March the 17th, 2023 - This week in Croatian politics, we've had an HDZ politician accused of drink driving, causing an accident, defrauding an insurance company and also seeing three police officers arrested alongside himself. On top of that, we've had more talk about healthcare reforms, resignations, and freedom for the Murter mayor who spent municipal funds in an Austrian brothel. It's been a busy week.

Goran Jandrokovic says the ''institutions are doing their job'' after an HDZ prefect was accused of driving under the influence, causing an accident, faking the circumstances of said accident and then defrauding the involved insurance company for over 13,000 euros

Another day, another very uncomfortable scandal to deal with for HDZ. On the basis of the criminal complaint filed by PNUSKOK, USKOK has issued a decision on conducting an investigation against six Croatian citizens (born in 1970, 1976, 1985, 1968, 1989, and 1970 respectively) due to well-founded suspicion of criminal offenses of influence peddling, the abuse of positions of authority and assisting in the abuse of positions of authority.

The police, as well as USKOK, published a statement about HDZ's Vukovar-Srijem County Prefect Damir Dekanic.

''In addition to faking the circumstances of a traffic accident in which he was involved in order to avoid attracting any negative publicity, he also caused damage to an insurance company and obtained an improper financial benefit for himself,'' they wrote, adding that he was over the limit (under the influence of alcohol) and that he was driving 87.9 km/h when the traffic accident occurred.

"The criminal investigation established the suspicion that the 53-year-old county prefect in question was driving the county's official car under the influence of alcohol (1.44g/kg) at an illegal and unadjusted speed of 87.9 km/h in the area of Zupanja and Cerna, shortly after midnight on April the 17th, 2022. As a result of the above, he lost control of the steering wheel in Cerna and the vehicle went off the road and hit the front end of a car which had county registration plates owned by a 47-year-old woman, parked in front of a house, and then into the fence of the said house," the police wrote.

The belief is that, in order to avoid misdemeanor liability and thus the negative publicity that this event would have for him as a county prefect, Dekanic asked the owner of the damaged vehicle not to call the police and that she'd be compensated for the damage caused. Dekanic also allegedly called his cousin to arrange with him to lie to the police. Then three police officers were also arrested related to the accident.

The accident took place near Cerna last year and the saga goes on, and there's little point in rehashing the entire thing in this article, but the story has ruffled feathers within HDZ and within Croatian politics in general, with Milanovic and Plenkovic of course butting heads over it. Parliament Speaker Goran Jandrokovic has also thrown in some of the most famous last words in Croatian politics - that the ''institutions are doing their job''.

This line has been made the brunt of many a joke, because it appears to be code for ''nothing will ever be done about it, but please stop asking about it''.  Jandrokovic's recent comments on the arrest of Vukovar-Srijem prefect Damir Dekanic were that he ''couldn't say anything new about it'' and that ''the institutions are doing their job,'' adding that ''the investigation will show what exactly happened. The barty bodies will make the decisions. We'll see what happens next.'' Rather vague, one might say.

"It's important that the state bodies can work freely without any pressure and they'll come to adecision in accordance with the law, and if there's been a violation of the law, he will be sanctioned," he added, reported N1. He says that he himself did not ask the prefect about the traffic accident in question. "I didn't ask him about it, but I heard from other officials that he said he wasn't driving."

Marin Miletic steps down as the vice president of Most/Bridge

Croatian Parliamentarian Marin Miletic has stepped down as the vice president of Most, claiming that he is resigning irrevocably from the position. He stated that he decided on this move as a sign of "personal responsibility for the complete failure in the elections for local committees in Rijeka". Here's his statement translated in its entirety:

Dear all, I entered politics with a clean face and with a sense of great responsibility towards my voters. My Istrian and Rijeka people, the inhabitants of Kvarner, elected me to the Croatian Parliament to fight for the freedom of every single person and for the dignity of every human being. I've done this since the first day of my representation and will continue to do so until my last day. My fellow citizens of Rijeka also trusted me in the local elections by almost 12%, and Most had more than 10% of the support of the people of Rijeka. In the city council, we've been working with both dedication and strength.

Because I personally believe in political responsibility, in the importance of taking personal responsibility - I'm hereby informing the public and my fellow citizens of Rijeka that I am resigning irrevocably from the position of vice president of Most due to a complete failure in the elections for the local committees in Rijeka. I'll continue to humbly work in the Croatian Parliament, in Kvarner, in my beautiful Rijeka and wherever the party wants me tobe, to build a more beautiful and just Croatia. However, I can't demand high standards of morality from other people if I don't behave like that myself. That ' why I'm irrevocably resigning from the position of vice president of Most.

Keep me in your prayers," Miletic posted on Facebook.

Murter Mayor Tonci Turcinov is enjoying freedom once again after having spent municipality cash in an Austrian brothel

Yes, you did read that correctly. Whoever said Croatian politics was boring?

Murter's mayor Tonci Turcinov was released from custody this past week and photographed in Murter, standing in front of the municipality building. Several days ago, his lawyer Fran Olujic confirmed for Index that he was then due for release, after spending almost a month in pre-trial detention due to possible influence on witnesses.

Turcinov was released from custody one day before the deadline because the investigating judge had already questioned all twenty witnesses. Pixsell photographers snapped Turcinov while he was throwing some rubbish away and was standing in front of the Murter-Kornati municipality building. The proceedings against Turcinov continue and he will await his final verdict in freedom.

After receiving an initial police report, USKOK launched an investigation and requested detention for Turcinov, who was arrested for alleged illegalities with which he damaged the Municipality of Murter-Kornati for at least 60,000 euros. The prosecutor's office previously reported that it suspected that Turcinov had used municipal money for private purposes from the beginning of 2018 all the way until the middle of 2022, that is, to pay for travel expenses and other services and expenses in Croatia and abroad. In April 2019, Turcinov paid with said municipality money in a brothel in Austria. He even allegedly shamelessly used the official card of the Municipality of Murter, Telegram revealed. He spent 1,560 budgeted euros in the Austrian La Cocotte club.

He claimed that he used the card in the club by mistake because it was similar to his private card and that he then personally covered the cost of the municipal delegation's accommodation in the Schlosswirt Ebenthal hotel in Klagenfurt in order to indemnify the municipality. The hotel disputed the authenticity of the invoice to Telegram, so the portal announced that Turcinov had falsified an invoice for the expenses at the hotel in order to cover up the expenses of the Austrian brothel.

After the affair broke out in the media, he announced that he was resigning from his position of councilor in the county assembly, but also that, with the support of his associates and fellow residents, he would continue working on the projects he had started in the Municipality of Murter-Kornati. In other words, he remained the boss despite the lurid accusations against him.

Finance Minister Marko Primorac says Croatia doesn't need to worry about its banking system

Minister of Finance Marko Primorac recently spoke about the new package of government measures and other topics as a guest on HRT's Dnevnik. Following the deeply concerning cases of Credit Suisse and the collapse of the American bank Silicon Valley, he said that we here in Croatia need not worry about the situation with the banking system.

"We've been continuously pointing out that the measures that end up being adopted must be targeted, short-term, aimed at those who need help the most, and this is how we've structured all of our packages of measures so far. The total amount of this package of measures, which is comprehensive and targeted at people who need help the most, as well as at business owners, stands at one billion and 700 million euros. In addition to ensuring the continuity of our energy supply and acceptable energy prices, it will also ensure a more peaceful life for our business owners and for people in general,'' Primorac assured.

''Income support, first of all for groups that need this help, pensioners, people who only receive the minimum guaranteed help, child benefit, long-term unemployment, vulnerable groups who need help... rest assured that we'll provide it,'' he pointed out.

"HEP has borne a significant burden of this crisis. Of course, we're going to do everything, not only to keep HEP on its feet, but also to ensure the continuity of the healthy and stable operations of HEP. This isn't in dispute, the funds are being provided for this in the budget but the mechanism by which we will do this it depends on several factors that we are now discussing,'' he said, adding that he is also discussing this with the EC.

''We will not allow HEP's operations to be jeopardised in any way, and its projects such as GoGreen or solar power plants will have the total support of the government,'' he emphasised.

He said that the condition of the state treasury is standard. "Revenues are of course growing, financial appetites - expenditures, state costs are growing, aid packages are also costing. The state's finances are stable. We've been monitoring the developments within the tax system and designing the tax policy, and we will continue to do so. Our tax system is consumption-oriented, which is why it's dominantly related to the collection of value-added tax revenue," he said.

"Income tax is first and foremost the income of local units. I'd like the questions to be directed towards them a little bit more. Opposition MPs should talk to their mayors, if they're ready to bear that burden, let them, for example, reduce the surtax to the minimum level. If they're able to do that, then we'll consider some further measures in the context of income tax relief," he said.

Minister Primorac also commented on whether we here in Croatia should be worried about the situation with banks - referring to the cases of Credit Suisse and the collapse of the American bank Silicon Valley from California.

"What happened in America was due to highly specific circumstances. The Croatian banking system is adequately capitalised - compliant with Basel standards, for example, this wasn't the case in America. In the context of the discussions we held at the Council of EkoFin and the Eurogroup, of course it was an issue that worried us. According to the reports of the European Central Bank and all relevant stakeholders, we can all remain calm for now," he concluded.

Health Minister Vili Beros claims that 2400 Croatian doctors take home a higher monthly wage than Plenkovic

As they should.

Health Minister Vili Beros was a recent guest of Croatian Radio's Interview of the Week. It was during that appearance that he pointed out that the goal of this government is to reform the healthcare system. He then explained the steps of the reforms that are currently being planned. He announced the presentation of new preventive health examinations for next Friday, after the first amended laws are submitted to the parliamentary procedure.

He said that he isn't at all interested in his level of popularity as a minister and that he's only interested in his efficiency and what he does for the betterment of the healthcare system. "I'm interested in my efficiency and functionality in relation to the healthcare system, primarily in regard to patients, and then for all other parts of the healthcare system," said the minister.

A lot of remarks are coming in about the inefficiency and problems within the healthcare system, which the minister himself says. He recalled that on the first day after he was appointed minister, he was a guest on the Croatian Radio programme and spoke about the healthcare system, which is flawed.

"However, the coronavirus pandemic came and we lost a year and a half defending ourselves against the coronavirus. During that period, and even after that, we also found strength, opportunities, and the will to establish a certain reform. The reform that is being planned, which is founded and which has its own content and meaning, is precisely there to eliminate all these allegations. There are also a number of complaints about it, but I can say that we've also received praise for the functioning of the healthcare system," he added.

When asked whether he would continue his mandate, Minister Vili Beros replied that it was a difficult question to answer, but that he would do his best to implement the elements of the reform.

"I'll do my best to implement these elements in the context of our reform that we set as a task. I will tell you this - strengthening public health is our priority," said Beros. The minister added that the next Friday will be the presentation of new preventive health examinations, and he also referred to health literacy.

"We're talking about the development of health literacy, we already have some concrete results, an agreement with the Ministry of Education on that path. We need to develop health literacy from a young age," said Beros, adding that national preventive examinations for the early detection of numerous tumors are all that we really do in the context of prevention.

Considering that this is a pre-election year, Beros was asked whether or not it was a bit late for any reforms, to which the minister replied that such thoughts are calculative.

"I don't have the time or ability, nor am I the kind of person to calculate. I really want to establish those changes in the healthcare system that will be positive for everyone, especially for patients. My personal mission is to bring the patient back into focus," he explained, adding that government determination on this issue is strong.

"Things can always be better, let's not forget that I'm a doctor myself, and of course I understand their fight for higher salaries. But you have to look at the broader context, we're in the post-pandemic era. Since 2016, their incomes have grown by 43 percent. I will clearly answer their requests and listen to all of their objections," he said, adding that he suspects that there are other motives in the whole story.

"I wouldn't go to a protest, that's not the way to solve this problem... In the end, there are over 2,400 doctors in Croatia who have a higher salary than the prime minister. And I won't even tell you how many of them earn more than me, which doesn't even matter. I'm only saying it in the context of talking about the material rights of doctors," he said.

For more on Croatian politics, make sure to keep up with our dedicated section. Our Week in Croatian Politics articles are published every Friday.

March the 3rd, 2023 - This week in Croatian politics, we've had government failings and alleged GDPR violations, the plight faced by doctors and other healthcare professionals being ignored by the powers that be, and Plenkovic was put to the competency test.

The government's proposed "white list" of stores fails spectacularly, here's how

The state has proven once again that it likes to interfere in things it doesn't actually remotely understand, according to Branimir Perkovic. When it comes to thinks in which it should not be involved at all, it ultimately does badly. The most recent blunder of all is the famous so-called "white list" of stores and others operating within the trade sector, hastily drawn up to protect the government from having to deal too much with politically unpleasant price comparisons of stores in Croatia and other Eurozone countries.

This "application" (which it actually isn't) had been being announced for weeks by many at the helm of Croatian politics, primarily by Minister Davor Filipovic. On the eve of its presentation by Filipovic's ministry, a media conference was held where the project, which they persistently and wrongly referred to as an app, was presented.

"We think that this way of informing the public is very good and that white lists will help people make decisions when purchasing things and will be able to give confidence to retail chains that have decided to be transparent," Filipovic said the day before the price movement ''app'' was released to the public. In the weeks leading up to the site's launch, he repeatedly spoke about this, praising the project and emphasising its importance.

After no more than a few days, according to Filipovic's announcements, it became clear that practically nobody anywhere was making any purchase decisions based on the government app that isn't an app. For starters, although it's persistently presented as an "app", it's actually just a regular website. Someone in the Ministry of Economy should know that the apps are intended for use via mobile phones and tablets, and currently the so-called white list of Croatian traders exists only as a website.

Nobody uses the government website, it allegedly violates the law and it's impractical

The real problem is that it isn't useful at all, as evidenced by the low to no use of it. The ministry boasted that it was visited a total of 34,789 times from February the 17th to March the 2nd, but most of these visits (a massive 60 percent of them) were made in the first two days alone.

After the first seven days of the site being live, the daily number of visits dropped to less than 1000, and in the past seven days it is less than 700. It's obvious that the users have assessed that it isn't a useful tool, and most of don't return after visiting once. There was such a rush to create the "app" that the Electronic Communications Act and the General Data Protection Regulation, i.e. GDPR, were entirely forgotten. The state has therefore managed to do something new that allegedly violates the laws of that same state. Not only that, but the state would severely punish both private companies and individuals for the same omission.

In this way, the Personal Data Protection Agency (AZOP) will only inform the competent institutions, in this case the Ministry of Economy, that they should comply with the GDPR as soon as possible. Because as things currently stand, according to Croatian and European Union law, this app, site, or whatever it is, violates the privacy of its users.

"The analysis of the website found that the site does not have a cookie banner for consent to the processing of personal data, and stores two cookies on the equipment of the user/visitor of the site, which requires the prior consent of the user,'' replied the Agency for personal data protection upon receiving Telegram's inquiry about the GDPR issue.

It's hard to believe that all of the listed prices are the same in all branches of certain stores across the whole country

The truth of the data on it is also not being checked by anyone. Maybe the prices in the three retail chains (Konzum plus, KTC and Tommy) really are as they are stated on it, although it's quite hard to believe that the same price is valid for so many products throughout Croatia. Every regular store visitor has noticed that the price of a certain product is often not the same even in the same city/municipality in different stores of the same retail chain.

"That site was created only so that politicians would give the impression that they're doing something"

"The goal is to influence possible price increases and the trend of inflation, because when people see who is correct, they will know how to appreciate it," said Minister Filipovic when launching the "app". But the people ignored his little project. Money was spent, no effect was had.

"I don't see how a movement-price page can be relevant for anyone on any topic," IT expert and analyst Marko Rakar commented for Index. "That page was created only so that politicians would give the impression that they're doing something," he concluded.

An app that isn't app, that no one uses, that doesn't protect the privacy of its users and the accuracy of which is questionable. For "only" 26,000 euros. It could have been worse. In fact, there were worse projects, if we only take a trip back in time to the infamous CRO card saga, a more or less forgotten failure of the Tourism Ministry.

A vote of confidence (or no confidence, as the case could have been) in PM Andrej Plenkovic took place recently

The world of Croatian politics is a turbulent one, and Plenkovic is usually somewhere in the limelight. The vote of confidence in Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic confirmed recently that the majority of MPs remain behind him, and it also revealed that as many as seventeen MPs from the opposition that rather loudly initiated the proceedings in the first place didn't bother to show up for the vote at all.

Who among the opposition didn't even bother to come cast a vote?

Davor Bernardic (Social Democrats)
Erik Fabijanic (Social Democrats)
Katica Glamuzina (Social Democrats)
Rajko Ostojic (Social Democrats)
Sanja Udovic (Social Democrats)
Emil Daus (IDS)
Marin Lerotic (IDS)
Sinisa Hajdas Doncic (SDP)
Ante Kujundzic (Most/Bridge)
Zeljko Lenart (HSS)
Natalija Martincevic (Reformisti/Reformists)
Marijana Puljak (Centar/Centre)
Zeljko Sacic (Hrvatski suverenisti/Croatian sovereignists)
Dario Zurovec (Focus)
Vinko Grcic (Independent)
Stjepan Kovac (Independent)
Miroslav Skoro (Za pravednu hrvatsku/For a just Croatia)

Who abstained?

Milan Vrkljan (Za pravednu hrvatsku/For a just Croatia)

There were 74 opposition MPs in the parliament, and 56 of them raised their hands as a vote of no confidence in Plenkovic and his leadership as Prime Minister.

"Those who didn't even bother to turn up and aren't sick or have no other valid reason not to come will have to explain this within their own parties," said Pedja Grbin (SDP). "The ruling majority is still at 77, and that says we still have those who don't see, don't want to see, pretend not to see, or are completely aware of everything and don't really care what's happening to this country at all," he asserted.

Nikola Grmoja (Bridge/Most): We didn't even think it was possible to gather enough hands anyway

Regarding the fact that the opposition didn't come out in full force, Nikola Grmoja from Most pointed out that they didn't even think it was possible to gather enough hands to topple the prime minister anyway.

"A vote of no confidence is an instrument used by the opposition to warn people about the state of society, about all the scandals, the fact that Plenkovic's associates are trading in influence and that he himself is mentioned as the one in whose office Gabriela Zalac's controversial software was presented... So the opposition did everything it could could, we can't do more than this. If we could, then we would be the government," Grmoja pointed out, adding that this is the largest number of votes the opposition has collected in a vote for an initiative.

Bencic: They voted with their absenteeism

When asked what about those who didn't bother to come to vote, Sandra Bencic (We Can!/Mozemo!) said that not coming is justified for some who have a medical reason for not being present or were prevented by legitimate obligations. But those who don't have it, she added, voted by not attending anyway.

Bencic clarified to a journalist's question that Milan Vrkljan will no longer be invited to opposition meetings and agreements because he cannot participate as a member of the majority in opposition agreements.

The European Union provided the funds to help Croatia in its post-earthquake mess one year ago, but the government is only now ordering prefab housing for those affected by December 2020's Petrinja earthquake

The Ministry of Spatial Development, Construction and State Property has published the Draft Procurement Documentation in EOJN - Prior consultation with interested economic entities for the subject of procurement: The procurement of mobile and modular prefabricated/dismantled houses, including technical specifications.

What kind of housing has been ordered?

The plan is to acquire 500 wooden houses with a size of 25 m2 for one to two people and the same housing spanning 35 m2 for two to four people. The total estimated value of the procurement is 14 million euros (without VAT), and the open high-value public procurement procedure is divided into six groups that refer to the area of Sisak-Moslavina County.

As prescribed, the housing unit must have one space that serves as a kitchen and living room, then a bathroom and one or two bedrooms. It will be equipped with basic equipment - sanitary facilities, kitchen elements, basic appliances, such as a stove and refrigerator, a dining table, beds, and so on.

"Aside from the primary use for the purpose of temporarily taking care of the users whose houses were damaged during the Petrinja earthquake, the houses in question are planned to be moved and used for other purposes later. Accordingly, they must be made in such a way that they can be quickly dismantled and transported to another location without damage,'' reads the competent ministry's documentation preceding the public tender.

EU money has been available for this for more than a year now

Minister Branko Bacic also spoke about the initiation of the preliminary consultation procedure for the procurement of the aforementioned wooden mobile homes for the temporary accommodation of users at a recent government session. He invited Croatian manufacturers and builders of wooden prefabricated houses to participate in this consultation and assist in the procurement of such wooden houses.

The ministry also plans to finance the wooden houses with money from the European Union Solidarity Fund. The problem with the whole story is that this money has been available to Croatia for more than a year now, i.e. since December the 30th, 2021. Things move painfully slowly in Croatian politics, and it should be noted that volunteers had been erecting similar wooden houses in Banovina for several months after the earthquake, and the government is only now starting this process, years after the terrible Petrinja earthquake struck Central Croatia.

A temporary solution once again, and at the last minute before the chance to use EU money expires - again

Instead of wooden houses, which typically make for much more comfortable accommodation, many victims of the Petrinja earthquake are still living in small, cramped tin containers. The government is only now planning the acquisition of more comfortable accommodation, but again it's temporary. There isn't much talk about proper, permanent replacement houses yet.

In addition, the government found itself in a race against time, because the opportunity to spend European Union money from the Solidarity Fund expires in just four months, which means that the work must be completed by the end of June. If nothing else, the government at least, after more than two years, finally realised that tin containers and container settlements are an ugly picture that says everything about the non-existent state of the reconstruction ''process''.

The plight of doctors is still being ignored by the government, and the Croatian Medical Chamber is growing frustrated

The Croatian Medical Chamber (HLK) recently announced that a government decision on amendments to the Regulation on job titles and job complexity coefficients in public services is a clear message of them simply continuing to ignore requests from doctors and other healthcare professionals.

The aforementioned government decision on amendments to the Regulation on job titles and job complexity coefficients in public services, which again doesn't contain changes to the coefficients for the three groups of doctors that were agreed with the Ministry of Health last year in August, is a clear message of continuing to ignore doctors' requests, it is stated in the Chamber's press release.

HLK assesses that it is obvious that, for the time being, there's absolutely no political will to meet the demands of grossly underpaid and overworked doctors, and thus neither to make key decisions for the sustainability of the public health system and the remaining doctors in Croatia. The Chamber referred to the meeting back in August last year at the Ministry of Health, when doctors were promised concrete deadlines for correcting these coefficients.

Croatian doctors are demanding the urgent regulation of the salary coefficient system

The Croatian Chamber of Physicians, the Croatian Physicians' Union, the Coordination of Croatian Family Medicine and the Croatian Association of Hospital Physicians demanded urgent regulation of the existing system of salary coefficients for certain categories of physicians.

Medical associations demanded that the government equalise the coefficients of focused specialists with narrow specialists who specialised according to earlier rules, equalise the coefficients of doctors working in primary healthcare with doctors working in hospitals, and to raise the coefficients of residents as well.

Back in August of last year, HLK reported that it had agreed with the Ministry of Health that the deadline for correcting coefficients for doctors was to be the end of 2022, i.e. that these costs must be planned in the budget proposal for 2023. That deadline expired more than two months ago.

For more on Croatian politics, make sure to check out our dedicated section. For a weekly overview, keep an eye out for our Week in Croatian Politics articles which are published every Friday.

February the 17th, 2023 - This week in Croatian politics, we've had everything from building permit issues for politicians and yet another change to the Law on Reconstruction (years after the earthquakes of 2020) to calls for Health Minister Vili Beros to step down in light of yet another alleged HDZ-fuelled healthcare scandal.

Lovro Kuscevic's former adviser is now the head of the Conflict of Interest Commission

Index reports that Aleksandra Jozic Ilekovic has become the new president of the Conflict of Interest Commission, and the previous chief, Natasa Novakovic is leaving that body. The above was decided via a secret vote of the Croatian Parliament.

Jozic Ilekovic received the votes of 78 deputies, her opponent Natasa Novakovic, the former president of the aforementioned commission, received 50 votes, while Nike Nodilo-Lakos and Ines Pavlacic failed to receive a single vote. Novakovic didn't compete for the position of a member of the Commission, which is why she's totally leaving that body.

Before joining the Commission, Jozic Ilekovic held a number of different positions, for eight years she was a member of the State Election Commission (SEC), adviser to the Minister of Justice, senior administrative inspector of the Ministry of Justice, and deputy head of the Government Office for Legislation. In addition to all of the above, Jozic Ilekovic spent two years as an adviser to no less than Lovro Kuscevic, Andrej Plenkovic's former minister and political secretary of HDZ, who is (rather unsurprisingly) a multiple-time USKOK (Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime) suspect.

She allegedly showed leniency in cases involving members of the government

We mustn't forget that Lovro Kuscevic was indicted at the end of the year before last, having been accused of a series of embezzlements regarding some land on Brac from the time when he was in charge of the Municipality of Nerezisca, and he was also accused of preventing evidence coming to light.

In her four years already spent with the Commission for Conflict of Interest, Jozic Ilekovic showed what has been described as ''exceptional leniency'' in cases involving members of the current government.

This third convocation of the Commission will have weaker powers than the previous two, led by Dalija Oreskovic and Natasa Novakovic, and will also have a worse composition. Namely, Jozic Ilekovic is the only member of the current composition who is remaining within the Commission, while all the others have left that body.

Vinkovci's local administration is trying to avoid saying whether or not it granted Minister Mario Banozic a permit for the construction of a house there

Defence Minister Mario Banozic (HDZ) is currently in the process of building a house in Vinkovci. Index toured the parcel and found in the land registers an allegedly clear statement that there's no construction permit issued for it.

Andrea Topic reports that in order not to make a mistake and immediately conclude that Banozic is building his house there illegally, Index contacted the City of Vinkovci, more precisely the Administrative Department for Spatial Planning, Construction and Environmental Protection, which is the office that deals with issuing building permits. On Friday morning, Index sent an inquiry asking for information on whether construction is being done illegally on that lot.

But instead of providing a concrete answer like "yes, it's being built illegally, we didn't issue permits to the investor", or writing "no, everything is being done according to the law", the head of the office, Davor Mecanovic, decided - just five minutes before the end of his during working hours might we add - to copy and paste an excerpt from the Construction Act, send that, and then ignore any calls.

Here is the answer to the very specific question asked of the local authorities:

"Regarding your request about the issuing of a building permit and data on said building permit, we refer you to Articles 115 and 120 of the Construction Act'' before going into further details specified by those articles, which I won't go into now. They're readily available for those who want to read them, and it seems a strange, around-the-houses (quite literally in this case) response to a very straightforward question.

It should also be added that an inquiry was also sent out to the State Inspectorate. Maybe the City of Vinkovic will reveal the secret of Banozic's construction permit to them instead.

SDP wants Health Minister Vili Beros to step down from his position following recent scandals

SDP recently cited the tragic case of Lina Budak, a lawyer from Zagreb, who is claiming that she wasn't told that she had cancer for seven months. They are calling for the dismissal of Minister Vili Beros, who has been silent for two months now about the Budak case.

"We've been saying for a long time now that the healthcare system is falling apart, all because of the incompetence of Minister Vili Beros. The latest case in which an unfortunate woman was diagnosed with a malignant disease long after the acceptable time limit in which she should have found out further confirms this.

Ministers of health in HDZ Governments systematically ignore serious problems, they shift responsibility to other bodies and ignore all of the warnings, both from healthcare workers themselves and their patients. How many more situations like that of Mr. Matijanic and Mrs. Budak are needed for Minister Beros to realise that his policy of inaction is irreversibly leading to the collapse the once powerful Croatian healthcare system?" asked SDP.

"Cancer treatment outcomes are catastrophically bad, patients end up entering the system too late..."

"Less than two weeks ago, we warned of all the difficulties related to the treatment of oncological diseases across Croatia: treatment outcomes are catastrophically bad, patients are put into the system too late, making their prognosis even worse, and the treatment is much more expensive.

The Republic of Croatia has all the necessary documents to improve its level of oncology care, but Minister Beros isn't doing anything to improve it. Indeed, on the occasion of World Cancer Day, he said that he's painfully aware of the problems being faced within the oncology care system. Unfortunately, being "painfully aware" is insufficient comfort for all cancer patients, as well as for the healthcare workers trying to treat them.

The Croatian healthcare system is financially completely destabilised, and that's even without mentioning the lack of staff and continuous staff issues within a system in which an HDZ membership card is more important than expertise. Let's remind you that during the first year of Vili Beros' administration, public hospitals had a deficit of around 682 million kuna, and the total liabilities at the end of 2021 amounted to around 11.8 billion kuna. The mismanagement of the healthcare sector's finances just keeps on being repeated every year, and it seems that this is the only concrete health policy they implement," SDP writes.

"The time has come for Vili Beros to step down"

"The time for Minister Beros to step down came along time ago, and his media appearance recently only proves that he's completely incompetent for this position. The damage that HDZ has done to the healthcare system is absolutely enormous and will be felt by an increasing number of people every single day.

Healthcare cannot be managed by the enthusiasm and altruism of hard working medical professionals who continually try to replace the organisational mess by running around and putting out fires. It's perfecrtly clear who is responsible for the mess – Vili Beros and HDZ,'' concluded SDP's Health Council.

Croatian Parliament passes a new Law on Reconstruction, years after the Petrinja earthquake of December 2020

With a majority vote, the Croatian Parliament successfully passed the new Law on Reconstruction, which should simplify and speed up the reconstruction of the areas affected by the earthquakes (yes, those from back in 2020), with objections from part of the opposition to the reconstruction process carried out so far. 99 parliamentarians voted for the new Law, according to which the Reconstruction Fund and the Central State Office are attached to the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and State Property, 15 were against, and 16 abstained from voting entirely.

HDZ's amendment was accepted, which simplifies the procedure for removing destroyed buildings that have lost their mechanical resistance and stability to such an extent that their restoration is not possible, and reduces the number of participants required during the procedure for removing said destroyed buildings.

Before the vote on the Law on Reconstruction, part of the opposition repeated its objections to the previous renewal and to the Law itself. "Until now, there's been no political will for the reconstruction to take place, it simply wasn't Andrej Plenkovic's political priority," said Sandra Bencic. She believes that the new Law finally provides a normal framework for the reconstruction to be carried out if there's political will to do so.

"Now there can be no more excuses, the only thing that can stop the reconstruction is the prime minister himself and you who hold the majority for him. If we see that the reconstruction isn't going forward, you must all resign," Bencic told the ruling party. "Four ministers, four laws, and you treat people as if they were mere potatoes," said Anka Mrak Taritas, who also added that the new Law could be called a law of self-renewal or self-deception, or of mere temporary care.

Predrag Stromar (HNS) said that the Law is extremely necessary and will speed up all processes. "The funds at our disposal of one billion euros need to be spent urgently," he pointed out.

Marija Selak Raspudic (Most/Bridge) told the authorities to stop renewing the law and actually start restoring people's homes in the affected areas. Nikola Grmoja called on the opposition not to lend their hands to such a law again. "It's bad enough that we're treating the people of Banovina this way, but this government and the majority are simply not able to restore Banovina," Grmoja said.

A new approach to reconstruction and a simpler procedure

With the new approach to reconstruction, people will be paid the entire amount needed for the renovation or construction of a replacement house before the works on it begin. The creation of an analysis of the current state of the necessary renovation, the obligation to create a removal project for family houses, the technical and financial control of the project, and the need to meet special conservation conditions for structural renovation of buildings within a cultural-historical unit have now all been abolished.

The model of replacement of ownership rights instead of renovation and construction of replacement houses has been introduced, and the circle of persons with the right to renovation has been expanded to include relatives, spouses, common-law partners and life partners. The Agency for Legal Traffic and Real Estate Brokerage has been given the authority to build multi-apartment buildings and acquire real estate for temporary accommodation

Those affected will be given financial assistance for the removal of all destroyed buildings, including auxiliary and commercial ones, as well as assistance for project development costs. A more efficient and appropriate public procurement process is being introduced, and the highest prices for services and works will be determined by bodies that will be decided by the government. The transparency and visibility of the renovation process will be strengthened by creating a complete interactive online GIS application.

For more on Croatian politics, make sure to follow our dedicated section and keep an eye out for our Week in Croatian Politics articles which are published every Friday.

October the 28th, 2022 - This week in Croatian politics, we've had everything from insults, Slovenia's opinions on Croatian Schengen entry and wage increase proposals to healthcare reforms, Milanovic's latest actions, and Nancy Pelosi.

The Croatian Health Insurance Fund's HDZ boss referred to Croats as arrogant in his speech about healthcare not being free

The director of the HZZO, HDZ member Lucian Vukelic has referred to Croats as arrogant because "they think healthcare is free". The HDZ member at HZZO's helm also made sure to refer to himself as somewhat arrogant, too, just for good measure.

"We have a lot of relatives in America, as soon as you see them, they say: 'Thank God I'm healthy'. They say that because healthcare costs serious money in America. In America, you pay for your healthcare out of your own pocket. Our people here are arrogant, and I must say that even I was arrogant, people in Croatia say 'it's free'. It's not free. Healthcare in Croatia isn't free, healthcare in Croatia also costs money," he said.

Vukelic failed to really explain what the point of saying any of that actually was, but he seemed to imply that there is a widespread opinion across Croatia that healthcare somehow doesn't cost money. Moreover, Vukelic himself said that a third of Croats who work annually pay 26 billion kuna from their wages for basic health insurance, so they certainly know that healthcare isn't free.

Of course, there's also the question of what we actually get out of this healthcare we're paying for, which HDZ member Vukelic claims is expensive. It would perhaps be okay if, given that Vukelic is already more than happy to admit that we all pay dearly for our healthcare, he explained why every now and then people are forced to collect money for their treatment, why pregnant women sometimes have to take their own toilet paper to maternity hospitals with them, why the waiting times for often basic examinations are so long and why medical staff are leaving Croatia.

Only later, when asked by a journalist about his statement, did the HDZ member try to justify himself by calling himself arrogant as well, which is absolutely true, but it is also true that he called other people arrogant with the thesis that "our people say that healthcare is free", which honestly, they don't. When they see how much of their wage is shaved off for it each month, they definitely do not.

A man who takes home a monthly salary of over 18,000 kuna, who drives a 300,000 kuna Mercedes, who has an official car, who owned a 150,000 kuna 2001 Harley Davidson until 2019 and who claims his ''communication skills are excellent'' but makes sexist remarks on a TV show (Otvoreno) about women talking a lot should perhaps quiet down before calling others arrogant.

On the topic of healthcare, Health Minister Vili Beros has announced reforms to the system

Beros has presented his healthcare reform package, and it's extensive. Preventative examinations will be introduced, with pilot projects beginning next year in two Croatian counties, the number of specialisations in primary healthcare will be widened, there will be revisions for national preventative programmes for malignant diseases, a focus will be placed on melanoma, hospital system changes are set to come in, and there will be an emergency helicopter service fully established and up and running (or flying) by 2024.

This is just a little bit of what was presented and discussed. You can read more details in this article.

Are Croatia and Slovenia set to start falling out over Schengen entry?

The topic of Croatian Schengen entry is hotting up as the country's Eurozone accession rapidly approaches, but is neighbouring Slovenia ready to throw yet another spanner in the works? 

An expert in European Union law from the Faculty of Law in Maribor, Janja Hojnik, was a recent guest of Novi Dan on N1 where Croatia's entry into Schengen, among other things, was discussed. Hojnik noted that, as far as it seems, the Slovenian Government has not decided to block Croatia's entry into Schengen in any way.

"It has been determined that it is a mutual benefit for Croatia to enter the Schengen zone. The plan is for Slovenia to also ratify the agreement on Croatia's entry into Schengen," she said. She also commented on the announcement, which was published yesterday in the Ljubljana-based newspaper Delo, that Slovenia will issue a unilateral note stating that Croatia, by entering the Schengen area, accepts the arbitration ruling which was reached in the past regarding a territorial dispute.

"Recently, I was on Slovenian television and they asked two ministers for their comments on those statements and one minister said that it was all misinformation, and the Minister of Justice said that the Government hadn't even commented on it and that she knew nothing about it, that this statement should be confirmed in parliament, and there is no information from the Foreign Policy Committee about it. We can only speculate whether it will be brought to the Slovenian Government itself or to parliament. I think it would be a little unusual if it were inserted into the Act on Ratification. This is not the norm and the European Commission would probably ask Slovenia what it all means. I don't think that ratification with this condition is possible. I don't see any legal consequences to this. Such a statement can't be part of European Union law, and it doesn't have any legal consequences even in international law,'' explained Hojnik.

When speaking about the arbitration agreement between Slovenia and Croatia, she said that the task of politics is to resolve relations between neighbours, not to deepen them.

"I'd like Slovenia and Croatia to solve this problem themselves, without any external factors getting involved. Schengen is probably the last thing where Slovenia could have a veto. It is in Slovenia's interest that they aren't on an external border. I see it as the responsibility of politics to find an agreement,'' she said.

Plenkovic says he's going to regulate work on Sundays and raise the minimum wage. Again.

PM Andrej Plenkovic recently discussed the state of the economy, ongoing inflation, the consequences of the global coronavirus pandemic and of course, Russian aggression against Ukraine. Digitalisation and the green transition, two topics that keep coming up, were also touched on. Perhaps what attracted the most attention of all, however, were the discussions on banning (or should I say regulating) work on Sundays (remember that?) and of course, talk of raising the minumum wage. If you've spent any time following the domestic political scene, neither of the aforementioned and farily worn out topics will come as a surprise to you.

"We're going to regulate work on Sundays and the minimum wage will go up,'' says Plenkovic, who announced that his government would make several steps forward in both this and in other regards in the coming weeks. "We'll regulate work on Sundays and we've come up with a rational, well-balanced proposal," Plenkovic assured, adding that the minimum wage will also increase from next year to 4,220 kuna net, and a proposal for an additional tax on extra profits is being prepared in order to more fairly share the burden of the ongoing crisis. He also announced the continuation of the social dialogue with the trade unions, with whom intense conversations have been happening of late.

He noted that in just two months, the Republuc of Croatia will be among the fifteen countries in the world that are in NATO, the European Union, Schengen and the Eurozone, and that negotiations with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have been launched.

Plenkovic uses yet another opportunity to troll President Zoran Milanovic (SDP)

If you've spent any time in the City of Zagreb over the last few days, you'll have noticed that getting anywhere by road proved impossible for about 48 hours. The Crimea Platform Summit was being held right here in the Croatian capital, and for road users, the problems were very much in evidence. Plenkovic recently discussed how this extremely significant summit went, making no effort to hide his satisfaction with how it unfolded, and once again offering words of support to Ukraine.

It didn't stop there. If you follow Croatian politics, you'll know that Andrej Plenkovic (HDZ) and Zoran Milanovic (SDP), the Prime Minister and the President of Croatia, make sure to miss no chance to insult or troll each other, and this was no exception. Plenkovic made sure to make his feelings clear on Milanovic's earlier comments about Nancy Pelosi and the aforementioned summit.

"I think you're more than aware of just how important, useful and excellent an event like this that we organised actually is for the courageous, correct and moral foreign policy of the Croatian Government. This topic of whether or not someone went to Makarska just isn't the subject of my interest. He can explain that one himself,'' Plenkovic said, referencing Milanovic having gone to the aforementioned part of Central Dalmatia.

''I guess you can see who has been saying what over the past few years. I don't know what sort of rally he'll decide to go to, maybe he'll go to one Russia organises. Mrs. Pelosi didn't waste her time on irrelevant things, and neither did we," Prime Minister Plenkovic concluded, having made a very clear jab at Milanovic with the Russia comment. Gordan Grlic Radman, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, also touched on the topic of Milanovic, claiming that ''people are calling and asking what Croatia's position actually is'' in regard to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Nancy Pelosi praises Croatia for its humanity towards Ukraine and refers to the country as a leader in the diversification of energy sources

Nany Pelosi said that Croatia could offer Ukraine a lot owing to its relatively recent experience of war, and she also said that this country is a leader in the diversification of energy sources. Pelosi issued a warning that energy has become a means of blackmail in Russia's horrendous aggression against Ukraine, before thanking Croatia and Plenkovic for their leadership in the field of energy.

"Croatia is a small enough country to be resilient, but big enough to be significant in terms of security, democracy, peace and values," Pelosi believes, adding that the diversification of energy sources is helping to save planet Earth. Plenkovic said that with the construction of the LNG terminal on Krk, Croatia has now ''finally resolved" a four-decade-long debate in energy circles and that by deciding to increase its capacity, the government has "enabled Croatia to become an energy hub'' for natural gas.

Pelosi also said that the Croatian capital is the "perfect" place for the summit to be held, emphasising the very strong Croatian-Ukrainian friendship and the help that Zagreb continually provides to Kyiv as it goes through such terrible times.

For more on Croatian politics, make sure to keep up with our dedicated section, and keep an eye out for our A Week in Croatian Politics articles which are published each Friday.

October 19, 2022 - Health minister Vili Beros said that the current epidemiological situation in Croatia is relatively stable and stated that the total cost of the coronavirus epidemic is close to six billion kuna.

As Index writes, while reporting to the parliament on the measures taken by Croatia against the covid-19 epidemic from January 1 to August 31, 2022, Beros pointed out that for the sixteenth day in a row, we have recorded a decrease in the number of newly infected people per day. The drop is significant and perhaps unexpected because the school year has already started, said Beroš, but he also warned that the epidemic is still around us and we must be careful.

He added that the majority of hospitalised patients are still completely unvaccinated citizens or vaccinated only with the primary vaccine, which indicates the need to increase the vaccination rate of citizens. He also presented the information that the Croatian Institute for Health Insurance paid almost six billion kuna from compulsory health insurance funds from the beginning of the epidemic until August 31.

"Although it is a large figure in financial terms, it is important to see that it cannot be considered a cost but an investment in the health and treatment of our citizens, which ultimately affects the performance of other sectors such as tourism and the economy," said the minister.

State Secretary Marija Bubas referred to the problematic statements in the media about vaccination, which certain opposition parties support. "Protests by various interest groups with their destructive messages have not caused any political damage to the government, but they are certainly causing damage to our citizens, who are still weighing out if they want to get vaccinated," she said.

To the opposition's criticism that Croatia has failed in the fight against the epidemic with regard to the mortality rate, Beros replied that statistics should take into account the demographic picture of the population, comorbidity, and the percentage of vaccinated people, which is still insufficient. The representatives were also interested in how many vaccines were ordered, how many were used, and how much it all cost.

9.7 million doses were acquired, 5.3 million doses were used, 4.4 million doses were unused, of which 1.1 million were donated, and 426 thousand doses were destroyed having had expired, the minister stated. Vaccination against the coronavirus will become lifelong, that is, constant, and it is necessary to keep buying new doses, said Beros. He did not provide an answer about how much it cost, pointing out that the vaccine saves lives and that the price is not important in that context. "The government will pay for everything necessary to provide Croatian citizens with adequate medical care, including the vaccine, so I won't tell you how much it costs; someone else will answer. We don't pay for it from the system; it is procured through joint procurement by the European Commission," he said. 

The slogan should be changed from "get vaccinated, save others" to "get vaccinated, save the supplies," proposed Zvane Brumnic (Social Democrats). Beros also rejected Miro Bulj's (Most) claims that the Ministry of Health hides public purchases of medical equipment and vaccines like a snake its legs. "Everything is public and transparent, but there are elements such as the contract of the European Commission that do not allow us to communicate the price of the vaccine," he said.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 28 July 2022 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Thursday that the experts form Croatia's COVID-19 crisis management team were making all the necessary preparations to ensure the country was ready to address new epidemiological challenges in the autumn.

"The expert group from the COVID-19 crisis management team is analysing the current situation and possible scenarios in Croatia and in the European Union and is planning further steps in the preparation of the health care system and the implementation of the vaccination scheme against COVID-19," Beroš tweeted.

Croatia has been experiencing a new wave of highly infectious subvariants of coronavirus that have increased the share of positive cases among those tested to as much as 30%, with the daily number of new infections exceeding 1,000, the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) has said. 

Omicron subvariants BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5 are currently in circulation in Croatia, mostly affecting people aged 30-69 while children are less affected given the current school vacation, HZJZ officials have told Hina.

The new wave of the epidemic in Croatia started in late June, when the share of positive cases in the number of tested persons started to rise.

The largest number of new infections has been reported in the City of Zagreb and in Split-Dalmatia and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties, while Virovitica-Podravina County has the most favourable situation, with only three new cases having been reported.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 26 June 2022 - Health Minister Vili Beroš announced on Sunday that the new National Addiction Action Strategy was in its final stage of preparation.

The main aspects of the new strategy will be presented at a round table on addiction-related policies in Zagreb on Monday.

"The price of drug addiction, which is paid by the citizens of Croatia and other EU countries, is very high, given addiction-related allocations for public health," Beroš said on the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, observed on 26 June.

Drug addiction is one of the longest-standing threats to our society, directly and indirectly affecting the lives of millions of people, and the struggle against addiction requires a multidisciplinary and integrated approach at the national, local, and international levels, he said.

Within 30 days of the adoption of the strategy by parliament, the government will adopt an action plan for 2022-2026 specifying steps in the implementation of the defined measures, the Health Ministry said in a press release.

The European survey on smoking, drinking and drug use among students, cited in the press release, shows that Croatia is above the European average regarding the use of illegal substances among young people.

"Specifically, 21 percent of students said they have tried drugs at least once in their lives, mostly cannabis. As for the use of new psychoactive substances, Croatia is also above the European average, with 5.1 percent against 3.4 percent in the EU," the press release said.

Particularly alarming is the finding that 17 percent of 15-year-olds have tried marijuana at least once in their lives.

The negative trends in drug use and a dynamic market that produces new psychoactive substances at a great speed multiply health risks to citizens, which adversely affects the clinical picture of the nation, Beroš said.

He said that the National Strategy is consistent with the National Health Development Plan 2021-2027 and the reform measures promoting prevention and healthy lifestyle habits.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 21 June 2022 - The Croatian government on Tuesday sent an opinion to the parliament proposing that it should reject a motion by 32 opposition MPs to discuss giving Health Minister Vili Beroš a vote of no confidence.

In its opinion the government comments on allegations from the motion, describing them as unfounded and noting that there was no ground to vote no confidence in the health minister.

The government also sent the parliament a final bill on cultural councils and on the financing of public needs in culture, which envisages combining the laws on cultural councils, financing of public needs in culture and management of public institutions in culture in a single law to simplify and more efficiently regulate the area in question.

It also adopted four conclusions to help residents of earthquake-struck areas, extending a write-off of electricity bills for customers in earthquake-struck areas until the end of the year. The total cost of the measure is estimated at HRK 8 million.

The government also extended the toll-free use of A11 Zagreb-Sisak motorway as well as free train transport for residents of the earthquake-affected Sisak-Moslavina County and employees of services participating in the provision of assistance and removal of the consequences of the 2020 earthquakes in the county.

The amount of road tolls not to be collected in the next six months is estimated at HRK 16.5 million, including VAT, and the cost of free transport by train at some HRK 12 million.

The government also instructed the HRT public broadcaster to write off TV licence fees for residents of earthquake-struck areas.

For more, check out our politics section.

June the 19th, 2022 - The much-talked-about Croatian Immunology Institute is one step closer to coming to fruition now that the involved ministries have chosen a location for the future facility.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, through the joint efforts of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property and the Immunology Institute, a solution was reached by which the Rugvica business zone near Zagreb will become the permanent home of the new Croatian Immunology Institute, the Ministry of Health reported recently.

''In the context of legal challenges we faced with the previous chosen location, we've made a significant step forward in continuing this strategic project and have shown the strong will and determination of the Croatian Government, the Ministry of Health and the Croatian Immunology Institute to remain committed to revitalising the Immunology Institute as an important institution in this country,'' said Health Minister Beros on the occasion of this decision.

With this decision, the Municipality of Rugvica, as the owner, donates to the Croatian Immunological Institute, land in the Rugvica working zone - north, 69,761 m2 with a potential minimum minimum size of 20,000 m3 for the construction of an entire biological drug factory, the construction of a separate plant for antitoxins, and plants for the production of animal immunosera intended for both human and animal use with the primary purpose of producing antitoxins for the venom of European snakes.

This Decision was preceded by a statement from the State Attorney's Office of the Republic of Croatia, the Ministry of the Economy and Sustainable Development, and the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property found no legal obstacles in terms of Article 391 of the Property and Other Real Rights Act.

The construction of the entire factory will begin in no later than two years time, while the estimated construction time to the stage of functionality is nine months from the positive completion of the public tender, ie the selection of all of the contractors by tender. The method of construction of the production plant will be prefabricated modular segments of clean rooms designed and built outside the building and connected and formed inside the building, preceded by a series of preliminary works, from obtaining the necessary permits, evaluating the conceptual design and final design of the main project.

At the same time, a public tender has been prepared for publication for the construction of a new biopharmaceutical plant for the production of animal immunosera, ie drugs intended for both human and veterinary use with the primary purpose of producing antitoxins for European snake venom.

As the Croatian Immunology Institute has permits for animal testing, as well as breeding permits, there are some basic preconditions for building a plant for processing hyperimmune equine (horse) plasma within the new factory, as a complete unit in one location, where the processing, filling and equipping would take place. The existing resources on the farm in Sveta Nedelja will be used for all of the above.

"The Croatian Immunology Institute is the flagship of our science and deserves all possible interdepartmental efforts. The easiest thing in the world to do is to simply declare the end and throw in the towel at the first sign of any obstacles that understandably appeared due to the complexity of this project. We've chosen a harder but more correct way of going about things, we've taken an additional step forward and together we've found a solution to continue the revitalisation of the Croatian Immunology Institute.

In order to restore its reputation and further position it on the international map of leading manufacturers of vaccines for various purposes, as well as other products in demand in this market segment, in the first phase, vaccines against measles and rubella will be produced, as these are products needed by both the Croatian and world markets,'' concluded Minister Vili Beros, adding that this country now the opportunity to meet the preconditions for its own production of antitoxins, which would make Croatia self-sufficient in the production of snake antidote, which is especially in demand during the summer tourist season when bites are more common.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

May 21, 2022 - The costs of Croatian hospitals have skyrocketed. Bills are up to five times higher than last year, so an additional 3.5 billion kuna provided to the Croatian healthcare system from the recent rebalance of the state budget won't be enough to cover expenses.

Even after the rebalance of the state budget, which will provide the healthcare system with an additional three and a half billion kuna this year, which means that instead of the planned 32 billion it will now have 35 and a half billion kunas, hospital directors still say that this will be a difficult year with much uncertainty due to a lot of unknowns in expenses, reports Index.hr.

Namely, the recent warning of wholesalers that debts for medicines continue to grow despite last year's injection of 6.3 billion from the state budget and that they reached as much as six billion kunas, of which four billion are due, is the reason for this early rebalance. Two billion is intended for Croatian hospitals, and one and a half billion for the Croatian Health Insurance Fund for the settlement of old debts.

Bills are five times higher than last year

For now, it is certain to say that 35.5 billion kunas for this year will not cover all costs, which is confirmed by Croatian hospitals bills from the first four months of 2022. They stand out especially for energy, food, and medicine, which in some cases are five times higher than in the same period last year. Therefore, it is not surprising that the losses of the system on a monthly basis are between 400 and 500 million kunas, which could mean a hole in the health fund of at least five billion kunas by the end of the year.

"Our costs increased in the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year by a total of 5.52 percent. But worrying is the fact that energy costs increased the most, by as much as percent, or from 7.8 to 15 million kunas. The cost of food products grew by 8.4 percent, and compared to 2020 by 40 percent, which is a huge increase'', said Dr. Alen Ruzic, director of KBC Rijeka.

Medicines haven't kept the previous numbers of consumption either, so in the first four months, they were 7.76 percent more expensive than last year, and by almost 20 percent compared to 2020.

In the largest Croatian hospital, KBC Zagreb, costs increased by 6.5 percent or HRK 71 million from January to the end of April compared to the same period last year, as it increased from HRK 1,099 billion to HRK 1,171 billion.

During the pandemic, KB Dubrava was a COVID hospital, so some data from last year jumped out of the usual amounts, such as spending on drugs, which were lower than spending in previous years when the hospital was operating at full capacity for all patients. But it is clear that this hospital pays for the largest energy guild, especially the one for gas.

For more, check out our politics section.