ZAGREB, 22 March 2022 - Croatia on Tuesday marked the second anniversary of the devastating 5.5-strong earthquake that hit the capital city of Zagreb and northwestern parts of the country at 0624 hours on 22 March 2020 and killed a 15-year-old girl, while 27 people were injured.

The natural disaster caused extensive damage estimated at HRK 86.4 billion (€11.5 billion).

Croatia was granted €683.7 million for earthquake relief according to the provisions of the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF).

As many as 25,0000 properties were destroyed or severely damaged, including buildings housing hospital and schools in the city centre as well as Government House and Parliament Hall.

Although some headway has been made in the post-quake reconstruction, residents in the quake-affected areas and the general public are eagerly waiting for the reconstruction to be in full swing.

The Reconstruction Fund explains that that public procurement procedures and designing had taken more than than initially planned.

This spring, the reconstruction and retrofitting of over 120 blocks of flats and family homes are scheduled to start.

Also the repairs that do not include seismic retrofitting are to be done to roughly 500 residential buildings this year.

Furthermore the authorities have recently started disbursing the compensation to the owners who have already rebuilt their quake-damaged properties on their own initiative.

Majority of school buildings reconstructed

So far, most of the school buildings affected by the tremor have already been reconstructed.

The Medical School has been awarded HRK 377 million for the rebuilding and upgrade of its five buildings.

Also, the Croatian Parliament's building has been awarded HRK 87.6 million for its post-quake reconstruction.

€266m contracts inked for Zagreb health institutions' post-quake reconstruction

A total of 43 contracts, worth 1.98 billion kuna, have been signed so far for the post-quake reconstruction of health institutions in Zagreb and its surroundings, since the 22 March 2020  earthquake, according to the data provided recently by the Health Ministry.

€466m for renovation of historical and cultural landmarks, places of worship

The ministry of culture and media has reported that the contracts have been concluded on the reconstruction of 149 projects concerning listed building housing museums, churches and other important institutions, and HRK 3.5 billion has been put at the disposal by the Solidarity Fund for this purpose.

Year-long extension of deadline for using EU quake relief

Croatia will be able to use the relief granted from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) for earthquake reconstruction in Zagreb until June 2023, which has been adjusted to the period for the use of the allocation for the 6.4-strong earthquake that hit the area of Banovina in Sisak Moslavina County on 29 December 2020 and progressive damage caused.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

ZAGREB, 11 March (2022) - A €2.1 million contract was signed on Friday for a project that will enable Zagreb Faculty of Science (PMF) researchers to conduct geophysical and seismological research in Croatia's earthquake areas and develop an earthquake prediction programme.

The agreement was signed by Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Nataša Tramišak and PMF dean Mirko Planinić.

The project will be financed as part of a local development and poverty reduction programme in Norway's 2014-21 financial mechanism in the amount of €1.8 million, while €317,600 will come from Croatia's national funds.

The project will be carried out by PMF in partnership with Norway's Bergen University. It will upgrade the earthquake risk estimate system in Croatia and contribute to enhancing disaster readiness plans and mitigating the danger of earthquakes.

For more, check out our politics section.

January 1, 2022 - The devastating Makarska earthquake of 1962 damaged or destroyed 12,000 homes. Within 17 months everything had been rebuilt. What was possible in Makarska in 1962 is not possible in Zagreb and Petrinja in 2020 - why?

I normally like to start a new year with a positive, and there are certainly lots of positives in Croatia. As I wrote recently in Improving Croatian Tourism: 8 Key TCN Areas of Focus for 2022, TCN will be focusing on several initiatives this year, several of which I look forward to discussing with Minister of Tourism, Nikolina Brnjac, at our meeting next week. And walking around Zagreb last night was certainly a happy and festive experience, as people put the troubled year of 2021 behind them and hope for a brighter 2022. 

But I could just not get the images and conversations of those poor people I saw and talked to in Majske Poljane and Petrinja on the first anniversary of the terrible earthquakes that wreaked so much damage. You can read more in Petrinja Earthquake 1 Year On: Politics, Pain, Problems, But Progress? New Year celebrations in those temporary containers and forgotten, unrenovated houses were probably a lot more muted. 

I know that Croatia is very bureaucratic, but is it really so hard to cut through the red tape for a national emergency, such as this? This in a country where the digital nomad permit went from being announced by the Prime Minister in August to becoming law less than 5 months later. 

And then someone sent me this article by Boris Dezulovic, which was published last September. Among several issues, Dezulovic looks at the emergency response and complete renovation after the Makarska earthquake in 1962. Some 12,000 homes badly damaged or destroyed. Makarska completely rebuilt 17 months later. And there was not a little irony in the fact that the current Prime Minister (who was born 8 years after the Makarska earthquake) went to school there - his mother probably experienced the quake and aftermath and rebuild. 

(8-year-old Ivo returned to a renovated home in Zaostrog in May, 1962)

Thanks to Lauren Simmonds for the translation of the article, which is one of the best things I read last year. And at the end, an interview I did a couple of years ago with a friend in nearby Zaostrog, who described the Makarska earthquake and emergency response through the eyes of an 8-year-old who experienced it. An 8-Year-Old's Memory of the Dalmatian Earthquake of 1962.

****

Asked when the first house will be renovated following the Zagreb earthquake of March 2020, the prime minister replied, quoting: "It will happen when it's ready. It will be resolved.'' Almost a year and a half since the Zagreb earthquake. Five hundred and twenty days. Five hundred. And. Twenty. Days. "Nowhere in the world do things move so quickly when it comes to such damage." Nowhere? Really?

On Sunday, March the 22nd, 2020, shortly after 06:00 in the morning, Zagreb was hit by a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale. One person died in the devastating natural disaster, and about twelve thousand buildings were damaged: red stickers, as unusable and intended for demolition, and yellow, as temporarily unusable, were received by a total of nineteen hundred buildings.

On the sixth day after the quake, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković toured the damaged city. Asked by reporters how, given the lack of builders, he would solve the problem of urgent reconstruction and demolition of damaged houses, Prime Minister Plenković replied that, and I quote, "the Ministry of Construction will solve it, they will prepare a law on reconstruction."

They didn't rush when it came to passing that law because - as Prime Minister Plenković explained in Parliament - "such a long-term law cannot and must not be passed hastily". And it it most definitely hasn't been: the Law on the Reconstruction of the City of Zagreb was passed by the Parliament almost half a year later. In November - seven and a half months after the earthquake - the Fund for Reconstruction of the City of Zagreb was established, tasked to, and I quote, "perform professional and other tasks of the preparation, organisation and implementation of the reconstruction of buildings damaged by the earthquake, and monitor the implementation of reconstruction measures." The Reconstruction Act. The Reconstruction Fund. The preparation, organisation and implementation of said reconstruction. Seven and a half months after the earthquake.

"This is a symbol of the beginning of the renewal of Zagreb!"

Damir Vanđelić, the then director of the Reconstruction Fund, announced the above on TV, referencing Ruža Sever's house in Gornja Dubrava, the first badly damaged building to be demolished in this utterly magnificent renovation project. The owner of the house could not share the same enthusiasm: her house, "a symbol of the beginning of the reconstruction of Zagreb", was demolished on June the 10th, 2021 - a whole year and three months after the earthquake! - and this poor woman actually died in the meantime.

Until the conclusion of this text, the Ministry of Construction had received about a thousand and a half requests for the removal of severely damaged buildings: of these one and a half thousand requests, the Ministry approved as many as twenty-one. How many have been demolished to date, you might add? Well, if we add in Ruža's house in Dubrava, that figure is exactly three in total. Three demolished houses. Of a thousand and a half. Three. It's much easier to add up the renovated ones: out of twelve thousand damaged buildings, the Ministry approved the renovation of three hundred and sixty of them. A total of zero have been renovated to this date. Or, if it's easier for you, none. Not a single one. Seventeen months since the earthquake.

Knowing that out of as much as five billion and one hundred million kuna from the European Solidarity Fund, Croatia has so far spent only one and a half million in eight months, it is no longer a question of why only one and a half million, but the question of what those funds have even gone to. The President of the Zagreb Assembly, Joško Klisović, therefore announced the other day that a proposal would be urgently taken to temporarily take care of people still being affected by the earthquake in city apartments. A temporary measure. By urgent procedure. Last Wednesday. Seventeen months after the fact.

Finally, aware of minor difficulties in the reconstruction process, Prime Minister Plenković announced an amendment to the Law on the Reconstruction of the City of Zagreb. True, they did need to wait a little while, because Parliament was on a summer break, but "such a long-term law" you know, "cannot and must not be passed quickly'' anyway.

"We will correct it all and the matter will accelerate," Plenković explained briefly, and when asked by a journalist if it all might be a little too late, he replied, quoting: "Well, it will be resolved. Once we look into it, the dynamics of reconstruction will start going. Nowhere in the world do things move so quickly when it comes to such damage." Asked when the first house will be renovated, he replied, quoting: "It will happen when it's ready."

It will happen when it's ready. It will be resolved. Almost a year and a half. Five hundred and twenty days. Five hundred. And. Twenty. Days. "Nowhere in the world do things move so quickly when it comes to such damage." Nowhere? Really?

On Sunday, January the 7th, 1962, Makarska was hit by a strong earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale. Four days later, on January the 11th, shortly after 06:00 in the morning, it was topped off by another, catastrophic earthquake of magnitude 6.1 on the Richter scale. In those devastating earthquakes, thousands of tonnes of boulders from Biokovo became loose and fell, ending the lives of two people, about three hundred houses were razed to the ground, and another five hundred and fifty were about to join them: a total of twelve thousand houses were damaged, with almost three thousand beyond repair, just like in Zagreb sixty years later.

Less than an hour and a half after the earthquake, the municipal headquarters decided to evacuate Makarska, and twenty military and Jadrolinija ships - the Adriatic Highway was not yet there - were transporting people to the safety of Split all day. By the end of the day, a thousand and a half tents had arrived by Istranka boat, and two large camps were set up outside the city and four supply centres were organised: by that very evening, only two hundred people remained in the entire city. A total of nineteen thousand people were evacuated from the entire district, and six thousand from Makarska itself, placed in Split, Zagreb and other cities, where children from the affected families were immediately included in school classes so as to not miss out on their education.

On the sixth day, President Josip Broz Tito visited Makarska and other damaged places. When asked by local government representatives how, given the lack of builders, they'd solve the problem of the urgent renovation and demolition of the damaged houses, President Tito replied that, and I quote, "young people and all able-bodied men should be returned immediately to help rebuild."

Ten days later, the County Board organised the first working groups and brigades, and formed the District Headquarters, and the Committee for Reconstruction and Assistance to Earthquake Victims was established, headed by Ivan Gac. The Urbanism Council of the Makarska National Committee then accepted the proposal of geological experts on the location of hotel pavilions for the temporary accommodation of earthquake victims, which would then be intended for tourism: in Makarska and Tucepi, six hundred beds were set up, and in Podgora, Igrane and Zivogosce, four hundred also appeared. The Government of the People's Republic of Croatia, led by Jakov Blažević, then made an urgent decision to grant favourable long-term loans to help the economy of the Makarska Riviera.

And all that by the end of the month. Twenty days since the earthquake.

By July 1962, about four billion dinars of aid had been collected from the budgets of the Federation and the People's Republic of Croatia, and from companies and individuals, and another billion and one hundred million dinars had been reserved for the local economy in the affected area. Considering that the old settlements near Biokovo had suffered the most, a decision was made not to rebuild those old villages, but to instead move the population down, so they'd be along the coast. People received favourable loans, municipalities provided land, building permits and projects without all of the classic, toilsome bureaucratic formalities and taxes, and local cooperatives provided construction loans. By the summer of 1962, about one hundred and eighty building permits had been issued in Podgora alone, between the sea and the newly laid Adriatic Highway.

Only six months after the earthquake had struck - it was announced that more than seven hundred apartments had already been renovated in the Makarska district, about as many were still in the process of renovation, five hundred new apartments were under construction, and another thousand were being prepared. Seven hundred renovated apartments. So much more were also in the process of renewal. Five hundred were under construction. Preparations were underway for another thousand. Six months after the earthquake. Six months.

Finally, after seventeen months, on June the 8th, 1963 - the five hundred and twentieth day since the earthquake! - in Slobodna Dalmacija, a short news item was published that "there are no more traces of last year's earthquake on the coast in Makarska": "The entire pavement spanning two hundred and fifty metres has been renovated and covered with brand new white stone slabs."

It was, as one would say, "the symbol of the end of the reconstruction of Makarska". Five hundred and twenty days. Seventeen months. In Makarska. Before modern mechanisation, before the Internet, before the highway, before tourism. Almost sixty years ago.

There is also someone who remembers it particularly well, even though he was born eight years after the earthquake struck. Namely, his mother is from Makarska, where he himself lived as a boy, and his grandfather Marin and grandmother Mila from Podgora often told him about that terrible day when Biokovo collapsed. Just like those children from back in 1962, he went from Makarska to primary school in Zagreb, and later made a nice political career there and even became the prime minister. When he himself experienced a terrible earthquake in Zagreb many years later, the newspapers were spilling over with his words:

"Nowhere in the world," he said confidently at the time, "do things move so quickly when it comes to such damage."

The original artice appeared in Croatian in Portal Novosti on September 3, 2021.

Read more An 8-Year-Old's Memory of the Dalmatian Earthquake of 1962.

December the 30th, 2021 - Is the Republic of Croatia experiencing more earthquakes and tremors than before? With the natural disaster which struck Petrinja on the 29th of December 2020 now one entire year behind us, seismologist Kresimir Kuk seeks to explain a few things about one of Mother Nature's most unpredictable and devastating events - earthquakes.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, one year and one day ago, the Central Croatian region of Banovina was hit by a devastating earthquake of magnitude 6.2 on the Richter scale with an epicentre located a mere 5 kilometres southwest of Petrinja. A year later the ground is still shaking and Petrinja is still suffering terribly as a result.

''The expected usual phenomenon that follows after each strong earthquake has shown itself to be true, a series of subsequent earthquakes have been going on for a long time in Petrinja now. The stronger the main earthquake, the longer the subsequent series lasts, and it contains earthquakes that are stronger considering the strength of the main one,'' Kresimir Kuk, a well known Croatian seismologist, pointed out when in conversation with HRT.

''The southern coast, in fact the whole of southern Croatia is seismically more endangered than the rest of Croatia is, stronger earthquakes are possible there. In a longer period of time there are earthquakes that are also more frequent. There may be earthquakes which strike with an intensity of about 7 on the Richter scale down in Dubrovnik, and they've happened in the past,'' added Kresimir Kuk.

''Now they're monitored more in this country, and when looking at some sort of longer period of time, then no, we couldn't really say that global seismic activity on earth has intensified. There are always periods when such activity is more pronounced and when it's weaker, both in this country and everywhere else. The fact is that now after these earthquakes, both in Zagreb and Petrinja, earthquakes that are located much further away from us are being reported in the media,'' explained seismologist Kresimir Kuk.

Earthquakes in the rest of the world

Kresimir Kuk noted that recent earthquakes over in Japan, where their magnitude is a horrifying 8 on the Richter scale aren't at all uncommon for the area, but that such countries also have infrastructure adapted entirely to it, so it doesn’t usually cause much damage to a lot of people living there.

"I had the opportunity to talk to the Chilean media after the Croatian earthquakes struck, and they were terribly surprised by the horrible consequences of a 6.2 magnitude earthquake," he said, adding that earthquakes in places such as Chile are much, much stronger, that there are several parameters that are different, such as the depth of the earth where the earthquake occurs because the epicentre is closer to the surface, and in such cases the more devastating the earthquake is, and a couple of other geographical factors.

A seismological network here in Croatia is being set up...

''We installed the network as soon as we got it all through a government intervention, immediately after the series of Petrinja earthquakes. They record a lot of earthquakes, and they record data which is of great importance that will be used in the coming decades in various scientific disciplines, not just seismology. So far, in the wider Petrinja area, so in the Banovina area, we've recorded about 1,400 earthquakes of magnitude greater than 2. There have been two earthquakes of magnitude 5, about 17 earthquakes of magnitude between 4 and 5, so a huge amount of earthquakes have taken place and a large amount of data hasn't been processed,'' he explained.

''The soil in the Petrinja area is still very active, it is now beginning to calm down, but this is simply a process that lasts and is not uniform,'' warned seismologist Kresimir Kuk.

For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

November the 23rd, 2021 - It's no exaggeration to say that Croatia's post-earthquake ''cleanup'' in Zagreb and Central Croatia is moving at a snail's pace. That said, it is still moving, however slowly. Croatian earthquake damaged properties which cannot be rescued will start being removed as of 2022.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, as of the beginning of next year, the proper plans for the removal of Croatian earthquake-damaged buildings that have collapsed and can no longer be rebuilt or saved will be ready and organised. The State Inspectorate has announced a tender for the performance of these tasks in the areas of the City of Zagreb, Krapina-Zagorje, Zagreb, Sisak-Moslavina and Karlovac counties.

These are contract award procedures based on a framework agreement, and the total estimated value of the works is 30 million kuna, increased by the amount of VAT (meaning the true total will be around 37.5 million kuna). The tender doesn't specify the exact number of Croatian earthquake-damaged buildings that need to be demolished and removed, nor the time limit in which the work would be realised. The quantities in cubic metres of gross space have been stated, and the amount of work itself, as stated in the documentation of the State Inspectorate, will additionally depend on the needs and available financial resources at the given time.

For these jobs, candidates whose bids will be considered should have a cumulative annual turnover in the last three years of at least 15 million kuna, and among other things, they must prove that they have completed the removal of buildings worth 10 million kuna over the last five years.

They also must have at least one construction engineer with five full years of experience who is registered as one of the Chamber's construction engineers, and four construction engineers and truck drivers and six workers, with all of the necessary technical equipment.

The bidders for the Croatian-earthquake building removal job must also guarantee their seriousness with a promissory note in the amount of 900,000 kuna. The State Inspectorate is going to be collecting bids until December the 6th, and although the demolition of these damaged facilities is eagerly awaited out in the field, a deadline of 90 days has been set for the decisions to be made on the selection of contractors.

The State Inspectorate, under which the construction inspection is responsible for problematic facilities that endanger public safety, is performing this task by the decision of the Civil Protection Directorate of the Republic of Croatia.

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

ZAGREB, 19 Sept, 2021 - The Croatian parliament's building, a heritage building in St. Mark's Square in downtown Zagreb, will undergo reconstruction due to the significant damage sustained in the March 2020 earthquake, a parliament source has told Hina.

Due to the procedures that need to be undertaken before the reconstruction, they could not specify how long reconstruction will last.

The source said that after the Zagreb earthquake, parliament applied for EU Solidarity Fund money intended for the reconstruction of the cultural heritage and was approved a HRK 87.6 million grant.

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan envisages financing the whole reconstruction, including making the building more energy-efficient, from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility.

After the project documentation is prepared, there will be a public consultation, followed by public procurement.

Last December's Petrinja earthquake, which was strongly felt in Zagreb, only confirmed that the parliament building, which has not undergone major renovations in years, needs to be reconstructed.

The early 18th century two-storey building spreads over 1,900 square metres and has 41 rooms.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 9 Sept 2021 - The Croatian government on Thursday adopted a new program for the reconstruction of earthquake-damaged buildings in five counties to correct prices of reconstruction work due to a rise in market prices and extend deadlines for the submission of requests for reconstruction.

Also, the status of a legalized property is no longer required for owners to seek grants for temporary assistance and emergency interventions, Construction Minister Darko Horvat said, noting that the changes would help step up the reconstruction process.

The program includes results of a study the purpose of which was preliminary identification of risky geological process, soil liquefaction, and landslides and which was conducted in cooperation with the Zagreb Faculty of Mining Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Horvat said.

Under the new program, owners willing to reconstruct their houses on their own in disaster areas will be able to arrange the making of the design study and project documentation as well as reconstruction work on their own while supervision over finished reconstruction work and payment will be done by the Central State Office for Housing.

The program defines more clearly than before the content of important technical documentation related to reconstruction, the final report by the supervisor engineer, and the written statement by the contractor, and it additionally regulates the necessary elements for all key stakeholders in the reconstruction process and extends deadlines for the submission of applications.

As of now, citizens will be able to seek grants not only for the general design for reconstruction work but also for designs for structural reconstruction and total reconstruction, with the deadline for such applications being extended until 31 December 2030.

The deadline for the submission of applications for grants for the temporary protection of damaged properties has been extended until 31 December 2022 while applications for the removal of destroyed residential buildings, combined residential and office buildings, and office buildings may be submitted until 31 December 2025.

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

ZAGREB, 31 Aug, 2021 - Commenting on the situation with post-earthquake reconstruction, Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević repeated on Tuesday that the current law on post-earthquake reconstruction was inadequate and he welcomed plans to amend it.

Tomašević said that it was up to the government to submit a new bill to the parliament and that his We Can! party would try to help shape it through its deputies in the national parliament.

The mayor warned that property-rights relations, properties that had not been legalised and discrepancies between data in land books and those in cadastral maps constituted a major problem.

He said that he would support proposals that the state fully finance the reconstruction process in order to help expedite procedures related to property-rights relations, noting that those relations would not be as important without the co-financing model, and one could embark on "block by block" reconstruction.

Tomašević said that a call for applications for the lease of city-owned flats to citizens whose properties were damaged in the March 2020 earthquake and who were accommodated in a hostel and in housing containers would be published very soon.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 15 June, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with the World Bank's support to Croatia's efforts to reconstruct the areas hit by the 2020 quakes, and with cooperation in projects aimed at facilitating the recovery of the private sector's exporters affected by the corona crisis. 

A press release issued by the government notes that the premier held a meeting with World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, Anna Bjerde, and a few other WB officials in Government House.

On that occasion, Plenković expressed satisfaction with the cooperation with the World Bank and the support that institution had provided to Croatia in the reconstruction since the earthquakes had struck Zagreb and Sisak-Moslavina County in March and December 2020.

He was quoted as saying that he was satisfied with the permanent cooperation in projects aimed at helping exporters in the private sector to recover from the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

The prime minister in particular thanked the World Bank for its support until now in preparing Croatia's 2021-2026 National Recovery and Resilience Plan. He underscored the importance of fostering further cooperation and the implementation of projects for Zagreb's reconstruction and revitalisation of the Banovina area in Sisak County, the press release said.

In June last year the World Bank approved two $500 million projects to provide urgent support to the government in an attempt to relieve the impact of the tremors that hit Croatia and of the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The World Bank also provided technical support in preparing a Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA 2020), which was an important document to mobilise €683.7 million from the EU Solidarity Fund. The World Bank also provided technical assistance in the RDNA for the earthquake-struck areas in Sisak-Moslavina County.

Bjerde was accompanied at the meeting by World Bank's Country Director for the European Union Gallina Andronova Vincelette, the World Bank's new country manager in Croatia Jehan Arulpragasam, and Special Assistant at World Bank Group Fanny Weiner.

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

ZAGREB, 10 June 2021 - After his first meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and his ministers, Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević said that nobody can be satisfied with the rate of reconstruction in Zagreb and that he expects a new era of cooperation between the city and the state.

Tomašević and Plenković met in Government House and discussed cooperation between the government and the City of Zagreb after the 22 March 2020 earthquake and the situation regarding the city's finances. Finance Minister Zdravko Marić, Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Minister Darko Horvat and Deputy Zagreb Mayors Danijela Dolenec and Luka Korlaet also participated in the hour-long meeting.

The main topic of the talks, held on the day that the first house with a red label in Zagreb was demolished, was post-earthquake reconstruction.

"We are glad that the demolition of damaged buildings is finally starting. Today three are being demolished, and more will follow in the days to come," said Tomašević.

Admitting that nobody can be satisfied with the rate of reconstruction, he said that the City of Zagreb would from now on be a proper partner so that the process is accelerated, particularly with regard to filling out application forms for apartment buildings.

Horvat and Tomašević announced that they would conduct a working meeting on Tuesday to discuss handling construction waste material as temporary landfills are full, as well as ways to accelerate reconstruction.

Not one decision on reconstruction will be political but based on expertise

"Bulldozers are positioned at three locations in Zagreb and buildings are being demolished," Minister Horvat said and added that the ministry had so far sent 36 decisions for demolition to the Reconstruction Fund and that another 18 decisions would be forwarded this week.

Responding to accusations by the fund's director, Damir Vanđelić, that the ministry was a bottleneck in making decisions related to reconstruction, Horvat said that the problem was no longer the ministry but the Fund itself.

"(Vanđelić) received the first decision for demolition on 20 April and he managed to arrange the first works on 10 June. We are no longer talking about expediting the adoption of decisions but about the implementation of public procurement for bulldozers to appear in the field. That isn't a job for the ministry but for the fund's director," said Horvat.

He added that he would insist on the current reconstruction model and on decisions that were not political but based on expertise.

By the end of the month, the fund will have on the desk some 60 decisions for demolition of the 169 that were received by the ministry. As for the remaining applications, the relevant documentation is being collected and property-rights relations are being dealt with, he added.

He stressed that 3,800 applications for reconstruction that had been submitted in Zagreb had still not been resolved because they involved buildings that did not have legal building permits.

Tomašević stressed that city authorities would contribute to expediting the process of reconstruction by helping citizens complete application forms and conducting quick inspections for damage carried out on the remaining buildings that had not undergone such inspections.

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