December 28, 2020 – President Zoran Milanovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković visited Sisak and Petrinja after a series of earthquakes hit the area this morning.

This morning, around 6.28 am, the area of Sisak and Petrinja was hit by a 5,2 magnitude earthquake. After a few weaker tremors, just before 8 am, two stronger blows followed, with magnitudes of 4.7 and 4.1 on the Richter scale.

President Zoran Milanović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković came to Sisak and Petrinja to support their fellow citizens. Prefect of Sisak-Moslavina County Ivo Žinić and Mayor of Sisak Kristina Ikić Baniček informed them of the situation in Sisak.

They were accompanied by Deputy Prime Ministers and Ministers Davor Božinović and Tomo Medved, as well as Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Darko Horvat and Minister of Health Vili Beroš.

'No house in the villages that are not damaged'

Žinić said there are no casualties.

"No one was injured, there is no damage to industrial plants, but the Gavrilović factory has a large amount of ammonia, and it will have to be checked in detail. The damage is in the center of Sisak on buildings. Plaster has fallen off, bricks have fallen on some buildings. The second earthquake did more damage. The first one seems to have moved some things a bit, and there is no house in the villages that are not damaged. The damage is not even close to the damage that was in Zagreb, but it is the roofs where people live," said Sisak-Moslavina County Prefect Ivo Žinić.

Mayor Ikić Baniček said there had been over 100 firefighter interventions since the morning. They had one situation where they had to place one family in another facility because their apartment was damaged.

Prime Minister Plenković emphasized that all services will be available to the citizens and said that luckily the earthquake did not leave any major damage.

"I am glad that we are here. We came to support our fellow citizens. As the year was, so it ended. Here is the Civil Protection, the Croatian army, and they will help. I also spoke to the Mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandić. We already have experience. We will try to list the damages and help everyone to repair those damages," said the Prime Minister.

'We are here to help'

Milanović and Plenković toured Sisak and Petrinja together.

"The damage is significant in the buildings we visited, but the most important thing is that no one was injured. This was a pretty strong earthquake, and it's good that the aftershocks were less intense," said Plenković after visiting Petrinja.

He promised to create a legal framework to help the affected areas.

"We hope that it will be better next year. The state will react, of course. We are here to help," Plenković said.

President Milanović was not in the mood for statements.

"It was uncomfortable in Zagreb. It is human to be afraid. Fear is the biggest blow to people. And what was destroyed will be rebuilt. It is a smaller problem," Milanović said.

The Mayor of Petrinja, Darinko Dumbović, told them that he expects help from the state in repairing the damage, namely the "millions in his account tomorrow. "

Plenković said they would try to help Sisak, Petrinja, and other municipalities in Sisak-Moslavina County affected by the earthquake with all aid services.

"I hope that it will be better next year. I guess everything that should have happened badly happened in 2020," the Prime Minister concluded and expressed his condolences to all those whose houses were damaged.

Sources: Večernji.hr, Jutarnji.hr, Dnevnik.hr

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ZAGREB, Dec 12, 2020 - Although it is a small country, Croatia must be a country with great climate ambitions, President Zoran Milanovic wrote on his Facebook account on Saturday, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the conclusion of the Paris Climate Agreement.

"The climate crisis is still our biggest challenge, and taking urgent and ambitious measures is the only guarantee for the preservation of health, progress and prosperity," the Croatian president writes.

In this context he called for great climate ambitions and for raising awareness of that climate protection and economic growth can go hand in hand.

The head of state also appealed for making courageous strides towards energy transition.

"In the years to come we can make Croatia a leader in energy transition in southeast Europe."

I see the climate crisis as a test to the credibility, humanity and solidarity which we must pass, since the future of all of us is green or we will not have it, he added.

The Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change, was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015, and entered into force on 4 November 2016. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

ZAGREB, Dec 12, 2020 - Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said on Friday that the amending of the Dayton Peace Accords or any strategic decisions could not be made without the consent and agreement of all the three constituent peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Dayton Agreement is what it is, and I cannot see any possibility of amending it without violence, and I do not think of a war when mentioning violence, I refer to mental violence and any other violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and everyone is aware that it could never pass in Bosnia and Herzegovina and it has always provoked a larger-scale violence, Milanovic said in an interview for the HRT broadcaster commenting on the forthcoming 25th anniversary of the conclusion of the Dayton peace accords.

He said that the Dayton agreement framework could not be amended without the will of all the three constituent peoples.

No one should have illusions that any strategic decisions could be made if there was no consent of all the three constituent peoples. This is not any medieval concept, this is a prerequisite for any civic state, the Croatian head of state said and then summarized his message this way: "First use soap and then afterwards apply perfume."

He went on to says that in the last five years only "lower-ranking clerks" from the international community had discussed the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"Those are people who are almost let loose, who are tailoring and keeping maps and pairs of compasses, sets squares, rulers in their hand, they are giving instructions on what something should look like, instead of getting their own house in order first."

He went on to say that no matter what he thought of it, the Serb entity - the Republic of Srpska - in Bosnia and Herzegovina could not be annulled.

Milanovic underscored that it was no secret that of the three constituent peoples, the Croats were dissatisfied with the current situation.

Support to any decision on purchase of multipurpose Air Force jets

President Zoran Milanovic said that he would support any decision which the Andrej Plenkovic government would made on the purchase of fighter jets, adding that he was well informed of that process.

Defence Minister Mario Banozic has recently said that the government would decide on the procurement of fighter jets at the beginning of 2021 and that a contract to that effect could be signed in late 2021. Croatia has received four offers. The United States is offering the new F-16 Block 70, Sweden is offering the new Gripen C/D model, while France and Israel are offering used aircraft - Dessault Rafale and F-16 Block 30 respectively.

Milanovic said that he had previously suggested that the most logical move could be the acceptance of the US offer, because the Americans are long-term and long-standing partners, however, they should make an effort and provide Zagreb with solid arguments for the choice of their offer in compliance with the tender.

ZAGREB, December 4, 2020 - President Zoran Milanovic thinks that all Croatian citizens should get vaccinated against COVID-19 and is himself ready to do so in public to show the importance of vaccination, his spokesman said on Friday.

"President Milanovic is of the view that everyone should get vaccinated. He counts on civil responsibility and awareness, and is himself ready to get vaccinated in public to show by example the importance of vaccination," presidential spokesman Nikola Jelic said in response to Hina's query.

Milanovic said on November 24 that, if necessary, he will be the first to get vaccinated because it is important that Croatian citizens understand that vaccination is good and necessary, and that in that way we protect ourselves collectively, Jelic recalled.

Earlier in the day, the members of the national COVID-19 response team also expressed their readiness to get vaccinated in public.

ZAGREB, November 30, 2020 - President Zoran Milanovic on Monday received a delegation of associations for mental health to discuss an initiative to adopt a national mental health strategy 2020 - 2030.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation Vlatka Rocic Petak informed President Milanovic of the reasons to launch the initiative and warned that the adoption of the strategy is a precondition to provide optimum health care for people with mental disturbances, the president's office said in a press release.

In addition to advocating the adoption of the draft national strategy in parliament and its speedy implementation in practice, the delegation underlined the need to introduce mobile teams and peer support groups in the community to the existing psycho-social services that are financed by the Croatian Health Insurance Institute.

The delegation also pointed out the problem of finding sources of permanent financing of programmes and projects that associations are involved with while providing psycho-social services in the community, the press release said.

ZAGREB, November 25, 2020 - An exhibition called "From Earthquake to Earthquake 1880-2020" was opened at the Museum of Arts and Crafts on Tuesday, marking the museum's 140th anniversary.

Among those attending were President Zoran Milanovic and Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Korzinek.

Over the past 150 years, compared with other cities in Europe, Zagreb has actually suffered very little in this earthquake area, an area of unrest, war, suffering, killing. Zagreb has been trampled, destroyed, set on fire, bombed relatively little compared with them, the president said.

"May this which happened at the end of March this year be and remain one of the biggest afflictions we... experienced," the president said, referring to the March earthquake.

Zagreb is a beautiful city, among the 20 most beautiful in Europe, and it "is waiting to be finally and definitely touched up, which will require a partnership between citizens, owners, the city and the Croatian state," said Milanovic

Minister Obuljen Korzinek said the exhibition was aimed at showing people just a small piece of the damage museums and cultural assets in Zagreb sustained in the March earthquake.

She recalled that the European Parliament decided on Monday to give Croatia €680 million from the Solidarity Fund to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake, including over €100 million intended for the reconstruction of the cultural heritage.

ZAGREB, November 25, 2020 - President Zoran Milanovic said on Tuesday that the he was in favour of vaccinating the whole population against COVID-19, and that he counted on principles of public mindedness in that regard.

Before the ceremony of opening an exhibition in Zagreb's Museum of Arts and Crafts, Milanovic was asked by reporters to comment on the efficiency of vaccines that are currently being developed against COVID-19.

In response to media reports on that topic, Milanovic said that he trusted the results published after the trials of anti-COVID vaccines in world laboratories.

"I trust that. I get vaccinated when it is necessary, my children get vaccinated," Milanovic said adding that no one should circumvent that.

"In my mind, everyone should get vaccinated, and I count on public mindedness," the president said underscoring that vaccinations have saved millions of lives in the last 70 years.

He said that he did not know the government's position on the issue.

The government is going to procure nearly three million jabs. Whether the vaccination will be mandatory, this is a very serious topic, Milanovic said.

He said that he had raised this issue at Monday's session of the National Security Council (VNS).

Commenting on that VNS session, Milanovic said that it "was o.k." considering his premonitions.

Asked whether the relations between him and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic were mended, the president said that one should not look at that personally.

As for the national COVID-19 crisis management team, Milanovic said that the body "gets legally rather curved" , however, he underscored, that he had not criticised any of the measures adopted by that body. The president added that he had criticised the situation in which this level of measures had been adopted without "a green light" that is approval from the parliament.

ZAGREB, November 18, 2020 - On the occasion of Homeland War Victims Remembrance Day and Vukovar and Skabrnja Victims Remembrance Day, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Wednesday paid his respects to the sacrifice of Vukovar by laying a wreath at the Ovcara memorial site.

In addition to the President, the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Admiral Robert Hranj, and presidential envoy Lieutenant-General Marijan Marekovic also laid wreaths.

Milanovic did not give a statement to reporters.

In Skabrnja, on behalf of the president, his envoy, Dragan Lozancic, took part in today's commemorative events.

As Morski writes on the 14th of November, 2020, recently, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic, accompanied by his associates, visited the Brodosplit shipyard in the Dalmatian city of Split.

President Zoran Milanovic was welcomed by Tomislav Debeljak, President of the Management Board of Brodosplit, and Tomislav Corak, Member of the Management Board. With a walk-through of the Brodosplit shipyard, the President was introduced to the current work and projects that are underway there, and especially to the continuation of the construction of coastal patrol boats, contracted for the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia.

''The impressions are good because the shipyard is working. It went through restructuring, the state had a role to play there and it ended many years ago. They started working and are profitable. I'm glad that part of that programme also includes something that the Croatian Government ordered from them in a tender, and those are the coast guard ships, one of which has already sailed, that is "Omis". Two are currently under construction, so one should be finished by the end of 2021, the other after that and then two more every six months,'' said President Zoran Milanovic, expressing his clear satisfaction with the way things were going.

Two years ago, with a prototype of the coastal patrol ship ''Omis'', the president recently paid an official visit to neighbouring Montenegro. With its technical equipment and navigable characteristics, it has significantly improved the capabilities of the coast guard, and is a regular party in search and rescue operations.

''There are a number of countries that have needs for such products and that need to procure such vessels. There is space, these are very high quality products and they're cheaper than some that some other countries in the Mediterranean bought in the north of Europe,'' President Zoran Milanovic pointed out.

''I'd like to thank the President of the Republic of Croatia for supporting this Croatian industry and for promoting it abroad. The ship is the most complex product that Croatian industry can produce. The ships we make for export contain 70 percent Croatian components, of the truly affordable price at which we build these ships, 45 percent of that amount is returned immediately or in the short term to the state budget.

In addition to thanking the President for his support, we'd also like to thank the Croatian Government, which has found ways to continue financing the construction of these remaining four vessels during the coronavirus crisis. This is very important to us because over 400 workers are currently working on them,'' said Tomislav Debeljak, President of the Management Board of Brodosplit.

During the tour of the production facilities, President Zoran Milanovic was especially impressed by the tour of the ''Ultramarine'' polar cruiser, which is 128 metres long and will be able to accommodate 200 passengers housed in 103 luxuriously equipped cabins, which will be taken care of by 116 crew members. The ship is in its final stages now, and a contract has been signed with Quark Expeditions from Seattle, USA, as part of the Travelopia Group.

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ZAGREB, Nov 14, 2020 - The President's Office issued a press release on Saturday ahead of the Remembrance Day commemoration in Vukovar on November 18, saying that it is people and not political elites that make up the Remembrance Procession.

President Zoran Milanovic is of the view that the commemoration of people killed in Vukovar and Skabrnja during the Homeland War "has true significance only if it is open to all citizens wishing to pay their respects and gratitude to those killed and gone missing, and not just to those selected and to the political elites. The Remembrance Procession in Vukovar is made up of people and not political elites," the press release said.

"In the present situation, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the arrival of a large number of people in Vukovar to join the procession may be dangerous to their health and cause further spread of the pandemic. Double standards, obviously politically motivated, which allow a gathering of a large number of people in Vukovar while banning such gatherings elsewhere in Croatia, are irresponsible both to Vukovar and to the citizens," it added.

"In this situation, the victims of Vukovar can and must be honored in a dignified manner, without political calculations, double standards and putting the health of citizens at risk. The President of the Republic will pay his respects to the victims of Vukovar in a manner befitting the situation," the President's Office said.

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