ZAGREB, Aug 25, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros on Tuesday denied claims by the deputy director of the Sisters of Charity Hospital in Zagreb, Dijana Zadravec, that the selection process for the hospital's director was unlawful and that Beros and the prime minister influenced it.

He explained that a recording of a discussion between him and Zadravec that appeared on YouTube on Monday was, in fact, a call during which he turned the speakerphone on, at a meeting with five to six of the closest associates, so that he could show them the pressure, insinuations and even blackmail he was exposed to.

Beros said that he had previously professionally collaborated with Zadravec at the hospital without any disagreement and that the problems started with her dispute with another colleague when he pointed out that the problem should not be resolved through the media but within the hospital.

The problems escalated during the selection procedure for the hospital director, which was conducted absolutely in accordance with legal procedures, said Beros.

"That's when the pressure and very aggressive calls started and this discussion is just one in a series of similar ones and shows the attempts to influence me as someone who in fact cannot influence the selection process for the director," he added.

"The procedure was respected, a steering committee exists and it determines who the director will be based on very relevant criteria," he underscored.

Beros believes that it is "legitimate for everyone to fight for their personal progress, however, at the moment the line has been crossed."

He noted that he did not feel threatened and therefore did not request any institutional protection.

"That was electioneering time and I believed that when the situation calmed down, everyone, according to their role and position, would be satisfied," he added.

In response to an announcement by Zadravec that she would sue him for secretly recording her, which is illegal, Beros said that he did not record the discussion nor did he tell anyone to record it and so he cannot be personally held responsible, however, if the institutions assess that he is responsible, he will not run away from that.

He denied any unclarity with regard to his declaration of assets that Zadravec mentioned in the discussion, saying that the declaration was published and contained precise information on his assets.

Beros reiterated that the prime minister did not have any influence over the selection of the hospital director and that, as he said during the conversation with Zadravec, the party leadership had decided on the path and direction, which was a lawful way to deal with such matters.

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ZAGREB, Aug 20, 2020 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that the current situation regarding the coronavirus pandemic required a cautious approach to protect the national economy and jobs, and he also called for caution in personal contact, notably among young people.

Addressing a government session, Plenkovic said that in the current situation, marked by a global increase in the number of new infections, including in Croatia, "we must continue to be very alert and cautious in order to protect public health, our economy, and jobs."

He noted that it was good that the new infections in Croatia were cases with mild symptoms.

"Only about 120 people are hospitalised and slightly more than ten are on ventilators. That fact is very important. We must bear in mind the difference between those who have been infected and those who have developed the symptoms," Plenkovic said.

"The new cases lately have been young people and people returning from holidays. That is why I call on all fellow citizens, notably young people, to act responsibly and avoid close contact that can lead to infection," he said.

Plenkovic also said that intensive work would continue on a law on the post-earthquake reconstruction of Zagreb and its environs and that a meeting would be held on the topic this afternoon. At the next government session, before the start of a new, extraordinary parliament sitting, the law will be submitted for a second reading, he said.

Plenkovic recalled that Croatia had received a decision from the European Commission on advance payment in the amount of €88.9 million from the EU Solidarity Fund for the reconstruction of Zagreb, and noted that the competent departments were working to provide accommodation for people whose homes were damaged in the March 22 quake and who are currently staying in Zagreb's Cvjetno Naselje student dormitory.

The PM also announced events commemorating the European day of remembrance for victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes on August 23, when he and Transport Minister Oleg Butkovic will visit Goli Otok.

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ZAGREB, Aug 16, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Saturday that Croatia won the first halftime of the struggle against coronavirus and called for heightened alert in the autumn. 

Asked by the press about the current topics, including the developments surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, Plenkovic said that Croatia could be satisfied with the tourist season given the circumstances.

He went on to say that the country won the first halftime of the match against COVID-19, and "we must be on high alert in the autumn."

Commenting on the outcome of the current tourist season, Plenkovic said that the results seemed better than expected, considering the projections made a few months ago.

 As for a resurgence of new cases over the recent weeks, Plenkovic said that it could have been expected in a certain sense, given a higher number of people staying now in Croatia.

"We have appealed all the time, for responsible behaviour, particularly among young people, and for keeping a distance. This obviously has not been observed in nightclubs," the premier said in his comment on indications that a majority of the newly diagnosed patients are young people.

Asked how all that could impact the remainder of the tourist season due to warnings from Austria and Slovenia concerning the arrivals from Croatia, Plenkovic said he had talked with his counterparts from those countries about that topic.

Those countries look at the issue through their statistical figures, they have their scales, they count how many of those who have returned from holidays abroad are infected. Having in mind the fact that their school year starts on 1 September, they are afraid of the spread of the infection in schools, the premier said.

He expects the Croatian diplomatic network, the ministries of tourism and health to communicate the epidemiological picture in greater detail, broken down by counties.

Plenkovic, who was on a visit to the Marian shrine of Trsat in Rijeka, on the Feast of the Assumption, said that the situation in that Primorje-Gorski Kotar County as well as in Istria and Lika was satisfactory.

ZAGREB, Aug 5, 2020 - Any innocent victim of the war, be they of Croat, Serb or any other ethnicity, deserves respect, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm in Knin on Wednesday.

In his address, he recalled a message of reconciliation addressed by the late President Franjo Tudjman in Vukovar in June 1997 to Croatian returnees and the local Serb population: "A victor who cannot forgive sows the seeds of future rifts and evils, and the Croatian people do not want that."

Plenkovic said that this message should be borne in mind in building an inclusive, tolerant, and forward-looking Croatia. "As a country that won a war that was imposed on it, with numerous innocent civilian victims, we regret all the casualties, especially civilians, and not just Croats, but Serbs and members of all other ethnic communities as well."

Legitimate right to defence is not and cannot be excused for wrongdoing

Plenkovic expressed regret for war crimes committed by Croats, saying that "a legitimate right to defence is not and cannot be an excuse for wrongdoing." "Any such act is painful for the families of the victims and an ugly scar on the righteous face and defensive nature of the Homeland War," he added.

"We are aware that our victory in Operation Storm was traumatic for many Croatian Serbs who primarily associate it with the departure of a portion of the Serb population from their homes in what were previously occupied areas. While for the majority of Croats this was a forced exodus organised and ordered by leaders of the Serb rebellion in Knin, many Serbs still see it as an exodus before Croatian forces," the prime minister said.

Plenkovic said that 25 years on it was time to look at the complexity of what had happened then with equanimity. After Operation Storm, the Croatian state has made great efforts to ensure that Serb refugees who so wish a return to their homeland and much has been done in that regard, There are still difficulties that need to be removed so that they can feel equal and live in dignity, he added.

"We know that the whole time many Croatian Serbs in free areas of the country shared the fate of their Croatian compatriots, and many of them were in the Croatian army, of which we should be proud," Plenkovic stressed.

It is important that in Operation Storm the Croatian Serbs do not see only the exodus of their people but also the end of the war that paved the way for their return to Croatia, for everyone who so wishes.

"Finally, respects are due to every innocent victim, be they of Croat, Serb, or any other ethnicity. Respects to thousands of innocent Croat victims from Vukovar to Dubrovnik ... Respects to innocent Serb victims from Paulin Dvor to Varivode," Plenkovic said.

"We do not question the legitimacy or righteousness of the Homeland War nor do we downplay the victory won in Operation Storm," he added.

The humanity of a victor who regrets every lapse or war crime not prevented 

Plenkovic said that this shows the magnanimity and humanity of a victor "who, despite everything, regrets every lapse or war crime that was not prevented."

"We expect the same from all sections of Croatian society, especially from representatives of the Serbs in Croatia, who should also clearly condemn all the war crimes committed against Croats," he stressed.

True reconciliation can only be built on the truth that is based on fact, on full cooperation in discovering all those still listed as missing and in seeking justice for all the victims, Plenkovic said, adding that all war crimes that do not fall under a statute of limitations will continue to be prosecuted regardless of the ethnicity of the victim or the perpetrator.

"Today, as the world copes with the biggest health threat in the last hundred years and with the gravest economic crisis since the Second World War, we must again strengthen our national unity around Croatian strategic goals. That's why we should be inspired by the courage and self-abnegation of Croatian defenders and we will be able to cope with the great challenges facing us," the prime minister said.

Plenkovic reiterated that Operation Storm was "legally legitimate, militarily inevitable and politically necessary," adding that it was imperative for the Croatian leadership at the time to make it possible for displaced Croats to return to their homes and to reconnect parts of the country that had been severed until then.

With more than 20,000 dead and 15% of the housing stock damaged, Croatia suffered huge damage in the war which set it back 15 years in terms of development, Plenkovic said, noting that Operation Storm was also a turning point for peace and stability in southeastern Europe "which is why we can rightfully regard it as our greatest victory."

The prime minister announced that a special law on civilian casualties of the Homeland War would be adopted to resolve painful issues still burdening Croatian society.

ZAGREB, Aug 4, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday that it was of crucial importance that 25 years after Operation Storm a new massage was being sent about relations between Croats and the ethnic Serb minority, between Serbia and Croatia, and about what kind of country Croatians are building.  

Commenting on the planned attendance of Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milosevic at the central commemoration of Operation Storm in Knin, Plenkovic said that the attendance of a political representative of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) at the commemoration was an important signal.

Minorities are an integral part of the Croatian society and their representatives are our legal and political legacy of the past 30 years, Plenkovic said.

As for reports that members of the wartime Croatian Defence Force (HOS) were planning to attend the commemoration wearing T-shirts with the inscription For the Homeland Ready, Plenkovic said the government had been informed of such plans.

"I expect those who are part of the official protocol to wear T-shirts that identify their units that fought in the Homeland War or official T-shirts provided by the War Veterans Ministry," he said.

Asked if Milosevic's participation in the Knin commemoration would lead to a policy of better social integration for ethnic Serbs, Plenkovic said that minority representatives, including those of the Serb minority, had been part of the parliamentary majority in the last parliament and that their participation now had been raised to a higher level.

"Based on our mutual trust we will work, as we did in the last term in office, on promoting the equality of all citizens and on making it possible for everyone to live in dignity in line with 21st century standards. Specifically, that means electricity and water supply in isolated communities," Plenkovic stressed.

Minister Medved's visit to Grubori, Serb villages not political tradeoff

As for War Veterans Minister Tomo Medved's visit to Grubori, where a group of Serb civilians were killed in the aftermath of Operation Storm, and to Serb villages without electricity and water supply, Plenkovic said that it was not a political tradeoff.

"That is an important political and civilisational gesture by the government, showing respect for all victims. We are aware of the faults and crimes that happened in the aftermath of Operation Storm and we believe that it is good to pay tribute also to the Serb victims," he said.

Asked how much mutual relations were burdened by reactions on the Serb side and by the Serbian president, Plenkovic said that what his government was doing was Croatia's internal matter.

"We are talking about relations between the government and our coalition partner, the political representative of the Serb minority. We make our decisions for ourselves, for Croatia, and as I have said, they send out the message that 25 years after the war we have achieved all our strategic goals, that Croatia is a democratic country, that it has its institutions and legal order and that it is integrated in the EU and NATO," Plenkovic said.

A Croatia that is dealing with economic, health, financial and security challenges has the strength to send messages like this one, he said.

"What someone has to say about it is not a top priority for us. What matters to us is what we do for the sake of relations in the Croatian society," the PM said.

ZAGREB, Aug 3, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Sunday that Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milosevic's attendance at the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm in Knin this week was "a very useful and good thing".

"The fact that Milosevic will be in Knin on behalf of the SDSS (Independent Democratic Serb Party) is a very useful and good thing for Croatian society, for relations between the Croats and the Serb minority in Croatia, for relations between Croatia and Serbia, and it is also a good message that the modern, contemporary Croatia has completed all its national tasks," Plenkovic said in an interview with the public broadcaster HRT.

He said that Milosevic's attendance also showed the government's unity and the need to face what had happened in the past 30 years.

"Operation Storm is not only the most important victory in the Homeland War, but possibly in Croatian history as well. The operation was legally legitimate, militarily inevitable and politically necessary," the prime minister stressed.

"Our objective is to change relations in Croatian society and relations with our neighbours for the better, to put them in the right place and in the right temporal and historical context," he said when asked what kind of cooperation he expected with Serbia after August 5 given its criticism of Milosevic's decision.

"Twenty-five years have passed since the end of the war and 22 since the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube region. Croatia is a member of the EU and NATO. ... We consider this decision to be very good and positive, and I believe that with time Belgrade and the entire political scene will realise why this decision is important and why it is good, useful and the only one possible," Plenkovic said.

Medved's attendance at Grubori commemoration an important political gesture

Plenkovic said that the attendance of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Veterans' Affairs Tomo Medved at a commemoration in Grubori, scheduled for later this month to pay tribute to Serbs killed in that village by Croatian forces, was an important political gesture of the Croatian government.

"The fact that Tomo Medved, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Veterans' Affairs, a Croatian Army general, and the commander of the Tigers Brigade, is willing to go to Grubori to make a civilisational gesture on the government's behalf and pay tribute to the victims is an important political gesture of the Croatian government," he said.

"This is good and this is no trade-off. We are now transforming the relations and putting them on a sound basis. There is no political trade-off, we did not think about it or discuss it when we were forming the parliamentary majority. This is a normal course of events as we and I personally see them 25 years after Operation Storm," he added.

Plenkovic said he was pleased that General Ante Gotovina would also speak in Knin. "The fact that the general will speak there is very good for Croatia. We remember his messages after he returned from The Hague, when he said that the war is over and we should turn to the future. I am confident that he too shares the approach we have taken for the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm," Plenkovic said, stressing that all members of his cabinet would be in Knin on August 5.

He reiterated that the ethnic minorities should always be with the government and the governing majority. "They are part of our political heritage of the past 30 years and should make their contribution to Croatia's future. We will cooperate with the ethnic minorities, there is no political doubt about it, and I think it is good and useful."

Active autumn for government

Plenkovic said that the government was bracing for an active autumn, adding that the tax burden on private citizens and businesses would be further eased.

The tax reforms will enter into force on January 1, as has been the case before, and will represent the continuity of the policy to relieve the tax burden on the citizens and businesses, the PM said.

Speaking of the minimum wage and its increase, he said that a decision on this would be made by early November at the latest.

ZAGREB, July 31, 2020 - SDP vice president Pedja Grbin said on Friday he welcomed the announcement that Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milosevic would attend the Operation Storm anniversary and Deputy PM Tomo Medved the Grubori commemoration if that would contribute to turning to the future and understanding that the war was over.

"Operation Storm was a victory in a war that was imposed on Croatia and everyone must accept that fact. Likewise, everyone must accept the fact that crimes were committed in the war and after Operation Storm and that some of those crimes were committed by the Croatian side," the MP told the press.

"If Milosevic's and Medved's gestures will contribute to understanding those facts and to accepting what General Ante Gotovina once said, that we must turn to the future and understand that the war is over, then I welcome those gestures," Grbin said.

"However, if this is just an empty agreement reached to keep the ruling coalition and the parliamentary majority together, then it is pointless. Until I see otherwise, I will believe that this is a well-meaning gesture and that it will contribute to the development of Croatian society, and in that context I welcome it," he added.

ZAGREB, July 29, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has never tweeted something against President Zoran Milanovic, the government said on Wednesday, adding that after checking Plenkovic's twitter account they concluded that Milanovic was either lying or hallucinating.

"Given the numerous media queries about which late-night tweet the president meant, we checked the prime minister's tweets in the past period to check if anything was tweeted late at night that was aimed against the president. The only thing we can conclude is that the president is either lying or hallucinating," the government said.

He is certainly very bored so he is making things up, it added.

Milanovic today dismissed Plenkovic's claims that he was bored, saying this was said on Plenkovic's Twitter account.

Milanovic said he did not think that Plenkovic wrote that himself but someone in his office late at night. "I can't believe that Plenkovic would write such nonsense," he said, without specifying which tweet he meant.

Plenkovic told reporters today it seemed to him the president "is a little bored." He was commenting on Milanovic's repeated claims that the national COVID response team was unconstitutional, that parliament was above it and that the "team is actually nothing."

ZAGREB, July 29, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic boasted in parliament on Wednesday about the €22 billion Croatia will have at its disposal from the EU budget in the next seven years for, he said, the development of counties, agriculture, rural development, and demographic revitalisation.

MP Hrvoje Zekanovic of the Hrast party asked where the EU would find the money.

"Regarding the Next Generation EU instrument, to help member states in an unprecedented situation, when everyone's GDP is falling, the European Union will borrow on markets where there is money under the most favourable terms, money which practically doesn't cost anything and which will be paid out over the next 30 years," said Plenkovic.

Responding to MPs' comments, he said there would be money also for fishermen, local projects, and balanced regional development.

My goal was to get as much money for the national envelope as possible while compromising on programmes which apply to all and where fund absorption will depend on the activity of the stakeholders in Croatia, Plenkovic told Romana Nikolic of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who asked about the slashing of initially envisaged funds for Horizon 2020, Invest EU and health, defence and migration policies.

The prime minister disagreed with Katarina Peovic of the Workers Front that there was no solidarity, convergence or cohesion. Cohesion was achieved by the decision that the EU seeks funds for the member states among investors and on financial markets, he said.

Plenkovic dismissed Ranko Ostojic's (SDP) claim that Croatia fell short as the chair of the Council of the EU in the first half of the year, saying it was praised and thanked as well as achieving results.

Domagoj Hajdukovic (SDP) asked about Croatia's stand on making the absorption of European budget funds conditional on the rule of law. Plenkovic said Croatia was "for it" and that he did not fear a report on the rule of law in Croatia.

"You don't know much about the EU," Plenkovic told Nikola Grmoja of the Bridge party.

Nino Raspudic (Bridge) said it was a paradox that the fact that Croatia needed so much EU aid was also its biggest failure.

ZAGREB, July 29, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Wednesday reported to the Croatian parliament on the recent EU summit at which Croatia was granted access to €22 billion over the next seven years, which he said was a strong lever for economic recovery.

Plenkovic reported on the results of the marathon summit of EU leaders that ended on July 21 with an agreement on the post-pandemic recovery plan and seven-year budget, after which Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman presented the results of the Croatian presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of the year.

"Never before has the government presented to parliament a report of such great financial importance and with such far-reaching consequences for our economic development, our social cohesion, for the progress of Croatia and the entire European project," Plenkovic said.

Of the €1.824 trillion agreed at the summit, Croatia will have access to €22 billion, which is €165 billion over the next four, i.e. seven years, he said. "That is double the amount that was made available to us in the Multiannual Finance Framework for the past 2014-2020 period," he added.

He said that this is one of the largest amounts per capita "which will ensure that for each euro invested we get more than 4.5 euros from the EU budget."

"For Croatia, for its citizens and economy, we have ensured a strong lever for economic development over the next four, that is seven years," Plenkovic said, stressing that in this way his government had defended Croatian interests.

He said that Croatia had shown that "it is a strong state that protects its national interests, utilises its strength for the benefit of its citizens and its economy, improving its international standing through EU membership."

"Croatian citizens have seen this, they understand it and recognise it better than those who missed out on this topic 30 years ago," the prime minister said.

Financial package

The EU financial package is based on two strategically designed and related pillars: the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and the recovery plan called Next Generation EU.

Plenkovic said that Croatia had wanted the agreement to be reached because "the political responsibility of EU leaders at this point is of paramount importance." He said that Croatia had managed to ensure that the other EU member states took into account the specific position of Croatia which has so far used only one seven-year budget.

"We managed to achieve several objectives on which we had been working for months," the PM said, adding that Croatia managed to keep the national co-financing rate for cohesion and rural development at 15%, and not at 25%.

"At the same time we advocated that the rule on automatic decommitment of cohesion funds three years after their allocation, the so-called N+3 rule, should remain in place. The idea initially was that it should be N+2, but at this stage N+3 still suits us and we managed to keep it," Plenkovic said.

This gives Croatian beneficiaries a longer, three-year period to use budget funds and reduces the risk of loss and paying the money back into the EU treasury, he added.

In the next seven-year EU budget, Croatia will be have access to €12.7 billion in three envelopes: €7.5 billion for cohesion, €2.5 billion for direct payments for agriculture and €2 billion for rural development. Added to this should also be funding from different EU instruments: €270 million for fisheries, €250 million for internal security and migration, as well as funding for a fair and just green transition, research, health, education, transport and digital infrastructure.

Plenkovic said that Croatia had also managed to present to the European Union to what extent the COVID-19 pandemic had affected its tourism and other economic sectors. In this context, he also mentioned the March 22 earthquake that struck Zagreb and its environs, causing extensive damage.

Plenkovic said that Croatia had also highlighted the specific economic and demographic situation in eight of its counties that make up the Pannonian Croatia region.

"In addition to this 400 million, we also insisted on and were granted 100 million euros as aid for rural development because of specific structural challenges faced by the agricultural sector," he said and added that these arguments were part of efforts to reduce the negative demographic trends and keep young people in rural areas and in the agricultural sector.

Croatia also managed to ensure an advance of 10% of grants from the Recovery and Resilience Facility which will be paid out in 2021. These nearly 600 million euros will ease the burden on the state budget, the prime minister said.

This is important for the sake of macroeconomic stability, particularly in the light of the recent accession of Croatia to Exchange Rate Mechanism 2, a sort of waiting room membership of for the euro area.

In order for member states to obtain EU funding, they must draw up national plans in compliance with the the objectives of the EU's digital and green transition.

"A positive evaluation for disbursement of funds will be tied to the fulfilment of the relevant criteria" from plans which will be approved by the European Commission and the Council, Plenkovic said.

Croatia will prepare its plan by the end of the year and present it to parliament. On Thursday, the government will set up a special task force to solely deal with this matter, Plenkovic said, adding that he personally will chair this coordinating body.