Politics

ZAGREB, 12 May 2022 - Hundreds of citizens, mostly women, rallied in Zagreb's main square on Thursday to protest against the "destruction of public health and neglecting women's health," and to demand that legal, available and safe pregnancy termination be guaranteed. Protesters carried banners which read "A woman is not an incubator", "Mistress of my own body", "A woman's toughest decision is not yours", "No more denying medical procedures", "No more clericalism in gynecology clinics", "No more women-hating gynecologists" and "No more unavailable health". The protest was held in solidarity with Mirela Čavajda, whom a Zagreb hospital's second-instance commission allowed to terminate her pregnancy for medical…

ZAGREB, 12 May 2022 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Thursday that the budget revision proposal for this year envisages HRK 75 million for gas supplies, but that that item is "open," adding that the revision should be sufficient until the technical revision usually done at the end of the year. Answering reporters' questions, Marić said that "HRK 75 million has been secured for gas procurement, which isn't a big amount but that item is still open and a redistribution of funds is still possible." When it comes to guarantees, the total amount is about HRK 1 billion, said Marić, adding that…

ZAGREB, 12 May 2022 - The KBC Zagreb hospital said on Thursday that it informed Mirela Čavajda, a 39-year-old woman whose pregnancy termination request was approved on Wednesday, about the pregnancy termination procedure available at the city's Women's Diseases and Maternity Hospital, but that she refused it. "Doctors - a gynaecologist and a pediatrician specialising in neonatology - have provided Mrs Čavajda with information regarding the method of pregnancy termination that is available at the Women's Diseases and Maternity Hospital (induction of premature labour), which she refused," KBC Zagreb said in response to a query from Hina. A second-instance commission at KBC Zagreb…

ZAGREB, 12 May 2022 - Croatia has so far taken in 18,000 Ukrainian refugees and the problem with the current energy crisis caused by the Russian aggression is that it is not known how long it will last, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday addressing a conference of young European leaders. "The problem with this crisis is that nobody knows how long it will last and instruments of control of energy product prices are weak," the PM said in his address at the European Young Leaders (EYL40) conference, speaking about the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "In fact, we…

ZAGREB, 12 May 2022 - European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde has said that Croatia's accession to the eurozone is going as planned. Asked by a Slovenian Television reporter if the rising inflation in Europe, the war in Ukraine, and the general crisis could delay Croatia's accession, Lagarde said Croatia remained very committed to that goal. If we have learnt anything by now, it is that such dedication and adaptability are the main principles leading to progress. Slovenia abided by that, too, constantly confirming it, and I think Croatia is working very hard to introduce the euro, she said. It's wonderful…

ZAGREB, 12 May 2022 - The Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Croatia's ambassador to NATO would obey its instructions in deciding on the admission of Finland and Sweden. The ministry issued a statement after Minister Gordan Grlić Radman earlier today did not answer explicitly when asked by the press if the ambassador must obey the president or the ministry. President Zoran Milanović wants Croatia to make the two countries' NATO accession conditional on changing the electoral law in Bosnia and Herzegovina to ensure the equality of Croats. Yesterday he said he would order Croatian Ambassador to NATO Mario Nobilo to…

ZAGREB, 12 May 2022 - Croatia has recorded 637 new coronavirus cases and seven COVID-related deaths in the past 24 hours, and currently there are 4,781 active cases in the country, the national coronavirus response team reported on Thursday.  There are 386 hospitalised patients, 17 of whom are on ventilators, and 2,348 people are self-isolating. Since the outbreak of the epidemic in Croatia, a total of 1,129,836 COVID cases have been registered and 15,912 people have died as a consequence. To date, a total of 4,828,304 tests have been conducted, including 4,231 in the past 24 hours. As of 11 May, a total of 5,248,022 doses of…

ZAGREB, 12 May 2022 - In the first four months of this year, over 7,000 companies asked the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) for permission to hire nearly 50,000 foreign nationals to work in 300 different occupations, the Večernji List daily said on Thursday. According to the Ministry of the Interior, around 84,000 foreign nationals were temporarily staying in Croatia in April, while about 10,000 had a permanent residence permit. They were mostly from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania, Ukraine, China, Nepal, India and the Philippines. The jobs they are hired for are traditionally in short supply in…

ZAGREB, 12 May 2022 - Women MPs from Croatian leftist and liberal parties have called on the public to join protest rallies to be held in several cities across the country on Thursday evening in support of Mirela Čavajda and all women who are denied their legal right to abortion and other forms of medical care. "It is high time we said enough is enough to the Church, to the (ruling) Croatian Democratic Union and Health Minister Vili Beroš or anyone else who has the cheek to decide on a daily basis on women's rights and the human rights of…

ZAGREB, 11 May 2022 - Croatian Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Davor Filipović said in Sarajevo on Wednesday that Bosnia and Herzegovina had been and remained an important neighbour and partner to Croatia and that it was necessary to strengthen cooperation and support the stability of that country. Filipović was attending the 11th Sarajevo Business Forum and in his welcome speech he underscored that Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's government was taking the challenges of economic recovery and progress seriously and was committed to them despite the problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic and now the Russian aggression against Ukraine.…