Politics

July the 10th, 2021 - As so-called Covid passports continue to cause confusion and irritation, Czech MEP Dita Charanzova has accused Croatia of adding to the issue by ''altering the requirements for entry into the country every couple of hours''. As Iva Badanjak/Novac writes, European Union (EU) member states issued more than 200 million Covid certificates (EU digital green certificates) in one week, meaning that almost every other EU citizen has downloaded their digital certificate proving their vaccination status, that they have a recently obtained negative test or that they have recovered from the new disease. European Commissioner for Justice Didier…

July 10, 2021 - From the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Minister Brnjac joins other government authorities who ask the population to be responsible and careful in the current favorable epidemiological situation. Večernji list reports that as announced on Saturday by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Minister Nikolina Brnjac held a meeting in Dubrovnik yesterday with representatives of regional and local self-government and representatives of the tourism sector on the county report on the implementation of measures in the tourism sector to make the tourist season more successful and safe. The importance of vaccination was emphasized at the meeting in…

ZAGREB, 9 July 2021 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković held several bilateral meetings in Sofia on Friday, on the fringes of a Three Seas Initiative summit. Plenković tweeted that he held talks with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on economic cooperation and cooperation within the Initiative, migration, the fight against COVID-19, and the two countries' ambition to join the Schengen and euro areas. Plenković also held talks with Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid, who supported Croatia's Schengen bid. "We appreciate Estonia's support in Croatia's ambition to become a member of the Schengen and euro areas," he tweeted. Plenković and Kaljulaid also talked about economic cooperation,…

July 9, 2021 - The REPLACE Project was presented at the JOINT SECAP workshop in Rijeka on June 23. There is no better way to end a year and a half-long Interreg project for Croatia, which was one more ecosystem-concerned cooperation between Italy and Croatia. When it comes to energy efficiency in Croatia, there is no doubt anybody cares about it more than the scientific community working and associating with Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar (EIHP). Not only is the EIHP building on its way to becoming the first nearly zero energy building in the whole of the country, but EIHP's…

ZAGREB, 9 July 2021 - The Conflict of Interest Prevention Commission decided on Friday not to take action against Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and ministers Oleg Butković, Nikolina Brnjac and Marija Vučković since they were found not to have violated the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act. The Commission met today to look into a complaint claiming that Prime Minister Plenković, Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Butković, Minister of Tourism and Sport Brnjac and Agriculture Minister Vučković had travelled across the country during the recent campaign for local elections at the expense of the state budget. Tončica Božić, the rapporteur on…

ZAGREB, 9 July 2021 - The LNG terminal on the northern Adriatic island of Krk has put Croatia on the energy map of Europe and the world, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told reporters in Sofia on Friday where he was attending a summit of the Three Seas Initiative. The aim of this initiative is to connect the countries of Central Europe, from the Baltic to the shores of the Black Sea and the Adriatic. The initiative is backed by the United States, and Croatia, as a participant, has a number of projects, Plenković said, citing the LNG terminal on Krk…

July the 9th, 2021 - Croatian political stability is key to sending out the message to the world that it is safe and worthwhile to invest in the country, as small countries like Croatia have little other choice in such a big proverbial pond. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Vecernji list writes, inventions and innovations should be strongly encouraged in all sectors, and it is naturally necessary to accelerate the digitalisation of industry and the state at all levels, initiate rapid and effective public administration reform, reduce bureaucratisation, state apparatus costs and corruption, and shape a long-term strategy. All of the above, and…

ZAGREB, 8 July 2021 - Labour Minister Josip Aladrović said on Thursday that Croatia cannot afford a new lockdown because that would additionally burden the budget and economy, stressing that the time has come to separate responsible people from irresponsible ones but also to find a way to motivate citizens to be inoculated. "We cannot afford a new lockdown scenario and limited economic activities because that would additionally exhaust the state budget and additionally burden our economy. In those cases, which we wish to avoid with our measures, we could bring into question the forecast of economic growth, we have planned," Aladrović…

ZAGREB, 8 July 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday there was a certain increase in the number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 with the first dose, including 8,000 yesterday, which he said was encouraging. "It's evident that our topics from the last government session have encouraged a certain number of our fellow citizens to be vaccinated," he said at a cabinet meeting, a week after he said that the government would make job-keeping payments conditional on worker vaccination. Any minority should feel safe and free Plenković also said that "members of minorities, any minority, sexual, ethnic, should…

ZAGREB, 8 July 2021 - The government on Thursday sent to the parliament a draft bill on the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) whereby the mandatory membership fee will be waived for more than 95% of entrepreneurs in Croatia, Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić said. The bill envisages three categories of members. The first group includes members who can apply for the fee waiver if they meet at least two of the following three criteria: their total assets do not exceed HRK 7.5 million, their annual revenues do not exceed 15 million kuna, and/or the number of people on their payroll is below 50.…