Gov’t to give HRK 20,000 per household as post-quake emergency aid

(Photo: HINA/Damir SENČAR)

ZAGREB, May 7 (Hina) – The Croatian government has secured emergency aid in the amount of HRK 20,000 per household for the necessary protection and repair of buildings damaged in the March 22 quake that hit Zagreb and its environs, and it will soon put to public consultation a bill on the reconstruction of buildings.

The aid to be granted as emergency relief to households amounts to HRK 141 million in total, it was said at a government meeting on Thursday.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic asked the competent ministries to finalise a bill on the reconstruction of buildings damaged in the March 22 quake, saying that once the bill was consolidated, a final meeting would be held with representatives of the Zagreb city authorities, after which the bill would be put to brief public consultation and then forwarded to the parliament.

The government wants the bill to be good and comprehensive, Plenkovic said, noting that the damage caused by the quake was extensive.

Croatia will seek assistance from the EU as well, and PM Plenkovic said that Croatia would also seek “broader international arrangements, considering the scope of the damage.”

The Construction and Physical Planning Ministry has been cooperating with the Regional Development and EU Funds Ministry on preparing the necessary documentation.

“The reconstruction process will last for years, notably the restoration of protected cultural monuments, Zagreb’s symbols, but people who have been left without a roof over their head cannot wait that long. That is why it is important to make them feel safe again, provide accommodation for those who will not be able to return to their houses and flats so soon and secure the basic living conditions for them,” said Construction and Physical Planning Minister Predrag Stromar.

The government today also made a decision to send financial aid for the global fight against the coronavirus in the amount of one million euros, pledged at an international conference in Brussels on May 4.

It also forwarded to the parliament a bill on the national allowance for elderly people, which proposes that as of January 1, 2021, the national pension for people over the age of 65 who have had an uninterrupted residence in Croatia for 20 years, do not have a pension and are not employed, should amount to HRK 800 (slightly more than €100).

The government also adopted a national report on the rule of law in Croatia for the purpose of making an annual European Commission report on the rule of law in EU member states.

This is a new EC mechanism, it is being done for the first time, PM Plenkovic said, adding that several ministries had cooperated on making the report.