ZAGREB, 5 May, 2021 - Supreme Court Vice President Marin Mrčela told the national broadcaster (HTV) on Tuesday evening that the disputes in the election of that court's president could be avoided if the system of the selection is changed so that it is the judges themselves who elect their top-ranking colleague.

In this context he mentioned the model of the selection of the president of the Constitutional Court who is appointed by his/her colleagues.

Mrčela said that the current disputes about the future Supreme Court president are purely political.

He pushed for removing politics from the process of the appointment of the Supreme Court President and added that it would also be conducive to reducing the perception of the political influence on the judiciary.

In order to change the process of the selection of the Supreme Court President, it is necessary to amend the Constitution which, however, requires a political consensus, he admitted.

 A total of five candidacies have been submitted for the new head of the Supreme Court.

Earlier on Tuesday, President Zoran Milanović said that law professor Zlata Đurđević was his candidate for the Supreme Court president and asked members of parliament to think carefully before they reject her because he would hang tough on this matter.

Mrčela said that the Supreme Court would also give its opinion on the candidates, however, this opinion was not binding, despite GRECO's recommendations that it should be treated as binding.

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ZAGREB, 4 May, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Tuesday that law professor Zlata Đurđević was his candidate for the Supreme Court president and asked members of parliament to think carefully before they reject her because he would not give up.

"I am taking this opportunity to ask members of parliament to think carefully about whether they want to turn down such a competent and good candidate for the Supreme Court president, because we have never had a better candidate," Milanović told reporters during a visit to Ogulin.

Đurđević morally, intellectually up to the task, competent

"They should disregard all the lies, fabrications, Lex Perković... That was all a lie, she is completely clean, morally and intellectually up to the task, as well as competent. If they choose to vote against her, I will not hang tough on this nomination."

Milanović repeated that Đurđević was his candidate, that under the Constitution he proposed the candidate for Supreme Court president and that no parliamentary committee or the Supreme Court Council would be able to change his mind.

"I am the President, I propose the candidate and explain my choice and the parliament has the right to turn them down," he said.

"I believe that the parliamentary majority will opt for the candidate whom I consider excellent. I will ask each MP individually to state the reasons they are against her," Milanović said, dismissing speculation that the judicial authorities were in a state of crisis.

Asked if he would meet with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Milanović said that he was always ready for talks with the prime minister.

"I invited him to lay wreaths with me in Okučani, he chickened out," he said.

As for Sunday's incident in Borovo Selo, where a group of young men marched through the town chanting anti-Serb messages, Milanović repeated that police were under the influence of politics, that is, Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović and PM Plenković, and that he considered them responsible for the incident.

Asked about Serb minority MP Milorad Pupovac's comment that Milanović, too, was responsible for incidents, Milanović said ironically "Yes, I'm to blame for the Kennedy assassination as well. He was killed in 1963, I was born in 1966 but I had my hand in it."

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ZAGREB, 4 May, 2021 - There are nearly 39,000 candidates running in the local elections which Croatia will hold on 16 May, and their average age is 45, according to statistics released by the State Electoral Commission (DIP).

The two youngest candidates are a man and a woman, who both turned 18 on 29 March this year.

The youngest female candidate is on the slate of a four-party coalition led by the HSS Stjepan Radić party, and the youngest male candidate is on the slate of the HSP party.

The oldest female candidate, 91, is on the slate of the Zagorska Stranka za Zagreb party in the City of Zagreb.

The oldest male candidate, 92, is on the slate of a group of voters led by Dražen Vranić.

Many slates are gender-imbalanced

The DIP has given an instruction that the representation of any gender should not be below 40%. However, the instruction has not been followed in some cases and there are several slates consisting only of male candidates.

Such slates are valid, however, those who submit them can be fined up to 20,000 kuna.

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ZAGREB, 4 May, 2021 - HDZ BiH party leader Dragan Čović on Tuesday called for amending Bosnia and Herzegovina's election law to put an end to discrimination against ethnic minorities, whose members cannot run for the country's top posts, as well as to the outvoting of Croats as the smallest constituent ethnic group.

"It is intolerable that a part of our citizenry, including Roma and Jews, cannot run as candidates for the top state institutions. Creating just and fair solutions to these challenges, including through limited constitutional change, is one of the HDZ's major priorities in the election legislation alternatives we are proposing," the leader of the biggest BiH Croat party says in a commentary published by Euractiv and forwarded to the local media.

Čović notes that this is crucial for the country's progress towards EU membership as is putting an end to the outvoting of Croats.

"It is unconstitutional that the most populous community selects and determines who will represent the smallest constituent community, yet this is what is happening to the Croats and others in Bosnia and Herzegovina...

"We must adjust and reaffirm a power-sharing system in Bosnia Herzegovina that guarantees equal rights and does not discriminate against anyone," says Čović.

"This non-election year provides a chance we cannot afford to miss, in the implementation of electoral, rule of law, and economic reforms necessary for a path forward to EU and NATO membership," says Čović.

The European Court of Human Rights has made several rulings, of which the best known is the ruling in the Sejdić-Finci case, which calls for an end to discrimination against candidates wo do not identify themselves as Bosniaks, Croats or Serbs since they cannot run or be elected to the state presidency and the parliament's upper chamber, called the House of Peoples.

In its ruling of 2016 in the Ljubić case, the BiH Constitutional Court called for changing the election law to prevent the outvoting of constituent ethnic groups in elections for ethnically-designed institutions.

This has caused disputes about changes to the election law that have been going on for several years.

In 2020, Čović and Bosniak SDA party leader Bakir Izetbegović signed two documents on the reform of the election law with the mediation of US, EU and British diplomats, the OSCE Mission and the Office of the High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

One of the documents refers to ensuring conditions for local elections in Mostar and the other to changes to the election law to implement rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and enable legitimate political representation for the three constituent peoples in line with the BiH Constitutional Court ruling in the Ljubić case.

For more about Croats in BiH, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 4 May, 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš on Tuesday said that the solution to acute problem of the shortage of radiologists in two hospitals in Zagreb was within the responsibility of those hospitals and that he expects those institutions to provide patients with appropriate and immediate health services.

"The solution to the acute problem of the shortage of radiologists at the Sisters of Mercy hospital and the clinic for treating cancers, which is part of that health institution, is up to the administration at the hospital and I expect them to provide all the patients with the appropriate medical services, and in particular oncology patients and those with grave diseases," said Beroš.

He underscored that patients have to be above organisational problems of an institution.

Beroš underscored that patients must not be left without services because of organisational problems or human relationships.

"That's my clear message to directors and all their associates who are responsible for managing those processes in hospitals. Problems have to be resolved," said Minister Beroš.

He added that Croatia has an increasing number of younger radiologists with experience in working in clinical centres and health institutions that could be the core of creating a system based on the example of developed countries with advanced health systems.

"Creating an efficient system of radiology services at the country level that could provide efficient, quality and financially rational services to a larger number of health institutions that are faced with a shortage of staff such as radiologists, which surfaced in the Sisters of Mercy hospital, are an inevitable step towards resolving this and similar problems," he underscored.

He underscored that as Minister of Health he has already "launched certain activities to provide organised radiology services based on the experiences of other countries that have proved to be efficient and economically justified and are appropriate to our needs and capacities.

For more about health in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 4 May, 2021 - The French Institute in Croatia has on the occasion of its 100th anniversary launched a Hospitality programme which in cooperation with various institutions enables close public contact with artists.

The programme is adapted to Croatia's specific context, featuring the consequences of the health crisis and earthquakes that hit Zagreb and Sisak and Petrinja in central Croatia and is aimed at developing a programme of valorisation of Croatian artists in the premises of the French Institute where they can present their works and establish contact with a new audience.

The planned encounters are aimed at enabling a privileged experience and relationship with artists and their works, something that has been absent during this period of restricted encounters.

The institute has called on artists to participate in the programme, saying that they will be issued with a 'carte blanche' to take over the institute's premises for specific encounters with the public and to present their works.

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ZAGREB, 4 May, 2021 - Parliamentary opposition parties have filed a joint motion for a vote of no confidence in Health Minister Vili Beroš over the accumulated problems in the healthcare sector and scandals related to the minister, Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Peđa Grbin said on Tuesday.

"The reasons for this move are clear to all citizens - the accumulated debts in the healthcare system resulted in the suspension of deliveries of medicines to hospitals at the height of the pandemic. There are also huge problems with the vaccination system, and we have learned of favourable treatment in the development of the cijepise.hr vaccination registration system," Grbin said.

"The development of this non-functioning system was awarded to people connected with Minister Beroš. There are also suspicious public procurement procedures at the Health Ministry such as one where IT services were awarded to a florist and tenders were fixed for former HDZ health ministers Andrija Hebrang and Neven Ljubičić, which have been cancelled but only after media started writing about them," he added.

"The Health Ministry is simply not functioning. There are no reforms, and the extent to which this affects people's lives could best be seen in a recent case at the Clinic for Tumors where citizens suffering from malignant diseases could not receive adequate care," Grbin said, naming Beroš as the person most responsible for this.

"We want Beroš to go because right now he has done nothing positive for the healthcare system, and all the negative things he has done pose a direct threat to people's health and lives," the SDP leader said. "His departure, however, will not be enough and we will all have to come to grips with the accumulated problems together."

Grbin said that a discussion on Beroš must be held within 30 days, and whether it will be held before or after the 16 May local elections "depends on Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković."

The initiative was signed by all opposition groups in parliament except the Croatian Sovereignists, but they have announced that they will vote in favour Beroš's resignation, Grbin said.

MOST's Nikola Grmoja said that his party had been warning for a long time about the problems faced by the healthcare system, including huge debts to drug wholesalers and long waiting lists.

"Beroš, of course, is not the only one to blame, the whole government is responsible. With our signatures we also want to encourage a reform of the healthcare system. All of us in the opposition agree that changes are necessary and should be launched urgently," Grmoja noted.

Sandra Benčić of the green-left We Can! platform said that they supported all the reasons for a no-confidence vote in Beroš, but stressed that the responsibility for the crisis in the healthcare system and the poor management of the coronavirus pandemic mostly lay with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

"None of the ministers, and certainly not Minister Beroš, makes decisions on their own. They were not chosen as competent persons in their departments but were chosen based on their loyalty to the prime minister who ultimately makes all decisions. The prime minister cannot be exonerated by his purported unawareness of the scandals for which we seek Beroš's resignation. That's why we ask whether the country can be run by a prime minister who does not know or who does not get key information," Benčić said.

Homeland Movement MP Stjepo Bartulica said that the Croatian healthcare system was too politicised. "There are countless problems and the possible resignation of Minister Beroš will not change things much. We have insisted from the start that the healthcare system should be governed by market principles because now we don't see any mechanisms that will bring about change to the system as this government resists structural reforms," he said.

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April 4, 2021- Following the 50th anniversary of the death of Većeslav Holjevac, the Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art exhibition on the former and historically significant mayor is an excellent opportunity to meet the guy who shaped Zagreb in the previous century.

Apart from the horror of the pandemic and earthquakes, 2020 was the 50th anniversary of the death of Većeslav Holjevac – who is considered to be one of the greatest mayors in Zagreb's history.

As ZG Portal reports, last month an exhibition dedicated to Holjevac started in the gallery of the Museum of Contemporary art, and you can view it until May 20.
The Zagreb of Većeslav Holjevac 1952 to 1963 – Urbanist Vision And Architectural Reach is an exhibition that takes a look at the eleven-year mandate of this significant mayor who transformed Zagreb in the post World War 2 era. Fifty themes and representative examples of urban and architectural achievements which were built, projected, or planned in Holjevac's term. This included three key Strategic urbanistic documents which played a key role in the development of Zagreb and were decided at that time.

The authors of the exhibition are architect Ivan Mlinar which conducted Urbanistic research on Zagreb in the time of Holjevac, and historian Hrvoje Klasić who was in charge of biographical research.

The exhibits were donated by the Museum of Contemporary Arts, Zagreb City Museum, Architecture Museum of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Faculty of Architecture on Zagreb University, Jadran Film, and Zagreb film studio.

The 35th Zagreb mayor and the total number of mayors in Zagreb throughout its history includes 52 names. Today, Većeslav Holjevac has his own avenue at the entrance to Most Slobode (Liberty bridge), which allows citizens to cross the Sava river and enter Novi Zagreb (New Zagreb), and the statue of Holjevac overlooks the area of Zagreb he built in what is commonly known as „Jump Over Sava“.

Apart from being mayor, Holjevac took various different roles in the former Republic of Yugoslavia. Known as a bold person with vision, competence, and bravery, he made Zagreb one of the most developed cities in Yugoslavia, and despite having various rivals, he enjoyed the support of Yugoslavian president Marshall Josip Broz Tito, which allowed him to make his projects a reality.

Learn more about Zagreb on our TC page.

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ZAGREB, 4 May, 2021 - Although planned for the beginning of this year, the new electronic toll collection system in Croatia will be put into operation as late as the end of 2025, the Večernji List newspaper wrote on Tuesday.

Once installed on the motorways managed by the HAC and Bina Istra companies, the toll will be charged automatically by an upgraded version of the electronic toll collection and number plate recognition system without vehicles having to stop at a toll booth.

To get most of the money needed for the new system, the government has decided to apply for EU funding, including this project in the national recovery and resilience programme 2021-2026. The project has been presented as being part of digitalisation and development of a competitive, sustainable and efficient transport and traffic system.

The value of the project is estimated at HRK 730 million (€96.9m), or HRK 912.6 million (€121.13m) including VAT.

Until the new system is put in place, HAC plans to switch to a cashless-only payment service at 18 of its 76 toll booths where the toll will be charged by the existing electronic toll system or paid by bank cards. These toll points normally see very little traffic, especially in wintertime, the newspaper said.

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ZAGREB, 4 May, 2021 - About 10% of the total of 555 towns and municipalities in Croatia already know who their mayors will be over the next four years because they are sole candidates running in the 16 May local elections.

The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) can already claim victory in four towns and 44 municipalities, as shown by the data on mayoral nominations available on the Electoral Commission's website.

This was also noted by the HDZ leader, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, on Monday. "At this point the HDZ has already won in 48 local government units, which speaks of the strength of the HDZ candidates and the strength of the party," he said.

The ruling party has thus already secured mayoral posts in four towns - Pakrac, Skradin, Nin and Hrvatska Kostajnica. The majority of municipalities where the HDZ candidates are running unopposed are located in eastern Osijek-Baranja County.

In addition to the HDZ, some other parties have also already notched victories.

The Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) has sole candidates in two municipalities, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Croatian People's Party (HNS) each have one such candidate and candidates of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) will face no opposition in three municipalities.

In the southern municipality of Muć, the present long-serving mayor, who is running as an independent, is also the sole candidate.

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