ZAGREB, Dec 16, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has said the situation with the pandemic requires national unity, solidarity, and a high degree of responsibility in order to save as many lives as possible and the economy, accusing the opposition of irresponsibly undermining everything that is being done to fight COVID-19.

In an interview with Globus weekly, Plenkovic says new COVID measures are being considered as well as an extension of the ones in force in order to reduce the number of infections.

"I'll reiterate that our priority was and remains to preserve the health of our citizens and save every life. One should clearly say that the choice is not between health and the economy, it is a health and the economy. It would be easiest to introduce another lockdown, but few are asking where the money would come from for salaries and financing the economy."

He says it is extremely important that everyone complies with the COVID measures so as to reduce, through joint efforts, the number of infections and the pressure on hospitals and the medical staff "who are giving their all to save every life and keep the healthcare system running."

Plenkovic says the economy is "key for financing the healthcare system."

Speaking of the arrival of a vaccine, he says that if a large portion of the population gets vaccinated, the infection will disappear sooner.

Announcing a public campaign, he says the wish is for all the information on the vaccine to be transparent, clear and based on science so as to explain to citizens the benefits and how the vaccine can protect them from the disease.

Speaking of the opposition's moves, Plenkovic says it is a pity that their contribution to the COVID crisis "boils down to undermining the work" of the national response team.

"The opposition's attempts to have everything decided in parliament only additionally reveals their deep lack of understanding of the nature of this crisis in which it's necessary to make decisions. How, for example, would a two-thirds majority be achieved in parliament on whether the physical distance should be one meter, a meter and a half or two, how many people can be in shops or on the farmers' market?"

Plenkovic says parliament passed all the laws necessary to enable the government and the COVID response team to make the necessary operational decisions, adding that such a system "has ensured the necessary flexibility for adopting all the necessary measures on short notice."

Plenkovic says the opposition has the right to "irresponsibly undermine all we are doing in the fight against COVID-19, but we will continue to adopt the optimal measures for protecting the health and maintaining the economy."

ZAGREB, Dec 14, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Monday that it was evident that the current counter-COVID measures, which expire on 21 December, would be extended if the current high numbers of new infections were not reduced.

Additional restrictions are also on the table, Plenkovic said while chairing today's government session via video link from his home.

Commenting on the unfavourable epidemiological situation, Plenkovic underscored that in the last seven days, a total of 25,119 new cases of the infection had been registered, or 5.6% more than in the week before.

Figures about coronavirus-related deaths have also been on the rise.

Unless we manage to reduce the current high coronavirus numbers, the existing measures will be prolonged beyond 21 December, said the premier, who is in isolation after he was diagnosed with the coronavirus infection in late November.

The premier called on citizens to be aware of the demanding circumstances, noting that the measures adopted by the government and the COVID-19 crisis management team had to be complied with.

"It is clear that this year, Christmas will differ from Christmas festivities in the past. I appeal for avoidance of any bigger family gatherings, since the virus spreads most easily in such situations," he added.

ZAGREB, Dec 12, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Saturday that on Monday his government would adopt a draft decision to declare an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic.

Plenkovic said on Twitter that he had "consultations with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte regarding the declaration of a Croatian exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic" and that "the Croatian government will adopt a report on the process of consultations and a draft decision on the declaration of an exclusive economic zone on Monday."

The ruling HDZ party caucus said earlier this month that the parliament would declare an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic by the end of the month.

The foreign ministers of Croatia and Italy, Gordan Grlic Radman and Luigi Di Maio, held talks in Zagreb in late November and agreed on declaring exclusive economic zones in the Adriatic together.

Back in 2003, Croatia declared an ecological and fisheries protection zone (EFPZ) which included 99 percent of elements of an exclusive economic zone, excluding the possibility of building artificial islands and exploiting wind and sea power.

It was determined by subsequent decisions in 2004, 2006 and 2008 that the EFPZ would not apply to EU member-states until a common agreement was reached in a European spirit.

After Croatia joined the EU, the EFPZ, just like all exclusive economic zones and fisheries and ecological zones of other EU member-states, became part of the EU's waters, where rules of the common fisheries policy are in force and where EU member-states cooperate in protecting the marine environment, the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs said after the talks between the Croatian and Italian foreign ministers.

The long-standing cooperation with Italy in the implementation of the common fisheries policy as well as cooperation in the protection of the marine environment have resulted in an agreement on a harmonised declaration of exclusive economic zones in the Adriatic, the ministry said at the time.

Slovenian Foreign Minister Anze Logar earlier this week held talks with Di Maio on relations between the two countries and they called for a trilateral meeting at the level of foreign ministers with Croatia on the decision of the Italian and Croatian governments to declare exclusive economic zones in the Adriatic, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry said.

It noted that Di Maio and Logar had agreed that the Italian side should keep Slovenia informed of the state of the legislative procedure on the declaration of the exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic.

The Italian side guaranteed that the declaration of the exclusive economic zone would be conducted in line with the principles of international law of the sea and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and with full participation by Slovenia and Croatia, with the aim of ensuring the highest possible degree of protection of the Adriatic Sea, the Slovenian ministry said.

ZAGREB, Dec 9, 2020 - Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa will represent Croatia at Thursday's EU summit, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday.

Plenkovic will not attend the summit as his isolation has been extended due to a cough caused by COVID-19.

Speaking at a virtual cabinet meeting, he said he first suggested to President Zoran Milanovic to attend.

"I offered (Milanovic) to go on Croatia's behalf. He appreciated the gesture, thanked me, but given the topics, he assessed that he would not go to Brussels," Plenkovic said, adding that Milanovic agreed with Jansa being authorized to represent Croatia.

The two-day in-person summit will focus on Hungary and Poland's veto on the EU budget and recovery plan, relations with the United States, and the pandemic.

Plenkovic will isolate a few more days at doctors' orders due to a cough. The government said earlier today that he was feeling well and did not have a temperature and that he would continue to work from home. He tested positive for coronavirus on November 30.

At the cabinet meeting, he said it was very important for the decreasing trend of new infections to continue, calling this a still "very demanding task."

"It's important that we all together comply with the measures so that we reduce the dynamic of the epidemic before Christmas."

ZAGREB, Dec 9, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic will self-isolate a few more days due to milder respiratory problems caused by COVID-19 and will not participate in Thursday's EU summit, the government said on Wednesday.

"The prime minister is feeling well and does not have a temperature. During the entire isolation, which began on Saturday, November 28, the prime minister has been working continuously and every day from home, performing all his activities and duties," the government said, adding that self-isolation was extended for a few more days "at doctors' advice."

Plenkovic began to self-isolate after his wife tested positive for coronavirus. He tested positive two days later.

According to available information, he will not take part in the EU summit even via video link.

ZAGREB, December 5, 2020 - Croatia's having kept its investment grade credit rating proves that the government's response to the crisis has been good, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Saturday in reference to a report by Fitch Ratings, which affirmed the country's investment grade rating for the third time this year.

Fitch Ratings has for the third time this year affirmed the country's investment grade rating, which is owing to an expected gradual recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and the government's strong aid measures, accession to the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II), and fiscal consolidation having been maintained, Plenkovic stressed in a statement.

The latest decision by Fitch Ratings also confirms the stable outlook for future trends. The agency underlines the importance of political stability and fast government formation following the HDZ party's victory in the July 2020 parliamentary election, as well as the adoption of the budget for 2021 and the fifth round of the tax reform.

"The fact that our credit rating has been kept in the investment category confirms that during the coronavirus pandemic we have managed to maintain economic stability without major imbalances, made progress on the journey to the euro area and joined the ERM II and that we have provided high amounts of aid to the private sector to preserve jobs. We are continuing to pursue a prudent fiscal policy, focusing on further reforms and reduction of the tax and administrative burden so as to improve the business climate and boost investment," Plenkovic said in the statement.

He noted that quality crisis management had shown that Croatia was able not only to have its rating kept in the investment category with Fitch and Standard&Poor's but also to make progress with Moody's as the most conservative credit rating agency.

Fitch expects Croatia's GDP to drop by 9% in 2020 as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021 it expects a moderate growth at a rate of 3.8% and in 2022 it forecasts that growth will pick up to 6%, which will also be owing to EU funds, whose contribution is estimated to account for two percentage points of economic growth in 2022.

Fitch believes that Croatia's entry to ERM II in July this year has contributed to the rating having stayed in the investment category and says that it could upgrade it by two notches between admission to the ERM II and joining the euro area.

In 2020 Fitch expects an 8% budget deficit. The budget deficit is expected to go down to 3.5% of GDP in 2021 and further to 2.2% in 2022. This confirms that the government has continued to implement a stable fiscal policy for which Fitch says that it has been yielding results above fiscal targets since 2016.

Fitch's decision to affirm the country's credit rating is also owing to more than €24 billion having been made available to Croatia from the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework and Recovery Plan in the coming decade.

The government recalls in its statement that Fitch had kept Croatia's credit rating outside the investment category from August 2014 to June 2019, when it was returned to the investment category where it has stayed since.

ZAGREB, December 4, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic is ready to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in public and fully supports the campaign of promoting COVID-19 vaccination, the government's spokesman Marko Milic said on Friday.

The spokesman explained that PM Plenkovic has contracted the coronavirus virus and is currently in isolation, which is why he will hold the necessary consultations with doctors on the appropriate time for him to be vaccinated.

Since the very beginning Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has fully and publicly supported vaccination as the method to immunise people against the COVID-19 disease. Having in mind that in the period when the delivery of COVID-19 vaccine doses will start, Plenkovic will be one of those who have recovered from that disease and he will hold the necessary consultations with doctors on the appropriate time for his vaccination, as suggested by Health Minister Vili Beros earlier in the day, Milic said in his answer to Hina's inquiries.

Milic reiterated that medical professionals, retirement home staff and residents as well as old-age citizens and patients suffering from chronic diseases will be the first to get the COVID-jabs.

Croatia has pre-orders 5.6 million doses of vaccine, Pfizer's expected to arrive first

Croatia has pre-ordered 5.6 million doses of coronavirus vaccine, and the vaccination could start with the Pfizer vaccine, which is expected to arrive first in 125,000 doses, Croatian Public Health Institute director Krunoslav Capak said earlier today.

Capak said that the European Union had entered into negotiations with six manufacturers, and the first agreement presented to Croatia was the one with AstraZeneca.

Croatia has pre-ordered 3.6 million doses of vaccine from that manufacturer but was allocated 2.7 million because of the huge interest of other EU member states, so it has pre-ordered 900,000 doses from Johnson & Johnson. After that, a million doses have been pre-ordered from Pfizer and Moderna each, and 300,000 doses from CureVac.

"Croatia has pre-ordered 5.6 million doses of vaccine from different manufacturers, and we have also received an offer from a company that will register its vaccine towards the end of 2021. We will order smaller quantities from it in case this is a seasonal vaccine," Capak said.

The Pfizer vaccine could be registered by December 29, Moderna expects to have its vaccine registered early in January, so it is likely that these two vaccines will be the first to be used in Croatia, given that the AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to be registered slightly later in the first quarter of next year, Capak said.

The government says that all information about its activities in the preparations for administering COVID-19 jabs is available on https://www.koronavirus.hr/cijepljenje-protiv-covid-19/872.

President Zoran Milanovic and several senior officials as well as leading epidemiologists have in the meantime expressed readiness to get vaccinated.

ZAGREB, November 29, 2020 - The head of the prime minister's office, Zvonimir Frka-Petesic, said on Sunday PM Andrej Plenkovic was self-isolating from his wife, who has coronavirus, and their children, adding that he had no symptoms, was continuing to do his job and that the government was working normally.

Plenkovic has been self-isolating since Saturday, when his wife tested positive. His test came back negative.

"The government is working normally. This morning we had two meetings via video link," Frka-Petesic told the press.

He said the prime minister would participate in Monday's cabinet meeting via video link and that as far as he knew, nothing would be cancelled and that all meetings would be virtual.

Asked if the prime minister would get tested again, he said he would when epidemiologists decided that it was necessary.

Vukovar incident condemned

Frka-Petesic also commented on an incident which occurred in a Vukovar bar in the early hours of Saturday, involving the state secretary at the Veterans Ministry, Stjepan Sucic, who violated anti-COVID measures.

"Of course we condemn such an unfortunate event. We regret that something like that happened at a time when epidemiological measures have been prescribed for all of us. There can be no excuse for violating them, notably by government officials who must lead by example," he said, adding that the cabinet would discuss the matter on Monday and "adopt the appropriate decisions."

Asked if Sucic would be sacked, Frka-Petesic it would be considered tomorrow.

He denied that the government had intervened with the Vukovar police station last night. "I know nothing about that. This is a very suggestive question. I don't believe something like that is possible."

Police found Sucic and several other persons in a Vukovar bar in the early hours of Saturday, just after a ban on the work of hospitality establishments went into force. County police said yesterday that two men were arrested for disorderly conduct. Media reported that one of them was Sucic and the other the director of the Homeland War Memorial Centre in Vukovar, Krunoslav Seremet.

ZAGREB, November 29, 2020 - The Croatian Prime Minister's wife, Ana Maslac-Plenkovic, tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday and after that Plenkovic himself underwent testing and his test was negative, however, he went into self-isolation, the government's public relations office reported on Saturday evening.

After a having a slightly elevated body temperature, Mrs Ana Maslac-Plenkovic underwent testing for coronavirus on Saturday and her test was positive, the government stated.

After his wife was diagnosed with coronavirus, the Prime Minister also underwent testing and his test was negative. However, the  precautionary measure of staying at home for 10 days was imposed on Plenkovic and he will continue performing his duties from home, the government's spokesman Marko Milic said.

November 28, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic addressed Croatian citizens on Friday night before the new COVID-19 measures in Croatia came into force.

Just before the new and stricter epidemiological measures took effect in Croatia, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic addressed the citizens.

"The coronavirus pandemic that has affected the whole world has changed our way of life. With the arrival of autumn, the pandemic has accelerated. As elsewhere in Europe, we have gradually tightened measures. We are fighting against the virus on the basis of trust between the citizens and the state. With the measures taken so far, we have tried to avoid a complete closure and curfew," the Prime Minister said.

"As of midnight new, stricter measures will take effect. They aim to protect health, save lives, and reduce the burden on the health system. We need to be re-aware of the dangers posed by this virus. One in nine hospitalized is sadly dying. New measures will be effective until December 21, and perhaps longer.

I understand the dissatisfaction of all those who will suspend their business due to the epidemiological situation. I remind you that we have so far adopted measures to save jobs and many companies. The new measures will ensure that the livelihoods of many are not endangered. During the suspension of work, in addition to the exemption from paying contributions, we will also provide new Covid loans.

We will also adopt new measures for all those who have a temporary suspension. In the years ahead, we will use European funds to accelerate the recovery of our economy.

We are reluctantly changing the law so that we can punish violations of measures. We must do this to protect those responsible from irresponsible individuals. If even a small number of those gathered do not adhere to the measures, the infection will continue to spread.

Dear fellow citizens, I am sure you are following the progress in vaccines. The government has taken all steps to ensure a sufficient number of doses for Croats. A vaccination plan has already been made. I would like to once again express my gratitude to all health professionals who are at the forefront of virus protection and who are up to the task. We must show solidarity with them through responsible behavior. 

This year we will not be able to celebrate Christmas as before. Let’s show that we can give up old habits and socializing that is unnecessary. In these times of sacrifice, our priorities are health, jobs, production, and education. By protecting each other, we will win together," said Plenkovic.

Translated from Slobodna Dalmacija 

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