Croatian citizens may soon be able to travel visa-free to the United States after the Secretary of State Antony Blinken formally nominated Croatia to join the US Visa Waiver Program, schengenvisainfo.com reported. The VWP enables nationals of several world countries to enter the US territory for tourism or business purposes without the need to obtain a visa first. Blinken announced the official nomination of Croatia to become the newest country to join the VWP after Poland was added in 2019 through a Twitter statement.

European Union finance ministers approved on Monday the national recovery plans of Croatia, Cyprus, Lithuania and Slovenia, paving the way for the disbursement of EU pre-financing for projects envisaged under the schemes, news wires reported. The European Council is expected to adopt its implementing decisions on the approval of these plans by written procedure shortly after the informal ministers’ meeting held on Monday. Following the formal adoption of the decisions, this second batch of member states will be able to use the facility’s funds to foster their economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Croatia and Montenegro have tightened rules against the new coronavirus along the Adriatic Sea coast amid a rise in infections and in an effort to save the summer tourism season.

MEPs call for the restoration of free movement within the Schengen area, which has been disrupted by border controls, most recently because of the Covid-19 crisis. The European Parliament argues that member states should swiftly restore free movement in the Schengen area in its newly adopted Schengen report (505 votes in favour, 134 against and 54 abstentions), EP Press service reported on Thursday.

Today and tomorrow, EC President Ursula von der Leyen will be in Cyprus and Croatia to present the Commission's assessment on the national recovery and resilience plans under NextGenerationEU.

Croatia has agreed to buy a batch of used fighter jets from France, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday, in a deal worth €1 billion ($1.2 billion).

A cable car taking visitors to a mountaintop view of some of northern Italy's most picturesque lakes plunged to the ground Sunday, killing at least nine people and sending two children to the hospital, authorities said.

Sun loungers are out, beach bars are open and rave music is pumping. Hotels and restaurants are greeting visitors hoping to get a head start on summer after more than a year of coronavirus lockdowns and travel restrictions.

The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) of PM Andrej Plenkovic was confirmed as the first political force in the country during the first round of local elections, held in Croatia on Sunday. The HDZ has won majority votes in 11 big cities, while the Socialist Democratic Party, a big opposition party, has only secured two cities, preliminary results show.

A total of 15.47% of Croatians went to the polls in Sunday's local elections by noon, which is almost the same turnout as in the 2017 local election, when 15.98% of voters had voted by noon, the State Election Commission said, cited by Croatian news agency HINA. Some 3.660 million eligible voters will be able to cast their ballots for local government bodies, mayors, and county heads.