Croatia

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković’s third government, formed by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Homeland Movement (DP), won the Sabor’s confidence on 17 May 2024. President Zoran Milanović was re-elected on 12 January 2025 with nearly 75 per cent of the vote against HDZ’s candidate Dragan Primorac, and in the run-off of the local elections on 1 June 2025, Tomislav Tomašević of Možemo! was re-elected mayor of Zagreb.

At the concert of the singer Marko Perković Thompson in Zagreb on 5 July 2025, the performer and his fans made fascist salutes associated with the Second World War Ustaša regime, and in February 2026 a video of the DP MP Josip Dabro singing a song glorifying the Ustaša leader Ante Pavelić strained the governing coalition. The Zagreb County Court confirmed the corruption indictment against former health minister Vili Beroš on 22 September 2026. Tens of thousands rallied in Zagreb on 5 September 2026 over delays in removing hazardous waste dumped in Lika, and a no-confidence motion against Plenković, filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on 25 September over the waste scandal, was debated in the Sabor from 13 October into the early hours of 14 October, with a vote expected the following week. The European Commission’s 2026 rule of law chapter states that the level of perceived judicial independence in Croatia continues to be very low.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranks Croatia 53rd of 180 in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index with a score of 66.31, compared with 60th place and a score of 64.20 in 2025. It states that the government has failed to protect journalists against strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and attacks by organised crime, and that government interference in the management of the public television channel HTV persists. The Commission’s chapter reports that, according to Ministry of the Interior data, 19 incidents involving 23 criminal offences against journalists and other media professionals were recorded in 2025, and the Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) reported in May 2025 that at least 696 lawsuits against journalists and media outlets were pending.

The Sabor adopted a law transposing the EU anti-SLAPP directive on 19 June 2026, which entered into force on 7 July. It covers domestic and cross-border civil and commercial proceedings but excludes criminal cases, leaving criminal defamation and insult proceedings outside its safeguards, a gap criticised by stakeholders cited by the Commission. The law implementing the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), adopted on 6 March 2026 by 78 votes to 57, turned the Agency for Electronic Media into the Agency for Media and gave it oversight of appointment procedures for public service media governing bodies, while its seven-member Media Council remains appointed by the Sabor on the Government’s proposal. Stakeholders cited by the Commission continue to perceive favouritism in state advertising towards media outlets with government affiliations. The Council for National Minorities cut its allocation to the Serb minority weekly Novosti by 35 per cent in 2025 and maintained the reduced allocation at EUR 400,000 in 2026.

State Media Monitor maps two media organisations in Croatia. Croatian Radio Television (HRT) has been classified Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu) in every review cycle since 2022. Its Director General, four of the five Supervisory Board members and nine of the eleven Programme Council members are selected by the Sabor, and independent monitoring has documented government-favouring coverage and editorial interference despite statutory guarantees of independence. HRT is financed predominantly through the licence fee, which has remained unchanged since 2012 at EUR 10.62 a month. Director General Robert Šveb’s five-year mandate, which began when the Sabor appointed him on 20 October 2021, expires on 20 October 2026. On 16 October the Sabor’s media committee, with the votes of the ruling majority and after opposition members walked out, backed the HDZ club’s proposal to appoint Dražen Miočić as his successor, with a plenary vote expected the following week.

The Croatian News Agency (HINA) was classified State-Controlled (SC) from 2022 to 2025 and moved to Independent State Funded and State Managed (ISFM) in 2026. It depends predominantly on a state collective subscription and its Management Council is appointed by the Sabor on the Government’s proposal, but this review did not establish that its coverage is directed by state authorities. Siniša Kovačić, a former acting Director General of HRT, became its director in September 2025. The Commission’s 2026 chapter reports some stakeholders’ concerns about possible influence on editorial decision-making by HINA’s management, and HND president Hrvoje Zovko said in September 2026 that the model for selecting the governing bodies of HRT and HINA is not in line with European legislation.

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