Politics

September the 20th, 2022 - Despite the fact that the horrendous earthquakes of 2020 which rocked Zagreb in March and then Petrinja, Glina and the wider Sisak-Moslavina County area in December, things are still moving at a snail's pace. Many Croatian earthquake victims are still living in limbo. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, on Friday last week, Minister of Regional Development Natasa Tramisak signed the decision on the financing of a project entitled "The removal and construction of replacement housing units under the ownership of the Republic of Croatia in the areas affected by the earthquake", which provided grants in the amount…

September the 9th, 2022 - Former Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Maric has been questioned by USKOK (Croatian State Prosecutor's Office for the Suppression of Organised Crime and Corruption), but seemingly only as a witness. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, ex Finance Minister Zdravko Maric was the chairman of the supervisory board of HBOR (Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development), and a month and a half before a certain loan was granted, he had a meeting with the investor Milenko Basic from the company C.E.M.P. Basic had otherwise asked for a loan of 130 million euros to finance an investment, and in…

September the 9th, 2022 - Ongoing inflation is continuing to spiral, and with countries across Europe making various arrangements and creating measures to help citizens and companies through this extremely difficult period, Croatia's PM Plenkovic has now spoken out, confirming that the Croatian Government will cap electricity prices as energy bills are set to soar. The Croatian Government was very quick in stepping in with a package of various measures when the global coronavirus pandemic reached the country and began disrupting life as we've never known it before. Many sectors across the economy are hoping for the same rapid response…

September the 8th, 2022 - The Croatian general government debt amounted to 344 billion kuna back at the end of May this year, which is 5.9 billion of 1.7 percent higher than just one year earlier. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the above information on the Croatian general government debt is according to the latest data from the Croatian National Bank (HNB), and Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) analysts. The annual increase in Croatian general government debt has been caused by an increase in both domestic and foreign debt, according to the latest CNB data. As such, the internal debt is higher by…

September the 7th, 2022 - Croatia is among three EU member states (the other two being the Republic of Ireland and Romania) with the fastest growth of loans being granted to companies. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, this year, specifically from February onwards, a strong growth in lending has been noticeable, and after a long period of stagnation (or in some cases decline), Croatia has once again entered a period in which loans being granted to companies outnumber those being given to households, the Croatian Association of Banks pointed out in its HUB Pregledi publication. They noted that the annual…

ZAGREB, 31 Aug (Hina) - The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) on Wednesday presented models for financing local media based on transparent public financing, which Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević and Split Mayor Ivica Puljak said were acceptable and potentially applicable. HND leadership said that transparent public financing was necessary for the long-term independent functioning of local media and for ensuring stable conditions for journalistic work in the public interest. They underscored the need for such public financing but under clear conditions and criteria and with an assessment by an independent expert committee. Zovko: Local media must be financed with public money…

ZAGREB, 31 August, 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday that he will insist on calling to account all members of the INA Management Board, both the Croatian and Hungarian members, and making changes to the way INA is managed due to a scam in which INA is believed to have been defrauded of more than HRK 1 billion. Plenković made the statement after a meeting of representatives of the parliamentary majority. Five suspects, including an INA executive, were arrested last Saturday on suspicion of defrauding INA of more than one billion kuna by buying natural gas supplies from the…

ZAGREB, 31 August, 2022 - Commenting on the INA gas trading scam, MP Nino Raspudić said on Wednesday that in any democratic country, the ruling party would be directly responsible for such a crime but that that was not the case in Croatia, even though the billion kuna stolen would be sufficient to pay households' winter energy bills. Raspudić, an MP of the opposition Bridge party, recalled that after the final corruption verdict against the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), its president and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that the HDZ he was leading had nothing to do with the HDZ led by Ivo Sanader,…

ZAGREB, 31 August 2022 - A photo of Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and arrested INA executive Damir Škugor was taken in November 2017 at an event organised by the Maksimir branch of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), it is common practice to take photos with party members and the only link to Škugor, his office said. The Parliament Speaker's office issued a press release on Wednesday after the photo of Jandroković and Škugor was posted by MP Nikola Grmoja (Bridge) on his Facebook page and was later shared on social networks. "Mr. Jandroković was invited to that event in his capacity as Parliament Speaker and then secretary-general of…

September 1, 2022 - Citizens of the Republic of Croatia are not used to a high level of political culture, honesty, and truthfulness. While in the normal world politicians resign even for the smallest offenses or breaches of duty, in Croatia even those who are proven guilty should be forced out of their positions. Political responsibility and self-criticism simply do not exist. As the INA case unfolds, this becomes more and more apparent. As Index writes, some statements are too much even for Croatia. It is one thing to cover one's ears, remain silent, and not admit responsibility for certain…