ZAGREB, 31 January 2022 - Opening an online seminar on Miroslav Tuđman on Monday, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that Tuđman was among the researchers and politicians who in the past 30 years had shaped Croatian society and participated in the adoption of key decisions.

The two-day event, organised by the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences and the St. George association, is being held on the occasion of the first anniversary of the death of the prominent researcher and politician and founder of Croatia's security-intelligence community.

Plenković said Tuđman was one of the last actors on the Croatian political scene who had detailed knowledge of the events since 1990 and before, which, he said, had helped him analyse, in a truth-loving way, processes and phenomena the country had been faced with.

He said Tuđman's most important contribution was the establishment of the national security-intelligence system, his role in strengthening relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and the equality of BiH Croats in relation to the other two biggest ethnic groups, as well as his role in the 1991-95 Homeland War.

"He participated, along with his father, Croatia's first president Franjo Tuđman, in all key events and is definitely one of the Croatian politicians who formed and shaped society and participated in the adoption of key strategic decisions that secured Croatia's freedom, democracy and integration with the EU and NATO," said Plenković.

As a member of parliament in several terms, Tuđman headed Croatia's delegation at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and contributed to global security also beyond that transatlantic organisation, he said, adding that with his research Tuđman defended "the truth about his father".

With books, facts and arguments he countered attacks by forgers of Croatia's modern history on the legacy of the first Croatian president, said Plenković, pointing also to Tuđman's political engagement in the HDZ party.

Tuđman was among the founders of the Ivo Pilar institute 30 years ago and the founder of the St. George association", a non-government, non-party and non-profit association founded to promote development and research in the field of international, homeland, national and corporate security, it was said at the seminar.

He was the editor of the "National security and the future" magazine for 21 years and was a long-time professor at the Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences' Department of Information and Communication Sciences, it was said.

June 14th, 2021 - A total of 850 building permits were issued in Croatia in April 2021, 15.8% more than in April 2020, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) reported on Monday.

Based on the type of structure, 84% of the permits (714) were issued for buildings and 16% (136) for civil engineering works.

Year on year, the number of permits issued in April 2021 increased for buildings by 18%, and civil engineering works by 5.4%.

The value of construction work based on the permits issued in April 2021 amounted to HRK 2.17 billion, or 11.5% more than in April 2020, when the value of construction work was HRK 1.95 billion.

The value of construction work on buildings is estimated at HRK 1.56 billion or 2.6% more than in April 2020, while the value of work on other structures increased by 43.3% to HRK 611 million.

According to the type of construction work, 637 building permits or 75% were issued for new structures, while 25% or 213 were for reconstruction.

Based on the permits issued in April, 1,332 new apartments are expected to be built.

In the first four months of 2021, 3,556 building permits were issued, which is an increase of 24.6% on the year, and the works were estimated at HRK 9.64 billion or about 24% more than in the corresponding period in 2020.

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ZAGREB, 20 March 2021 - The chair of the parliamentary Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System, Dražen Bošnjaković (HDZ), on Saturday dismissed President Zoran Milanović's claim that the ruling HDZ party was obstructing changes in the judiciary.

"If anyone has introduced changes in the judiciary, that's the government led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković," Bošnjaković said, adding that numerous changes had been introduced and that a change at the helm of the Supreme Court alone did not mean a reform.

Milanović's statement was prompted by the parliament's decision on Friday to confirm the opinion of its Constitution and Standing Orders Committee that Speaker Gordan Jandroković did not make a mistake when he asked President Milanović to supplement his motion on the nomination of Zlata Đurđević as the Supreme Court president.

Asked if Milanović was in breach of the Constitution, Bošnjaković said that he believed he was because he did not respect the institution of public call, nor had he stated his opinion on the proposed candidates.

The issue drew public attention after Milanović decided not to nominate any of the three candidates who had applied for Supreme Court president after the State Judicial Council (DSV) advertised a public call.

Milanović said that his candidate, Zlata Đurđević, who did not participate in the public call, was a good choice, reiterating that the public call was not transparent and that he as the president had the power under the Constitution to nominate a candidate.

Bošnjaković said that the dispute regarding the appointment of the Supreme Court president did not make much sense and that the president should have submitted a request to check the constitutionality of the Courts Act, which stipulates the procedure of the appointment of the Supreme Court President, which some other people recently did.

"I am surprised by the opinion of some legal experts who claim that the president directly applies the Constitution," Bošnjaković said, wondering if this meant that he did not have to respect the law.

Asked if he expected applications for the post of Supreme Court president to be invited again, Bošnjaković said that it would be good to defuse tension and that there was time until 15 July, when the term of the current Supreme Court president expires.

Regarding the latest developments and claims that the HDZ was to blame for the situation in the judiciary and judges socializing with indictees, Bošnjaković replied, "What does the HDZ have to do with that?"

Judges are elected in an independent procedure, and the State Judicial Council decides about their appointment, and the HDZ most strongly condemns the conduct of some judges, he said.

"We want mechanisms to be launched so that they are prosecuted and so that eventually, if necessary, the most difficult decisions are made. This undermines trust in the judiciary, but there are mechanisms to counter and sanction that," he said.

There are around 1,700 judges in Croatia, and a vast majority of them do their job responsibly and conscientiously. At the same time, those who tarnish that reputation should be subjected to disciplinary proceedings within the DSV, Bošnjaković said in a comment on some judges having socialized with former Dinamo football club boss Zdravko Mamić, recently sentenced for siphoning money from the club, and businessman-turned-politician Željko Kerum from Split.

Judges socializing with persons against whom criminal proceedings are underway is unacceptable, Bošnjaković said.

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ZAGREB, 13 March 2021- During 2020, Vinkovci had 289 newborn babies, or 32 more than in 2019, the mayor of this eastern Croatian city, Ivan Bosančić told Hina recently.

This rise of 11% ranks Vinkovci on the second place after Osijek in terms of the growth in births in 2020, said the mayor, ascribing those developments to the local authorities' population policy.

In the last four years, the city administration has allocated HRK 1.9 million for baby support grants.

Also, HRK 40.4 million has been set aside to co-fund pre-school institutions, 4.8 million kuna has been invested in providing equal social conditions, and HRK 7.2 million for scholarships.

Bosančić of the HDZ party notes that currently 321 students receive city scholarships, or twice as many as in 2017.

Since 2017, 13 playground facilities have been built or rebuilt and some other sports utilities have been upgraded in this eastern city.

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A great winemaker who stood alongside Plenković, Enjingi, Zdjelarević and Krauthaker

The fight against the blaze in Dalmatia continues - the fire on Mljet has been put under control, but Đevrske in Šibenik-Knin County is still critical.

The beginning of the retrial of Croatian businessman Tomo Horvatinčić (70) at the District Court in Šibenik, accused of causing a maritime accident on August 16, 2011 in which Italians Francesko and Marinella Salpietro were killed, was unexpectedly and unconventionally marked by justice Maja Šupe, bearing down on journalists present in the courtroom

Lucija and several friends barricaded themselves in a room

Some 260 portions were delivered, 50 percent more than originally planned