Politics

ZAGREB, 14 May 2022 - Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenković recalled on Saturday that the basic principle of the policy of the first Croatian president and the HDZ founder, Franjo Tuđman, was "always and everything for Croatia". Addressing a scientific conference in Zagreb on the occasion of Tuđman's 100th birth anniversary, Plenković said that Tuđman had played the key role in Croatia's efforts to become an independent state. Plenković highlighted the achievements of the first Croatian president in the establishment of democratic institutions, the defence of Croatia's territory against the Great Serbia aggression from 1991 to 1995…

ZAGREB, 14 May 2022 - A delegation of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković laid a wreath and lit candles outside the house in Veliko Trgovišće, 40km north of Zagreb, where the first President of Croatia and founder of the HDZ, Franjo Tuđman, was born 100 years ago. "I think that President Tuđman achieved all the goals he set out in his speech in the Croatian Parliament on 30 May 1990 after the first democratic election. It is up to us to improve them in new international circumstances and new economic circumstances in the face…

ZAGREB, 14 May 2022 - Delegations of the Croatian Parliament, Government and the Bleiburg Guard of Honour laid wreaths at Zagreb's Mirogoj Cemetery on Saturday to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Bleiburg tragedy and the Way of the Cross of the Croatian people at the end of the Second World War. The commemoration was organised by the Bleiburg Guard of Honour and co-organised by the Croatian Bishops Conference under the patronage of the Croatian Parliament and the co-patronage of the Croatian National Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The joint wreath of the Parliament and Government was laid by Parliament…

ZAGREB, 14 May 2022 - The life of the Croatian national who has been taken prisoner by Russian forces is our priority, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman said on Friday. "Yes, I am optimistic, especially after we have seen the pictures," the minister told Nova TV, which broadcast footage of a conversation between a Republika Srpska Television reporter and the Croatian national. "Croatia still has an embassy in Moscow and is invoking conventions, assistance under international law and bilateral relations, and it expects cooperation," Grlić Radman said and added: "The life of the Croatian national is…

ZAGREB, 13 May 2022- Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Davor Filipović said on Friday that the Adriatic Oil Pipeline can significantly increase its oil transport capacity toward Hungary even without additional investment and Croatia will work on becoming an important factor in Europe's energy sector. Responding to questions from reporters at a press conference, where he presented a call for applications for co-financing from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO), regarding the statement by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that Hungary had the sea taken away from it, Filipović said that Orban's statement was absolutely inappropriate. In the context of the entire situation,…

ZAGREB, 13 May 2022 - The Croatian parliament on Friday passed a law on the adoption of the euro as legal tender, with 117 MPs voting in favour, 13 against and one abstaining. MPs rejected amendments by Bridge and the Green-Left Bloc and a conclusion by Bridge that the government had not endorsed. The euro is expected to be introduced on 1 January 2023. As of the 5th of September this year through 2023, prices would be displayed both in kuna and in euro. Next year there will be no cost for exchanging kuna cash for euro, which will be done in banks, post offices and…

ZAGREB, 13 May 2022 - President Zoran Milanović, who is the Supreme Commander of the Croatian Armed Forces, said in Petrinja on Friday that during the 1991-1995 Homeland War Croatia had not been liberated by an international coalition but "was successfully defended by its own forces." Addressing an oath-taking ceremony for members of the 2nd Mechanised Battalion, President  Milanović told them that their predecessors "first defended and then liberated the country with very limited quantities of weapons."  Milanović added that "the Croatian Army did not have foreign help at the time and Croatia was defended by its own forces, their heroism, ingenuity,…

ZAGREB, 13 May 2022 - President Zoran Milanović on Friday accused Finland of ignoring Croatian interests for years and reiterated that he would continue fighting for the rights of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina because he considers that an exceptionally good security reason for Croatia. Milanović was responding to a question from a Nova TV reporter to comment on the statement by Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto, who had allegedly said that Finland was shocked by the president's statements. "Welcome to the club, mister foreign minister. We have been shocked for several years already by your ignorance and rudeness," said…

ZAGREB, 13 May 2022 - In the last 24 hours 726 coronavirus cases, out of 3,772 tests, and eight related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Friday. There are 4,583 active cases, including 361 hospitalised patients, 17 of whom are on ventilators, while 2,448 persons are self-isolating. To date, Croatia has registered 1,130,562 coronavirus cases and the death toll is 15,920. Also, 59.51% of the population or 70.78% of adults have been vaccinated, including 68.71% of adults fully.   For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our…

ZAGREB, 13 May 2022 - The HUBOL association of hospital doctors on Friday requested the adoption of a new abortion and pregnancy termination law, saying that half-truths on the case of Mirela Čavajda are creating an unacceptable campaign against doctors and misinterpreting the role of conscientious objection. In a statement, HUBOL expressed genuine regret for Čavajda, whose unborn child has a brain tumour. HUBOL said conscientious objection was founded in international legal documents, Croatian law, and the Code of Medical Ethics, and legally, everything about it was clear. Čavajda's case is not about conscientious objection, HUBOL said, adding that a woman's…