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 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 27, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Monday responded to President Zoran Milanovic's accusations that the national COVID-19 response team was a counter-constitutional body, calling it repetition and recycling of topics.

"We already resolved this story in parliament. A repetition, recycling of topics," he told the press ahead of a meeting of his HDZ party's Presidency when asked to comment on Milanovic's statement.

Plenkovic said he did not know what the Constitutional Court would say in assessing if the laws whereby the team has been given powers to restrict fundamental rights and freedoms are in line with the constitution and if some of the team's decisions are in line with the constitution and the law.

Plenkovic said he had his opinion on that. Asked why this topic was being raised again, he urged the press to ask "him (Milanovic) and them."

"We are doing everything both constitutionally and legally, good both for health and the economy. That's the key difference between those who work to protect citizens' health, to ensure salaries, elections, a stable government, European funding and economic recovery, and those who complain," the prime minister said.

ZAGREB, July 24, 2020 - The new, 15th cabinet held its first meeting on Friday, with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic saying the main item on the agenda was a bill on the reconstruction of buildings damaged in the Zagreb area in the March earthquake.

"As we promised, the bill is on the agenda of the first government session after the election," he said.

Plenkovic said he expected Health Minister Vili Beros, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman and Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac "to cooperate closely in the days ahead so that we can conduct consultations to combine what we do with our ambition to achieve the best possible tourist season and communication with many other states which follow the epidemiological situation in all other states, including in Croatia."

ZAGREB, July 23, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday it was not his fault that MPs received the new government's programme late, and that the new parliament included plenty of sensitive MPs who had yet to toughen up.

"I'm satisfied with what we presented as our programme," he told press during a break in a parliamentary debate on his new cabinet's programme.

"As for this argument that the programme wasn't sent 25 days earlier, it's always been so. After parliament yesterday adopted a law on fewer ministries, the material was sent to parliament. Whether it was delivered at 8 or 9 a.m., it's not on me as the prime minister-designate. They knew the programme. It doesn't contain any particular surprises in relation to the (election) campaign," Plenkovic said after MPs claimed they received the programme too late to be able to examine it.

He said that during the debate none of the new MPs made him lose his temper, but noted that plenty of the new ones were quite sensitive and that they appealed to the deputy speaker for protection.

Plenkovic was referring to MPs who accused him of interrupting Tomislav Tomasevic of the green-left coalition during his address and warned deputy speaker Zeljko Reiner that Plenkovic was in breach of standing orders.

"They'll toughen up," said Plenkovic.

He went on to say that the support of 76 MPs for his cabinet was enough and that he would not persuade or lobby to ensure a broader support.

He said government members would be stripped of immunity when it came to corruption-related offences and that this was an important political statement and a contribution to the fight against corruption.

ZAGREB, July 23, 2020 - Prime Minister-designate Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that he was aware that expectations of reform were now much higher than before and that his new government would meet them.

"There will be huge challenges to public health, the economy and finance. Today we have more political experience and that will certainly make our work easier. The government is homogenous, the parliamentary majority is compact, and I count on 76 hands," Plenkovic told reporters outside parliament before presenting his new cabinet to lawmakers.

Asked if he believed his new team would endure the four-year term, Plenkovic said: "I don't know, it's hard for me to say. You start out with this ambition, but in the present time of crisis, challenges and unpredictable circumstances it is difficult to say. I would like it to be that way. We endured this past term, maybe not in the original composition, but we did a good and useful job for Croatia and the citizens gave us their trust for the next term."

Asked to comment on claims by some analysts that the EU funding would be used for some particular interests, Plenkovic said: "22 billion is 22 billion. We have a great responsibility to use this money well and I think it is good to have such a lever after a GDP fall of 10 percent as a result of the crisis (caused by the coronavirus pandemic). It would be much more difficult without it."

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%.

A 21 year old man has been apprehended for allegedly threatening PM Andrej Plenkovic on social media.

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