ZAGREB, July 10, 2019 - The European Commission on Wednesday revised markedly upward Croatia's GDP growth in 2019 to 3.1% from first estimates of 2.6%.

"Real GDP growth is forecast to pick up to 3.1% in 2019 as a whole before moderating to 2.7% in 2020," the Commission says in its interim European Economic Forecast for the summer 2019.

The Commission also notes that the rise is on the back of domestic demand. "Domestic demand remained the main driver of growth due to strengthening investment and robust household consumption," reads the report.

Croatia's exports rebounded following an unexpected contraction in the previous two quarters. "High frequency indicators, labour market and survey data all suggest strong domestic demand-driven growth should continue throughout 2019."

In the previous Economic Forecast paper issued in May, Croatia's economy was forecast to rise 2.6% this year, and the pace of growth was to decelerate to 2.5% in 2020.

"Croatia’s economy grew by 2.6% in 2018, slightly less than expected due to a particularly weak fourth quarter. However, real GDP growth rebounded beyond expectations in the first quarter of 2019 by 1.2% quarter-on-quarter," reads the latest report issued on Wednesday.

"As wages and employment continue to grow amidst low inflation, household consumption is set to remain the main driver of growth throughout the forecast period.

"Investment growth is expected to strengthen further in 2019 before moderating in 2020, supported by an improved uptake of EU funds and low interest rates.

"Goods exports are expected to rebound in 2019, while service exports are expected to continue easing as supply side constraints become more evident and international competition in the tourism sector intensifies.

Thus, the new report reads that "overall, the contribution of net exports to growth is expected to decrease further in 2019 before improving in 2020, though remaining negative."

Strong final demand growth should be reflected in a pick-up in imports of both goods and services in 2019.

"Employment growth should moderate over the forecast horizon and the unemployment rate is expected to continue declining towards an historic low in 2020," the Commission says.

"In the first five months of 2018, inflationary pressures remained subdued due to negative inflation in unprocessed food prices as a result of changes in the applicable VAT rate adopted in September 2018.

"As labour shortages become more apparent in some sectors, wage growth is projected to accelerate. However, the reduction in the standard VAT rate in January 2020 and stagnating energy prices should dampen inflation. Overall, inflation is forecast to remain subdued at 0.9% 2019 and 1% in 2020."

More news about Croatia’s economic growth can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, June 21, 2019 - Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on early Friday morning that a four-hour-long discussion on the hopefuls for the European Commission's president revolved around the three known candidates and that no new candidates had been mentioned.

Leaders of the EU member-states ended the discussion on the distribution of EU top jobs inconclusively and therefore an extraordinary summit meeting is scheduled for 30 June.

"During the four-hour-long dinner the necessary majority was not secured for the support for any of the three candidates, nominated by the European People's Party (EPP), the Socialists and the Liberals" Plenković said after the dinner.

The three contenders for the next EC president are Manfred Weber of the EPP, Frans Timmermans of Party of European Socialists (PES) and Margrethe Vestager of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ELDE).

Plenković answered in the negative when asked if any other names were mentioned.

The European Council president, Donald Tusk, has been now tasked to continue consultations with the heads of state or government and with the political groupings in the EP in the run-up to the extraordinary summit.

The summit in Brussels endorsed a strategic agenda for the 2019-2024 period, which is blueprint for the future activities of the Commission.

Plenković expressed satisfaction that at his proposal, the agenda includes also recommendations for tackling the demographic challenges.

"What is particularly important, and I raised this issue at the Sibiu summit on 8 May is the matter of demographic revitalisation. A half of of the 28 EU member-states have a negative birth rate. We have managed to include through our amendment the topic of demographic challenges to that document," Plenković said.

He explained that this could pave the way for providing the European-level assistance to efforts to address this issue.

The summit briefly discussed the enlargement of the Union. Plenković expressed regret at a failure at a recent ministerial meeting to give North Macedonia and Albania a date for opening the accession negotiations.

More news about Croatia and the European Union can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, June 20, 2019 - European Socialists and Liberals are strongly opposed to German Christian Democrat Manfred Weber's bid for European Commission President, but they agree that this post is filled by the candidate of the European People's Party (EPP), which is now seeking new candidates and among these undeclared candidates are two senior Croatian officials, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, the Belgian daily Le Soir said on Thursday.

Citing unnamed sources, Le Soir says that the EPP is looking for a new candidate who could receive wider support. It says that Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, could be such a candidate but none of the sources have mentioned his name.

On the other hand, the name of Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović has cropped up in the last 24 hours when the EPP, pressed by the need to abandon the candidacy of its leader Manfred Weber, intensified the search within its ranks, the newspaper said.

It recalled that Grabar-Kitarović had served as assistant to NATO's secretary general before becoming President of Croatia in 2015. "There is a greater consensus about her than Prime Minister Plenković, who is also mentioned, but she has a somewhat more prominent nationalist profile," Le Soir said.

The newspaper says that Plenković is appreciated among his colleagues, but that he has been chosen by heads of state or government from the EPP to represent them in tripartite prime ministerial negotiations on the appointment of heads of EU institutions. "He could be a useful and consensual solution," it says.

According to Le Soir, if the EPP received the position of Commission President, the position of Council President would go to the Liberals, who have joined forces with MEPs elected on the list of French President Emmanuel Macron, and it could be filled by Charles Michel, acting Prime Minister of Belgium. The Socialists would get the position of Parliament President, which they would relinquish mid-term to the Greens, the position of High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, who at the same time is Commission Vice-President, and an important economic department in the Commission. The newspaper notes that this is a highly uncertain scenario.

Although it is not very likely that either of the Croatians could get the post of Commission President, the fact that as many as two Croatian candidates are mentioned can be interpreted as an expression of confidence in the newest EU member, Le Soir says.

The leaders of the 28 EU member states are meeting for a two-day summit on Thursday to discuss the appointment of new heads of European institutions.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in Brussels on Thursday declined to comment on the media reports. "Never mind the media reports. We've seen all sorts of things, such as articles in Politico and the Financial Times," Plenković told the press on arrival for a meeting of the leaders of the European People's Party (EPP), who traditionally meet before each EU summit.

On Thursday morning Plenković met with five prime ministers who represent their political groups to discuss the appointment of new heads of European institutions.

Plenković and Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins are negotiating on behalf of the EPP, the Socialists are represented by Spain's Pedro Sanchez and Antonio Costa of Portugal, and the Liberals are represented by Belgian and Dutch Prime Ministers Charles Michel and Mark Rutte.

Plenković said that the negotiations were demanding and tough, with each group holding their own line. "Now we are having consultations with our respective political groups, after which we are continuing negotiations before the European Council meeting, and then comes a key dinner this evening. It will really be demanding, the negotiations are more than tough."

Asked if he and Karins were defending Manfred Weber as their 'spitzenkandidat', Plenković answered affirmatively. "That's the only mandate that we have," he said.

Karins also said that the negotiations were difficult. So far, we have heard a lot of negative things, and I am trying to find what is positive. That's what Andrej Plenković and I are working on with the representatives of other political groups. We must think how we can build something positive in Europe rather than focus on the negative, he said.

Karins would not comment on the media reports about Plenković and Grabar-Kitarović as possible candidates for Commission President. There are a lot of speculations being talked about and I'll leave them to the speculators, the Latvian prime minister said.

More news about Croatia and the European Union can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, June 20, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković met with European Commissioner for Euro and Social Dialogue Valdis Dombrovskis in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon and discussed Croatia's preparations to enter the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) and the eurozone.

The ERM II is a sort of waiting room for entry into the eurozone and each country has to remain in it for at least two years.

During a recent visit to Croatia outgoing European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that Croatia was completely prepared to join the ERM II mechanism soon.

The European Central Bank decides on whether a country can join the ERM II or eurozone.

According to the latest convergence report of May 2018, which the EC releases every two years, Croatia has met all the criteria except one to enter the eurozone and that is to participate in the ERM II for at least two years.

Croatia can expect to join the eurozone in 2023 at the earliest.

After the meeting with Dombrovskis, Plenković is expected to attend a reception for Croatian Statehood Day which is being organised by three diplomatic missions in Brussels.

On Thursday, he is due to attend a meeting of the European People's Party and an EU summit, as well as a meeting with five prime ministers to discuss the appointment of new heads of European institutions.

More news about the introduction of the euro can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, June 8, 2019 - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Friday held a working lunch with outgoing European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who was on his first official visit to Croatia.

The two officials discussed the recent elections for the European Parliament, Croatia's priorities during its chairmanship of the European Council and the negative demographic trends in the EU, the president's office said in a press release.

"The President reflected on analysts’ conclusions stating that voter turnout for this year’s elections was higher... the President pointed out that voter turnout at the EU level was the highest in 20 years – 50.95% while in Croatia 30% of voters cast their ballots – more than in the 2014 elections for the European Parliament, when voter turnout stood at just over 25%," the press release said.

In reference to Croatia's accession to the Schengen Area and the eurozone, President Grabar-Kitarović stressed that these are strategic goals for the country.

Croatia has made significant progress in meeting all recommendations with the aim of entering the Schengen Area and we are determined to meet all the criteria so that this is achieved as soon as possible, Grabar-Kitarović emphasized, voicing her expectation that EU member states will support Croatia’s ambition.

More news about European Commission can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, June 7, 2019 - Outgoing European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday expressed support for Croatia's aspirations to enter the Schengen Area and the eurozone, saying that he hoped a positive recommendation for Croatia to join the area of passport-free travel would be sent to the European Council before his term in office ends on October 31.

I want us to make a recommendation to the Council for Croatia to join the Schengen Area during the term of this European Commission, Juncker told a press conference in Zagreb which he addressed with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. Juncker arrived in Croatia on Thursday for a two-day visit which started in Dubrovnik and ends in Zagreb.

Plenković, too, said that he expected Croatia to receive a positive recommendation to access the Schengen Area before the end of the current EC, underscoring that a big job had been done in that regard.

"Croatia expects to get a positive evaluation of its progress in fulfilling the criteria to access the Schengen Area before the end of this European Commission's term. In that regard, Croatia has done a lot," Plenković said.

"Immediately after joining the EU we used the first 120 million euro, and after that an additional 120 million euro. Croatia is strengthening its external border and improving police cooperation with neighbouring countries and we are confident that we will meet the final requirement so that the EC can make a positive assessment and forward a motion to the Council," he said.

As far as the eurozone is concerned, the EC president believes that Croatia is completely prepared to join the ERM II mechanism soon.

The European Central Bank will decide on the matter and the EC will support its position, Juncker underscored.

More Schengen Area news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, June 7, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday informed European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker about the course of reconstruction of Dubrovnik Airport and the construction of the Pelješac Bridge, both co-financed from European funds, saying Dubrovnik-Neretva County was among the most successful counties in European fund absorption.

By visiting southern Croatia, Juncker began a two-day visit to the country. On Friday, he will arrive in Zagreb.

"We presented to... President Juncker the course and realisation of an important project, the reconstruction of Dubrovnik Airport's infrastructure, which is co-financed from European funds in the amount of 155 million euro," Plenković said.

The reconstruction is worth 225 million euro, with 158 million euro coming from the European Regional Development Fund. In the first stage, completed at the end of 2016, the terminal was built for 64 million euro. The second stage, whose completion is planned for the end of 2020, includes the renovation of a 3,300-metre airstrip and building a new fuel storage.

Plenković said the reconstruction of the airport would significantly increase the transport capacity of the city and the county as well as the quality of tourism in, as he said, the southernmost and most attractive part of Croatia.

"We also informed Mr Juncker about the construction of the Pelješac Bridge, a strategic project for connecting Croatia's south with the rest of the country. This project is progressing very well and is also co-financed from European funds in the amount of 357 euro million," he said.

He underlined that European funds are being used in Dubrovnik-Neretva County to renew the water infrastructure, the cultural heritage, student dormitories and many other projects.

Plenković went on to say that he and Juncker would talk about the work of next European Council and European Commission, the enlargement policy, including a possible Zagreb summit on the topic, the multiannual financial framework and Croatia's priorities for chairing the Council in the first half of 2020.

He said Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Gabrijela Žalac said at today's cabinet meeting that Croatia had contracted 69% of EU funds available in the current budget period.

"That's very good news and all departments are continuing to work on making that absorption really effective, so that part of the public investments coming from co-financing from EU funds can be felt on the overall economic growth."

More news about Croatia and the European Union can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, June 3, 2019 - The European Commission has chosen six Croats who have distinguished themselves in humanitarian work or in environmentalist activities financially supported by the EU, and the selection of those "local heroes" has been conducted within the programme called "EU protects".

They are praised for their work which has had a big impact in their respective communities. "It’s the EU, which makes it possible for these heroes to come together to address the problems that go beyond national borders, whether organised crime or climate change," says the EC.

The EU Protect programme was launched six months ago across the European Union member states.

In Croatia, the four awarded people – three women and a man – were proclaimed local heroes for their humanitarian activism, and the remaining two "heroes " have distinguished themselves in the protection of the Adriatic Sea.

One of those six Croatian heroes is student Melani Boris from the Zamisli association that supports students with disabilities.

Benefitting from the services of the association, Melani joined their ERASMUS+ project, Support for Students with Disabilities in 2016, and began promoting these students’ right to live independently, the Commission says in the explanation.

She is now the manager of the Personal Assistant project, where she works as a mentor to welcome new beneficiaries of the project. She is also a part of a campaign to provide housing and support to young people with disabilities who wish to live independently.

The second hero is Tatjana Aćimović, art director of the Children's Rights Festival.

"For the past 10 years, Tatjana Aćimović has been helping to organise a festival that promotes children’s rights by screening European films, many of which were funded by the European Union. This is the first and only public event in Croatia accessible to people with visual or hearing impairments."

Mira Katalenić, a volunteer for the Croatian Guide Dog and Mobility Association, is also one of the three female local heroes.

Katalenić joined the group of activists working for the Croatian Guide Dog and Mobility Association at the beginning of the 1990s. The association carries out several EU-funded projects, one of which provides mobile support services to create conditions for better inclusion of blind people in the labour market and society.

"All Mira’s time and energy is now devoted towards developing orientation and mobility programmes for blind people in Croatia, assistance dog programmes for people with disabilities and children with developmental difficulties."

Budimir Šobot Buda of the Association for Disabled People, has been chosen for his dedicated 18-year-long activism aimed at raising awareness of the needs of people with autism.

"At the Association for Disabled People in the town of Petrinja, Sisak-Moslavina County, Budimir works on two main projects that receive EU funds. His aim is to make sure that autistic people have the same rights as everybody else. In his effort to raise awareness of autism, he broke a world record by spending 24 minutes and 11 seconds under water without air."

Researcher Draško Holcer, who works as a senior curator at Croatian Natural History Museum, has distinguished himself in in ecology and the conservation of large marine vertebrates..

This marine biologist currently coordinates LIFE Euroturtles, an EU-funded project, and helps sea turtles in the Northern Adriatic. He and his team have worked with LED lights as a tool to mitigate sea turtle capture in fishing nets.

The third male hero in this group is Tonći Prodan, who was a maritime safety consultant at Croatia's National Protection and Rescue Directorate during the international field exercise Adriatic 2018, and who was proclaimed a local hero for his efforts to protect the Adriatic Sea.

Funded by the European Union, this large-scale spill pollution exercise aimed to coordinate action among the concerned countries around the Adriatic Sea. Tonći led a team of eminent Croatian experts and scientists from the security field. He holds a doctorate on "The US and the EU in combating terrorism - strategy, models and results" and is a European and world-renowned expert in the field of terrorism and security threats.

More news on the European Commission can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 30, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Wednesday evening in a statement for Croatian Radio Television refuted media headlines about a possible candidacy for European Commission president, saying that his appointment as one of the six negotiators from the strongest European political groups for the heads of European institutions was "a serious job of finding a consensus."

"The purpose of yesterday's meeting of the European Council was primarily to summarize the emotions after the European elections," Plenković said on Wednesday evening. He refuted media speculations about his possible candidacy for European Commission president. "This is not a candidacy, this is a serious job of finding a consensus," Plenković said.

He underscored that "the negotiations will be led by Donald Tusk on the one side and on the other by the six of us who were named yesterday."

EU member states' leaders exchanged opinions at an extraordinary summit in Brussels on Tuesday on the election of the new heads of European institutions, without discussing names, and confirmed there is no automatism whereby the European Commission president becomes one of the lead candidates whom the European political groups nominated in recent elections.

Plenković said on Tuesday that consultations would begin as of Monday to reach agreement by the end of June on the candidate the European Council would nominate for Commission president, who must be confirmed by the European Parliament.

"Two paths of negotiations have been agreed on so as to reach a solution regarding the head positions in European institutions. The first will be led by European Council President Donald Tusk, who will consult all of us heads of state or government so that we can reach a solution," Plenković told reporters.

As for the second path, the European People's Party, the Liberals and the Socialists have designated two leaders, who are also members of the European Council, to help Tusk find a solution. The EPP designated Plenković and Latvian PM Krisjanis Kariņs, the Liberals designated Dutch PM Mark Rutte and Belgian PM Charles Michel, and the Socialists designated Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez and Portuguese PM Antonio Costa.

The Commission president should be elected first, followed by the Council president, the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, and the president of the European Central Bank. In doing so, attention should be paid to geographical, demographic, gender and political balances.

More news about Croatia and the European Union can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 29, 2019 - EU member states' leaders exchanged opinions at an extraordinary summit in Brussels on Tuesday on the election of the new heads of European institutions, without discussing names, and confirmed there is no automatism whereby the European Commission president becomes one of the lead candidates whom the European political groups nominated in recent elections. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said consultations would begin as of Monday to reach agreement by the end of June on the candidate the European Council would nominate for Commission president, who must be confirmed by the European Parliament.

"Two paths of negotiations have been agreed on so as to reach a solution regarding the head positions in European institutions. The first will be led by European Council President Donald Tusk, who will consult all of us heads of state or government so that we can reach a solution," Plenković told reporters.

As for the second path, the European People's Party, the Liberals and the Socialists have designated two leaders, who are also members of the European Council, to help Tusk find a solution. The EPP designated Plenković and Latvian PM Krisjanis Kariņs, the Liberals designated Dutch PM Mark Rutte and Belgian PM Charles Michel, and the Socialists designated Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez and Portuguese PM Antonio Costa.

The Commission president should be elected first, followed by the Council president, the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, and the president of the European Central Bank. In doing so, attention should be paid to geographical, demographic, gender and political balances.

All European People's Party leaders are unanimous in their support to Manfred Webber for European Commission president, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Brussels on Tuesday.

“It is the unanimous stand of all EPP leaders, after such results, to support our candidate Manfred Weber for president of the European Commission, and this is the position we are taking today," Plenković told reporters after a summit of party leaders, before the informal dinner. "We analysed the election results at the EPP summit today. We are satisfied. We are again the strongest political party on the continent, the relative election winner," he added.

He said no decision would be made at today's informal summit as it was a chance to crystallize positions. He said that in the distribution of new positions it was necessary to take geographical balance into account and that it would be good if a position went to a country in central and east Europe.

Asked how much truth there was in an article in the latest issue of the Croatian Nacional weekly, which says that German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants Plenković in a leading position in the EU, that Dragan Primorac would replace him as PM, and that this was the main reason for her visit to Zagreb ahead of the European elections, Plenković responded ironically. "That certainly was the main reason. That's all we talked about. The whole article and everything it says is news to me."

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.