Politics

ZAGREB, 23 August, 2022 - Labour and Social Policy Minister Marin Piletić said on Tuesday that the government has seen that pensions are not adequate, which will be dealt with through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and he announced a package of aid measures for the autumn as well as one-off payments to pensioners. Speaking about the impact of inflation on pension allowances, the minister said that they had increased by slightly more than 10% since 2019 due to inflation and with such pension indexation. "Given the rise in prices in the second half of 2022, we expect that…

ZAGREB, 23 August, 2022 - A Croatian government delegation on Tuesday laid wreaths on the islands of Goli Otok and Sveti Grgur in tribute to people imprisoned there by the Communist regime, on the occasion of the Europe-Wide Day of Remembrance for the Victims of all Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes. Transport Minister Oleg Butković, who headed the government delegation, said that Croatia was honouring all victims of the authoritarian Communist regime, which, he said, had left its mark on Croatia and the Croat people in the 20th century. It is important to promote the culture of remembrance because, without it, there can…

ZAGREB, 22 August, 2022 - Croatia will use all available legal means to protect its pilots, Justice and Public Administration Minister Ivan Malenica said on Monday, calling the proceedings in Serbia a politically staged attempt that could be a reason for blocking Serbia's accession to the European Union. "The Croatian government has clearly stated that it will protect all its citizens, all its defenders, generals, and, in this case, pilots. Therefore, we will use all available legal means if such a moment comes," Malenica said in an interview for RTL Danas. This means that in this case, which refers to the…

ZAGREB, 23 Aug (Hina) - In its indictment against four Croatian Air Force pilots, charged with complicity in a war crime against civilians during Croatia's 1995 military operation "Storm", the Serbian judiciary also states grounds for its jurisdiction over the case, which Croatia has categorically challenged. The Zagreb office of the regional N1 broadcaster on Monday reported having obtained the Serbian indictment, a 26-page document issued on 31 March and upheld by the Belgrade Appeals Court in mid-August. Excerpts of the indictment state, among other things, that the indictees, "by violating rules of international law defined by the Geneva Conventions, ordered…

ZAGREB, 22 August, 2022 - All houses covered by the programme of non-structural reconstruction in the earthquake-affected areas of Petrinja and Glina should be renovated before the start of the heating season, with construction work currently underway on eight apartment buildings in Petrinja and four in Glina. The value of the reconstruction contracts is estimated at HRK 944 million, it was said at a meeting of the task force in charge of dealing with the consequences of the December 2020 earthquake in Sisak-Moslavina County. Gordan Hanžek of the Central State Office for Reconstruction and Housing said at the meeting that non-structural…

ZAGREB, 23 August, 2022 - Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, said on Tuesday that the new Law on the Coastal Belt and Sea Ports would in no way privatise the coastal belt or prevent citizens from using the seaside and that there is no way that the law would enable any misuse of the coastal belt. "We have to adopt a law on the coastal belt and seaports by the end of the year for several reasons," said Butković, stating that it is a precondition to absorb money from the National Recovery and Resilience Program, adding that that…

ZAGREB, 23 August, 2022 - Commenting on potential pressure by new clients from the category of households on the city-owned GPZO gas distributor, Mayor Tomislav Tomašević said on Tuesday that not selling gas was not an option even though gas supplies for new clients had not been procured. "... we did not know that a large number of market suppliers would suddenly give up on gas business and that (new clients) would turn to the GPZO as a public supplier," the mayor told a news conference. GPZO supplying gas to close to 60% of Croatian households Commenting on a report in the Jutarnji…

August the 23rd, 2022 - What exactly does the new proposal for the Law on Maritime Property bring with it? There are some concerning items to be aware of, and Otoci.eu/Islands.eu has a message for the powers that be. As Andrea Beader/Otoci.eu writes, does the new proposal of the Law on Maritime Property and Sea Ports bring us any restrictions or the fencing off of sea beaches to the public? Reviewing the new proposal of the Law on Maritime Property and Sea Ports, we were taken aback by the proposed items that explicitly enable the limitation of the general use…

ZAGREB, 22 August, 2022 - Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić has strongly dismissed statements linking Serbia's indictment against four Croatian Air Force pilots, charged with ordering the shelling of a Serb refugee column in 1995, with Serbia's EU entry talks, with attorneys for the survivors announcing more criminal reports. The Belgrade Appeals Court has upheld the High Court's decision which upheld an indictment by the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office against Croatian Air Force pilots Vladimir Mikac, Zdenko Radulj, Željko Jelenić, and Danijel Borović. They are charged with having ordered, on 7 and 8 August 1995, the shelling of Serb refugee columns…

ZAGREB, 22 August, 2022 - Retired Air Force pilot Danijel Borović said on Sunday that after Serbia's media outlets reported that an indictment against four wartime Croatian pilots had been upheld by a Belgrade-based court, one should now wait for Croatia to take the next move. Borović told the N1 commercial broadcaster that he had learnt from the media about the indictment which allegedly charged him and three more pilots with war crimes in during the liberating Operation Storm. "I have no other information. I can see that Justice Minister (Ivan) Malenica has also stated that they have not been given any…