News

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Wednesday received Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who was on an official visit, parliament said in a press release.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament on Friday adopted the Electricity Market Act, under which Croatian households will be able to buy electricity from EU suppliers, and EU consumers will be able to choose power providers from Croatia.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament on Friday passed the amendments to the Electronic Media Act and the Copyright and Related Rights Act.

Zagreb - Croatia's Fiscal Policy Commission has called on the government to use the expected recovery and the lifting of coronavirus-related restrictions next year to ensure stronger consolidation of public finance and full application of fiscal rules as of 2023.

Zagreb - Croatian MPs on Friday endorsed the ratification of investment protection agreements between EU member states and Vietnam and Singapore, which are aimed at improving the investment climate.

Zagreb - The government on Thursday sent a referendum bill to parliament with the aim to improve the vague referendum legislation, notably concerning referendum petitions by people's initiatives.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Thursday received outgoing Chinese Ambassador Xu Erwen and they said the Pelješac Bridge would remain a symbol of the friendly Chinese-Croatian relations. 

Zagreb - Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek said on Thursday the new copyright law would protect copyrights in the digital sphere and result in a stronger and more secure environment for cultural and creative industries.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Wednesday observed a minute's silence for all women victims of violence on the National Day of combating violence against women.

Zagreb - A closing conference for the project "Infrastructure Development of the Ljubešćica Enterprise Zone" was held in this municipality in northern Varaždin County on Tuesday. The aim of this project, launched in 2011, was to build municipal and electricity infrastructure for enterprise development and to attract investment. Nearly 6,000 square metres of roads, several thousand metres of storm drains, and public lighting was built.

Zagreb - Parliament on Friday debated a bill on settlements which should improve and harmonise methods for determining their boundaries, marking the names of settlements, streets and squares and numbering houses, with the opposition saying the bill "resolves some issues but not the most important ones."

Zagreb - A final bill on seeds, propagating/reproductive material and acceptance of varieties of agricultural plant species was sent by the government to the parliament on Thursday.

Zagreb - The parliamentary Opposition said on Thursday that the minimum wage of HRK 3,400 (€453) was not sufficient for a decent life and should be raised, which was supported by members of the parliamentary majority.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Wednesday extended greetings to the Jewish faithful in Croatia on the occasion of Yom Kippur and Sukkot, wishing that they spend the holidays in peace and joy with their families.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament's Information and Media Committee on Tuesday endorsed the Copyright and Related Rights Bill and the Electronic Media Bill after debating copyright protection and user comments.

Zagreb - The parliamentary Judiciary Committee will vote at a later date on candidates for the Supreme Court president due to a dispute over disciplinary proceedings launched before the State Judicial Council against President Zoran Milanović's candidate for the post, Judge Radovan Dobronić.

Zagreb - The Croats in Austria are extremely important to Croatia, which wants to develop the best relations possible with them, notably the younger generation, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said in Vienna on Wednesday.

Zagreb - Protecting the environment contributes to prosperity, particularly in tourist countries like Croatia, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said in Vienna on Tuesday.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Tuesday issued message offering his best wishes to the Jewish community on the occasion of the holiday of Rosh Hashanah.

Zagreb - Stability in Croatia's neighbourhood is important for an effective response to a possible migrant wave, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Tuesday. The issue of migration is one of the key security issues of our two countries, Jandroković told reporters after a meeting with Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian National Council.

Zagreb - Parliament will begin its autumn session on 15 September, Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Monday after a meeting of parliament's Presidency.

Zagreb - The government the final electronic media bill to Parliament on Thursday, under which providers of electronic publications are also held responsible for the content of user comments. The bill was amended in cooperation with the Croatian Journalists' Association and the Association of Newspaper Publishers at the Croatian Employers' Association and was submitted to Parliament for discussion under the fast-track procedure.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Tuesday extended Kurban Bayram greetings to the head of the Islamic Community in Croatia, Mufti Aziz Hasanović, and all Islamic believers.

Zagreb - The Opposition-sponsored motion for a commission of inquiry into alleged irregularities in the post-war reconstruction was rejected by the Parliament on Thursday, the last day before its summer recess.

Zagreb - The law on the civilian Homeland War victims was passed on Thursday by 107 to 16 votes, with five members of the Croatian Parliament abstaining from the vote.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday extended the eligibility to work part-time and receive a full pension to family pension beneficiaries.

Zagreb - By a majority vote (with 75 votes in favour, two abstentions, and 43 votes against), the Parliament adopted the Waste Management Act. When it enters into force, eight days after its publication in the Official Gazette, it will ban the sale of single-use plastic products, including plastic cotton buds, straws, cutlery.

Zagreb - The parliamentary Committee on the Constitution, Rules of Procedure, and Political System has unanimously decided on the distribution of funds for the work of political parties and independent MPs from 1 July to 31 December, allocating HRK 31 million for this purpose.

Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said at Dubrovnik Forum on Saturday that the pandemic would "change lives permanently" and there would be no going back to the way of life before the pandemic, while cooperation, solidarity, and unity were needed more than ever.

Zagreb - Draft amendments to pension insurance legislation, whereby recipients of family pensions will be allowed to work part-time and continue receiving a full family pension, will be on parliament's agenda this week.

Zagreb - Health Minister Vili Beroš told the national parliament on Wednesday that he was satisfied with how the government and competent authorities had dealt with the coronavirus epidemic from mid-January to the end of May 2020.

Zagreb - The COVID-19 epidemic has affected especially hard the lives of persons with disabilities and children with developmental difficulties and their families, the Ombudswoman for persons with disabilities, Anka Slonjšak, said in parliament on Friday, presenting a report on her work in 2020.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković greeted Croatian citizens in the country and abroad on the occasion of Independence Day, calling on lawmakers to turn to topics of the future and challenges of the modern era. 

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Tuesday congratulated all Croatian citizens on Antifascist Struggle Day, saying the values of antifascism were built into the foundations of independent and sovereign Croatia.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday amended the state budget for this year, under which revenues would increase by HRK 3 billion to 150.3 billion and expenditures by HRK 9.4 billion to 167.4 billion, while the general government deficit would grow from the initially planned 2.9% to 3.8% of GDP.

Zagreb - The new law on the electricity market "absolutely" stimulates solar power for households, state secretary in the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Energy Ivo Milatić said on Wednesday, presenting the bill in Parliament.

Zagreb - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić reiterated on Wednesday that the budget revision was not primarily related to COVID-19 but to the problems in healthcare and settling debts to drug wholesalers after all the legal possibilities of resolving that through budget reallocation had been exhausted. Hence the major part of the proposed increase in expenditure will go to the health sector, with an additional HRK 2.8 billion secured for that, Marić said in Parliament.

Zagreb - The parliament adopted with 112 votes in favour of the Ombudswoman's report on the right to a healthy life and climate change in Croatia in the period from 2013 to 2020 in the context of the global climate movement and the coronavirus pandemic. The parliament also adopted by a majority vote a report on the work of the State Audit Office in 2020, which shows that the office submitted 185 audit reports to the parliament in 2020. Of those reports,160 referred to financial audits and 25 to audits of efficiency in the management of public funds.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Wednesday adopted several decisions on appointments and replacements, including for Hina's Steering Council. The parliament appointed and relieved four of the five members of Hina's Steering Council of their duties.

Zagreb - Parliamentary opposition parties have filed a joint motion for a vote of no confidence in Health Minister Vili Beroš over the accumulated problems in the healthcare sector.

Zagreb - Amendments to the Capital Market Act, which are aimed at further aligning Croatia's regulatory framework with the EU acquis, were supported on Wednesday by both the Opposition and the ruling majority in the Parliament, who expressed hopes for the revival of the capital market. 

Zagreb - The parliament's Judiciary Committee on Tuesday decided unanimously to call a new session to which it will invite all five candidates for the Supreme Court president and interview them, after which it will make a decision that is non-binding on the proposer, the President of the Republic.

Zagreb - Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter said in the Parliament on Thursday that the institution of Ombudswoman should be a bridge between all stakeholders involved in human rights protection and that it was important for the Parliament to regularly discuss its reports. 

Zagreb - Croatian lawmakers on Wednesday agreed on the need to strengthen the administrative and absorption capacity for the use of EU funds and to further simplify and standardise the rules.

Zagreb - Digital and green transformation is Croatia's and Europe's future, participants in the second part of the "Conference on the Future of Europe - A Vision of Croatia", held at the Croatian Parliament on Tuesday.

Zagreb - Successful Croatian stories and a plan to include citizens in Europe's development were presented on Tuesday at the Croatian Parliament, during the first part of the "Conference on the Future of Europe - Croatia's Vision," during which Speaker Gordan Jandroković entered a debate with a robot.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Monday participated at a conference of EU parliament speakers, a regular meeting to discuss current issues regarding the role of the parliament, and to coordinate parliamentary activities in the EU. 

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday amended the Animal Husbandry Act regulating conditions for the breeding and protection of the Carniolan honey bee, a species native to Croatia and favoured among bee-keepers for its extraordinary production traits. 

Zagreb - Parliament on Friday adopted a law whereby as of 3 June physical entities are obliged to declare cash of €10,000 or more which they carry to and from the European Union.

Zagreb - The Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) parliamentary caucuses on Wednesday discussed the government-sponsored proposal whereby physical entities are obliged to declare cash of €10,000 or more which they carry to and from the European Union.