ZAGREB, 23 March, 2021 - Croatia expects a law to be adopted and technical preparations to be completed by June to enable the introduction of a digital green certificate proving that its holder has been vaccinated against COVID-19, has recovered from it, or has tested negative, an official said on Tuesday.

Andreja Metelko-Zgombić, the State Secretary for Europe, today took part in an informal conference of European affairs ministers, at which she stressed the importance of ensuring a stable, predictable and faster delivery of vaccines so that the common EU goal of inoculating 70% of the EU population by summer could be achieved.

She stressed that member-states should be equal in vaccine distribution, and that it was necessary to have a balanced approach to vaccine distribution as some countries currently have a lower vaccination rate due to delays in vaccine delivery, a statement said.

Metelko-Zgombić said that Croatia welcomed the European Commission's proposal for the introduction of digital green certificates that would facilitate free and safe travel within the EU.

She said that Zagreb "expects the adoption of the relevant legislative proposal and completion of technical preparations according to plan, by June, so that certificates could start to be used as soon as possible."

PM says Pfizer vaccine delivery to be stepped up

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said today that work was underway on transferring the delivery of some of the vaccine supplies from the fourth to the second quarter so that the dynamic of vaccination could be stepped up before summer and that the vaccine in question was expected to be the Pfizer vaccine.

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ZAGREB, 16 March, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday that Croatia would continue to administer the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine despite the fact that some 20 countries have suspended vaccination due to blood clotting in some patients.

Although more and more countries are suspending the use of AstraZeneca, Croatia will wait for the opinion of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

"The stand of professionals on this matter is that the benefits of vaccination outweigh any risks known to them at the moment," Plenković told the press in Daruvar. "None of them has pointed to us any risks which would lead to the conclusion that vaccination should stop."

Today Plenković took part in an online meeting with prime ministers Sebastian Kurz of Austria, Janez Janša of Slovenia, Boyko Borissov of Bulgaria, Andrej Babiš of the Czech Republic, and Arturs Karinš of Latvia.

The six EU member states will demand a corrective mechanism for vaccine distribution, Plenković said afterwards. "We agreed to jointly appeal for the creation of a corrective mechanism."

Thereby, he added, they wish to "compensate for the delay some countries have experienced due to the slower distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine."

EMA will meet on Thursday to discuss the information gathered and decide if said vaccine has contributed to thromboembolism in people who have received it.

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ZAGREB, 15 March, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday that a coordinated stance by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine should be known tomorrow, after several countries have temporarily suspended administering the vaccine due to the emergence of certain side effects.

"Our stance is that a sound test has to be conducted to determine if there are any reasons, based on the findings so far, for Croatia also to go in that direction. From what the experts are telling me, there are no such indications for the time being. Tomorrow, we will probably see a coordinated stance by EMA, which as far as I understand, will proceed cautiously, that is, continue testing the vaccine itself and continue with consultations with the company regarding any possible consequences of the vaccination," Plenković said ahead of a joint meeting of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) Presidency and National Council.

He added that the director of Croatia's HALMED drug regulator, Siniša Tomić, today participated in EMA meetings which discussed what to do next considering the emergence of several side effects that have been reported throughout Europe.

In reference to the procurement of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, Plenković said that Croatia would wait for it to be approved and that the EMA had launched the relevant procedure. In the meantime, we will obtain additional information and test the vaccine, he added.

Asked who made the decision on how many doses of a vaccine Croatia would order, Plenković said that the procurement of vaccines was launched in the summer before reports that AstraZeneca had had certain problems with clinical trials.

"The vaccine that at the time was way ahead in terms of testing and the fact that it could be finished and its approval sought was AstraZeneca's and we, like the majority of other countries, immediately ordered the largest quantity of that vaccine. Then we ordered the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines. Croatia ordered a total of 8.7 million doses," said Plenković, adding that no one could have known that problems would emerge in vaccine production when the initial orders were made.

Asked whether anyone would be held responsible for the poor estimate in procuring vaccines, he said that for the entire time the aim had been to protect citizens, which was why more doses had been ordered than Croatia needed.

"The problem has emerged because one company, from which we ordered the biggest quantity... now has a problem in delivering the vaccine to the entire European Union. If that problem didn't exist, the rate of inoculation in Croatia would be very high," he explained.

Asked why Croatia didn't order the largest quantity of the Pfizer vaccine, which was the option many countries used, he said that only a few countries did that and that Croatia's decision was based on an expert opinion at the time.

"Croatia has a population of four million people and can immunise a maximum 3.4 million, and how could it justify buying 20 million doses?" "We did everything that was logical and correct based on the information that was available at the time and as time is moving on, we are looking for other solutions, just like everyone else," he said.

He added that it was necessary to find a corrective mechanism to redistribute the vaccines.

As far as continuing inoculation with the AstraZeneca vaccine in Croatia is concerned, Plenković said that the experts would decide on that. "As far as I understand, EMA's stance is that when the risk and benefits are taken into account, at the moment it is better to be vaccinated," said Plenković.

With regard to the European initiative for a vaccination certificate, Plenković said that the European Commission would release its proposal on Wednesday and that that would enable free movement and the tourism season.

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ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - The ruling HDZ party's candidate for Zagreb Mayor, Davor Filipović, said on Thursday he was confident of his victory in the May local election because his model of running the city was based on responsible financial operations, transparent post-earthquake reconstruction and capital projects.

"I enjoy the strong support of the HDZ branch in Zagreb, (HDZ) president (Andrej) Plenković and the entire HDZ," Filipović said after a session of the party branch on Thursday evening.

Plenković, too, attended the session and the subsequent news conference but did not make any statements.

"All of the recent attacks against me are due to my political rivals being very nervous. I am confident that the new model of governance that I will offer, which puts emphasis on responsible financial operations, transparent reconstruction and capital projects, will be recognised by voters and that I will be elected mayor in May," said Filipović, adding that he would present the key elements of his platform in the next few weeks.

He went on to say that all information on how city budget funds are spent would be made available on the city administration's website, that the process of post-earthquake reconstruction would be fully transparent, and that heads of city departments and directors of city-owned companies would have to make their declarations of assets public.

Filipović also said that "all members of the Opposition" would be included in the supervision of public tenders for major projects.

Škoro will go down in history as the bravest Croatian politician

Commenting on reports that Homeland Movement leader Miroslav Škoro would run for Zagreb Mayor, Filipović said that "Škoro will go down in history as the bravest politician in our country."

"After summoning courage for months to announce his candidacy, it was only (on Wednesday), after he saw for himself that the late mayor Milan Bandić was buried, that he did so," said Filipović.

"Škoro is also known for having run stalls at Zagreb Advent, and we all know what one had to do to be allowed to operate stalls at the Christmas market. Having one stall is evidently not enough any more, one needs to run five, six or ten stalls. Zagreb residents know who charged the most expensive parking tickets by a hospital," Filipović said, an allusion to Škoro's having had a stake in a company operating a parking lot by Zagreb's Merkur hospital, which he eventually sold.

October 14, 2020 – Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković met with Mate Rimac, founder and CEO of Rimac Automobili company. At the meeting, the potential of the electric vehicles industry in Croatia was discussed.

As stated in the announcement of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, the investments planned by Rimac Automobili have a broader context for the development of local and national transport, as well as educational and research and development infrastructure.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković expressed his support for the development initiatives and investments of the company Rimac Automobili and announced institutional support to all investors who develop and apply the latest technologies in Croatia.

They also discussed projects that could be included in the list of projects for funding from upcoming assistance programs, including the EU Recovery and Resilience Fund and the new EU Multiannual Financial Framework.

Mate Rimac also presented the planned construction of the Campus, which will include the company's headquarters, modern research and development facilities, a smart factory of high-tech components and electric cars, and additional accompanying facilities. The investment in the Campus project will enable the realization of an increasing number of projects that the company is engaged in, as well as the serial production, and it is planned to create a total of 2,300 workplaces for highly educated professionals.

Furthermore, the company plans to build a Center for Testing Technology and Components for Electric Vehicles, which is necessary to meet the growing demand for the company's services and expand services to test battery systems, propulsion systems, and environmental friendliness of such systems.

Along with Plenković and Rimac, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Tomislav Ćorić, Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property Darko Horvat, and Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds Nataša Tramišak were also present at the meeting.

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ZAGREB, Sept 28, 2020 - PM Andrej Plenkovic has said that President Zoran Milanovic's invitation to him to hold talks is beside the point and that the new ambassadorial appointment will be the sole topic of their meeting, repeating, in the context of the JANAF affair, that "there are no untouchables" in investigations.

Since the JANAF graft scandal broke Milanovic and Plenkovic have been trading barbs, with the government having told Milanovic that he should stabilise, to which he has responded that he is more stable than Plenkovic, recalling the PM's having lunged at a member of parliament during a debate.

Asked to comment on Milanovic's statements, Plenkovic said during a visit to Sibenik on Monday: "One can see from afar that he has stabilised."

No untouchables

The PM repeated that the autonomy of state institutions was the main topic of the ongoing debate.

"We have to get back to the main topic - the autonomy of the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor, the Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime and police, the secrecy of preliminary probes and a truly uncompromised fight against corruption. That is the policy of our government, and if there is suspicion that someone has been involved in corruption, regardless of who they are, the party they belong to or their office - they have to answer for it," said the PM.

The government has been and will continue acting accordingly, in line with the law, he said, adding that "the public and all political actors have to realise that there are no untouchables. That is, as far as we are concerned, where the story begins and ends," he said.

Talks only on ambassadorial appointments

Asked by reporters if that meant that there would be no meeting to which President Milanovic had invited him, Plenkovic said that the invitation was beside the point.

"The only meeting we will have is one concerning the appointment of new ambassadors," he said.

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ZAGREB, Sept 28, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Monday visited the coastal city of Sibenik and after talks with mayor Zeljko Buric and county head Goran Pauk, he said he was glad local priority projects were either being implemented or prepared.

"I'm glad we will visit a new centre which will serve to educate young people who with their start-up businesses want to follow in the footsteps of our giants Infobit and Nanobit. The centre, a HRK 28 million investment, to be launched today, shows that the city and Sibenik-Knin County have been following the trends of the fourth industrial revolution, digital transformation and new technologies," Plenkovic said, adding that he was confident the recently amended law on foreign nationals would make Sibenik and Sibenik-Knin County attractive to digital nomads.

Damages should be paid to Varivode victims' families

As Plenkovic arrived in Sibenik after a visit to Varivode, a village in the Sibenik hinterland where he attended a commemoration for nine Serb civilians killed in the aftermath of the 1995 Operation Storm, reporters wanted to know if the victims' families would receive compensation.

"Court decisions awarding damages should be implemented, and as for responsibility, there is no statute of limitations on war crimes, so we expect the competent institutions to continue with their work. We have stepped up work on the prosecution of war crimes... a lot of time has passed and it is increasingly difficult to find evidence and witnesses. Both police and specialised prosecutorial offices will continue working on that," he said.

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ZAGREB, Sept 27, 2020 - President Zoran Milanovic has replied to the government's call for him to apologise to everyone he has insulted, saying ironically that he wants to apologise to those, notably government ministers, whom the prime minister and some of his associates exposed to undeserved loss of face.

"The President of the Republic apologises in good faith to all those, primarily ministers, whom the Prime Minister and some of his associates have exposed, through their indolence and inaction, to undeserved humiliation," Milanovic said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

The post appeared after on Saturday the government, in response to Milanovic's criticism of the work of investigative and judicial bodies in the JANAF scandal, and his statement that he would invite PM Andrej Plenkovic to a meeting on that topic said that "Milanovic should first apologise to all those he has been insulting, and then stablise."

Milanovic says in his post that he also apologises to citizens for ministers' luxury cars and undeclared assets.

"The President of the Republic also apologises to all citizens because the (Andrej Plenkovic) government for years included ministers who could not explain the origin of their luxury Mercedes cars or failed to declare their assets worth millions of kuna because they amassed such a fortune that they themselves were unable to count those assets. And all of that happened just because the Prime Minister did not want to know anything about it... regardless of how much others spoke or wrote about it, or warned him," Milanovic said.

Milanovic also attached to his post a link to an article by Deutsche Welle from 2014 under which the then German minister of the interior, a member of the CDU party, had information about an investigation against a member of parliament from the SPD party.

President again invites PM to a meeting 

Milanovic today again invited Plenkovic to a meeting at which they would discuss their opposing views on the functioning of state institutions in the context of the JANAF graft scandal.

"I once again invite the Prime Minister to a meeting, whenever it suits him. Lest it is forgotten," the president said in his Facebook post.

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ZAGREB, Sept 25, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday that he was not pleased that three of his ministers had visited the club of former JANAF CEO Dragan Kovacevic during the lockdown when all bars were closed and citizens were advised to avoid large gatherings. 

"I think the same as you do. You think I am thrilled? You should ask around a bit more about who was there and when. I don't know, but you look into it," Plenkovic said in response to questions from the press after a meeting of the parliamentary group of his Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party.

Asked if he considered it a problem that his ministers had gone to the club during the lockdown, he said that there were also some more senior officials who frequented the place.

"I asked all my ministers at the cabinet meeting and three of them said they had been there. They had also said this in public, which was the first time I heard about it. Why do you think that I as the prime minister should know where any of them has their lunch or dinner, who they socialise with. That's not realistic, it's beside the point," Plenkovic said.

He referred the press to the ministers Tomislav Coric, Oleg Butkovic and Josip Aladrovic to ask them to explain why they had gone there, noting that he did not know and that this was not something he should know.

He added that they should also ask the State Inspectorate why they had not checked the club. "As far as I could see in the media, they said they did not go there because that place is not registered as a catering establishment."

"What is very important in this whole story is the astonishment of the President and some of the former presidents who were quoted by some dailies yesterday as experts. That is a novelty to me and a much bigger thing than those who are astonished that the government, the State Attorney's Office, USKOK and police act in accordance with the law," the prime minister said, adding that at issue here was the separation of powers into three branches of government and compliance with the law. "That is crucial, of course, along with suspicions of corruption." 

Asked to comment on the opposition's initiative to set up a parliamentary inquiry commission to look into the influence of the executive branch on the work of independent judicial institutions, Plenkovic said that he did not need an inquiry commission to understand "who is astonished by what." He said that as soon as the opposition decides on the exact scope of that commission, the HDZ and their coalition partners would consider the proposal.

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ZAGREB, Sept 19, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Saturday that Standard & Poor's decision to affirm Croatia's credit rating proves that the country entered the corona crisis with a resilient economy and that the cabinet has adopted robust and timely measures to respond to the economic challenges.

The Standard & Poor's agency on Friday affirmed its 'BBB-/A-3' long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings on Croatia, with a stable outlook, pointing to fiscal and monetary measures which can alleviate the consequences of the corona crisis and thus thwart permanent damage to credit indicators.

The decisions prompted the government to state on Saturday that those evaluations show that the government did the right thing with its strong response to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The credit rating agency also confirms the importance of political stability in Croatia.

The agency notes that "the July 2020 parliamentary elections resulted in a strong mandate affirming the HDZ-led government."

The assessments made by S&P also prove that "Croatia entered the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic with a stable and resilient economy," Plenkovic was quoted as saying.

The S&P report on Croatia also shows that the government is pursuing "robust and timely measures" to keep jobs and help the economy to turn around, he added.

The report reflects trust in the continuation of the implementation of the government's measures aimed at a speedy economic recovery, also by using 22 billion euros which are made available to Croatia in the European Union's funds in the next seven years.

This also shows trust in Croatia's efforts to implement reforms on its journey towards the membership of the euro area, the premier said.

The government recalls that Croatia used to be below investment ratings from 2012 to 2019 and that in the term of the cabinet of PM Plenkovic, the country managed to regain the creditworthiness.

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