ZAGREB, 11 Feb 2022 - Parliament on Friday asked the government to verify the number and authenticity of the signatures collected for the Bridge party's referendum petitions to abolish COVID certificates and the crisis management team, and to include at least two representatives of each petition in the process.

The government was also asked to check if all the signatures were collected in line with the Referendum Act.

Parliament passed the relevant conclusions, proposed by the Committee on the Constitution, with 77 votes, while 32 MPs were against and 13 abstained.

Before the vote, parliament rejected amendments by Bridge and the Social Democratic Party to ask the State Electoral Commission, rather than the government, to verify the signatures in 30 days and the SDP proposal to establish a parliamentary task force, comprising three members from the opposition and four from the majority, to supervise the count.

Speaker Gordan Jandroković said recently he could not say how much the verification would take and that once the signatures had been counted, the process was back in parliament's hands.

If it is established that Bridge collected enough signatures, parliament can either call a referendum or ask the Constitutional Court to assess the referendum questions.

Bridge delivered the signatures to parliament on 24 January, saying they had collected 410,533 for the petition against COVID certificates and 409,219 against the national COVID crisis management team, more than the 368,867 required (10% of eligible voters) for a referendum to be called.

Bridge calls out majority for not allowing State Electoral Commission to count votes

Before today's vote, MP Marin Miletić of Bridge called out the ruling majority for not allowing the State Electoral Commission to count votes because "everyone would be sure in that case."

He appealed to the majority's conscience during the vote, telling them not to be afraid of citizens and to allow the referendum.

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ZAGREB, 3 Feb 2022 - The parliamentary Committee on the Constitution and Standing Orders on Thursday asked the government to verify the signatures collected for two referendum petitions by the opposition Bridge party and notify parliament.

The committee also asked the government to check if the signatures were collected in line with the valid Referendum Act.

The committee accepted Bridge president Božo Petrov's motion to include at least two representatives of each initiative in the signature counting.

One petition was for abolishing COVID certificates and the other for abolishing the national COVID crisis management team.

The committee did not accept a proposal to define a deadline for counting the signatures.

A reasonable deadline would be at least as long as it took Bridge to count the signatures, which is 30 days, Petrov had said.

The opposition was for tasking the State Electoral Commission with verifying the signatures as an independent body.

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ZAGREB, 21 Jan 2022 - The Bridge and Social Democrats groups in the Croatian Parliament on Friday used the discussion on the new law on consumer protection to criticize the government for its poor handling of "galloping inflation."

"Everyone is protecting their citizens except the Croatian government, which says it might do something (about the inflation)," Social Democrat Davor Bernardić said, calling on MPs to support their proposal to freeze the prices of staples.

"In the last 10 months, every other food product has gone up in price. Prices of some products have increased by 150 percent, and the price of toilet paper has gone up by as much as 50 percent," he added.

Bridge's Nikola Grmoja wondered if the government was thinking of protecting consumers from its unreasonable decisions, such as a freeze on fuel prices. He instead called for the abolition of excise taxes on fuel, because otherwise "the cost will again be borne by consumers."

Lawmakers from the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said the new law on consumer protection was a "serious step forward." They welcomed the fact that the dual quality of goods, namely the marketing in Croatia of goods purporting to be of the same quality as those placed on the market in other EU member states even though they differ in composition and quality, would be treated as an unfair trading practice.

Barbara Antolić from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) welcomed the new law but noted that it lacked qualified people to monitor its implementation because inspectors were not trained well enough for online sales.

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ZAGREB, 3 Jan 2022 - The organizing committees for two referendum petitions initiated by the Bridge party cost a total of HRK 428,300 (€57,106), the organizers revealed on Monday.

The cost of the collection of signatures for the referendum petitions was capped at HRK 8 million each.

From 4 to 18 December, the Bridge party collected signatures at over 1,200 venues across Croatia for the two referendum petitions: one for the transfer of the powers of the national COVID-19 crisis management team to the parliament, where all decisions concerning COVID crisis management should be approved by a two-thirds majority, and the other one for the abolition of COVID passes.

The referendum activities lasted from 2 December to 2 January, the organizers said on Monday.

The costs include the lease of venues, banking services, transport, advertisement, printing services, etc.

The costs incurred for the initiative to have COVID certificates revoked stand at HRK 203,700.

The organizers said they had raised 205,000 in donations for the initiative to rescind COVID certificates. The bulk of that amount, or HRK 170,000, was provided by the Bridge party, whereas citizens Ivan Pehar and Željko Ilijašević donated HRK 30,000 and HRK 5,000 respectively.

According to the organizers, HRK 224,600 was spent on the initiative for the transfer of the powers of the national COVID-19 crisis management team to the parliament.

The donations for this purpose came to HRK 218,800, with Bridge itself donating HRK 180,000. Furthermore, individuals donated amounts ranging from HRK 50 to HRK 30,000, the maximum amount that can be donated by an individual in a referendum initiative.

When this opposition party started collecting signatures, the Justice and Public Administration Ministry established that the minimum required number should be 368,446 valid signatures, that is 10% of the country's electorate.

Bridge leader Božo Petrov told a news conference on 23 December that the party had collected about 400,000 signatures and that the boxes with the signatures would be delivered to the national parliament on 24 January.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

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December 21, 2021 - Constitutional expert Mato Palić believes that both issues that Most Party put to the COVID certificates referendum are unconstitutional, and as such will not pass.

Most party members said on Sunday that they had collected enough signatures for the referendum question, which touches on COVID certificates, and counting is now underway, reports Net.hr.

After all the signatures are counted, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia must decide whether the issue in the COVID certificates referendum is in accordance with the constitution, and constitutional expert Mato Palić told N1 television that there is nothing disputable in the COVID certificates.

"Judging by the previous practice of the Constitutional Court and the positions they have taken regarding the decisions of the Civil Protection Headquarters. There is very little chance, almost no chance, for them to make a Copernican turn, that is, to approach the restrictions of rights and freedoms in a different way. Especially taking into account the fact that we had stronger restrictions on rights and freedoms when we had a much better epidemiological picture'', Palic said.

"It is not realistic for them to completely change their position and make a decision that these existing restrictions are constitutionally disputable," he added.

So far, the Constitutional Court is acting correctly, claims Palić.

"The Constitutional Court interprets constitutional norms correctly. I don't think that the Constitutional Court has done anything so far, that is, it has made a decision that is disputable from the aspect of the correct interpretation of constitutional norms", he said and also touched on the Most initiative.

"Politicians always speak from the position of some kind of rhetoric in public space in a way that goes to their mill. What is undeniable is the fact that the Constitutional Court did not question the acts passed by the Headquarters, except for the part of the decision related to the ban on work on Sundays. As for the referendum itself, I think that both issues are unconstitutional, and the first one refers to the amendment of Article 17 and the second one refers to the amendments to the Law on Protection of the Population on Infectious Diseases ", he explained.

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ZAGREB, 20 Dec 2021 - Nikola Grmoja of the Bridge party said on Sunday they had collected a sufficient number of signatures for their referendum petitions for the transfer of the powers of the national COVID-19 crisis management team to the parliament and the abolishment of COVID certificates.

This opposition party started collecting signatures on 4  December at over 1,200 venues across Croatia, and the two-week deadline for the initiative expired at midnight on 18 December.

For a referendum campaign to be successful, its organizers must collect the signatures of 10% of the electorate or 368,446 signatures.

Grmoja, however, stopped short of specifying the number of collected signatures, and in his statement to Hina on Sunday evening, he said that they were still gathering data and information from the ground and from local teams that had collected signatures in the last 14 days.

The results of the referendum campaign of this Opposition party are expected to be known on Wednesday.

On Saturday, the last day of the campaign, Grmoja said that data on the turnout from all signature-collecting points should be known by Wednesday, claiming that in the last two days of the campaign, on Friday and Saturday, the turnout was excellent.

Last Wednesday, he told a news conference that they had collected around 300,000 signatures, and in a bid to encourage as many people as possible to sign the petition, senior Bridge members joined the party activists on the ground collecting signatures.

In the event that the referendum petition had been supported by the required number of signatures, the questions proposed for the referendum could be also tested by the Constitutional Court.

President Milanović on the referendum

On 6 December, Croatian President Zoran Milanović said that he wouldn't sign the Bridge party's referendum petition for the abolition of COVID certificates because he thought he "isn't here to root for anyone", and he told the government and the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party that they had brought this on themselves.

"I have said I will not sign it, but what I'm saying carries at least as much weight as some signature. I believe the government and the HDZ are responsible for signatures being collected now for amending the Constitution so that what is clear to everyone, except to the HDZ and Plenković, could become clear to them as well," said Milanović.

Commenting on the referendum on that occasion, Milanović said it consisted of two parts, the first of which was a matter of constitutionality with regard to Article 17, or cases when it is decided on a temporary suspension of fundamental human rights and freedoms. According to him, the first part of the referendum will depend on whether enough signatures are collected, and if there are enough of them, then the referendum will likely succeed because those in favor of the crisis management team running Croatia, and they're about 25% of them, he says, will simply not cast their vote or their number will be insufficient.

"I think the second part of the referendum, which deals with legislative changes, is not very well though-out and... the Constitutional Court may not allow those referendum questions," he said then.

Four opposition groups say they never supported Bridge's referendum initiative

Last Thursday, MPs from the Green-Left Bloc, Centre/GLAS, Peasant Party /Workers' Front, and Istrian Democratic Party groups strongly denied the statement by the Bridge's Vice President Grmoja that he had received guarantees from all opposition parties that they would support Bridge's referendum petition.

"That statement is a complete lie," says a joint statement signed by the leaders of the four opposition groups, stressing that these parties "neither participated in the meeting on the referendum initiative nor pledged their support in any way."

"It is unclear why MP Grmoja told such lies. ... Some members of our groups have warned Bridge MPs several times that the referendum initiative will further divide citizens, mobilize anti-vax sentiment, help spread fake news and conspiracy theories, and potentially contribute to the escalation of violence among citizens," the joint statement said.

The statement was released the day after in the national parliament Bridge deputies entered into a conflict with Opposition lawmakers from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and other center-left groups on the topic of vaccination against coronavirus.

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ZAGREB, 4 Dec, 2021 - The parliamentary opposition party Bridge started gathering signatures at over 1,200 venues across Croatia on Saturday for a referendum to regulate the work of the national COVID-19 crisis management team and abolish COVID certificates.

"We have started gathering signatures for this crucial referendum to strip the national COVID-19 team of its powers, restore democracy and abolish unlawful COVID certificates," the party's MP Marija Selak Raspudić told a press conference in front of a signature collection point in Zagreb's main square.

Signatures will be collected at stands in public places until 18 December. The referendum would demand that COVID certificates, which are now mandatory for entry into state and public institutions, be abolished within 30 days and that the powers of the COVID-19 crisis management team be transferred to Parliament.

MP Nino Raspudić said that the referendum questions contained what the opposition had been demanding all along - to return decision making to Parliament. He called on the other opposition parties, both left-wing and right-wing, and all people, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, to join them "on the last line of defence of democracy and the constitutional order."

The questions were formulated in cooperation with constitutional law experts.

Asked what the alternative to COVID certificates was, Selak Raspudić said that it was the testing of vulnerable groups in all health institutions and compliance with the epidemiological measures.

There is enough money for testing, because vaccines are being purchased in excessive quantities and are later donated anyway. That money could partly be used for buying tests, she added.

"We are not against measures. We are in favour of measures that will be consistent, epidemiologically founded and non-discriminating," Selak Raspudić stressed.

The press wanted to know if the Bridge MPs regretted their support for the recent protest rally against COVID certificates after the police announced they were investigating several persons on suspicion of inciting terrorism and some of those people were connected with the protest.

"We supported the people who came out to express their dissatisfaction, and not terrorism. We are the last persons who would advocate violence or any kind of terrorism, because we are fighting for the citizens' rights and freedoms in a democratic and legal way," MP Nikola Grmoja said.

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ZAGREB, 7 Nov 2021 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić has been found to be positive for COVID-19 after undergoing a test at the weekend, the government announced in a press release on Sunday.

Marić underwent a test after a member of his family had developed symptoms of the infection. His test returned positive, after which epidemiologists have ordered him to stay in isolation for ten days.

The minister "is feeling well and for now, he has no symptoms of the COVID-19 disease. He will stay in isolation and perform his duties from home while following orders from his doctor and epidemiologists," the press release said.

Marić, as well as other cabinet ministers, were vaccinated against COVID-19 early this year, and would soon receive a booster dose, following recommendations by the Croatian Public Health Institute, government spokesman Marko Milić said, adding that several cabinet ministers had already received the third dose of vaccine.

Milić appealed to all citizens to get vaccinated if they had not done so yet because the vaccine protects against serious forms of the disease. He also appealed to people who had received their second shot six months ago or longer, especially the elderly or those immunocompromised, to get a booster dose as soon as possible.

He recalled that Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milošević and Labour Minister Josip Aladrović, who had become infected even though they had been vaccinated, had overcome the infection with very mild symptoms.

Also, the opposition Bridge party leader, Božo Petrov, said in an interview with Nova TV on Saturday evening that he was positive for COVID-19. "Two or three days ago I found out I was infected. I had symptoms, I called my doctor and did a PCR test, which showed I was positive," he said.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

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ZAGREB, 9 Oct, 2021 - The Bridge opposition party's MPs and Zagreb City Assembly deputies on Saturday voiced concern over the situation in the Zagreb Holding utility conglomerate, saying that instead of dealing with citizens' problems, the city administration was dealing with personnel.

Speaking at a press conference, MP Zvonimir Troskot said the management and supervisory boards in city companies "are changing faster than trams drive" and that the city administration should start dealing with road construction, public transport, and waste.

He said the ZET public transport company was HRK 500 million in debt.

MP Marija Selak Raspudić said Bridge could not see why everyone appointed to a key position in the city was leaving the mayor and that she expected answers.

She also wondered why everyone working for the city was not allowed to speak in public without the administration's consent.

The party's City Assembly deputy Trpimir Goluža said the situation at the Srebrnjak children's hospital was an example of non-transparent management and of complying with political decisions "made within the close circle around Mayor (Tomislav) Tomašević."

He said the work of the hospital's governing council was secret and that it made decisions under Tomašević's influence, not based on expertise.

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ZAGREB, 30 Aug 2021 - Zvornimir Troskot, a member of parliament from the opposition Bridge party, said on Monday that the economic situation in the country was not good despite the government's boasting about it being excellent, and he also criticised insufficient production and the country's heavy reliance on tourism.

"It is good that GDP has grown by 16.1% in the last quarter considering our open tourism strategy but we have also been lucky because Spain has been on lockdown due to the pandemic and Greece due to wildfires," Troskot said at a news conference.

He noted that experts did not comment on the impact of inflation and price growth on GDP growth.

"If there are no more external shocks like the pandemic and lockdown, we will return to Croatia's economic reality, namely a 91% share of debt in GDP. That is why we should talk about real structural reforms in the economic sector because during the lockdown, too, the hospital system spent enormous amounts of money despite the fact that hospital care was less available than normally," he said, calling also for a reform of the judiciary.

Economy based on tourism, instead of on production

Troskot believes that public sector investments are yet another problem and recalls that the government has said that EU funds intended for recovery from the coronavirus crisis will eventually end up with private enterprises.

That money will possibly reach entrepreneurs through public procurement and we know how those allocations are made and that they do not reach entrepreneurs, he said, noting that his party had proposed transferring EU funds directly to entrepreneurs who had 68 prepared projects instead of financing public infrastructure projects that should not be a priority at the moment.

The MP also said that the national economy was not based on production, as evidenced by projects like the Pelješac Bridge, which, he said, was good, however, the EU funds approved for it had ended up in the accounts of Chinese, Greek and Austrian companies working on it.

We have based our economy on tourism instead of on production which creates jobs and which is the best instrument to fight inflation, he said.

"When we look at the whole picture, we get the impression that Croatia is becoming exclusively a tourist destination and is turning into a retirement home for the EU," he said, noting that 310,000 Croatians, born between 1984 and 1999, had emigrated to Germany.

He warned that in Slovakia wages in the past 15 years had grown by one thousand euros, while in Croatia they had increased by 327 euros, or a mere 20 euros annually.

Referendum on euro introduction

Asked if Bridge would support the campaign of the Croatian Sovereignists calling for a referendum on the introduction of the euro, Troskot said that his party was in favour of introducing the euro, but that Croatia was still not ready for it because it lacked own production and was not ready for the strong competition in the EU.

"Yes to the euro because we assumed that obligation under the Lisbon Treaty, but not for the time being because we are still not ready for it," he said.

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