ZAGREB, June 29, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Monday the Croatian Employment Service was expected to adopt today a measure on a shorter workweek for employers with over ten employees and that it would amount to HRK 2,000 net per employee a month, announcing this measure for micro-enterprises too.

He told reporters the measure was aimed at retaining jobs in companies whose work volume was reduced as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Eligible are employers that expect the monthly man-hours of all employees to drop by at least 10%. The measure may be used for at least 10% or 20% of the staff, depending on company size, provided they were employed as of May 31.

Another criterion is a drop in revenue of at least 20% from the same month last year. Manufacturing companies are eligible if the decrease is less than 20%.

ZAGREB, June 29, 2020 - Croatia's first EU presidency, which ends on Wednesday, did not go as planned due to the coronavirus but everything that was possible was achieved in such circumstances, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Monday at a meeting with the chiefs of foreign diplomatic offices.

"When we started, we wanted to send a message about a strong Europe in a world full of challenges. Nobody knew that one of the challenges would be COVID-19, which didn't change only the Croatian presidency but the world, Europe, Croatia, and many countries around the world," he said.

"We started following the situation in China on January 8 already, notably in Wuhan. That enabled us to respond to the crisis at the European level already on January 28," he said, adding that "a great job has been done in managing the crisis."

Plenkovic regretted that the novel coronavirus prevented the Croatian presidency from bringing the EU closer to citizens through various events, which is what other member states did during their presidency, saying those events were replaced by video conferences and conference calls.

He said the presidency started well with the arrival of European officials in Croatia and visits to several European capitals.

An orderly Brexit was ensured, a consensus was reached within the European Council on a mandate for future negotiations with the UK, and focus was put on the European perspective of the Western Balkan states, which was crowned with the opening of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania and the Zagreb summit on enlargement, said Plenkovic.

A summit was also organised with the Eastern Partnership and an agreement was reached on the Conference on the Future of Europe, which "is needed more than ever," he added.

He said a new round of negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework was approaching, as well as on a European recovery plan. The EU must show through both instruments "that it stands by its member states and citizens and that it can act quickly and effectively," he added.

Plenkovic said Croatia had achieved progress in two issues not related to the presidency, drawing closer to euro and Schengen area membership.

He thanked the foreign diplomats for understanding the sudden challenges which befell Croatia during its EU presidency and for their solidarity after the Zagreb earthquake in March.

Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said the slogan of the Croatian presidency, Europe in a world full of challenges, could not have been more appropriate, and that the coronavirus had shown that multilateralism was needed more than ever and that international solidarity was fragile.

In that crisis Croatia has again proved to be a responsible and reliable partner, he said, thanking the foreign diplomats for their support.  "You were with us the whole time and we felt your support."

On July 1, the rotating EU presidency will be taken over by Germany.

ZAGREB, June 27, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenkovic said in Otocac on Saturday that there had not been any big rallies during the current campaign for the July 5 parliamentary election and that citizens should listen to experts rather than politicians pretending to be doctors.

Plenkovic visited the central town of Otocac as part of his party's election campaign.

Asked whether he believed that Croatia was still safe considering the latest increase in the number of new coronavirus cases, Plenkovic said that it was normal that citizens had relaxed and that one should work to find a balance.

"It's only human that citizens have relaxed, we will have to find a balance. Yesterday's meeting of the Scientific Council was excellent, most of the new patients have mild symptoms, and we have to be responsible," he said.

ZAGREB, June 27, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenkovic said during a tour of the sixth constituency on Friday that after his party formed the government after the elections, it would raise the average wage to HRK 6,700 and to HRK 7,600 by the end of its term.

Speaking to party members and supporters in Sisak, Plenkovic also said that the minimum wage would be increased from HRK 3,250 to 4,250 and that pensions, which have been increased by 12%, would be additionally raised by 10%.

Speaking of his government's achievements in the past term, he said that the law on the financing of local and regional government units had helped Sisak-Moslavina County obtain more budget funds.

He added that close to HRK 90 million had been allocated from the state budget for regional development in Sisak County, contracts had been signed for HRK 1.8 billion of EU funds and HRK 170 million had been provided for active employment measures in the county.

(€1 = HRK 7.566)

ZAGREB, June 26, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday that at the moment he did not see any reason to get tested for the coronavirus again and that he usually consulted with experts on such matters.

"I am not a 'do it yourself' person when it comes to medical consultations, I have a habit of consulting with experts. That is what the Scientific Council is for. If they suggest that I do so, I will consider doing that. At the moment, I don't see any reason for it," he said during a visit to Koprivnica when asked by reporters if he planned to get tested for the coronavirus again.

Asked what would happen if it eventually turned out that he, too, was positive for COVID-19 after all the contacts he had at the recent Adria Tour tennis tournament in Zadar, he said that there was no need for him to answer hypothetical questions.

ZAGREB, June 26, 2020 - The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) on Thursday called on Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic to stop accusing journalists, saying that they were only asking legitimate questions and his duty as the prime minister was to answer them.

On Tuesday, the prime minister openly accused N1 television reporter Hrvoje Kresic of campaigning for the opposition after he asked Plenkovic when he would go into self-isolation given that he had had contact with tennis player Novak Djokovic, one of the participants in a tennis tournament in Zadar who were infected with the coronavirus. On Wednesday, he also behaved inappropriately towards 24 Sata reporter Nikol Zagorac by refusing to answer her question, the HND said in a statement.

It recalled that it was not the first time Plenkovic had "lectured and publicly accused journalists and the media questioning his work and his actions."

"He accused us of waging 'hybrid wars', during the Agrokor affair he said that we were working under instructions, he told our female colleagues that they were 'sweet' and he lectured us on how to do our job," the HND said.

Such behaviour on the part of the prime minister is unworthy of the office he holds and yet another proof that politicians in Croatia, regardless of the political camp they belong to, do not understand the purpose and importance of journalists and the media, the HND said, stressing that journalists work neither for the government nor for the opposition but solely in the interest of the public.

ZAGREB, June 26, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that the July 5 parliamentary election was very important for the future of the country and that the date was decided by the President.

By dissolving Parliament in May we wanted the election to be held when the intensity of the coronavirus was lowest, and it was the President who decided that the election would be held on the second to last date possible under the constitution, Plenkovic said in the eastern town of Vukovar.

Earlier in the day, during his visit to Vinkovci, he said that the election could also have been set for June 21.

Plenkovic reiterated that he did not think that the ongoing election campaign should be suspended because the Croatian healthcare system was capable of coping with the coronavirus outbreak. 

ZAGREB, June 25, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Thursday responded to the leader of the centre-left Restart coalition, Davor Bernardic about the parliamentary election being held in these insecure times of the coronavirus epidemic, saying that Croatia was a safe country and that the situation was under control.

"Croatia is a safe country. As for Bernardic's comments, unlike him, we have retained jobs and employment and supported the workers. That means a responsible policy and a safe Croatia," Plenkovic said during a visit to the eastern town of Pozega when asked by the press to comment on Bernardic's statement that the HDZ had pushed Croatia into elections expecting to gain a political profit from the coronavirus crisis, thus putting citizens' lives at risk.

Commenting on the spike in the number of new coronavirus cases in the country, the prime minister said that the situation was under control. 

"We overcame the first wave of the outbreak with strong restrictive measures and moves to help businesses. We have the same number of people employed as before the crisis, which is excellent. Now we are seeing a rise in the number of infections. The virus is here with us, but none of the people are in critical condition or on ventilators," Plenkovic said.

He said that lessons had been learned from March so that today Croatia has a resilient healthcare system, well-prepared medical staff, and doctors, as well as epidemiologists who are processing all contacts,

Considering an increased number of people coming from other countries, the rise in new cases is not unexpected and is not something that Croatia cannot cope with, he added.

"This is not dramatic because according to the information that I get, my impression is that there are no critical patients. I can't say that the virus has mutated or that the summer COVID is milder, we will see that, but our services are keeping the situation under control and it will stay that way in the future," Plenkovic said.

ZAGREB, June 25, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at a government session on Thursday that the government's measures designed to help businesses hit by the coronavirus crisis had helped save 600,000 jobs and 103,000 businesses.

Plenkovic recalled that the measures included payments to employers for workers' wages, the write-off of direct taxes and contributions and the procurement of medical equipment for the health system.

Plenkovic said the government had ensured the necessary aid also owing to Croatia's reputation on international financial markets.

"We have secured financing and liquidity, payment of wages and pensions and the normal functioning of the state," he said.

He said that aid worth a total of HRK5.3 billion had been secured for employers in March, April and June, with employers in Zagreb alone receiving HRK 1.6 billion in government aid.

He noted that data from the Croatian Employment Service showed that in terms of employment, Croatia was at the pre-crisis level and that there were 17,500 more unemployed persons because they had not been hired for seasonal jobs.

He said the government would help the business sector also by shortening working hours, which would help them retain workers.

In the EU's next seven-year budget Croatia will have €22 billion at its disposal as well as more than ten million euros from the EU's programme for economic recovery, of which two-thirds are grants, said the PM.

ZAGREB, June 25, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Thursday issued a message on the occasion of Independence Day, a memorial day marking the historic decision of the Croatian parliament for Croatia to separate from other Yugoslav republics.

"This year we observe Independence Day as a memorial day commemorating the Croatian parliament's historic decision, the adoption of the constitutional decision on Croatia's sovereignty and independence, and the declaration on Croatia's sovereignty and independence, which confirmed the will of the Croatian people to establish an independent state," Plenkovic said in his message.

Recalling the Great Serbian aggression that stood in the way of the country's independence and international recognition and Croatian people's sacrifice for its freedom and independence, Plenkovic expressed gratitude to all Croatian defenders and their families, noting that Croatia today was a society based on patriotism and universal values of freedom, democracy, solidarity, rule of law and social equity.

Noting that Croatia was successfully completing its EU presidency, Plenkovic said that the country had dealt, in the best way possible, with a number of extraordinary situations during its presidency, mentioning in that context the coronavirus pandemic.

He recalled that his government had introduced economic measures to support the private sector and help save more than half a million jobs and 100,000 businesses.

Plenkovic said the government would continue adopting measures to protect the lives and health of all citizens, ensure the country's economic recovery, and continue implementing the necessary reforms to improve citizens' living standards.