The EANA congratulatory note describes HINA as "a respected and appreciated member" of that alliance. HINA is praised for contributing "unbiased, reliable and fast news to the Croatian media and non-media markets". "Media markets may change, but a democratic society's need for a news service that citizens can rely on to be informed has never been more obvious than in this time of hardship, migration and dramatic international developments," EANA wrote in its letter.
President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic recalls that 25 years ago, during its struggle for independence, Croatia established many institutions, and one of the first was HINA whose job was to present the fledgling country and its aspirations to the world.
"Today, 25 years afterwards, HINA has grown into a pillar for providing news to the Croatian and foreign public," reads the president's congratulatory note.
The Culture Ministry said in its letter of congratulation that HINA's results are impressive.
The strongest Opposition party - the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) - also joined in the congratulations.
The Croatian parliament established HINA on 26 July 1990. Relevant legislation adopted in 2001 defines HINA as a public media institution.
The Zagreb-headquartered agency currently employs 126 people and is a medium-sized agency according to European standards. It has correspondents throughout Croatia and several abroad.
The annual outlays for HINA's operation are 24 million kuna, and a third is secured by HINA's own means. In real terms, HINA's operations cost the state budget HRK 15 million annually.
Since the start of its work until 1 July 2015, HINA released 1,798,074 news items, or 198 per day on average. It publishes its contents in Croatian and English. It also published over 397,000 photos. HINA is seen as the primary Croatian source of daily news and other information.
(EUR 1 = HRK 7.5)