't make it out before the publishing of the article. They apologised, stating that it all might have come down to a mistake in communication, suggesting that their reply might have been originally sent to…

ZAGREB, 22 July 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that after a period of decrease and stagnation, the past week saw a marked increase in the number of new cases of the coronavirus infection, and he called for caution, adding that additional restrictions are being introduced in the Adriatic region. The largest number of cases were registered in four Dalmatian counties which are all tourist destinations, so the national COVID-19 crisis management team will introduce additional epidemiological measures in that area to limit the possibility of the infection spreading, to control events with a greater number of…

ZAGREB, 22 July 2021 - The government on Thursday decided to set aside an additional 7.6 million kuna for grants to micro and small businesses in Sisak-Moslavina County to help them to cope with the consequences of the 29 December devastating earthquake. Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić recalled that on 29 January the government had decided to allocate ten million kunas for the support provided to the quake-affected businesses. He said that as many as 872 applications had been sent since then and of them, more than 600 were eligible for funding. The ministry established that the initial amount of the money would not…

ZAGREB, 22 July 2021 - The government on Thursday adopted the draft bill on adult education which will introduce significant changes in the adult education system, especially in terms of harmonizing education programs with the needs of the labor market and the quality of implementation of education programs. Adult education in Croatia should be regulated in accordance with recent strategic documents adopted at the level of the European Union which underscore a significant role of the adult education system in the process of recovery and of the green and digital transition. Key changes introduced by the new law include the recognition…

July the 22nd, 2021 - An additional 580 million euros has been approved by the European Commission (EC) for use by the Republic of Croatia as part of the wider REACT-EU initiative. As Novac/Iva Badanjak writes, the European Commission has approved an additional 580 million euros for use by Croatia to preserve jobs during the ongoing pandemic and after two major earthquakes during the spring and winter of 2020 (in Zagreb and Sisak-Moslavina) that had a serious impact on the Croatian economy. The funds have been sourced from the operational programme of the European Social Fund (ESF) within the REACT-EU…

July 22, 2021 - With the overall struggle to get Croatians to take the coronavirus vaccine, it is often overlooked regarding Roma people COVID-19 vaccination in Croatia. Despite coronavirus infections being low at the moment, the situation is tense. On July 5, as TCN reported, only 35% of the Croatian population was vaccinated as the Delta strain spreads globally and in the country. "Unfortunately, we aren't satisfied with the percentage of vaccinated people we hoped to have. We all wanted to vaccinate more than 50 percent of the total Croatian population during June, but sadly our numbers in that regard…

ZAGREB, 21 July, 2021 - Homeland Movement acting president Mario Radić said on Wednesday he would lead the opposition party until intra-party elections in the autumn but that he would not run for president who, he added, would be a person who brought people together and had a winning mentality. Miroslav Škoro on Tuesday tendered his irrevocable resignation as leader of the Homeland Movement. Radić said that although Škoro's resignation "has surprised many... it was first of all a highly moral act," a demonstration of responsibility to the party's members, sympathisers and voters. He said he was glad that Škoro decided to…

ZAGREB, 21 July, 2021 - The Croatian coat-of-arms, a geographical map of Croatia, the marten (Croatian: kuna), the Glagolitic script and Nikola Tesla are motifs proposed for the Croatian side of euro coins, the Croatian National Bank (HNB) said on Wednesday. The HNB Currency Committee today defined the final proposal for motifs for the national sides of future Croatian euro coins, which will now be considered by the National Council for the Introduction of the Euro as Official Currency in the Republic of Croatia, and then the government will adopt a conclusion. The Croatian coat-of-arms will be used as a background on…