News

Zagreb - Lawmakers on Tuesday discussed the government's bill of amendments to the Law on Open-End Investment Funds with a Public Offering.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliamentary opposition had far fewer objections to proposed amendments to the Civil Procedure Act (ZPP) than it had earlier to amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act (ZKP) and was interested in when courtrooms would be ready to introduce the mandatory audio recording of proceedings.

Zagreb - The Croatian Sabor on Friday amended the Law on Vocational Education and adopted the Law on the Recognition and Evaluation of Foreign Educational Qualifications.

Zagreb - Parliament on Friday amended by majority vote the law on the right to access information, which says that the public sector and public law bodies must respond to information access requests.

Zagreb - Members of the parliamentary Committee on health and social policy on Friday had a constructive discussion on conscientious objection, not disputing doctors' right to it, however, some participants in the discussion stressed that it must not jeopardise women's right to pregnancy termination.

Zagreb - A few Opposition parliamentary clubs on Wednesday demanded that the draft bill on road traffic safety should be withdrawn from the procedure due to the provision envisaging that family doctors should have a decisive say in whether a driver is able to drive or not.

Zagreb - The Interior Ministry State Secretary Žarko Katić defended the final bill on road traffic safety in the Sabor on Wednesday, saying that it is aimed at reducing the number of traffic accidents and that no new obligations are being introduced for doctors.

Zagreb - Ahead of a parliamentary debate on a report on the use of EU funds and aid programmes in the period from 1 January to 30 June 2021, Members of Parliament on Friday warned about poor results in the absorption of money from EU funds. 

Zagreb - Lawmakers in the Sabor on Thursday supported the draft amendments to the Law on Transboundary Movement and Trade in Wild Species, warning that the annual value of international wildlife trafficking is estimated at billions of euros.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Sunday congratulated citizens on Statehood Day, saying that 30 May 1990 was deep in the memory of the Croatian people as it had been one of the key steps in the realisation of the independent, free, and democratic Croatian state.

Zagreb - The parliament on Friday passed by a majority vote a revised budget for 2022, whereby the expenditure side will increase by HRK 10.9 billion to HRK 184.7 billion and the revenues will go up by 6.6 billion to HRK 171 billion.

Zagreb - Seven Croatian counties are assumed to still contain left-over mines and the plan is to clear the whole country by early 2026, Interior Ministry state secretary Žarko Katić said in Parliament on Thursday, presenting demining reports for 2020 and 2021.

Zagreb  - Croatia supports Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and will continue providing Kyiv with humanitarian, political and technical assistance, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Thursday in Zagreb at a meeting with a deputy chair of the Verkhovna Rada, Olena Kondratiuk.

Zagreb - Deputy Parliament Speaker and prominent Croatian scientist, academician Željko Reiner has been elected as a member of the European Academy of sciences and arts Academia Europaea. 

Zagreb - Members of Parliament on Thursday welcomed the establishment of infrastructure necessary for charging alternative cars, and they warned that the number of electric cars in Croatia was modest, their charging expensive, and their prices too high for ordinary Croatians.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Thursday received the leader of the Democratic Alliance of Vojvodina Croats (DSHV), Tomislav Žigmanov. 

Zagreb - The parliamentary opposition said on Wednesday that this year's budget revision was just "patching up budget holes", underlining the debts in healthcare, and criticised that the revision did not provide any new measures to cushion the impact of the inflation on citizens.

Zagreb - Speaking in the Sabor on Wednesday, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić denied claims by some opposition MPs that allocations for post-earthquake reconstruction had been decreased in the 2022 budget revision was decreasing allocations for reconstruction.

Zagreb - At the start of Friday's sitting, parliament observed a minute's silence in honour of Croatia's first president, the late Franjo Tuđman, on the occasion of his 100th birthday.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday adopted amendments to the Pre-School Education Act to ensure that every child can enroll in a kindergarten, increase the number of children covered by pre-school programmes and improve the quality of education. The amended Act was passed by a vote of 76 to 44.

Zagreb - 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.

Zagreb - The Vatican's recognition of Croatia 30 years ago will be remembered as an act of strong and resolute support for the legality and legitimacy of the Croatian state before the international community, the Holy See secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said in the Croatian Parliament on Thursday.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Wednesday met with his Spanish counterpart Meritxell Batet Lamana in Madrid, thanking her for her country's support to Croatia's bid to join the Schengen and euro areas and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Monday issued a message for the Muslim holiday of Ramadan Bayram, or Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, wishing the Muslim faithful in Croatia to spend it in an atmosphere of peace and unity.

Zagreb - Laying wreaths and lighting candles at a memorial in Okučani on Sunday, the state leadership honoured those killed in the 1 May 1995 Operation Flash, all those who, it was said, were within reach of freedom and victory but did not live to see it.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Saturday issued a message on the occasion of International Workers' Day, noting that constant social dialogue and partnership between the state, employers, and unions are necessary for improving the status of workers.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday confirmed the appointment of two new government ministers, Davor Filipović and Marin Piletić, as well as Anja Šimpraga as new Deputy Prime Minister.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday unanimously voted on amendments to the Act on the Legal Consequences of Conviction, Criminal Records, and Rehabilitation, which regulates the international exchange of information from criminal records.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Thursday that by commemorating Yom HaShoah Croatia was remembering with great respect the innocent victims of the genocide against the Jewish people during World War II.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Wednesday received the outgoing Japanese Ambassador Misako Kaji, thanking her for conveying Japan's experience in dealing with earthquakes and a donation for the Croatian regions hit by two devastating quakes in 2020.

Zagreb - Amendments to the Preschool Education Act on Wednesday provoked strong criticism by the opposition, which claims that they are detrimental to children, while the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) points out they will provide higher quality preschool education and better access to it.

Zagreb - The delegations of the Parliament, Government, ethnic minorities, and the Alliance of Antifascist Fighters and Antifascists (SABA) participated in a remembrance ceremony at the Jasenovac Memorial Centre on Friday to mark the 77th anniversary of the breakout of prisoners from the WW2 death camp.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Thursday unanimously supported the initiative to declare the first Sunday in June National Cancer Survivors Day. The chair of the Health and Social Policy Committee, Renata Sabljar Dračevac, said that National Cancer Survivors Day will put focus on this large population and on the importance of prevention and healthy lifestyles.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković says in his Easter message that this Christian holiday encourages the promotion of peace, forgiveness, and charity, and he calls for thinking of all who are suffering and who have lost the hope and joy of their life in these fast-changing times marked by the Ukraine war.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Friday extended his best wishes to the Jewish faithful on the occasion of Passover, a holiday celebrating the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and the joy of freedom as a fundamental human value.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković has issued a message for International Romani Day, observed on 8 April, saying that Croatia persists in promoting the status of the Romani and their social integration, in particular the integration of young people into the education system.

Zagreb - Parliament on Friday passed a new law protecting whistleblowers which will strengthen their legal protection and simplify the procedure for reporting irregularities.

Zagreb - Sixty-eight, mostly opposition amendments to the Act on the Reporting of Irregularities, colloquially called the whistleblower protection law, were rejected by a government representative in the Parliament on Thursday. 

Zagreb - Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter submitted to the Croatian Parliament the written annual report for 2021, which includes an analysis and assessment of the human rights and equality situation in Croatia and 156 recommendations for improving citizens' rights.

Zagreb - Lawmakers on Wednesday welcomed a ban on the use of pesticides that are hazardous to bees during spring blossoming to avoid a repeat of the situation of June 2020 when millions of bees in Međimurje died.

Zagreb - The committee on the Constitution on Wednesday recommended by majority vote that parliament forward the questions from the Bridge party's referendum petitions against COVID certificates and the national COVID crisis management team to the Constitutional Court for assessment.

Zagreb - We are living in the most challenging times after World War II, and parliaments should have the role of guardians of democracy and the rule of law, Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said at the Conference of the Speakers of EU Parliaments in Brdo Pri Kranju, Slovenia on Monday.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday endorsed a report on the effects of the implementation of the Islands Act in 2020, but opposition MPs warned of the problem of a shortage of doctors on the islands, insufficient investment in schools, and unresolved land title issues.

Zagreb - Members of the Croatian Parliament on Thursday welcomed the proposal for a national hydrogen strategy until 2050, stressing the importance of economic development based on hydrogen, own energy production, and increased electricity production from renewable sources. Some opposition lawmakers warned of the commercial unprofitability of green hydrogen.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković met via video link the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Li Zhanshu on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Croatia and the People’s Republic of China.

Zagreb - The government's proposal to cut VAT on food and gas is welcome but late and insufficient, the parliamentary opposition said on Thursday, while the ruling HDZ said the cut was timely and that it would help citizens weather the price rises.

Zagreb - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Thursday that the measures proposed by the government could not offset the price rises fully but they could alleviate their impact. During a parliamentary debate on draft amendments to the law on the Value Added Tax whereby VAT rates are lowered on gas and food, Marić said that the tax policy could not solve all the issues and that a lower VAT rate did not necessarily mean that prices would drop to a desirable extent, however, "all of us should make contributions to the well-being of citizens."

Zagreb - Croatia will send up to 70 troops to Hungary as part of NATO's Enhanced Vigilance, Parliament decided by majority vote on Friday. One MP voted against and 118 for the decision to send troops to Hungary, where they can be deployed this year and the next, with the possibility of rotation.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament amended the Bankruptcy Act on Friday in order to provide more efficient action during the insolvency of businesses as a consequence of special circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The amendments regulate mechanisms for early warning to debtors facing financial problems to start restructuring their business.

Zagreb - The government's proposal to introduce the euro as the official currency in Croatia on 1 January 2023 divided MPs on Wednesday, with some seeing multiple benefits and others claiming that it will further lower living standards.