News

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and the MPs meet the College of Commissioners of the European Commission, attending the opening of the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Zagreb – The Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Jandroković and the President of the European Commission von der Leyen discussed the main priorities of the Croatian EU Council Presidency and the programme of the parliamentary meetings that will be attended, among others, by a number of members of the European Commission.

Zagreb - European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski met with the Chair of the Agriculture Committee Tomislav Panenić and the Committee Members in the Croatian Parliament.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Thursday held talks with European Council President Charles Michel on parliamentary meetings to be held during Croatia's presidency of the EU.

Zagreb - Croatia hosts a five-day press trip for a group of about 60 correspondents from international media houses in Brussels.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Tuesday announced a new session of parliament, which will be convened next Wednesday, January 15 and already has 112 items on the agenda, including a vote of no confidence in Science and Education Minister Blaženka Divjak.

Vienna - Croatia will do its best to show its ability and vision during its presidency of the Council of the European Union and it expects support from all friendly countries, including Austria of course, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on New Year's Day in Vienna.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jadroković on Tuesday extended a message for the 2020 year wishing prosperity in the private, family and business life of Croatian citizens and expressing hope that the new year is an incentive for thinking about one's own contribution to the further strengthening of Croatia.

Zagreb - In 2019 Croatian MPs asked to speak over 11,000 times during debates in the legislature, one in two times to reply or respond to a reply, according to the Sabor's annual statistics. The statistics show that MPs do not like to speak as committee rapporteurs, having done so only 24 times this year.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Tuesday sent a message to all Croats at home and abroad and all Croatian citizens, offering them his best wishes for Christmas.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Sunday sent a message to all Jewish believers offering them his best wishes for the holiday of Hanukkah.

Zagreb – The Croatian Parliament has launched the parleu2020.sabor.hr website for the purpose of communicating and following the activities of the parliamentary dimension of the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Zagreb - During this year, the national parliament passed 241 laws, and 47 of them have been aligned with EU legislation. MPs have taken the floor 11,000 times and put 884 questions to the Government.

Zagreb - Both the ruling and opposition parties on Wednesday commended a set of judicial laws that bring stricter penalties for domestic violence, ensure faster criminal proceedings and bring additional protection for some professions such as social workers and teachers. Amendments to the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Act and the Act on Protection against Domestic Violence bring stricter penalties to ensure better protection of victims of certain crimes, notably domestic violence.

Zagreb - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Tuesday laid a wreath at the grave of Croatia's first president, Franjo Tuđman, at Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetery, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his death.

Zagreb - The Croatian government sent amendments to the Construction Act to the parliament on Thursday to align it with an amended EU directive on the energy efficiency of buildings, with the amendments introducing the obligation to adopt a long-term strategy for the renovation of the national housing stock to make it highly efficient and decarbonised in the period until 2050.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament will emphasize through its activities the priorities of the Croatian presidency of the European Union and special emphasis will be placed on the membership prospects of Western Balkan countries that wish to join the EU, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic said on Thursday.

Zagreb - The government on Thursday sent three judicial bills for the second reading in Parliament, proposing harsher penalties for acts of violence against women, domestic violence and violence against other people.

Brussels - Foreign Affairs Committee’s Chairman Miro Kovač participated in the inter-parliamentary meeting organised by European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET). 

Helsinki - Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Domagoj Ivan Milošević, Deputy Chair Domagoj Hajduković and Committee members Ines Strenja and Ivan Ćelić participated at the meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) held on 1 - 3 December 2019 in Helsinki. It was the last interparliamentary event in the framework of Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday amended, with 75 votes in favour and 27 votes against, the Decorations and Awards Act to introduce a new decoration - the Grand Order of President of the Republic Franjo Tuđman with Sash and Morning Star.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and Swiss President Ueli Maurer said in Zagreb on Friday that Croatian expatriates were well integrated in Switzerland and that they could help to boost economic cooperation.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday debated a bill on amendments to the law on ferry transport and occasional coastal transport aimed at creating better conditions for the exercise of the right to transport concessions, particularly for the disabled and children with developmental disabilities.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday voted in a set of nine tax laws making up the fourth tax reform which brings tax reliefs in the amount of HRK 2.4 billion. The changes bring a lower, 13% VAT rate on food and dessert preparation and serving in and outside catering establishments, and a lower VAT rate for holders of phonographic rights.

Zagreb - The parliamentary Health and Social Policy Committee on Thursday discussed an annual report on drug abuse in the European Union presented two days ago in Brussels, which indicates that drug abuse is on the rise in the European Union and in Croatia too.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Wednesday offered condolences to his Albanian counterpart Gramoz Ruci and Albanian citizens, after an earthquake hit the country, claiming the lives of 27 people and leaving hundreds injured.

Zagreb - Members of the Croatian Parliament on Wednesday joined in a campaign against violence against women by leaving their handprints on board and writing messages against violence against women.

Zagreb - A firefighting bill that the Government on Tuesday sent to Parliament regulates the firefighting system which, as of January 1, will be in the remit of the Croatian Firefighting Association as the central state office.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković met his Israeli counterpart Yuli-Yoel Edelstein in Jerusalem on Monday and they said the relations between the two countries were excellent and it was also said that Croatia was interested in cooperation in science and high technology.

Zagreb - The Croatian Government on Friday forwarded to the Parliament a final distraint bill on enforcement proceedings and public notaries will be court commissioners in enforcement cases to help them to reduce the burden in this segment. The bill envisages that employers and the Croatian Agency of Pension Insurance (HZMO) will no longer be parties in the proceedings. Also, the process can be launched based on credible documentation in the online form.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and German Bundestag President Wolfgang Schauble on Wednesday announced the intensification of bilateral parliamentary cooperation during Croatia's presidency over the European Union in the first half of 2020.

Zagreb - On the eve of Vukovar Memorial Day and the 28th anniversary of the Škabrnja massacre, candles were lit and prayers were said throughout Croatia to commemorate the victims of the 1991-95 Homeland War and the defeat of Vukovar's defence forces on November 18, 1991.

Zagreb - Tens of thousands of citizens led by the defenders of Vukovar, together with members of the families of killed, unaccounted-for and captured Vukovar defenders, marched through the eastern town on Monday in a remembrance procession, honouring in a dignified manner the 2,717 killed in the military aggression on Vukovar in 1991.

Zagreb - The budget for 2019 was on Thursday revised by a majority vote in the national Parliament. The biggest saving was made on interest rates on the country's debts, (HRK 797 million).

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Thursday adopted the state budget for 2020 with 80 lawmakers voting in favour, 41 against and one abstention.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Tuesday received the new Apostolic Nuncio to Croatia Archbishop Giorgio Lingua in an inaugural visit, who underscored that Croatia can be an example of respect of religious and minority rights.

Zagreb - Parliamentary whips of the ruling majority on Thursday commended the proposed budget for 2020 while opposition parties had strong reservations.

Zagreb - The "Jerusalem - City of Peace" photo exhibition was opened at the Zagreb Archdiocese Pastoral Institute on Wednesday by Israeli Ambassador Ilan Mor to mark 25 years of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Israel.

Zagreb - On the last day of his official visit to China, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković opened the Croatia-China Business Forum in Shanghai where he called on companies in both countries to invest on both markets. 

Zagreb - This week the Croatian parliament will discuss a government proposal for next year's budget and amendments to this year's budget as well as a proposal for a new calendar of holidays and memorial days.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, who held a speech in Shanghai on Tuesday, underscored the excellent China-Croatia cooperation in several areas as well as the significance of the "17+1"and the "Belt and Road" initiatives for this cooperation. 

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, who started his visit to China on Sunday, met with the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Li Zhanshu, in Beijing on Monday.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, who is on an official visit to China on 2-6 November, on Sunday visited Huawei, a Chinese multinational technology company specialised in manufacturing telecommunications equipment, including smartphones.

Zagreb - Višnja Ljubičić, who held the post of Gender Equality Ombudswoman in the past eight years, was re-elected by the Parliament for another eight-year term on Thursday. 

Zagreb - The Government on Thursday forwarded to the Parliament a draft strategy for the energy development of Croatia in the period until 2030 with an outlook for the period until 2050, which envisages a much higher share of energy from renewable sources, greater energy efficiency and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Zagreb - Parliament on Thursday amended the Postal Services Act to reduce unjustified price differences for crossborder package deliveries, notably in remote and sparsely populated areas.

Zagreb - The Croatian Government on Thursday sent to the Parliament a draft budget for 2020, envisaging HRK 145.1 billion on the revenue side and HRK 147.3 billion on the expenditure side.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Tuesday received the visiting Albanian president Ilir Meta Jandrokovic and Meta agreed that Croatia-Albania relations were traditionally friendly and very good, free of outstanding issues.

Zagreb - The parliament speakers of the Council of Europe member-countries on Friday condemned sexism, harassment and hate speech against women politicians, with Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković saying that stronger gender equality required changes in the education system and mentality.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković called on his counterparts from Council of Europe member states on Thursday to act together in order to avoid new divisions and preserve the European project, announcing that Croatia would promote the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development during its presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2020.