ZAGREB, 9 May 2022 - It is questionable if the expanded application of audio recordings of court hearings will contribute to making proceedings faster, Supreme Court judge Damir Kos said at a two-day seminar on novelties in Croatian criminal legislation in Opatija on Monday.

Addressing the seminar, Kos spoke about the latest changes to the Criminal Procedure Act, including the expanded application of audio recordings of hearings, communication via video link and increased use of electronic communication in delivering documents to parties in criminal proceedings.

He said, among other things, that those changes were acceptable in principle but warned that such an experiment should not be undertaken without previously analysing objections from the ground as they indicated that this would not necessarily help improve court efficiency.

Presenting an overview of judgements and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in cases against Croatia, Supreme Court judge Marin Mrčela said that in 2021 the ECHR ruled on 682 petitions, rejecting 637 or 93%. In 34 of 37 judgements that refer to 45 petitions, at least one violation each of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was identified, he said.

In 2021 there were 26 judgements and decisions in cases against Croatia pertaining to criminal law, and violations of the Convention were identified in 16, Mrčela said.

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ZAGREB, 9 May 2022 - In the first three months of 2022, the value of Croatia's commodity exports totalled HRK 41.7 billion, up 36.6% on the year, while imports increased by 41.2% to HRK 67.4 billion, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) reported on Monday.

The foreign trade deficit in that period amounted to HRK 25.6 billion, 8.5 billion more on the year, while the coverage of imports by exports was 61.9%, whereas in the comparable period of 2021 it was 64%.

The export of goods to the EU in Q1 totalled HRK 30.2 billion, 42.9% more on the year, while imports from the EU increased by 31.8% to HRK 50 billion.

Exports to non-EU countries increased by 22.6% to HRK 11.6 billion while imports from non-EU countries soared by 78% to HRK 17.3 billion.

Expressed in euros, Croatia's commodity exports in Q1 totalled €5.5 billion, an increase of 37.1% from Q1 2021, while imports increased by 41.8% to €8.9 billion.

The foreign trade deficit amounted to €3.4 billion in that period.

Goods exported to the EU in Q1 totalled €4 billion, an increase of 43.4% compared to Q1 2021, while exports to non-EU countries increased by 23.1% to €1.5 billion.

Goods imported from the EU totalled €6.6 billion (+32.3%), while imports from non-EU countries soared by 78.7%% to €2.3 billion.

(€1 = HRK 7.544176)

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ZAGREB, 9 May 2022 - Croatia has recorded 57 new coronavirus cases and eight COVID-related deaths in the past 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Monday.

There are 381 hospitalised patients, 13 of whom are on ventilators and 2,247 people are self-isolating.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic in Croatia, a total of 1,127,799 COVID cases have been registered and 15,896 persons have died as a consequence.

To date, a total of 4,815,061 tests have been conducted, including 1,148 in the past 24 hours.

As of 8 May, a total of 5,246,635 doses of a vaccine have been administered and 59.50% of the total population has been inoculated or 70.77% of the adult population, including 68.70% of the adult population fully.

ZAGREB, 9 May 2022 - The head of the Croatian Federation of Antifascist Fighters and Antifascists (SABA), Franjo Habulin, said on Monday, on the occasion of the Day of Victory over Fascism, that today's Croatia would not exist without the struggle of the World War II Partisan fighters.

"Croatia was founded on the antifascist struggle. Today's Croatia would not exist without the Partisan struggle," Habulin said at Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetery after a SABA delegation laid wreaths at the Tomb of the People's Heroes.

Habulin said that by marking the Day of Victory over Fascism they were remembering all who had given their lives so that Croatia could be an independent and free European country.

Speaking of the significance of 9 May 1945, when the forces of Nazi Germany laid down their arms after signing an unconditional surrender, which marked the end of World War II, Habulin said that today's Europe would not exist without the joint struggle of European countries on the side of the antifascist coalition, recalling that today was also Europe Day.

He added that in the past 30 years there had unfortunately existed in Croatia "open pro-Ustasha right-wing political tendencies", which distorted historical facts.

Asked to comment on the passivity of the government and the parliament in commemorating today's anniversary, Habulin said that those institutions should do much more than just pay lip service to antifascism.

Wreaths and flowers were laid at the Tomb of the People's Heroes also by President Zoran Milanović's envoy Melita Mulić, delegations of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Social Democrats of Croatia, and of the embassies of France, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, while the SABA delegation also laid a wreath at the city's Dotršćina memorial park.

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ZAGREB, 9 May 2022 - The average net pay paid by legal entities in Zagreb in February 2022 amounted to HRK 8,640 (€1,146), an increase of 4% from February 2021.

Compared to the monthly national average, which amounted to HRK 7,452, the average take-home pay in Zagreb was HRK 1,188 (€157) higher.

The highest monthly net salary in legal entities in February was paid in the pharmaceutical industry, amounting to HRK 15,243, and the lowest in the leather industry, in the amount of HRK 4,994, the city's strategic planning and development department has reported.

The average gross salary in Zagreb in February was HRK 12,312, up 6.5% from February 2021.

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ZAGREB, 7 May 2022 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Saturday he was pleased with Fitch's latest credit rating of Croatia, adding that accession to the eurozone will mean that the rating will additionally improve.

Fitch Ratings yesterday reaffirmed Croatia's investment rating at BBB with a positive outlook, estimating that the recovery of the country's tourism industry will support the economy at a time of slowing exports and that eurozone entry will mitigate financing risks.

Speaking to the press, Marić said citizens, enterprises and the government could be satisfied because the credit rating was maintained.

A very positive assessment, a very welcome report in these circumstances which gives us an incentive to continue all that we are doing, with a very likely positive unfolding of events in the remainder of the year as regards Croatia's credit rating, he said.

Fitch revised down its projection of Croatian growth for 2022 from 4.4% to 3.3%, citing base effects, a sharp slowdown in household consumption as high inflation affects consumer spending, as well as the effects of Russia's aggression on Ukraine.

Marić said that was understandable given that about ten days ago the government revised down its GDP growth forecast for this year to 3%.

In the fiscal part, Fitch's report is in line with the government's efforts, achievements and projections, the minister said, underlining that last year the deficit was reduced much more than expected and that this trend would continue this and in the years ahead.

As for potential risks for the rating's trend, Fitch mentioned an increase of the government debt and a significant delay in Croatia's eurozone accession.

"I'm deeply confident that none of that will happen. Actually, I'm sure of that," said Marić.

He recalled that since 2016, the public debt-to-GDP ratio has been decreasing every year except in 2020. "That's one of the basic characteristics and traits of this government's fiscal policy and it will continue."

Speaking of Croatia's eurozone journey, Marić said convergence reports by the European Central Bank and the European Commission were expected early next month. He also mentioned the Maastricht criteria - exchange rate, price and interest rate stability, budget deficit and government debt.

Marić said the deficit and the government debt were the fiscal indicators which opened the prospect of introducing the euro to the greatest extent. "If we hadn't consolidated public finance and done all that we have... we would have waited much longer."

Inflation in April expected to accelerate further

Speaking of inflation, Marić said the data for April would likely show an additional acceleration of the average price rise rate, but without a significant deviation from the average.

In March, inflation in Croatia went up 7.3% and the government has forecast its growth for this year at 7.8%.

Under the Maastricht criteria, Croatia's inflation over the past year should not exceed 1.5 percentage points in relation to the average inflation in three EU member states with the lowest inflation.

Marić said there were clear signals that the lower inflation rates in some member states, for example Greece, would be treated as deviation variables and that Croatia would meet this criterion, too.

He reiterated that Croatia planned to enter the eurozone on 1 January 2023 and that the final decision was expected by the first half of July this year.

At the moment, the introduction of the euro has a virtually negligible impact on inflation, he said, reiterating that in the last seven states which introduced the euro, the inflationary effect in the first year was between 0.2 and 0.4 pp on average.

Reforms as prerequisite for tax relief

Marić was also asked about a reform package proposed by the Croatian Employers Association  which is aimed at raising the net pay and includes raising the non-taxable income and reducing pension and healthcare contributions as well as income tax.

In order to further reduce the tax burden on labour, it is necessary to create the prerequisites by reforming the pension system and especially healthcare, he said, adding that the basic intention of the government's tak reform has been to reduce the tax burden on labour and profit.

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ZAGREB, 7 May 2022 - The Croatian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that a Croatian national was taken prisoner in Ukraine and that it was working on solving the case in cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities.

The ministry said that due to the delicate situation, it could not divulge more details at the moment.

Russian media said a "Croatian mercenary" was taken prisoner in Mariupol.

N1 television reported that a Croatian national told Russian RT television that he had been a soldier in a Ukrainian marine brigade which was hiding in Mariupol and that the Russians took him and several other fighters prisoner as they attempted to flee the city under siege.

RT showed a photo in which he is sitting in a room at an unknown location.

"We were leaving Mariupol, walking 260 kilometres by night, hiding, avoiding every possible contact. But our plan failed when we ran into a Russian artillery unit. We had to surrender," he said, according to N1.

According to the Russian portal pikabu, the Croatian national said he had heard that Ukrainian paramilitaries did "terrible things to civilians, to prisoners" and that among them were "many criminals, drug addicts."

"They probably even shot at us sometimes," he told the portal.

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ZAGREB, 7 May 2022 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić on Saturday denied Brodosplit CEO Tomislav Debeljak's statement that a solution had been found for the shipyard, saying talks are under way and that the situation is very complex.

"Unfortunately... no agreement has been reached," Marić told the press.

He said the Brodosplit situation became even more complex in the past few weeks due to the opening of pre-bankruptcy proceedings. They imply an additional procedural as well as "temporal component" regarding the approval and regime of state aid, he added.

Also, he said, the Finance Ministry has been analysing the technical, legal and financial justification of a protested guarantee request.

Our talks and cooperation with the HBOR (Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development) are in line with that, Marić said, regretting that "such conclusions have been made" based on "certain talks, questions asked and answers given."

He would not say if the situation was closer or farther from an agreement being reached, saying it is still not clear if the business model in question is viable.

Marić said the HBOR had a very responsible approach to its job  and that he was sorry it was exposed to "such pressure" only for showing good will.

Earlier today, Debeljak told N1 television that a meeting was held at the HBOR two days ago, that a solution had been found and that Brodosplit's problem would be solved in three months.

Late in March, the shipyard said €60 million from loans given by the Russian-owned VTB Europe bank it was using to finance the building of two ships had been blocked. The bank is subject to restrictions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Brodosplit asked the government to support a proposal that the loans be rescheduled with HBOR funds. One loan would be repaid by the end of the year and the other over a longer period of time, which would allow the shipyard to operate normally.

Earlier this week, Debeljak filed a second pre-bankruptcy motion for Brodosplit after the first one was dismissed due to procedural error.

According to unofficial reports, HBOR is willing to lend the money to Brodosplit pending a government decision.

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ZAGREB, 7 May 2022 - Two civil society demonstrations were held in the northern city of Varaždin on Saturday - a Walk for Life and a counter-demonstration called Saturday for Freedom.

At the same time, a Walk for Life was also held in the eastern cities of Vinkovci and Slavonski Brod, and the head of the In the Name of Family NGO, Željka Markić, joined the Varaždin march.

"I think it is important that we convey the message that it has been scientifically confirmed that human life begins at conception, that an unborn child's heart starts beating on the 18th day, that a child in the womb feels pain, smiles and swallows. These are all important scientific facts," Markić said. "We should build a society of tolerance and life," she added.

Silvija Svoren, coordinator of the Walk for Life in Varaždin, said that they support life from birth to natural death. "That means that we are always for life. That is our focus. We fight for the unborn child and its mother, for the family."

The Saturday for Freedom gathering was organised by the local youth association V.U.K., whose president Lea Labaš said they had gathered to protect women's and human rights.

"We believe that every woman has the right to her own body and the right to choose," Labaš said. "We, of course, must also think about the future because some of us may find themselves in that awful situation when they will need empathy and we want everyone to be able to exercise this right."

The Walk for Life was joined by Ladislav Ilčić, a Croatian member of the European Parliament, who said that Croatia needs young people and children for economic growth.

"If we want higher pensions, we need young people who will pay into pension funds. If we want personal happiness, children can help a lot in that regard. I think all politicians should support this," Ilčić said.

MP Natalija Martinčević supported the Saturday for Freedom rally, criticising doctors who invoked conscientious objection in the case of Mirela Čavajda, a pregnant woman who has applied for a termination of the pregnancy because of the poor condition of her baby.

"I respect their right to conscientious objection, but in their own time in their own private clinics. When they are paid with government money, they should respect the laws of Croatia," Martinčević said.

Between 500 and 1,000 people are estimated to have participated in the Walk for Life, while the Saturday for Freedom attracted far fewer demonstrators.

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ZAGREB, 7 May 2022 - Croatia has recorded 835 new coronavirus cases and seven COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Saturday.

The number of active cases in the country now stands at 5,430, of whom 377 infected persons are being treated in hospital, including 16 placed on ventilators, while 3,039 persons are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 1,127,336 people have been registered as having contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus, of whom 15,881 have died and 1,106,025 have recovered, including 765 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 4,810,816 people have tested for COVID-19 to date, including 3,265 in the last 24 hours.

By Fridayday, 5,246,531 vaccine doses had been administered, with 59.50 per cent of the total population, or 70.77 per cent of adults, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,313,633 people had received at least one dose and 2,242,438 of them had been fully vaccinated, which is 68.70 per cent of the adult population.