Open data as the fuel for democracy, raw materials for economic growth

Can you imagine public websites providing citizens with the data on every outlay by every ministry, state office or agency, who authorized what payment, when staff salaries were paid and what they amounted to, or how official credit cards are charged? Can Croatia look up to Great Britain as an often-cited exemplary of data openness…

Court asked to test motorway referendum question constitutionality

The Croatian Parliament’s Constitution Committee on Wednesday decided to ask the Constitutional Court to test the constitutionality of the question in the planned referendum against leasing motorways, with Committee Chairman Pedja Grbin of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) explaining that the referendum question would imply an absolute ban on concessions in the motorway sector. In…

Strategic study on Adriatic oil and gas exploitation met with criticism

A strategic study and a framework plan for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in the Adriatic Sea were presented in Zagreb on Tuesday and the presentation was organised by the Hydrocarbons Agency. The most frequent questions by those attending were about the hazards of oil exploitation in the Adriatic, what a disaster caused by…

Croatian parliament pays tribute to Holocaust victims

Deputy Parliament Speaker Dragica Zgrebec said on Tuesday that Holocaust Memorial Day, January 27, was a day to send a message that peace, freedom, equality, solidarity, respect for differences and the right to choice of every man, are a pledge for the future of mankind. International Holocaust Memorial Day was marked in the Croatian parliament…

Social dialogue in Norway and Croatia

The conference “Norway and Croatia: Partners in Economic and Social Development”, organised by the Norwegian embassy in Zagreb on Monday, brought together Croatian government officials, unionists, employers and nongovernmental organisations’ activists. Speaking at the conference, Labour and Pension System Minister Mirando Mrsic boasted that “social dialogue in Croatia has become of age”, while union leader…

Road union rep not surprised by constitutional court’s decision

President of the Independent Roads Union Mijat Stanic, who was the main person behind an initiative to call a referendum against the government’s plan to lease Croatian motorways, said on Tuesday that he wasn’t surprised that the Constitutional Court had rejected a request to temporarily ban any further procedures until the referendum was finalised. “The…