November 6, 2021 - 'It is my right to have a virus, I did not and I will not be vaccinated or tested', said Homeland Movement MP Zlatko Hasanbegovic, as he announces that he will not comply with the new measures imposed by the government, and will stop attending parliament indefinitely.

As reported by Net.hr, Homeland Movement MP Zlatko Hasanbegovic said after the introduction of new measures that include covid confirmations that he would no longer come to Parliament.

"That is impossible. Even if the deputies themselves made such a decision by a two-thirds majority, it would be marginal, and to prevent us from coming to Parliament on the basis of an administrative decision of some headquarters is completely unacceptable. Someone will certainly file a constitutional complaint because of that. The Constitutional Court will rule. I have not and will not be vaccinated, and I do not want to be tested. It is my right to have the virus. As long as these measures are in force, my foot will not step into Parliament'', Hasanbegovic told Novi list.

Measures apply to everyone

Let us remind you, after the Headquarters yesterday prescribed that COVID certificates are valid for all civil and public servants, Parliament Secretary Davor Orlović said that these measures would also be applied to MPs. Simply put, anyone who wants to be in Parliament will have to be vaccinated, tested, or recovered from the virus.

"It is known what will be the way to enter the Parliament building, either on the basis of COVID certificates or the appropriate test. There is absolutely no difference between officials and employees. No details are known yet, next week the Parliamentary Presidency will discuss new measures'', Orlović said.

''We can’t separate MPs from others'', he added.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

For more on politics, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 23, 2021 - TCN's highlights of the week. A look at the events in Croatia from May 17 through the selection of TCN's reporter Ivor Kruljac. 

From Local elections to released details of the Euro 2020 championship strategy to the release of Zoran Mamić. Add Besana company attempting to boost its position in Croatia, and you have a truly exciting week. Here are the highlights.

 screenshot / Jutarnji list

Highlights of the Week: Zagreb mayor candidates Tomašević and Škoro had a debate ahead of the second round of elections

Jutarnji List invited on Friday mayoral candidates Miroslav Škoro (Homeland Movement), and Tomislav Tomašević of the green-left party We Can! to debate ahead of new elections.

In the first round of the elections, We Can! earned 147.631 votes (45.15%), while Homeland Movement had 39.789 votes (12.16%). Before officially entering the second round, Škoro declared Tomašević and We Can! party extreme left and pushed the narrative of elections as an ideological referendum among right-wing and conservative circles. Škoro also accused We Can! of being foreign mercenaries working for a philanthropist George Soros or wanting to revitalize Yugoslavia and Škoro's associate Zlatko Hasanbegović earlier in the week called We Can! a lesbian syndicate. Additionally, Nikola Grmoja (Most Party) stated for N1 that We Can! are Soroshians and accusations of their weird name-calling saw a random generator on the internet designed to mock these terms by random options of name-calling. Meanwhile, Tomašević continued the campaign talking about solutions to the problems Zagreb is currently facing but occasionally makes remark accusations while keeping it clean. The debate on Jutarnji List saw similar rhetoric from both candidates in their public performances, and overall, at least for the people of Zagreb, May 30 can't come soon enough.

screenshot / Hrvatski nogometni savez

Highlights of the Week: Zlatko Dalić announces preliminary EURO 2020 Croatia player list

Coach Zlatko Dalic has announced the preliminary EURO 2020 Croatia player list on Monday. Luka Modrić (Real Madrid), Marcelo Brozović (Inter), Milan Badelj (Genoa), Mateo Kovačić (Chelsea) are some of the names that made it on the list.

The Croatia national team has entered the last month of preparations for the European Championship, which opens on June 13 at Wembley against England at 3 pm.

screenshot / RTL

Highlights of the Week: Zoran Mamić released from custody

Former Dinamo football coach Zoran Mamić will remain free while in Bosnia and Herzegovina; however, he will have to report to the police once a week, and his personal documents have been temporarily confiscated, the court in Bosnia and Herzegovina decided on Wednesday.

Zoran Mamić was arrested early Wednesday morning by officers from the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) based on an arrest warrant issued against him in Croatia.

After that, Mamić was handed over to the court in Sarajevo. Judge Branko Perić determined his status, including his citizenship of BiH. The judge ruled that Mamić would remain free with precautionary measures and was ordered to give in his personal identification documents.

The court did not discuss the matter of Mamić's extradition, considering that Croatia has not sent a formal request yet.

screenshot / Radio Labin

Highlights of the Week: Former football player Vedran Ćorluka new Croatian assistant coach

The new Croatia national team assistant coach Vedran Ćorluka was officially presented by coach Zlatko Dalić at a press conference in Zagreb ahead of EURO 2020.

Although there was a lot of speculation, Croatian football player Vedran Ćorluka officially announced the end of his playing career and was confirmed as the new Croatia assistant coach on Monday.

"I did not plan it, but the moment has come," said Ćorluka at the press conference at which coach Zlatko Dalić presented the list of players for the upcoming European Championship.

Pixabay

Highlights of the Week: Italian company Besana strengthening position in Croatia

The Italian company Besana, which is otherwise one of the strongest European companies in the production and processing of nuts and dried fruit, is working to further strengthen its position here in Croatia.

As TCN reported on Monday, the Italian company Besana currently has 50 subcontractors located in Croatia, from whom it buys about 100 tonnes of hazelnuts per year. But, much more can be expected if their plans go well.

To learn more about Croatia, have a look at our newly launched TC website.

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

ZAGREB, November 10, 2019 - Zlatko Hasanbegović, an independent member of the Croatian Parliament, in Zagreb on Saturday founded a new political party, called the Bloc for Croatia, saying that the party would initiate creation of a firm bloc without which it would not be possible to form a new government after the next parliamentary election.

Addressing about 100 participants at the founding meeting of the new party, Hasanbegović said that the foundation of the Bloc for Croatia was an epilogue to the events of July this year when the Independents for Croatia party, of which he was the political secretary, split.

The split was caused by two electoral conventions held simultaneously, one in Zagreb led by Hasanbegović and the other in Zadar led by the president of the Independents for Croatia, Bruna Esih, who was re-elected the leader.

"The Ministry of Public Administration, ignoring the time limits set by the law, refuses to state its opinion on the legality of the so-called Zadar convention. The Bloc for Croatia is the new name of the old political platform that I advocated," Hasanbegović said.

He said that he was supported by four-fifths of the members of the Independents for Croatia, "including those who breathed intellectual, political and doctrinal substance into the Independents for Croatia."

Speaking of the Bloc's political platform, Hasanbegović said that the party would initiate creation of a firm pre-election bloc that would bring together political parties and individuals with similar "national, sovereigntist and freedom-loving views."

"I am certain that this bloc will achieve such a result at the next parliamentary election that without it, it will not be possible to form a new government," Hasanbegović said.

More news about Zlatko Hasanbegović can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 2, 2019 - The Independents for Croatia (NHR) and the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) have signed an agreement on cooperation in the coming elections for the European Parliament and their joint slate will be presented next week.

The agreement on cooperation demonstrates our political will and readiness for cooperation with similar political parties, NHR political secretary and member of parliament Zlatko Hasanbegović told a news conference in the parliament on Tuesday.

The NHR and the HSP share the same Party-of-Right political legacy of Ante Starčević, a common vision about the status of the Croatian nation and state in the EU and a common vision of Europe as a community of free, sovereign and independent nations, said Hasanbegović.

Hasanbegović said the joint slate for European elections would be presented next week and would include, apart from himself and the other NHR member of parliament Bruna Esih, HSP leader Karlo Starčević and Kutina Mayor Damir Markuš.

The two parties' goal in elections for the European Parliament is to win at least one seat, the parties' leaders said at the news conference at which they would not answer reporters' questions.

More news about elections in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 11, 2019 - The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said on Sunday it entirely supported the letter the Croatian Bishops Conference expressing its deep disagreement with the decision by the Roman Catholic Church in Carinthia to withhold permission for this year's memorial mass at Loibach, near Bleiburg, and said that MP Zlatko Hasenbegović and his followers were contributing to the Mass ban at Bleiburg

Commenting on Hasenbegović’s claim that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković was behind the Mass ban, the HDZ said that instead of investing his energy as an MP into finding a solution, Hasenbegović was using situation to promote his political agenda.

The Roman Catholic Church in the Austrian federal state of Carinthia has turned down a request by the Croatian Bishops Conference (HBK) to hold a mass at Loibach, a field near Bleiburg because the event is used for political purposes.

Even though the Bleiburg gathering is held on a private property, holding a religious service there requires permission from the Catholic Church in Carinthia.

Since last year Austria has been treating the Bleiburg commemoration more critically, at the initiative of several Austrian members of the European Parliament. Recently, a law went into force banning the display of Ustasha symbols, dating back to the time of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH).

The Bleiburg commemorations are held in tribute to tens of thousands of Croatian civilians and soldiers of the defeated Nazi-allied NDH who surrendered to allied forces there in May 1945, but were handed over by British troops to Yugoslav forces. Many were executed on the spot, while many perished during so-called death marches back to Yugoslavia.

More news about the Bleiburg ban can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 15, 2018 – Former Croatian Culture Minister Zlatko Hasanbegović, who is a member of the Croatian parliament and who has been declared persona non-grata by the Jewish community in Bosnia and Herzegovina because of his stance toward the Ustasha regime, has had an invitation to attend the award ceremony in Sarajevo awarding posthumously his grandfather Sabrija Prohić rescinded.

A recent attempt to ban a Croatian film from the national public broadcaster and an appointment in the national theatre have brought numerous reactions.

Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić’s coalition partners are not happy with his decision to return some of the antifascist monuments in the city.

The former Culture Minister blames “pseudo-leftist” NGOs and praises Trump.

The State Department has published its annual report on religious freedom.