ZAGREB, 9 March, 2021 - Everything except respecting the law is politicising, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday, commenting on the election procedure for the Supreme Court president, on which he disagrees with President Zoran Milanović, who is recommending a candidate who did not apply for the job.

"There are no (legal) tricks. There is respecting the Constitution and the law that is in force. Everything else is politicising without any reason, a wish to make an issue out of the election of the Supreme Court president which seems incredible," Plenković told the press in Ivanić-Grad.

There is a prescribed procedure and the State Judicial Council (DSV) invited applications, of which everyone in the judiciary knew, he added.

"The law was passed after the SDP (Social Democrats) strongly criticised the existing procedure. When the law was being passed, they commended (the procedure), and now, all of a sudden, they are singing a different tune."

As for the DSV's claim that it does not have the instruments to again call for applications because the law does not specify that, the prime minister said this situation should not have happened and that the regulations that were in force should be honoured.

Unlike the president, who said parliament would debate his recommendation of Zlata Đurđević for Supreme Court president, Plenković said that under parliament's rules of procedure, that could not be put on the agenda.

Asked if he would meet with the president if he invited him, Plenković said, "I don't feel like communicating about that via the media."

"The man said he would call, he hasn't, so he is sending some message via our (ruling coalition) partner, Prefect Čačić. It's all bizarre really."

Speaking of Đurđević, the head of the Zagreb Faculty of Law criminal law department, Plenković said it was not about whether someone respected her because everyone knew the circle of people who could head the Supreme Court. He added that she had been Croatia's backup candidate for the European Court of Human Rights.

He said there was no constitutional crisis as the deadline for electing the new Supreme Court president was July, and wondered what prevented Đurđević from applying for the position earlier.

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ZAGREB, 9 March, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković visited Ivanić-Grad on Tuesday, underscoring good cooperation with local and Zagreb County governments.

Speaking to the press after meeting with Mayor Javor Bojan Leš and County Prefect Stjepan Kožić, Plenković said that the investments made by the county and the town complemented government efforts to keep jobs.

"The funds for this purpose have so far affected 57,000 workers as HRK 512 million has been disbursed for job retention," the prime minister said.

€51 million from EU for county development projects

Plenković said that during the term of his government €51 million worth of projects had been agreed with the EU for this county, contributing to its development. He noted that following the reform of the local and regional government funding law, this county had received 28 percent more revenues in 2020 than in 2017.

Zagreb County has established itself among the five most developed counties in Croatia, Plenković said, praising Ivanić-Grad for investing in school infrastructure, sports halls and health tourism.

Mayor Leš highlighted the investment in the Naftalan medical rehabilitation centre and expressed his satisfaction with the collaboration with the government on public sewage system construction.

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ZAGREB, 8 March, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković extended his best wishes to women for International Women's Day on Monday.

"Women have made our families and our society better through their work and commitment. This is a special day to thank them for their invaluable contribution to creating a more equitable community," the prime minister said in his message.

He said his government would make a stronger contribution to women's equality in Croatian society by adopting various employment schemes for women, achieving equal conditions on the labour market, promoting demographic measures and resolutely combating all forms of discrimination and violence against women.

ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - The ruling HDZ party's candidate for Zagreb Mayor, Davor Filipović, said on Thursday he was confident of his victory in the May local election because his model of running the city was based on responsible financial operations, transparent post-earthquake reconstruction and capital projects.

"I enjoy the strong support of the HDZ branch in Zagreb, (HDZ) president (Andrej) Plenković and the entire HDZ," Filipović said after a session of the party branch on Thursday evening.

Plenković, too, attended the session and the subsequent news conference but did not make any statements.

"All of the recent attacks against me are due to my political rivals being very nervous. I am confident that the new model of governance that I will offer, which puts emphasis on responsible financial operations, transparent reconstruction and capital projects, will be recognised by voters and that I will be elected mayor in May," said Filipović, adding that he would present the key elements of his platform in the next few weeks.

He went on to say that all information on how city budget funds are spent would be made available on the city administration's website, that the process of post-earthquake reconstruction would be fully transparent, and that heads of city departments and directors of city-owned companies would have to make their declarations of assets public.

Filipović also said that "all members of the Opposition" would be included in the supervision of public tenders for major projects.

Škoro will go down in history as the bravest Croatian politician

Commenting on reports that Homeland Movement leader Miroslav Škoro would run for Zagreb Mayor, Filipović said that "Škoro will go down in history as the bravest politician in our country."

"After summoning courage for months to announce his candidacy, it was only (on Wednesday), after he saw for himself that the late mayor Milan Bandić was buried, that he did so," said Filipović.

"Škoro is also known for having run stalls at Zagreb Advent, and we all know what one had to do to be allowed to operate stalls at the Christmas market. Having one stall is evidently not enough any more, one needs to run five, six or ten stalls. Zagreb residents know who charged the most expensive parking tickets by a hospital," Filipović said, an allusion to Škoro's having had a stake in a company operating a parking lot by Zagreb's Merkur hospital, which he eventually sold.

ZAGREB, 4 March, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that the government is more than ready to procure the Russian Sputnik V vaccine once it is approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Plenković said that the government had asked the Russian side for additional documentation on the Sputnik V vaccine and underscored that a formal procedure for the EMA to approve it had apparently begun.

"We will do everything bilaterally to see the details. When the Agency approves the vaccine, we are more than ready to procure it," the prime minister said.

It is expected that EMA will approve the Johnson&Johnson vaccine this month which is, he said, another 900,000 doses, to be distributed according to a certain dynamic.

He said that according to current data, more than 242,000 doses had been used in Croatia, and that 121,000 people had received one, while 60,000 had received both doses.

He added that 42,500 people have registered online to be vaccinated and that about 3,000 had called a toll-free line.

Plenković underscored that Croatia still had a relatively good epidemiological situation. According to the weekly incidence rate, we are ranked fourth in the EU in terms of the lowest rate and we have the lowest incidence among Mediterranean countries and the second lowest among Central European countries, he said.

Although we are seeing a growth in recent days, of 26% last week and 20% this week, we were able to allow hospitality establishments to reopen and sport trainings to resume, he added.

Underscoring that that was a step towards a more normal way of life, Plenković called for caution so that the trend of a decreasing number of patients in hospitals, patients on ventilators and deaths could be maintained.

Since there are infection hotspots in some counties, county COVID response teams are implementing stricter measures in agreement with the national COVID-19 crisis management team in order to curb a possible new spread of the epidemic, he said.

As for activities following the 29 December earthquake, the prime minister said that work on completing damage assessment was intensified so that it could be completed and so the government could apply for money from the European Solidarity Fund through the Ministry for Regional Development and EU Funds.

February the 27th, 2021 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has worked to clear up doubts surrounding the continued job preservation/economic aid which has been being paid out to Croatian companies and which is due to expire on Monday.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian Prime Minister reported that the European Council had discussed the need to speed up the delivery of coronavirus vaccines. He recalled the fact that Croatia had ordered 6.8 million doses of vaccine, more than is needed for all of its adult residents.

"It's currently estimated that about 8 percent of adult citizens have been vaccinated at the European Union level so far, and the goal is to reach 70 percent by the summer months. The EC will continue talks with leaders within the pharmaceutical industry. Croatia will therefore be in a position to vaccinate a larger amount of its population. We expect 730,000 doses of vaccine to arrive by the end of March,'' Plenkovic said.

The Croatian Prime Minister also commented on the announced easing of epidemiological measures and on the talks on the continuation of aid for enterprises.

"We've made a political decision to continue to monitor the economy, regardless of the possible scope of that work," said Plenkovic, announcing the continuation of support for the economic activities that cannot work as they did before the coronavirus pandemic struck would continue to receive their financial support from the state. He stated that they consider it the right decision and that the necessary funds will be found in the positions of the ministries, and that no rebalance will be needed.

"I'd also like to address the issue of bookmakers and casinos. All of them pay concessions, in case they don't work, there is no such income and the state still pays them. When we analysed this we saw that their business isn't epidemiologically problematic, such is the attitude of our epidemiologists. The meaning behind that decision is so that the state can benefit. None of us are personally prone to gambling,'' he said.

He also commented on the record decline in Croatia's GDP.

"Croatia, like other tourist countries, found itself in a situation where the coronavirus crisis hit it extremely hard. This 8.4 percent drop is better than the other estimates which were given for Croatia. Thanks to government measures, today, when the sums are underlined, we see that there are only 2.1 percent fewer employees in 2020 than there were back in 2019, while salaries have increased by 2.7 percent. That's very important,'' the Croatian Prime Minister pointed out, once again stating that Croatian employers have been paid 9.3 billion kuna so far to overcome the crisis.

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ZAGREB, 25 February, 2021 - Recapping the year-long fight against COVID-19, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday the government had taken appropriate measures and done its best to protect people's health, thanking people for behaving responsibly and understanding a situation no one could have predicted.

The first coronavirus case in Croatia was registered a year ago today. Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Plenković said that from day one the necessary protective equipment had been provided and the continuation of education and activities in culture and the arts taken into account.

The economy has been taken into account the entire time, he said. "Job-retention measures have been very abundant. We never thought we would give so much money to retain jobs in the private sector, to workers, employers."

Pensions have been paid as well and the number of the jobless has been as before the pandemic, Plenković said.

"And we have done all that while ensuring financial stability in such a way that Croatia is keeping its investment credit rating and stepping through the European Exchange Rate Mechanism towards the euro area... We have concluded good financial arrangements both with the HNB (Croatian National Bank) and the European Central Bank, with Croatian banks and pension funds, with all stakeholders who have made it possible for everything to function."

Plenković regretted that certain activities had been restricted. "That's not something we are doing because we want to, it's what all governments are doing, all countries around the world, to protect people's health."

Vaccine distribution needs to be stepped up

Plenković said he would push for stepping up the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines at EU level which, he added, the European Council would discuss today, in order to vaccinate as many people as soon as possible, notably those most vulnerable.

"I'm confident the announcement of 700,000 doses in total by the end of March will be a strong barrier against the spread of the epidemic, and we expect even larger quantities. Our message today will also go to the EMA (European Medicines Agency) to approve vaccines more quickly, first and foremost Johnson&Johnson's, which is under way and which we have ordered in 900,000 doses."

Plenković said the government had reserved the vaccines on time, even more than necessary in order to vaccinate everyone over 18 years of age, with 6.8 million doses ordered to date. "We will continue to make an effort, the responsibility is big."

He extended his condolences to the families of the 5,500 Croatian citizens who have died "of COVID or with COVID."

"Those are great losses. We sympathise with their families. We regret it very much. And I thank all fellow citizens for behaving responsibly and understanding the context which has been going on for a year and which no one could have planned for."

ZAGREB, 25 February, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that Croatia's weekly COVID-19 numbers had been falling for the past ten weeks, dropping almost eleven-fold.

"In relation to last Thursday, we are registering a certain growth on the weekly level, but at the moment we can't say with certainty what the causes of this trend are, whether it was because of the cold, the relaxation of measures or a broader relaxation in the model of behaviour," he said at a cabinet meeting, appealing for continuing to be very cautious.

He said that together with Denmark, Croatia had the lowest weekly incidence of new infections in the EU.

"We have several smaller clusters in a couple of counties so we shouldn't be too relaxed at the moment," Plenković said.

"We are trying to protect health, the economy, keep up financial stability, salaries, pensions, job-retention aid, and everything we are doing, we are doing in the interest of Croatian citizens."

February 19, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at Thursday's Government's that vaccines must protect Croatian citizens until the tourist season. 

HRTurizam reports that if the epidemiological situation continues to develop in a good direction, measures could be further eased from March 1, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković pointed out at Thursday's 44th Government session.

Prime Minister Plenković said that the trend of declining COVID-19 cases continues for the tenth week in a row and that the weekly average is 75 confirmed cases per million inhabitants. He added that the dynamics of vaccination are intensifying. With new shipments, there will be over 700,000 doses in Croatia by the end of March, which will significantly increase the number of vaccinated citizens.

Whether this means that catering facilities or at least terraces will finally open remains to be seen.

The weekly average is 75 confirmed cases per million inhabitants, which puts Croatia in third place in the European Union, behind Finland and Denmark.

Plenković: We expect significantly more vaccine doses by June to ensure maximum protection of citizens until the tourist season

By the tourist season, we want to ensure the maximum possible protection of citizens with the vaccine, said Plenković and added that the Government's task is to ensure as many vaccine doses by the end of the first quarter and reminded that another 600,000 doses should arrive in Croatia by the end of March. He added that significantly more doses should come in April, May, and June to ensure maximum protection for citizens until the tourist season.

"Croatia, like other members of the European Union, relies on the European Medicines Agency for the safety and reliability of vaccines and medicines. Something that ultimately goes directly into the context of any of our fellow citizens' health conditions must be reliable. We need to have confidence in the vaccine or drug that is coming to our market. The key is that once the EMA approves a drug and all agencies confirm it at the national level, then the responsibility for that drug or for that vaccine lies with the pharmaceutical company. In the variant that we put this medicine on the market without these filters, then we also respond in that way, and that is why Hungary went through the verification procedure," Plenković said about the possibility of purchasing the Russian vaccine two days ago.

If the reliability of these vaccines is proven, additional quantities will be used to speed up the vaccination process, Plenković added, emphasizing that Croatia is not currently considering vaccine production but aims to protect citizens with the purchased vaccines.

By the way, Croatia ordered 2.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, 1.9 million doses of Pfizer, one million doses of Moderna, and one million doses of Johnson & Johnson. It is important to emphasize how all three vaccines are effective so that there are no fatalities, severe symptoms, hospitalization, and respirators.

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ZAGREB, 11 February, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine protected the elderly against death, ventilators and more serious symptoms, and that therefore there were no obstacles to administering it to people over 65.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, he said that this morning he spoke with representatives of pensioner unions and associations which demand that people over 65 are not given the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Plenković told the public, notably older people, that all three COVID vaccines, Pfizer's, Moderna's and AstraZeneca's, "are 100% effective against death, against situations on ventilators and more serious symptoms."

He said that according to the information at the government's disposal, there were no obstacles to people over 65 receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

"We believe that in these circumstances as many people as possible whose health is at risk, whose health is fragile, who are older, to whom coronavirus can cause major health damage in a short time, should be vaccinated."

Plenković said additional studies and trials would confirm that the AstraZeneca vaccine was equally effective in reducing the number of COVID deaths in Croatia.

The number of new infections keeps falling

Speaking of the epidemic, he said the decrease in new infections was continuing, as confirmed by this week's numbers.

Today Croatia is third in the EU by the weekly average of confirmed cases per million inhabitants and has the fifth largest two-week decrease in COVID deaths, he added.

"We are in the winter months and a strong cold wave has been announced, the British virus strain has been identified, so many European countries, which have much stricter measures, are extending or further restricting them."

Plenković said there were indications that vaccine deliveries would step up and that greater quantities could be expected by the end of March.

Croatia has received about 150,000 doses, another 600,000 are expected by the end of March, so it will be possible to vaccinate a markedly larger number of people, he added.

It is important that the Health Ministry, the Croatian Institute of Public Health, hospitals and general practitioners ensure mass vaccination, he said.