ZAGREB, Sept 17, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Thursday commented today's arrests and preliminary investigations in the JANAF oil pipeline operator, supporting the authorities in all their actions and saying that everyone found guilty would answer for their crimes.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, he said this was "yet another very clear message (that) the task of all bodies, notably judicial bodies, DORH, USKOK, PNUSKOK and the police, is to do an impartial and independent job and thoroughly investigate and prosecute everyone suspected of taking part in corruption activities."

"This message of the fight against corruption is constant and continuous," Plenkovic said, adding that his government was proving that it advocated fighting corruption through "concrete action."

He supported the State Prosecutor's Office (DORH), the USKOK anti-corruption office and the PNUSKOK police anti-corruption office "in all activities which are independent and free of any influence or pressure on their work.

"Everyone found guilty... will answer for a certain act," Plenkovic said, adding that he would say more about this morning's police operation after learning more about it.

"We have a principled position, very firm and clear, we stand behind it and that's will be our policy."

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, Sept 16, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told the parliament on Wednesday that currently there was no valid reason for the engagement of army troops to protect the country's border against illegal migrants.

Our policy is that the Croatian police protect the border, and more than 6,000 police officers safeguard the border around the cock, the premier said in response to a question by Bridge parliamentarian Miro Bulj, who asked during Question Time whether the authorities would deploy the military along the border because local inhabitants in the Dalmatian hinterland felt insecure due to the influx of illegal migrants.

Plenkovic said that for the time being there was no valid reason for the army to be deployed on the border.

However, he elaborated that in the event that "hypothetical circumstances were such that the job within the remit of the police might increase to such levels that they could not perform them, we can consider other possibilities."

Plenkovic confirmed that there was certain migratory pressure and that the efforts to reduce this pressure should be made on the borders between Greece and Turkey and possibly between Bulgaria and Turkey.

Answering questions from MPs, Finance Minister Zdravko Maric expressed his confidence that during the four-year term of the current government, that was inaugurated this July, Croatia could introduce the euro as its official currency.

Nothing will be done overnight, a lot of work lies ahead of us, he admitted.

PM against the revocation of mandatory fees for membership of chambers

Marijana Puljak of the Pametno party suggested that mandatory fees should be abolished for membership of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), the Croatian Chamber of Crafts and Trades (HOK), and for the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ), insisting that this move would reduce the huge tax burden on businesses.

In response to this suggestion, PM Plenkovic said that "there are certain lobbies that would like to see" that those chambers had nothing in their revenues, which would then create room for somebody else's activities.

Those chambers have some sense, and many other countries also have organisations like that, Plenkovic said and added that he believed that the costs of those chambers could be lessened.

In this context, he underscored that cost-cutting processes were being conducted within the HGK.

As for the taxation burden, Plenkovic recalled that his cabinet had to date reduced that burden by HRK 9 billion.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, Sept 16, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Wednesday dismissed the Bridge party's claim that he had promised President Emmanuel Macron that Zagreb would buy French fighter jets in return for the European Council's decision that €22.5 billion would be set aside for Croatia.

"This is an absurdity," Plenkovic said during Question Time in parliament after Bridge deputy Zvonimir Troskot asked if the premier had promised that Croatia would purchase French multipurpose military aircraft in exchange for EU grants.

Plenkovic said he was "fascinated by debutant lawmakers", calling on Troskot not to disseminate false and incorrect claims which, he added, made him "less credible" as a parliamentary deputy.

The premier also criticised the opposition Bridge party for pursuing "coffee-house politics" and for being ignorant.

He recalled that Croatia received four bids for the procurement of fighter jets.

Earlier this month the government stated that four bids for the procurement of fighter jets were received from Sweden, the USA, France, and Israel. Now the process of evaluation commences, and the interdepartmental commission on the purchase of military aircraft will recommend the best bid by December 12.

Sweden has offered its new Gripen C/D model, while the United States has offered its new F-16 block 70, France has offered its used Rafal model, and Israel its used F-16 block 30 fighter jets.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, Sept 16, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in parliament on Wednesday that President Zoran Milanovic was engaging in activism against the national COVID-19 response team.

Commenting on Milanovic's statement that the Constitutional Court got cold feet when it decided that all decisions made by the COVID-19 team were in line with the Constitution, except for a Sunday trading ban, Plenkovic said: "What do you think, do those who voted against have an opposed political agenda, engaging in some sort of activism, while the others acted in line with the law and Constitution, including the judges?".

He then answered affirmatively when asked if he believed that President Milanovic was the activist leading attacks on the COVID-19 team, adding that "a few people have stirred up the debate and this is one of the activist groups that have been identified."

"Everything is clear," he said when asked if the president and the constitutional court judges who voted against the court's decision were connected.

"I have no idea what inspired those judges to vote against... I couldn't care less. You have Article 16 of the Constitution, the law was adopted, the government formed the team, the team made decisions, the coronavirus was defeated in May, we organised elections before the second wave, the tourist season was 50% of the projections, and I find that good," he said.

"Those who say that the Constitutional Court got cold feet, why didn't they address the court themselves," he said, adding that he was referring to Milanovic.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, September 8, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday that the intentional calculated risk in relaxing epidemiological measures enabled the reactivation of the economy and that the policy of reopening the country was based on expert estimates.

Asked by reporters on the margins of a convention of Croatian exporters whether the government's calculated risk helped the tourism sector, while on the other hand it was detrimental to exporters due to a surge in new cases in the recent weeks, which was why some countries put Croatia on their quarantine lists, Plenkovic answered that without the reopening of the borders, there would not have been seven million visitors this summer and Croatia would not have achieved 50% of last year's tourist industry turnover.

There would have been a complete lockdown and quarantine if there had been no calculated risk, Plenkovic said, recalling that currently no government in the world is in favour of a lockdown.

Commenting on the official extension of job retention measures and other forms of assistance to the economy affected by the corona crisis, the premier said that it was important to provide fast and ample help, and the state authorities had done so this spring when many businesses had been hit by the crisis.

Calibrating assistance by size of damage suffered

Now we are calibrating the assistance, there are measures for micro businesses, a shortened working week and assistance to the activities worst hit by the crisis, Plenkovic said, adding that he believed that his cabinet did it right.

The schemes and grants which are estimated to cost 800 million kuna are "an investment in the future of the Croatian economy and provides a start for the recovery," he said.

Asked about the possible extension of moratoriums on enforced debt collection, Plenkovic said that the government had provided maximum assistance, however, loans and bills must be settled.

"Measures that can alleviate the situation are in place while on the other hand, there is no place for measures that can turn the whole situation into an endless write-off of debts, he explained.

Plenkovic welcomed today's announcement that the local Infinum company and Germany's Porsche Digital would invest €10 million in a joint company that will build digital products for the auto industry, and hoped that more similar companies will find their place in Croatia in the future.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

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.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

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.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

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 - On the eve of Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and War Veterans Day and the central commemoration in Knin, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic laid wreaths at Zagreb's central Mirogoj cemetery with the message that the government is paying tribute to all who gave the most for the country's freedom.

PM Plenkovic, Deputy Parliament Speaker Zeljko Reiner and the head of the prime minister's office, Zvonimir Frka-Petesic, laid wreaths at the Wall of Pain monument, the Central Cross in the Alley of Fallen Croatian Homeland War Defenders, the grave of Croatia's first president Franjo Tudjman, and at the common grave of unidentified victims of the 1991-95 war.

Plenkovic said the government especially remembered the operation that enabled the liberation of the then occupied areas and helped create conditions for the subsequent reintegration of the Croatian Danube River region and restoration of Croatia's territorial integrity.

"That is why I'm glad that tomorrow we will all be in Knin to mark the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm," he 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.