News

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

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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković will be attending a two-day meeting of the presidents of parliaments of the 47 Council of Europe member states in Strasbourg, which begins on Thursday. 

Zagreb - Parliament on Wednesday debated a bill of amendments to the Capital Market Act which simplify and facilitate access to the capital market and raises the prospectus issue threshold.

Zagreb - Croatian Deputy Parliament Speaker Željko Reiner attended in Tokyo on Wednesday a ceremony organised by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in honour of Emperor Naruhito's enthronement. Reiner briefly met Abe and invited him to visit Croatia.

Zagreb - Debating an annual report on state aid in 2018 in the Croatian parliament on Friday, lawmakers called for stronger support across the board for small and medium-sized businesses and for job creation.

Zagreb - Parliament on Friday amended the Croatian Citizenship Act, making it easier for applicants to obtain Croatian citizenship.

Zagreb - Parliament on Friday amended the Pension Insurance Actin the fast-track procedure, whereby statutory retirement age is restored at 65 and penalties for early retirement are reduced.

Zagreb - The leaders of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Bridge party, Davor Bernardić and Božo Petrov respectively, on Wednesday had a completely different view of this past year as well as the past three years of the current government's term than that presented in Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's annual report to the parliament, while the ruling Croatian Democratic Union's (HDZ) whip Branko Bačić dismissed their allegations. 

Zagreb - Croatia currently has macroeconomic results that were unimaginable not so long ago and, unlike before, its economic growth has a sound basis, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in an annual report to Parliament on Wednesday.

Zagreb - Croatian parliamentary delegation at the 141st assembly of the Interparliamentary Union (IPU) in Belgrade is giving its contribution to the adoption of conclusions on all international topics of relevance for the future of the world and all countries, Saša Đujić, who heads the Croatian parliamentary delegation at the IPU assembly, told.

Zagreb - Submitting a report on the work of the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO) in 2018, its acting head Ivan Serdar said in the parliament on Thursday that the HZMO had 1.236 million beneficiaries and 1.5 million insurees and that the ratio of retirees to workers was 1:1.22.

Zagreb - Over 80 percent of Croatia's development aid last year was directed at Southeast Europe, primarily Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Croatian parliament heard on Thursday during the presentation of the report on Croatian development aid to foreign countries in 2017 and 2018.

Zagreb - MPs on Wednesday debated the draft of a new Coast Guard law which is being adopted after 12 years and regulates all issues pertaining to the functioning of the Coast Guard, the monitoring and protection of rights and interests, and authority for inspections at sea.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament on Wednesday discussed a bill on biometric data processing, which would ensure interoperability of information systems in Croatia and their interoperability with information systems in the European Union.

Zagreb - High state delegations on Tuesday laid wreaths at Zagreb's central cemetery of Mirogoj on the occasion of Independence Day, October 8. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, and the envoy for President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Anamarija Kirinić, laid wreaths in front of the central cross in the Alley of Fallen Croatian Defenders, at the grave of Croatia's first president Franjo Tuđman and at the common grave of unidentified victims of the 1991-95 Homeland War.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Monday issued a message for Independence Day, which is observed on October 8, saying that the future of Croatia depends on its citizens and that Croatia can be a country each Croatian citizen will be proud of.

Zagreb - Members of parliament on Friday decided unanimously that October 21 should be marked as a national, awareness-raising road safety day and that more work was necessary on accident prevention.

Zagreb - To mark the Independence Day - 8 October – in memory of the legislators' unanimous decision on 8 October 1991 to sever all ties with the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, with Croatia becoming a free and independent state, Citizens Service of the Croatian Parliament will be organizing the Open Day event. 

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament on Wednesday adopted the State Assets Management Strategy to ensure sustainable, economic and transparent management and use of state assets over the next seven years.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament on Wednesday passed a set of 61 laws to streamline state administration, under which state administration offices would be abolished and their duties taken over by counties. 

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković extended his and parliament's best wishes to Jewish believers on Rosh Hashanah.

Zagreb - Access to information is a civil and constitutional right and public authorities have the responsibility to make public information requested by citizens, Information Commissioner Zoran Pičuljan said on Friday on the occasion of the International Day for Universal Access to Information, which is observed on September 28.

Zagreb - A round table was held in the Croatian Parliament on Wednesday to mark 70 years since the adoption of the Geneva conventions relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts, highlighting the importance of protecting and respecting international humanitarian law and the role of national parliaments in their promotion.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament on Friday ratified the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism which aims at facilitating mutual cooperation between member states and ensuring the efficient prevention and combatting of terrorism.

Helsinki – Croatian Parliament delegation headed by Foreign Policy and Defence Committees’ Chairs, Miro Kovač and Igor Dragovan, respectively, as well as Deputy Chairs of the two Committees, Joško Klisović and Anđelko Stričak, participated at the EU Inter-parliamentary Conference on Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CFSP / CSDP) held in Helsinki, 4 – 6 September 2019 in the framework of the parliamentary dimension of the Finland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Zagreb - The relations between Croatia and China, based on mutual trust and respect, have been steadily developed for the past 27 years to reach an enviable level following the Croatian Prime Minister's visit to China in late 2018 and the Chinese premier's visit to Croatia in 2019.

Zagreb - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković have extended their best wishes to the head of the Islamic community in Croatia, Mufti Aziz Hasanović, and the Muslim faithful on the occasion of the Muslim holiday of Kurban Bayram.

Zagreb - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at a ceremony marking the 24th anniversary of Operation Storm in Knin on Monday that the 1995 operation was the moment that changed Croatia's history, telling citizens to awaken the self-confidence that helped them overcome the obstacles at the time and to look at the future with optimism.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Sunday issued a message on the occasion of Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Croatian Veterans Day, stressing that 24 years since the victory in the 1991-95 war, Croatians had the obligation to promote Homeland War values by strengthening the overall development of their homeland.

The Chair of the European Affairs Committee, Mr. Domagoj Ivan Milošević and Mr. Joško Klisović, Committee member, participated at the meeting of the Chairpersons of Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs (COSAC), the first event of the parliamentary dimension of Finland’s Presidency of the Council of EU.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament confirmed six new government ministers and two deputy prime ministers at an extraordinary session on Friday, with all but three opposition MPs boycotting the vote.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament's Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System decided on Friday that conditions had not been met to convene an extraordinary session of Parliament following opposition motions for a vote of no confidence in government ministers.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Friday received Japan's Ambassador to Croatia Misako Kaji to thank her for the excellent organisation of his recent state visit to Japan where he held several meetings at the highest level.