ZAGREB, 18 March, 2021 - The government sent its proposal to amend the Volunteering Act to parliament on Thursday, defining the operation of volunteer centres and their funding.

The proposal also defines the concept of corporate volunteering, given that many companies in Croatia have developed a system of volunteering, and the concept of volunteering coordinator, who plays a significant role in efficient management of volunteering programmes in organisations.

The proposal does not allow volunteering for a duration of more than 38 hours a week over a period of more than three months without a break of at least three months, or long-term volunteering that would otherwise constitute a commercial contractual relationship.

The Minister of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, Josip Aladrović, said that the volunteering sector was developing fast and that the existing law made the implementation of new volunteering initiatives difficult in certain aspects. He said that the proposed amendments would remove the existing obstacles and ambiguities.

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ZAGREB, 9 March, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković visited Ivanić-Grad on Tuesday, underscoring good cooperation with local and Zagreb County governments.

Speaking to the press after meeting with Mayor Javor Bojan Leš and County Prefect Stjepan Kožić, Plenković said that the investments made by the county and the town complemented government efforts to keep jobs.

"The funds for this purpose have so far affected 57,000 workers as HRK 512 million has been disbursed for job retention," the prime minister said.

€51 million from EU for county development projects

Plenković said that during the term of his government €51 million worth of projects had been agreed with the EU for this county, contributing to its development. He noted that following the reform of the local and regional government funding law, this county had received 28 percent more revenues in 2020 than in 2017.

Zagreb County has established itself among the five most developed counties in Croatia, Plenković said, praising Ivanić-Grad for investing in school infrastructure, sports halls and health tourism.

Mayor Leš highlighted the investment in the Naftalan medical rehabilitation centre and expressed his satisfaction with the collaboration with the government on public sewage system construction.

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ZAGREB, 4 March, 2021 - Tenants and users of state-owned flats and business premises from Sisak-Moslavina, Karlovac, Zagreb and Krapina-Zagorje counties and the City of Zagreb will be exempt from the obligation to pay rent or fee for the use of state-owned flats and business premises.

The decision was made by the Croatian government on Thursday because of the consequences of the earthquakes that struck the four counties and Zagreb on 28 and 29 December last year.

Tenants and users of state-owned real estate will be exempt from payment starting from January 2021 until it becomes possible again to use business premises and flats damaged in the earthquake.

The Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property is authorised, Minister Darko Horvat explained, to exempt tenants and users of state-owned property from the obligation to pay rent or fee for the use of state-owned flats and business premises which are managed by the ministry and have been declared as unfit for use following examination.

Since some of the state-owned flats and business premises are managed by the Državne Nekretnine company, the company's assembly is in charge of making the necessary decisions and taking the necessary actions to grant the exemption.

The government also authorised the Central State Office for Reconstruction and Housing to exempt users of state-owned housing units in Sisak-Moslavina and Karlovac counties from paying rent due to the consequences of the earthquakes after 28 December last year.

ZAGREB, 4 March, 2021 - During a cabinet meeting on Thursday, the government adopted a state aid scheme for this year for exceptionally vulnerable sectors in agriculture, ensuring HRK 121 million for that purpose.

Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković said that HRK 51 million was earmarked for dairy cows, HRK 18.5 million for reproductive sows, HRK 42 million for tobacco production, HRK 8.5 million for the olive oil sector and HRK 1 million for domesticated and native agricultural plants.

The total amount of HRK 121 million will come from the ministry's state budget allocation and from projections for 2022 and 2023, Vučković said.

The programme is aimed at improving these vulnerable sectors.

Legislative framework by year's end for euro coins with national side

The government tasked the Finance Ministry with preparing, by the end of the year in cooperation with the Croatian National Bank (HNB), a bill and other necessary acts designating the Ministry as the competent authority for issuing euro coins. These laws will also lay down the procedure for issuing, manufacturing, security, storage, management, supply, replacement, withdrawal and destruction of euro coins.

Currently, HNB has the exclusive right to issue kuna coins, and after adopting the euro currency, Croatia will follow the example of the majority of euro area countries where coins are issued by the relevant ministry.

Finance Minister Zdravko Marić recalled that last year the government had adopted the National Plan to replace the Croatian kuna with the euro and the issuance of coins is one of the significant activities in that process.

The government also endorsed the activities of the Croatian Mint in designing euro coins with the national side, Marić said.

The coins will have to be approved by the European Commission after meeting all the criteria. Marić added that the ministry will also have to arrange possible models of the business relationship with the Croatian Mint before the end of the year.

ZAGREB, Dec 14, 2020 -The government on Monday approved state aid for the national flag carrier, Croatia Airlines amounting to HRK 600 million, HRK 350 million of which refers to investing fresh capital in the company and HRK 250 million as an equity loan.

The decision was made in line with the European Commission's temporary framework allowing member states to provide additional support to the business sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, CA has been given support in an effort to resolve the its liquidity problems and to boost its capital.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butkovic said that the pandemic has had and still has a destructive impact on the global airline industry which is faced with the most difficult crisis ever.

Croatia Airlines is not an exception, said Butkovic, explaining that other airlines have recorded a decrease in traffic of 65% to 90% compared to 2019.

The national flag carrier has a strategic role in Croatia's transport infrastructure which was evident in these times of crisis.

The government's decision resolves the company's urgent problems, adding that money for this was ensured in this year's budget revision.

Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said that this model of injecting fresh capital and providing an equity loan will financially stabilise the CA airline.

The government authorised Minister Butkovic to increase the airline's stock capital at a meeting of the shareholders' general assembly.

An extraordinary general assembly was convened today for shareholders to decide on increasing the company's stock capital by HRK 350 million by issuing shares and that the state would participate in that. That would increase the airline's equity from HRK 277.88 million to HRK 627.88 million by releasing 35 million new ordinary shares at a nominal price of HRK 10.

The equity loan of HRK 250 million should stabilise the airline's business operations and prevent negative consequences to the population and economy, which will be felt directly by the airline and tourism sectors and indirectly by other economic branches, the government said.

(€1 = HRK 7.542016

ZAGREB, October 22, 2020 - Due to the deteriorating epidemiological situation, the government has tasked state administration bodies and offices and other public services to take measures in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus and arrange for work to be done from home or in rosters where possible.

The government on Thursday authorised Minister of Justice and Public Administration Ivan Malenica to adopt, following prior approval from the Prime Minister, a binding instruction identifying measures related to the epidemiological situation.

"The instruction will, depending on the epidemiological situation, in detail prescribe cases and possibilities to work from home and arrange work in rosters with the aim of ensuring continual and regular state administration duties to be performed while trying to prevent the spread of Covid-19," said Malenica.

This decision will apply to public services, with the exception of health, science, education and social welfare, which are regulated with special regulations. This will also not apply to police officers, civil protection organisations and members of the Armed Forces who will conduct their duties in accordance with instructions from the police director, the military chief-of-staff and the director of civil protection.

The government adopted a decision on launching negotiations on an annexe to the Collective Agreement for state administration and public servants, and in that regard appointed its members to negotiation committees which will be headed by Minister for Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy Josip Aladrovic.

The negotiations on the most part refer to the amount of Christmas bonuses but will also discuss base wage indices for next year, the state secretary in the labour ministry, Dragan Jelic, explained.

The government defined the minimum financial standards for the decentralisation of health institutions for Zagreb, Krapina-Zagorje, Sisak-Moslavina, Zadar and Istria counties and adopted a decision on the reallocation of these funds, while the total amount for decentralisation activities in 2020 remains unchanged.

ZAGREB, October 22, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that government allocations for workers' wages in the private sector would reach HRK 7.5 billion kuna by the end of this year.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has allocated HRK 6.85  billion to help private-sector companies ensure wages for their workers.

The proof that the government measures have been successful is data from the Croatian Pension Insurance Agency (HZMO) showing that there are currently 3,200 more pension insurees than at the outbreak of the corona crisis in late February, the premier said.

"The measures have been meaningful and efficient," he said, adding that they have helped many companies to survive and retain workers.

The PM said that a revision of the 2020 budget would be drafted next week.

September 10, 2020 - As reported by Index.hr, in the first parliamentary reading, the Government said that Croatia would get a new university, the University of Defense and Security 'Dr. Franjo Tudjman', to perform activities of higher education, scientific, professional, and other activities for the needs of the defense system and the homeland security system.

According to the bill, which was sent to the Parliament from the Government session on Thursday, the Croatian Military Academy 'Dr. Franjo Tudjman' becomes a University to which already established study programs and accredited university studies in Zagreb and Split will be transferred, will conduct a postgraduate university specialist study of homeland security, and the Ministry of Defense will perform the rights and duties of the founders.

Minister of Defense Mario Banožić pointed out that the transformation to a university 'Dr. Franjo Tudjman' is of special state interest, and the law provides key conditions for the development of the Croatian Army's capabilities and military skills as a science.

'The University will enable the development of scientific and teaching staff for the interdisciplinary field of science in the field of military-defense and security-intelligence sciences and skills, and will be able to apply for EU funds, which has not been possible so far' he stressed.

We must strive for the highest quality education system and thus contribute to the development of the Croatian Army by creating a staff that will gain all the necessary breadth for quality leadership and management to execute tasks, the minister added.

'The university will enable a stronger affirmation of the Croatian Army on the international scene,' he pointed out.

The university will be organized like other public universities in Croatia. It will also have certain specifics, and the law in the field of defense will be applied to it while respecting the constitutional provision on university autonomy.

Poor placement of Croatian universities in the world

Croatian universities are not doing well in the world rankings.

Times Higher Education published a ranking of the best universities for 2021, according to which the University of Oxford is again the best in the world, while the University of Split is in the 801-1000 position and the University of Zagreb in the 1001+ position.

The ranking includes more than 1,500 universities from 93 countries, the highest so far. The list is based on 13 performance indicators in four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and an international perspective.

Compared to the list for 2020, the University of Split has fallen on the list. At that time, it had a position of 601–800, and now it is in the position of 801–1000. Nevertheless, the University of Split is the best positioned Croatian university. The University of Zagreb remained in the same position, below the top 1,000.

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ZAGREB, Aug 25, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Tuesday, after a meeting with representatives of primary health care, that he would propose to the government central financing of doctors' specialisations, given the increasing outflow of doctors and lack of funding on the local level.

"Each day we have fewer family doctors because they are retiring. The cause of this shortage is the problem of financing specialisations. There is often not enough funds at the local and regional level to finance specialisations, which results in fewer doctors specialising in that field," Beros told reporters.

I will propose central financing of specialisations to the government, Beros said after the meeting with associations of doctors in primary care.

Vikica Krolo, the head of the KOHOM association of family doctors and deputy head of the Croatian Medical Chamber, said that the meeting had been initiated due to burning issues that had come to the fore during the coronavirus pandemic, primarily due to a staff shortage caused by long-standing devastation of primary care.

She warned that in the last four years the number of family doctors had dropped from 2,400 to 2,200, 30% of the doctors currently working in the system were over 60 years old and about to retire, and there were 160 retired doctors who still work.

There is little interest among young people, merely 175 specialisations are underway, and the specialisation plan for the period until 2025 envisages 504 specialisations in family medicine. The number of registrars in hospitals has increased, and there are currently 3,000 of them.

Krolo noted that most doctors had followed recommendations during the coronavirus crisis and opened all communication channels to patients. The number of patients coming personally to practices has decreased, but the number of contacts has increased, ranging between 100 and 200 per doctor.

Krolo warned that in the autumn there could be waiting lists for family medicine for the first time, due to the shortage of doctors.

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ZAGREB, Aug 20, 2020 - Members of parliament from the We Can! the political platform said on Thursday that they were appalled that there was still no protocol or scenario for the beginning of the 2020/2021 school year, noting that the government was as prepared as the worst pupil before an exam.

"We are appalled, alarmed and frustrated because what is happening now is something that we have been warning about and saying that it should not happen when it comes to the start of the school year," Tomislav Tomasevic, head of the We Can! the political platform told a press conference in front of Government House.

We do not have an A scenario, in case the epidemic calms down, for a normal beginning of the school year, or a B scenario, if the epidemic gets worse, but the pupils still have classes in school, or a C scenario, if the option is distance learning, he said.

He said that because concessions had been made to night clubs, the tourist postseason and the beginning of classes were jeopardised, so criticism of the national COVID-19 response team was justified.

The We Can! the political platform supports the opening of schools, but they said that educational facilities would not have enough time to prepare classes, and uncertainty and concern ran high among pupils, parents, and teachers.

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