ZAGREB, Sept 14, 2020  - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said during a visit to Mostar, south Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday that Croatia is the advocate of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croats' rights and that he expected the Dayton Peace Accords would be respected and that Croats would no longer be outvoted.

"As before, we will strongly support Bosnia and Herzegovina, develop cooperation with all three constituent peoples, with all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and be the country that supports Bosnia and Herzegovina on its way to the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation," Plenkovic told a press conference following a meeting with Dragan Covic, the leader of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH).

Plenkovic had arrived for the inauguration of Petar Palic as the new Bishop of Mostar-Duvno.

Asked about announcements by leading Bosniak officials that they would outvote Croats in the 2022 elections and impose lower-level officials as well, and not only the member of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Presidency, Zeljko Komsic, Plenkovic said that it was important to respect the Dayton/Paris Peace Agreement.

He said he expected that the leading Bosnian Croat party, the HDZ BiH, and the leading Bosniak party, the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), would reach an agreement on amendments to the Elections Act to put an end to the practice of outvoting Croats.

HDZ BiH leader Covic said that he had earlier warned SDA leader Bakir)Izetbegovic that the imposition of political representatives had caused problems in the past.

Commenting on the situation in South-East Europe after the election in Montenegro and the talks between Serbia and Kosovo, Plenkovic underscored that Croatia was committed to stability in all neighboring countries.

"What is important to Croatia is that there is stability, that there is peace and that tension is reduced, and that trade flows are stabilized. In all this, we take into account the Croatian minority and Croats in Serbia. We are sorry that due to division between the two Croatian parties the electoral threshold in Montenegro was not passed to obtain a seat in the parliament, a representative of the Croatian ethnic minority," Plenkovic said.

After talking with the HDZ BiH leader, Plenkovic met with Ratko Peric, the outgoing Bishop of Mostar-Duvno, and his successor, Petar Palic.

A diocesan cultural center opened in Mostar on Sunday, the construction of which was also financed by the Croatian government.

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As Hina/Novac writes on the 9th of September, 2020, the Croatian state budget can withstand the crisis, there's no need to panic, PM Andrej Plenkovic assured on Wednesday on the Croatian Radio show "A sada Vlada/And now the Government", adding that he believes in a quick recovery of the Croatian economy.

When asked how much space there is in the budget and how much more it can endure in this crisis, PM Andrej Plenkovic said that it can endure it all and that there shouldn't be any panic. He added that those in the public space and the media space should stop creating panic.

"Recently we had a discussion at a meeting of exporters. Not only my message, but also the message of ministers and governors (CNB, op.cit.) Is: ''Let's not create something that doesn't exist''. We've had the biggest economic crisis in the last hundred years and we solved it so that we have practically the same level of employment, ie unemployment is as it was before the crisis, and the tourist season managed to happen in the best possible way,'' said the Prime Minister.

He added that the fall in Croatia's GDP is likely to be smaller than the first projections during the spring, and he expects its growth next year. According to him, the government "fought well" for 22 billion euros from European Union funds from the new seven-year budget.

"We've dealt with all the preconditions. We're continuing to help vulnerable activities with 4,000 kuna, micro-enterprises with 2,000 kuna, and there is a measure for part-time work in the amount of 2,000 kuna per worker. That will cost us about 800 million kuna by the end of the year. The government has been making decisions on time, sending out a message of security and predictability to the private sector. For the budget, we've solved everything properly, gone to domestic and international financial markets, and we've contacted international financial institutions and secured what we've been lacking," PM Andrej Plenkovic said.

According to him, Croatia is more resistant to the current crisis than it was to the one which occurred back in 2008 and 2009.

"Therefore, let's not panic. We're working very seriously and responsibly, and it is up to the businesses to do the best they can in this framework. We'll ensure stability, and it is up to them to fight. Enterprises are fighting in other countries, and we were quicker with our national measures than some other larger EU members who were waiting for European solutions,'' the prime minister stressed.

Commenting on the articles according to which Croatia is undercapacitated to withdraw EU money, he pointed out that it is easy to problematizs this when someone else fights for 22 billion euros.

He added that from the current financial perspective for 2014-2020, Croatia contracted 101 percent, and more than 40 percent of the available funds were paid out, and that money can be spent for another three years.

"The absorption capacity isn't the same in 2013 and in 2020, now, the mechanisms are faster, people are more established, projects are better and things are going much more concretely," assured Plenkovic.

He added that he is personally leading a group of ministers tasked with preparing Croatia's recovery and resilience programme which is based on EU guidelines.

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ZAGREB, Sept 9, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday that the European Union has secured 300 million doses of vaccine against the coronavirus for EU citizens, adding that any vaccine will be made available to Croatia, as soon as it is scientifically verified.

"The moment a vaccine is scientifically verified as the right vaccine against the coronavirus, we will have it at our disposal, just as Germany, France, and other EU member states will," Plenkovic said in an interview with Croatian Radio.

He said that decisions made by the government benefited the Croatian citizens both in terms of healthcare and economically.

Asked if the vaccine would be paid for by the government or citizens themselves, Plenkovic said this process was ongoing. "News came in this morning that AstraZeneca is also verifying (its vaccine). When all this becomes more clear, we will try to make it as cheap as possible and even free of charge, but at this point, we have not discussed details yet. What is important is that when it becomes available, our citizens will have it at their disposal," the prime minister said.

Plenkovic expressed satisfaction with the work of the national coronavirus response team. "My support to them is clear and firm and will remain so," he said, recalling that the national team is an institution of the central government.

"The national team is a government institution. It was established by the government based on the law and regulations passed by parliament. They are here to work on protecting public health. I am pleased with their work and think that they have done a great job," he added.

Commenting on the number of coronavirus cases in Croatia, Plenkovic said he expected it to decline, stressing the importance of self-discipline.

Government likely to adopt about 30 amendments to the post-earthquake reconstruction bill

Regarding the bill on the reconstruction of Zagreb and its environs after the March 22 earthquake, which will be discussed by the inner cabinet today, the prime minister said that about 30 amendments could be adopted.

Recalling that the damage was estimated at over €11 billion, Plenkovic said that the government was right in not rushing the bill. He said that the reconstruction of the central part of Zagreb was very complex and challenging and that the government had decided to take part in it by securing funds from the budget and from international sources.

He said that the government had received €89.9 million from the EU for that purpose, noting that this was the largest advance payment ever made from the EU Solidarity Fund.

"I think the total amount will surpass €500 million," Plenkovic said. He added that the government was in talks with the World Bank, the Council of Europe Development Bank, and other international financial institutions and that the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development would also have special programs for that purpose.

He said the government would like the bill to be adopted with the greatest possible consensus because the reconstruction process would take a long time and would involve the City of Zagreb and many experts.

"At the inner cabinet meeting, we will adopt any proposal we think will help make the reconstruction process effective and transparent ... regardless of which political party it comes from," Plenkovic said.

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ZAGREB, Sept 8, 2020 - Plastic car parts manufacturer AD Plastik wins Golden Key Award as the best large exporter in 2019, IT firm Infobip is the best medium-sized exporter and Jadran-una has been honored as the best small company, it was announced at the 15th Croatian Exporters Convention on Tuesday.

Addressing the convention, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic congratulated the exporters, saying that commodity exports had been rising steadily for the past 10 years and their share in GDP had increased from 16.7% to 28.5%.

He said that only 15% of Croatian companies generated revenues on foreign markets, while they employed 51% of the active workforce. He added that these companies place over 60% of their investments in research and development, generating three-quarters of total profits and nearly four-fifths of total investment in research and development in Croatia.

Speaking of boosting the export-oriented industry, Plenkovic cited reindustrialization and strong support to enterprises in using smart and clean technologies, greater use of energy from renewable sources, and digital transformation.   

"That is the path to increasing competitiveness," the prime minister said, adding that the government's focus would be on developing sectors with great growth potential such as information and communication technologies, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, pure technologies, such as solar and hydrogen, and new technologies, including 3D printing, nanotechnology, and robotics.

He also pledged further investment in education, railways, and broadband internet infrastructure.

"Our ambition is to create 100,000 jobs over the next four years, that is before the end of our term," Plenkovic said.

He highlighted two objectives of importance for exporters - the adoption of the euro and entry into the Schengen area.

The backbone of the Croatian economy

The head of the Croatian Exporters Association, Darinko Bago, praised the government for how it was handling the crisis caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, citing the government's social sensitivity and efforts to preserve jobs and help the tourist industry.

"Exporters are the best that Croatia has, they are the backbone of the Croatian economy," Bago said, adding that exporters expected the government to continue to be socially sensitive, but also to intensify localization and regionalization.

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ZAGREB, September 8, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday that the intentional calculated risk in relaxing epidemiological measures enabled the reactivation of the economy and that the policy of reopening the country was based on expert estimates.

Asked by reporters on the margins of a convention of Croatian exporters whether the government's calculated risk helped the tourism sector, while on the other hand it was detrimental to exporters due to a surge in new cases in the recent weeks, which was why some countries put Croatia on their quarantine lists, Plenkovic answered that without the reopening of the borders, there would not have been seven million visitors this summer and Croatia would not have achieved 50% of last year's tourist industry turnover.

There would have been a complete lockdown and quarantine if there had been no calculated risk, Plenkovic said, recalling that currently no government in the world is in favour of a lockdown.

Commenting on the official extension of job retention measures and other forms of assistance to the economy affected by the corona crisis, the premier said that it was important to provide fast and ample help, and the state authorities had done so this spring when many businesses had been hit by the crisis.

Calibrating assistance by size of damage suffered

Now we are calibrating the assistance, there are measures for micro businesses, a shortened working week and assistance to the activities worst hit by the crisis, Plenkovic said, adding that he believed that his cabinet did it right.

The schemes and grants which are estimated to cost 800 million kuna are "an investment in the future of the Croatian economy and provides a start for the recovery," he said.

Asked about the possible extension of moratoriums on enforced debt collection, Plenkovic said that the government had provided maximum assistance, however, loans and bills must be settled.

"Measures that can alleviate the situation are in place while on the other hand, there is no place for measures that can turn the whole situation into an endless write-off of debts, he explained.

Plenkovic welcomed today's announcement that the local Infinum company and Germany's Porsche Digital would invest €10 million in a joint company that will build digital products for the auto industry, and hoped that more similar companies will find their place in Croatia in the future.

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ZAGREB, September 8, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told CNN on Monday that the decision to reopen Croatia to foreign tourists was a calculated risk.

This summer, an estimated seven million guests arrived in Croatia and the overnights are around 50 percent of the results in 2019, which was the record breaking year for the country's tourism sector, which makes up a fifth of the national GDP.

During his interview with the CNN Anchorman Richard Quest, Plenkovic was asked whether Croatia was now paying a price for its decision to reopen to holiday-makers, since there was now a spike in new COVID-19 numbers.

Plenkovic explained that at the onset of the coronaviorus pandemic, Croatia imposed a lockdown in order to protect its citizens, and later it started to gradually open to attract tourists.

"Naturally, it was a bit of calculated risk" the premier said admitting that the number of those who are infected have risen over the last couple of weeks, and a good thing is that Croatia still has a very low mortality rate, only 5-to-100,000 ratio, which is "much much much lower than in any other country in Europe, especially in western Europe."

"So, we have managed to combine both the health of our citizens, and the income coming from one of the most important branches of our economy, and that is tourism."

Plenkovic believes that some of Croatia's neighbours that decided to put his country on the red list should take into account the differentiated state of affairs considering the COVID epidemic broken down by counties and cities, rather than treating the entire Croatia as a high-risk place.

What we advocated to our neighbouring countries was to look at Croatia at the sub-national level, meaning that if there is a county or a particular city where we do have a certain outbreak, then the measures should be targeted towards people who were in that region. And this is what I was saying to our Slovenian colleagues, Hungarian, Austrian, or German, the Croatian PM said.

Plenkovic called for concerted action and measures at the European Union's level in response to the COVID pandemic.

"The pandemic has shown a crucial role of states," he said explaining that it was states and not some other actors that could have assisted citizens to be protected from this pandemic.

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ZAGREB, Aug 31, 2020 - "I believe that together with the relevant authorities they too will approach the matter by differentiating between Croatian counties on the basis of the number of people infected," Plenkovic said after meeting with Jansa on the margins of the 15th Bled Strategic Forum.

Plenkovic said that Slovenia is closely monitoring the daily situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak in Croatia and is aware that Croatian counties like Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, and Lika-Senj have a relatively small number of people infected, even after the total number has increased at the state level.

"I believe that they will make that distinction," said Plenkovic.

Slovenia put Croatia on its red list in mid-August, introducing mandatory quarantine for anyone entering Slovenia from Croatia.

Plenkovic also had a bilateral meeting with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban has announced that Hungary will be closing its borders to all foreigners as of Tuesday. Hungarian citizens returning home will have to spend two weeks in isolation and have at least two negative Covid-19 test results.

The main reason for the ramped-up measures in Hungary, Slovenia, and Austria is the start of the school year which begins one week earlier than in Croatia, Plenkovic underlined.

"In a way that was expected. We managed to delay their measures as much as possible until the end of August so that Croatia's tourism season could be as good as possible," he added and concluded that not one country wanted to have restrictions in force for too long.

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ZAGREB, Aug 31, 2020 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Monday that he would talk with Slovenian PM Janez Jansa about putting counties and not countries on the coronavirus red list.

Plenkovic and six other European prime ministers are attending the Bled Strategic Forum, and on the fringes, he will meet with Jansa and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban.

Speaking to the press, Andrej Plenkovic said the meetings would discuss "joint efforts to reduce infection and its cross-border effects."

In mid-August, Slovenia put Croatia on the coronavirus red list, which means mandatory quarantine for anyone arriving from Croatia. In order to avoid quarantine, many Slovenian tourists left Croatia.

"Our position is to attempt, notably in Slovenia, not just because of Croatia but also for the sake of numerous Slovenians who are our frequent and dear quests, to see the county level of infection as a criterion, something like Germany has done. I think there is room for that and that that is the best option."

He said the Bled Strategic Forum, the most important foreign policy event in Slovenia, was a good opportunity for European states to analyze their management of the coronavirus pandemic so far.

We can slowly sum up what has been good since January, he said, "what we have done well together, and how to respond together in the future when it comes to a vaccine, the procurement of medical and protective equipment."

Slovenian reporters asked him if he and Jansa would discuss the territorial dispute between the two neighboring states.

"Our position has been clear the entire time. We had Slovenia's initiative before the European Court in Luxembourg and you saw the decision, that it's not competent. We are still willing to talk about the border with Slovenia and our stance has not changed during my whole term," Plenkovic said, adding that it was necessary to find a "good, sustainable solution acceptable to both countries."

The 15th Bled Strategic Forum is focusing on Europe after Brexit and COVID-19. Also attending are Czech PM Andrej Babis, Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki, Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Italian PM Giuseppe Conte is participating via video link.

The foreign ministers of Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Romania also arrived in Bled for a panel in which the EU High Representative for foreign and security policy, Josep Borrell, will also take part.

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ZAGREB, Aug 23, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Sunday laid a wreath and lit a candle at monuments on Goli Otok on the occassion of the European Day of Remembrance for victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, underscoring that it is important to nurture a culture of remembrance.

A government's memorial plaque had been erected there in memory of the victims of the communist regime killed on Goli Otok and in memory of victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.

"It is important that we nurture a culture of remembrance, without truth there is no awareness or respect for the victims and ultimately no reconciliation in the context of every European nation, including Croatia," Plenkovic underscored.

"On the occassion of the European Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, we are today on Goli Otok to pay tribute, in this particular case, to the victims of the communist regime, a totalitarian regime which marked the history of the 20th century, as well as of Croatia and the Crotian people," PM Plenkovic said.

Asked by reporters whether this visit was a correction of injustice, since prime ministers earlier often did not visit Goli Otok, Plenkovic said that it had been his wish to come to Goli Otok this year. "I am not the first prime minister on Goli Otok, in fact, the government's memorial plaque dates from ten years ago. Two years ago the parliament speaker was here, delegations often came, and this year I wanted to visit it personally and pay tribute," the Prime Minister added.

Asked whether this was a new direction for Croatia, since tribute will be paid in other places as well, Plenkovic said that these were separate things.

"We are here for the European Day of Remembrance in the context of totalitarian systems. Deputy Prime Minister (Tomo) Medved's visit to Grubori on August 25 with Deputy Prime Minister (Boris) Milosevic is of a different character. It has to do with crimes committed, first of all, against the Croatian people in the Homeland War, and then, unfortunately, with several omissions, misdeeds against citizens of Serb ethnicity in Croatia. I think it is good that we show respect to all victims," Plenkovic said.

Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butkovic and the PM's advisor Zvonko Kusic also visited Goli Otok.

Goli Otok, which translates as Barren Island, is a northern Adriatic island. During the First World War, prisoners of war were interned on Goli Otok. Since 1948 the Goli Otok and Sveti Grgur prison camps operated for political prisoners. In 1956 Goli Otok was transformed into a regular prison. The prison closed down in 1988.

"Our complex history, like that of many peoples in Europe, is marked by great suffering. So today we condemn all totalitarian regimes and pay tribute to victims of all totalitarian regimes," Veterans' Affairs Minister Tomo Medved said while lighting candles at Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetery on the occasion of the European Day of Remembrance for victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of August, 2020, members of the National Civil Protection Headquarters met with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic recently and discussed the numbers recorded in the last few days, as unfortunately records are being broken for the number of newly infected people with coronavirus. Krunoslav Capak commented on the epidemiological situation for Nova TV.

Krunoslav Capak says that he, Davor Bozinovic, Alemka Markotic and Vili Beros were at the meeting with the Prime Minister and exchanged information and commented on the situation, but didn't come to any conclusions. They will soon invite representatives of local headquarters to Zagreb for a meeting to discuss activities and measures that await us in autumn.

"We think the measures are good. Unfortunately, not everyone sticks to them. A lot of people came, the tourist season is above expectations. A lot of young people are on the coast, and the symptoms of the disease are favourable to us, most of those who get sick have no symptoms, so they act as if nothing is happening and have fun in nightclubs and outside of them, and now when they're return home inland, they're turning out to be even more positive than expected.

It's important to catch them as much as possible when returning from these risky events and places, isolate then and put their contacts in isolation,'' said Capak for Nova TV, adding that epidemiologists are working intensively on that.

Capak also explained why Croatia doesn't have a list of countries from which it would be forbidden to enter the country. He says the criteria was agreed upon before the season according to European Union recommendations which were to open borders to countries with a similar epidemiological situation.

"Our goal was to invite as many EU citizens as possible to Croatia," he said, noting that most European countries are "green towards Croatia." But he added that “we're intensively considering putting some countries on the red list, those with a higher incidence of infection than us. We're in the middle,'' he said.

He also pointed out that the criteria for the number of infected per 100,000 inhabitants is relative and that most of the countries that put Croatia on their "red lists" have adopted these measures only temporarily. When asked about the new masks that allegedly destroy the new coronavirus themselves, he answered that they received this information and those at the National Civil Protection Headquarters, including his own assistants, tried to find the literature, but there is no information about that.

"It is important to say that any such protective mask that is declared to be virucidal should be tested. For now, we don't have confirmation of that and I'd therefore not recommend them,'' said Capak, adding that they asked HALMED for information about these masks.

For more on the National Civil Protection Headquarters and coronavirus in Croatia, follow our dedicated section.

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