ZAGREB, 22 Feb 2022 - Croatia's finance ministry on Tuesday issued HRK 800 million in treasury bills which mature in one year at the low interest rate is 0.01 per cent.

In advance of the maturity of treasury bills worth a billion kuna, the Ministry offered HRK 700 million for subscription. Financial institutions submitted bids totalling HRK 803 million and the Ministry accepted them all.

The balance of subscribed kuna treasury bills has now decreased by HRK 197 million to HRK 13.6 billion.

The next auction of treasury bills will be held on 1 March, said the ministry.

(€1 = HRK 7.532838)

ZAGREB, 22 Feb 2022 - The Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs on Monday condemned the Russian decision to recognise the two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities.

The Ministry tweeted that the decision made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the recognition of the self-proclaimed Donetsk/Luhansk is violation of "Ukraine territorial integrity, international law, the Minsk agreements, undermining a diplomatic solution. "

"We stand firm in support of Ukraine's sovereignty," the ministry says.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković also joined in the condemnation of the recognition of the two separatist regions.

Many western countries and international organisations on Monday strongly slammed Russia's move to recognise the separatist regions and accused Putin of violating international law and Ukraine's sovereignty.

ZAGREB, 22 Feb 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday evening condemned Russia's decision to recognise the self-proclaimed regions in eastern Ukraine.

"We condemn the recognition the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which constitutes the violation of international law and the territorial integrity of Ukraine," PM Plenković tweeted on Monday evening.

We, together with European partners, express solidarity with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people, the PM added.

The Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs also condemned the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognise the two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities.

The decision violates Ukraine's territorial integrity, international law, the Minsk agreements and undermines diplomatic efforts to solve the crisis, says the Croatian ministry.

Many western countries and international organisations on Monday strongly slammed Russia's move to recognise the separatist regions and accused Putin of violating international law and Ukraine's sovereignty.

ZAGREB, 19 Feb 2022 - The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) on Saturday expressed its concern over, as it said, a dangerous ruling pending appeal by Zagreb County Court against Hanza Media ordering the company to pay HRK 250,000 in compensation to Zadar Judge Ivan Marković for emotional distress.

The ruling was delivered on 11 February by Judge Helena Frigo Bomeštar. Judge Marković ruled in a case in 2019 on sentencing for five youths accused of rape, sexual abuse and recording a fifteen-year-old girl from Zadar's environs. Judge Marković released the five youths immediately after questioning, but a panel changed his decision and order their detention. Marković's decision became a topic for the media and he subsequently sued those media, HND recalled.

HND underscored that the first article on the rape was released by a reporter for the Slobodna Dalmacija portal which is owned by Hanza Media and later the story was released by a score of other media outlets. Marković then sued all media outlets that critically reported on the case, notably on the scandalous decision that the five suspects be released, HND said in a press release.

Marković was awarded HRK 250,000 after initially seeking HRK 825,000 in damages, the HND said. He filed 26 suits at the Zagreb Municipal Court, claiming that the media had caused irreparable damage to his reputation and honour as well as instigating a public campaign against him. The court ruled in favour of Marković's suit while rejecting evidence that reporters presented in support of their case.

HND considers the ruling to be "scandalous and dangerous for journalism and the media in general."

HND said that judges are often serial plaintiffs against reporters and the media in Croatia and that this is unique in Europe, where Croatia is recognised as the worst country with regard to SLAPP suits aimed at intimidating critics, usually reporters and burdening them with expensive lawsuits.

The most recent ruling clearly show that the response to these ridiculous court decisions, that threaten the freedom of the media, lies in the hands of the government, which has the mechanism to prevent this by decriminalising defamation and insults, by limiting the amount of damages and by educating judges, HND said, adding that it has called on the Ministry of Culture and Media, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Administration, and the Supreme Court to react in this regard.

ZAGREB, 19 Feb 2022 - Construction Minister Darko Horvat said he was not guilty of abuse of office during Saturday's questioning at the USKOK anti-corruption office, according to his attorney, while USKOK demanded he be remanded in custody.

Horvat's attorney Vladimir Terešak told the press his client answered all the questions. "He believes that he did not commit the crime he is being accused of and that no one made any illegal gains."

Later today a Zagreb County Court judge will decide whether to remand Horvat in custody.

Terešak said he did not know on what grounds USKOK was demanding remand.

He said Horvat was being accused of abuse of office and powers, specifically, that certain companies which applied to a tender were given right of priority regardless of the required documents.

Horvat is denying that and claims that the ministry's services handled that and not him, he added.

Terešak said Horvat was accused of abuse of office alongside a number of persons and that all the evidence was from another case in which his former aide Ana Mandac, a suspect in this case, was also accused.

"The minister doesn't do that, but the ministry's expert services. He knows neither how many points one has nor is he acquainted with it. He signed what the expert service, that is (Mandac), gave him to sign, believing it was right."

Mandac was relieved of duty after becoming a suspect in the wind park case alongside former state secretary Josipa Rimac. According to the media, the accused in that case have started plea-bargaining.

According to unofficial information, the police are investigating Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milošević besides Horvat.

Hina has learned from sources close to the investigation that the police are also investigating Regional Development and EU Funds Ministry state secretary Velimir Žunac, the director of the administration for assisted areas, Katica Mišković, and former minister Tomislav Tolušić.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 19 Feb 2022 - Yugoslavia broke up because of the civic state concept being advocated for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Saturday, adding that Croatia's authorities have made the international community see that such an approach is harmful.

He was speaking in Munich, where he is attending a security conference which is also discussing the future of the Western Balkans and BiH.

Grlić Radman was commenting on a recent initiative by three members of the last Presidency of the former Yugoslavia, Stjepan Mesić, Bogić Bogićević and Vasil Tupurkovski, who propose abandoning the Dayton agreement and the ethnic concept of governance for BiH.

"They are comfortably making recommendations, yet are actually among those the most to blame for this situation," he said. "It was such a civic concept, coming from Belgrade that cost the former state and the consequence was the Great Serbian aggression."

"Slobodan Milošević wanted to create a unitary, centralised state that would be governed from Belgrade. It was because of such a narrative that the former state broke up," he said, adding that Mesić, Bogićević and Tupurkovski are pushing that narrative, which would have "horrible consequences" for BiH.

Grlić Radman said previous Croatian governments had failed to inform the international community about the BiH situation and that the incumbent government had changed that.

"It is because of all those missed opportunities by the former governments that we have the situation we have," he said, adding that Zagreb has "made international partners see that BiH's prospects depend on the spirit and letter of the Dayton agreement."

Grlić Radman took part in the security conference along with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu in a GLOBSEC debate on the situation in eastern Europe, the Western Balkans and the Three Seas Initiative.

He said the LNG terminal off Krk island, inaugurated at the start of 2021 and "entered onto the energy map of the world," was Croatia's contribution to the Initiative and Europe's energy independence.

Grlić Radman also took part in a debate organised by Google on new digital technologies, cyber security and the fight against disinformation.

ZAGREB, 19 Feb 2022 - People's Party - Reformists president Radimir Čačić said on Saturday the arrested Construction Minister Darko Horvat has to leave the government and that the "further scope and results of the police operation will be the basis for the party's decision on supporting the Andrej Plenković cabinet."

Čačić told Hina the fact that this was the first arrest of a minister in office in Croatian history spoke enough and that it should be neither underestimated nor downplayed.

He said the prime minister evidently knew nothing about the police operation and that this showed that he "neither had the information nor influenced the judiciary, which has often been claimed."

Čačić said statements that the arrest was made to avoid a parliamentary debate on Horvat's competence or incompetence were unworthy of comment.

"There is no prime minister or government that would do that," he said, adding, "If the investigation covers some more ministers, as it seems indications exist, the decisions are not just about Horvat leaving."

Čačić said the question was not whether Horvat would leave or not, but that his leaving was an inevitable fact.

According to him, Horvat's arrest is the culmination of the case of entrepreneur Milenko Bašić in continuation of the case of Josipa Rimac, a former official of the ruling HDZ.

Čačić said he started "the whole story" by reporting Bašić to the police four years ago after Bašić told him, "We know how to reward our friends, we know how to square accounts with our enemies." He said this statement "only proves what kinds of criminal behaviour have root here."

He said it was good that the judiciary was opening and prosecuting crime at all levels without political influence. "These crimes, unquestionably unacceptable, hide much more serious things and show that the system can be corrupted.

"Horvat can no longer be a topic in parliament, he has to go," Čačić said.

Čačić's only party MP, Natalija Martinčević, told Hina that the party's stance was that Horvat must leave the government and that the party would decide on further steps.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 19 Feb 2022 - Croatia reported 3,525 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, while 44 people have died as a consequence of the disease, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Saturday.

Currently, there are 27,432 active cases in the country, including 1,707 hospitalised patients, 125 of whom are on ventilators while 16,387 are self-isolating.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in Croatia, a total of 1,039,157 people have become infected, of whom 14,773 have died while 996,952 have recovered. 

As of 17 February, a total of 5,178,043 doses of a vaccine have been administered and 56.78% of the total population or 67.54% of the adult population has been vaccinated. 

A total of 2,304,151 people have received at least one dose of a vaccine while 2,224,390 people have been fully vaccinated, which is 65.35% of the adult population.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

ZAGREB, 19 Feb 2022 - The labour union of construction workerss (SGH) on Saturday condemned the fact that workers in two Turkish companies working on the reconstruction of the Križevci-Koprivnica railway had been laid off simply because they had contacted the union who informed them of their rights.

"Two Turkish companies engaged in the reconstruction of the Križevci-Koprivnica railway line, laid off a group of workers on Thursday simply because they had a brief meeting with the SGH who had informed the workers of their rights pertaining to the collective agreement in construction and providing them with leaflets during their lunch break," the union said in a press release.

The union added that workers received their notice via a text message without any explanation.

The Turkish companies Cengiz Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. and Ci-Ay Mühendislik, landed  contracts for the railway reconstruction by HŽ Infrastruktura railway management company for a price that is higher than the construction of Pelješac Bridge.

"This type of penalising workers because of their contact with the union is the vilest breach of union rights that are guaranteed by Croatian and international law," SGH said.

The union said that during the meeting with workers they were informed that some provisions of the collective agreement were being grossly violated because workers were working between 250 and 300 hours a month, meaning overtime in aggravating circumstances yet they were not additionally paid and that they were also not being paid for sick leave.

The union has called for an urgent response by the State Inspectorate but also the ministry of transport, and HŽ Infrastruktura as the investor.

ZAGREB, 19 Feb 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković could run for the leader of the European People's Party (EPP) this spring when this political group is supposed to elect new presidency, the Zagreb-based Večernji List daily reported on Saturday.

The daily newspaper recalls that last week, PM Andrej Plenković received his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and that their meeting in Zagreb was actually a meeting of the only two current premiers from the EPP group. After the departure of Angela Merkel from the position of German Chancellor and the resignation of Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz following accusations about his involvement into alleged corruption cases, Plenković is the only EPP official who is currently serving the second term of his premiership.

The current EPP president Donald Tusk seems not willing to vie for his reelection and the EPP's election convention is likely to be held this spring, according to the daily newspaper.

The daily says that three possible candidates are German MEP Manfred Weber, and the Croatian and the Greek premiers.

However, a source from the government has told the newspaper that Plenković is not thinking at all of competing in that race.

For more, check out our politics section.