June the 14th, 2024 – The Defence Ministry has confirmed that the decided interest in Croatian military service has been increasing. A look at each sector, as explained by different ministers.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Defence Minister Ivan Anušić, responding to Darko Klasić (HSLS) on whether interest in military conscription has increased, confirmed on Wednesday that interest in Croatian military service has indeed markedly grown.
In the first five months of 2024, 451 candidates applied for voluntary Croatian military service training, in the whole of 2023 there were 616 candidates. Back in 2022 there were a mere 568 such candidates.
He then noted that they raised the salaries of soldiers as well as daily allowances for those on missions, and raised the pension limit to 50 years. He announced further investments in the modernisation of the Croatian Armed Forces and the increase of material rights.
He hopes, as he said, that this will contribute to the further popularisation of Croatian military service.
education
Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs reiterated the Croatian Government’s priorities in his sector. “Our goal is to have all schools in one shift by 2027, to have sports halls and fields and to increase the number of children enrolled in high school programmes from 30 to 35 percent,” he said.
At the same time, he called on Zagreb and Rijeka to submit applications for the construction of halls, because they are quite behind other Croatian cities.
When it comes to kindergartens, the goal is to have about 44,000 new places in kindergartens by 2027 compared to 2019, and the ultimate goal is for every child to have a place in kindergarten by 2030, added Fuchs.
spatial planning, construction and state property
Ikić Baniček (SDP): Not much was done in the reconstruction of Sisak after the earthquake; Minister Bačić: The revitalisation programme is already showing results.
The Minister of Spatial Planning, Construction and State Property Branko Bačić rejected the allegations of Kristina Ikić Baniček (SDP) that not much was done to rebuild Sisak after the earthquake.
“The revitalisation programme of Sisak and Sisak-Moslavina County is already yielding significant results, before the earthquake the net salary in the county was among the lowest in Croatia, and 3 and a half years after the earthquake it is in eighth place. In addition to that, there’s never been a higher number of trades, higher employment and lower unemployment, and 45 percent more children are enrolled in the first grades of the elementary school in Petrinja than there were one year ago, which speaks volumes about the renewal,” Bačić emphasised.
He also stated that in Sisak-Moslavina County, the government decided to build 56 multi-dwelling units with 974 apartments, and in Sisak alone there are now 20 new multi-dwelling units. He added that after the reconstruction, Sisak will have 410 brand new housing units.
war veterans’ affairs
Medved: We’re working on the concept of centres for the long-term accommodation of veterans who need care.
Croatian Veterans Minister Tomo Medved, answering a question from Anamarija Blažević (HDZ), spoke about programmes for Croatian war veterans.
“After we established four veterans’ centres and provided Croatian veterans with a rehabilitation programme, we designed the concept of veterans’ centres as institutions for the long-term accommodation of Croatian veterans who are in difficult situations and need permanent care,” he said.
We’re provide the formal, legal and technical prerequisites for the start of the construction of veterans’ centres in Pakrac, Imotski, Slunj, Slavonski Brod and Vukovar, Medved added.
culture and media
The Minister of Culture and Media, Nina Obuljen Koržinek, referred to the preservation of Croatian cultural heritage, recalling the project of creating conservation materials that will be publicly available in digital format and significantly speed up the retrieval of documents for both citizens and investors.
