News

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Thursday met with  Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of the Belarusian opposition in exile, and supported her in the fight for democratic values and free elections.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković attended a meeting of representatives of various Christian communities in Croatia and expressed his support for strengthening the dialogue between Christian churches and among stakeholders in society.

Zagreb - On Wednesday, the parliamentary Committee on the Family and Youth presented proposals to improve the law on inter-country adoptions, including a ban on adoptions from countries that are not signatories to the Hague Convention and for an expert body to monitor adoptions.

Zagreb - Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković said in Parliament on Wednesday that the new law on maritime domain and seaports would not allow privatisation or fencing off of beaches, assuring the opposition that the articles in question would be clarified before second reading.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament adopted by a majority of votes on Friday the prime minister's report on the European Council meetings held in 2022.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Thursday met with European Commission Vice President for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Šuica. Šuica informed Jandroković about the European Commission's Work Program for 2023, which she presented earlier at a session of the Parliament's Committee for European Affairs.

Zagreb - The parliamentary opposition on Thursday had no major objections to the amendments to the Law on Salaries in Local Government Units, however, it warned about the excessive number of local government units compared to the number of residents, underscoring the need for a comprehensive reform.

Zagreb - The Parliamentary Committee on Regional Development and European Union Funds on Monday supported Šime Erlić as the new Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds with seven votes in favour for, while Sanja Radolović of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was only one against his appointment.

Zagreb - Croatia lawmakers will gather on Tuesday for the beginning of the spring sitting, after a month-long winter recess, and as usual the session will be ushered in by Question Time. The first session in 2023 will last until 31 March, with 199 items on the agenda.

Zagreb - After a four-hour debate, the relevant parliamentary committees on Monday supported Branko Bačić as the future Minister of Physical Planning and Construction, and the Opposition called for a faster post-quake reconstruction. Bačić, who has so far been the whip of the bench of the ruling HDZ party, was presented at the joint session of the Physical Planning and Construction Committee and the Economy Committee by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

Zagreb - Croatian lawmakers are becoming less interesting to citizens, as shown by data on visits to their personal websites last year released by Parliament.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Friday extended greetings to believers who celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar, saying that the world needs peace and that this Christmas "we are strongly reminded of that by the suffering of the friendly Ukrainian people."

Zagreb - In 2022, slightly more than 1,500 citizens contacted the parliamentary Citizens Service with a specific inquiry or to comment, complain or provide a suggestion to the Sabor, according to a report by the service.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Saturday issued a Christmas message, offering his best wishes to Croatian citizens as well as Croats in the homeland and abroad, noting that the increasingly complex world needs the message of the victory of light over darkness that the birth of the Son of God brings.

Zagreb - The Jewish holiday Hanukkah was observed in the Croatian Parliament on Monday by lighting the first candle on the Hanukkah menorah. The ceremony was organised by the Croatia-Israel Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group and was attended by Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, Israeli Ambassador Gary Koren, the chief rabbi of the Bet Israel Jewish Community in Croatia, Kotel Da-Don, and the leader of the friendship group, Marijana Petir.

Zagreb - The Sabor on Friday unanimously voted for free meals for elementary school students as of the second semester of this school year which will cover 311,000 pupils who will have at least one free meal at school financed by the state budget and the total allocation for this purpose is € 72.5 million.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday, by a majority of votes, with 77 in favor and 54 against, amended the Labor Act (ZOR), which introduces a number of novelties in the regulation of individual rights and obligations in employment relations.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament on Friday adopted two strategies, passed several laws, accepted reports by different agencies and thus concluded the extraordinary session and this year's work.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament in an extraordinary session on Friday adopted the Law on Excess Profit Tax, according to which companies with increased profits will become liable for this tax regardless of the business they are in.

Zagreb - The Croatian IT sector is growing and has proved to be less vulnerable to the negative impact of the crisis in 2020 and 2021, the state secretary of the Central State Office for the Development of the Digital Society, Bernard Gršić, said during discussion on the proposed Digital Croatia Strategy 2032 in Parliament on Thursday.

Zagreb - MPs of the ruling majority on Thursday spoke of positive steps in domestic agriculture, while the opposition complained about import growth, saying Croatia is importing even grass, sawdust and cereals for rodents.

Zagreb - At the beginning of a debate on the package of healthcare laws that are crucial for the implementation of the healthcare reform, Opposition MPs claimed that there was no healthcare reform, only the introduction of "crawling privatisation," while the HDZ members say that it is a step forward.

Zagreb - The parliamentary physical planning committee on Wednesday endorsed reports on the effects of the Reconstruction Act, which say progress has been made in the adoption of decisions, while the opposition remarked they contained too many numbers and too few projects realised.

Zagreb - Strengthening the public healtcare system, improving preventive healthcare, reorganising the hospital system, investing in human resources and, above all, making the system sustainable and placing the patient in the focus are the aims of the reform, Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Wednesday.

Zagreb - During a parliamentary debate on the final bill to amend the Income Tax Act on Tuesday,  both the ruling majority and opposition welcomed the rise from HRK 15,000 to HRK 24,000 that a dependent family member can earn in a year and still qualify as a dependent.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament will hold an extraordinary session on Friday at the government's request, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković announced on Monday, December 16.

Zagreb - The parliamentary committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and political system on Wednesday decided on the distribution of allocations for the parliamentary parties in 2023 when the total disbursement for this purpose amounts to €8.3 million.

Zagreb - Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković on Friday informed the parliament about good results in Croatia's marine and freshwater fisheries and significant investments in this sector.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Friday that the Croatian national legislature would continue giving its contribution to all the initiatives aimed at improving the status of ethnic minorities.

Zagreb - The 2030 draft strategy for the development of sustainable tourism was commended on Thursday by MPs from the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), while the opposition ironically wondered where continental tourism had "disappeared", especially tourist industry in Slavonia.

Zagreb - Croatian lawmakers on Wednesday were debating the government's proposal to allow Ukrainian soldiers to train in Croatia as part of the EUMAM mission.

Zagreb - The parliamentary Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System on Tuesday agreed draft changes to the Constitution regarding referenda and related amendments to the constitutional law on the Constitutional Court, which will be sent to parliament for a plenary.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament on Tuesday adopted the state budget for 2023, the state's most important financial document geared towards alleviating the consequences of the economic crisis, maintaining economic growth and development and preserving social security.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković received Slovenia's outgoing President Borut Pahor for the talks on energy, the war in Ukraine, and economic cooperation. Jandroković and Pahor recalled their cooperation, including the period of unblocking Croatia's accession negotiations for membership to the European Union.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Friday, on the occasion of  the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, that there must be zero tolerance towards all forms of violence against women.

Zagreb - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković presented the proposed 2023 budget to Parliament on Wednesday, saying that the government's measures will make Croatia even more resilient to crises.

Zagreb - Unlike the ruling HDZ, opposition parties in parliament on Thursday had little positive to say about the draft budget for 2023, claiming that the government is playing it safe and the budget is unrealistic and inflated, not good for anyone except the state and the government.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković met with visiting Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Wednesday.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and Spanish King Felipe VI on Thursday described the bilateral relations as excellent and friendly, and agreed that they can be boosted in the IT, pharmaceutical and defence industries. 

Zagreb - The parliament's Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System on Wednesday supported by a majority vote a draft code of ethics for members of parliament and forwarded it to be discussed at a plenary session.

Zagreb - Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković said on Wednesday Croatia's agricultural productivity was among the fastest growing and that the export-import ratio in agriculture was 68.8%, more than the ratio for non-agricultural and non-food products.

Zagreb - In order to facilitate filling positions in state bodies to ensure the timely performance of their duties, the government on Thursday moved amendments to the Civil Servants Act to be put on a fast track in the Parliament.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković will be in Romania on Tuesday and Wednesday for an official visit, during which he will meet with senior Romanian officials and visit the Croatian community in several villages in the west of the country.

Zagreb - Croatia and Romania's political journeys have many similarities - from transition from Communism to democracy to Euro-Atlantic integration - and today the two countries cooperate closely and have similar views as to where they belong, Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Tuesday.

Zagreb - Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă on Tuesday received Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and they said Romania-Croatia ties were strong and based on bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Zagreb - The Sabor on Friday revised the 2022 State Budget for the second time this year, with 77 lawmakers of the majority voting in favour of the revision and 46 opposition MPs voting against.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday marked the World Day of Romani Language, observed on 5 November, and on this occasion Speaker Gordan Jandroković was presented with a memorial scroll with Romani insignia, flag and anthem commemorating the 10th anniversary of the declaration of this day.

Zagreb - Ministry of Finance State Secretary Zdravko Zrinušić said on Thursday that the planned increase in the annual amount of non-taxable receipts for dependents from HRK 15,000 to HRK 24,000 would encompass 93,000 people.

Zagreb - HDZ MPs on Thursday commended the government's proposal to increase the annual non-taxable receipts of dependents from HRK 15,000 to HRK 24,000, and the opposition also supported it, but noted that the increase was not sufficient considering inflation and proposed that they be increased to HRK 30,000.

Zagreb - A draft bill on theatres was commended by MPs of the ruling HDZ party on Wednesday, while the opposition criticised it, noting that it gave enormous powers to theatre managers and directors and objecting that managers would be appointed by executive and not by representative bodies, as is the case now.