News

Zagreb - The state budget for 2024 was adopted on Thursday by Croatia's 151-seat parliament with a 77-42 tally. The budget revenue of €28.5 billion is 3% higher than this year, and the expenditures, totalling €32.6 billion, are 11.2% higher than in 2023.

Zagreb - As many as 468 amendments, 33 more than last year, have been submitted by MPs to the draft 2024 state budget, with only five submitted by the majority.

Zagreb - Both ruling and opposition members of the Croatian Parliament on Friday supported the proposal to amend the Courts Act, under which all court judgments would have to be published on a dedicated website.

Zagreb - A Cyber Security Bill, which provides for a certain centralisation in cyber security management, through the transformation of the Cyber Security Centre of the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) into the National Cyber Security Centre, will be on the Sabor's agenda on Thursday.

Zagreb - The government will have to say what it plans to do with Fortenova as the successor to the failed Agrokor conglomerate, the chair of the parliamentary Justice Committee said on Wednesday, and he also expects answers on the State Attorney's Office's (DORH) responsibility for the expert evaluation.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, who on Saturday took part in the Remembrance Walk in Vukovar, called for solemn commemoration of war victims in Vukovar and Škabrnja and defenders who gave heir lives in the 1991-1995 Homeland War.

Zagreb - Science and Education Minister Radovan Fuchs said in the parliament on Thursday that the Bill on the Croatian Language laid down the basic rules for the official and public use of the Croatian language and secured a systematic expert care for the Croatian language.

Zagreb - World Diabetes Day was marked in Parliament on Wednesday with a public health campaign which included the measuring of blood glucose and arterial pressure and counselling on the proper diet.

Zagreb - The Sabor's Defence Committee on Wednesday supported by majority vote the proposal to vote confidence in Osijek-Baranja County head Ivan Anušić as the new Defence Minister, and he said that the completion of the coastal patrol boat fleet and the army's return to Beli Manastir were his priorities.

Zagreb - The exhibition "Croatian training ship Jadran - home port Split, 1933-2023", which marks the 90th anniversary of that ship sailing into the port of Split, opened in the Croatian parliament on Thursday, with the message that endeavours are being taken to bring the vessel back from Tivat to Croatia.

Zagreb - Right-wing opposition parties on Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's policy on illegal migration after he presented reports on European Council meetings held between April and October.

Zagreb - Croatia is not exposed to a mass and out-of-control migrant flow and it was not and will not be a migrant hotspot, Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Thursday and dismissed the possibility of deploying the army on the border.

Zagreb - Speaking ahead of a debate on illegal migration, the right opposition said the army should be deployed at key points on the border to prevent illegal entries, while the left opposition said migrants were not a threat to Croatia and that the right was fomenting citizens' fears ahead of elections.

Zagreb - Delegations of the parliament and government on Tuesday laid wreaths at Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetery on the eve of All Saints' Day.

Zagreb - The 151-seat parliament on Friday adopted by majority vote the government-sponsored budget revision, which increases budget revenue by €1.1 billion to €27.7 billion and outlays by 1.2 billion to €29.3 billion.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament passed the Traffic Privileges Act on Friday, regulating privileges in rail, maritime and road  traffic.

Zagreb - The Sabor's Home Affairs and National Security Committee on Thursday adopted a conclusion obliging the government to submit to the parliament within the next 15 days a report on the state of illegal migrations in Croatia since its Schengen entry, to be followed by a discussion on it at a plenary session.

Zagreb - Parliament's Information and Media Committee on Thursday sent the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System Committee the opinion that all three candidates for the post of new Information Commissioner meet the requirements - Anita Markić, Dubravka Bevandić and Nikola Kristić.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday rejected by majority vote a proposal to amend the Civil Obligations Act, submitted by the SDP and the Green-Left Bloc, with which they requested that the method of debt calculation in that law be changed.

Zagreb -  The ruling majority and the opposition on Friday welcomed changes to the Law on Materials and Objects that Come in Direct Contact with Food, which improves public health protection standards, and warned of the presence of microplastics in the soil, air and water, as well as the counterfeiting of packaging.

Zagreb - The Parliamentary Committee on the Constitution, Rules of Procedure and Political System decided on Friday that, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure , the Ministry of the Interior's report on illegal migration cannot be included in the agenda of the plenary session.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Tuesday unanimously adopted the Law on Academic and Professional Titles and Academic Degrees which removes incongruences with European practices in the awarding of titles, notably those acquired upon completion of specialist graduate studies in Croatia.

Zagreb - The motion for a no-confidence vote against Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman, which was submitted by the Bridge party over the minister's failure to declare dividend income of €2.1 million from the company owned by his family, was on Tuesday supported by 48 MPs while 77 were against it.

Zagreb - The Croatian parliament on Tuesday ratified an agreement on a loan which the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development has approved to Croatia for the project "Digital, Innovative and Green Technology".

Zagreb - The brutal attacks against Israel are attacks against the values that the civilised world shares: freedom, peace, democracy and the protection of fundamental human rights, and therefore Croatia stands by Israel, Sabor Speaker Gordan Jandroković has stated.

Zagreb - The Sabor's Committee on Environment and Nature Protection on Thursday discussed climate and energy policies in the context of updating the Integral National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) for the period from 2021 to 2030.

Zagreb - The Opposition on Thursday blasted the draft Tourism Bill, maintaining that it would not result in sustainable tourism and the only ones to profit would be private consultancies that would make tourism development plans while HDZ MPs commended it as a step forward and an example to other countries.

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Thursday received South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and invited Korean companies to invest in the Croatian energy sector, IT and digital technologies.

Zagreb - Parliament on Wednesday endorsed a final bill on academic titles and degrees, questioning during debate the large number of study programmes and academic titles in Croatia.

Zagreb - Croatia has been constantly pushing for Kosovo's accession to international and regional organisations and calls on the states which have not yet done so to internationally recognise Kosovo, Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković told Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani Sadriu on Tuesday.

Zagreb - More than 800 people, both local and foreign visitors, visited the Croatian Parliament on Open Door Day on Saturday to see the most important parliamentary sights and hear interesting information about the history of  Parliament.

Zagreb - To mark the Croatian Parliament 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 Parliament House Open Day event. 

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Friday extended his best wishes to Croatian MPs and citizens on the occasion of Parliament Day, which is observed on 8 October, recalling the historic decision the parliament made on that day 32 years ago, and the dramatic events of 7 October 1991.

Zagreb - Both the ruling and opposition parties in the Croatian parliament on Thursday endorsed a set of eight bills amending various regulations following the adoption of the euro as legal tender.

Zagreb -  Parliament debated for nine and a half hours on Wednesday an opposition motion to give a vote of no confidence in Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman for failing to declare €2.1 million in dividends among his assets, which the government and the ruling majority rejected.

Zagreb - The new Law on Humanitarian Aid strengthens the mechanisms of control over the collection of humanitarian aid and increases fines in order to prevent abuses, Social Policy Ministry State Secretary, Marija Pletikosa, told the parliament on Wednesday.

Zagreb - The 151-seat Croatian Parliament on Thursday adopted the new law on constituencies for the election of members of Parliament, redrawing the boundaries of the 10 electoral districts but not change the election system.

Zagreb - The state neither controls debt collection agencies nor protects debtors, the opposition said on Thursday in a debate on new rules for debt collectors, while the ruling majority denied this.

Zagreb - Commenting on the fact that no candidate responded to the advertised vacancy for the head of the Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK), State Attorney-General Zlata Hrvoj-Šipek said on Wednesday that her office and USKOK did not depend on one person.

Zagreb - Chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee, Marijana Petir, chairman of the Committee on Agriculture of the Hungarian Parliament Sándor Font and Executive Director of the Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food Darja Sokolić presented their keynote speeches about the Declaration on GMO-free Alps-Adriatic-Danube region and the review of the proposals for new European Commission Regulations concerning plants obtained by new genomic techniques and the production and marketing of plant reproductive material.

Zagreb - Marking the tenth anniversary of Croatia’s membership in the European Union, the Agriculture Committee of the Croatian Parliament organized an inter-parliamentary conference on the contribution of national parliaments to the improvement of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union.

Zagreb - Agriculture is invaluable for national security and economic development, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Monday, adding that the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) contributes to development but that one should take account of member states' specificities.

Zagreb – The Chairwoman of the Agriculture and Forestry Committee of the Parliament of Finland, Jenna Simula, and the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Cyprus, Yiannakis Gavriel, introduced the topic of national parliaments’ initiatives.

Zagreb - On the occasion of National Day of Combating Violence Against Women, observed on 22 September, MPs said on Friday that the Croatian society is obliged to do everything to stop violence against women and preserve human lives.

Zagreb - The Pelješac Bridge, built by a Chinese company, and the Chinese investment in the Senj wind park are symbols of successful cooperation between Croatia and China, said Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, and a senior official of the Chinese Parliament, Li Hongzhong, on Friday.

Zagreb - Croatian parliamentary opposition parties on Thursday criticised the government's proposal to amend a package of tax laws, saying that it did not take into account the high rate of inflation.

Zagreb - Finance Minister Marko Primorac presented the government's proposal to amend a package of tax laws to Parliament on Thursday, saying that it had received an equal amount of support and criticism and that this was a good indicator.

Zagreb - The Defence Committee of the Croatian Parliament gave at its session on Thursday a unanimous positive opinion on the joint procurement of ammunition and other equipment within the European Defence Agency projects.

Zagreb - On the initiative of the chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee, Marijana Petir, and on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Croatia’s membership in the EU, the Croatian Parliament will host an inter-parliamentary conference on the “Contribution of National Parliaments to Improving the Common Agricultural Policy” on 25 September 2023 in Zagreb.

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Wednesday opened a discussion on the final proposal to amend the Electoral Units Act, with ruling and opposition MPs exchanging heavy words over the voter register.