News

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. 

Zagreb - The parliament on Friday adopted the 2019-2026 National Sports Programme, as the first strategic document for planning in the field of sports in Croatia.

Parliament on Friday decided on amendments to the Law on Road Safety which foresees harsher penalties for traffic offences.

Zagreb - Parliament on Friday appointed Ivana Belec as a member of the State Electoral Commission (DIP), a permanent and independent institution that supervises elections and referendums, the financing of political parties, election and referendum campaigning.

Zagreb - The government on Thursday sent to the parliament the draft bill on enforcement aimed at ensuring cost-saving and efficient procedures for enforcement as well as at a well-balanced protection of dignity of debtors, and the new legislation reinstates the jurisdiction of courts over enforcement  procedures.

Zagreb - A memorial plaque was unveiled at the Sisters of Mercy Hospital in Zagreb on Wednesday to commemorate doctors and nuns who had treated and hidden Jews during World War II, saving many of them from concentration camps and death.

Zagreb - Lawmakers of both the ruling coalition and opposition parties on Tuesday supported the engagement of Croatian troops in international missions, underscoring that Croatia has multiple benefits from such missions.

Zagreb - A commemoration on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, when more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serb forces, was held at the Croatian parliament and a message was sent out that a crime of that nature must never occur again.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament on Friday adopted a set of laws regulating water management as well as the Law on State Administration which depoliticises, professionalises and decentralises state administration and makes it more efficient.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament on Friday amended the Police Act, which, among other things, enables the hiring of persons with a finished three-year secondary education as well as a housing allowance for police officers who work in places more than 100 kilometres away from their place of residence, who do not have their housing status resolved and do not receive a commuting allowance.

Zagreb - Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić was elected the new Secretary-General of the Council of Europe by secret ballot held in the CoE Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg on Wednesday evening.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković underscored in his congratulatory note on the occasion of Croatia's Statehood Day that 25 June 1991 will be permanently inscribed in the nation's history as the day when the Croatian Sabor, as the Croatian people's legitimate representative legislature that has preserved Croatian sovereignty for centuries, unanimously adopted two decisions essential for Croatia's present-day sovereignty and independence.

Zagreb - Parliament on Friday passed the Agricultural Census Act in order to obtain exact data, and a new law on land registers aimed at simplifying and stepping up proceedings.

Zagreb - Unionists who launched the "67 is too much" campaign to collect signatures for a referendum on restoring the statutory pension age from 67 to 65 on Thursday submitted to the parliament a total of 65 boxes with 748,624 signatures collected from 27 April to 11 May.

Zagreb - There are about 6,000 blind people in Croatia yet only 6% of them are employed, it was heard at a panel discussion in parliament on Wednesday which pointed out inclusive allowance and assistants for blind people as well as better education and employment opportunities as crucial tasks. The panel discussion was organised by MP Ljubica Lukačić (HDZ) on the occasion of the Day of the Croatian Blind Union, marked June 16.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Friday finished his official visit to Japan by a meeting with the Kyoto Prefecture Governor Takatoshi Nishiwaki on possibilities of bilateral cooperation.

Hiroshima - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Thursday visited Hiroshima, where he laid a wreath at the Peace Memorial Park for the victims of the atomic bombing and met with local officials for talks on possible cooperation with partners in Croatia. 

Tokyo - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković held meetings with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Keiichi Ishii in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, who is on a visit to Japan, on Tuesday met with the presidents of both houses of the Japanese Parliament, calling at those meetings on Japanese business people to invest in Croatia and citing in that context the positive examples of the Kali Tuna and Yazaka companies in Croatia.

Tokyo - Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Tuesday received in audience Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and his wife Sonja.