March the 27th, 2022 - The price of the most basic white Croatian bread could soar to never before seen prices if inflation and the price of energy continues to go on as it has been.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, if the energy market fails to stabilise soon, which is why we're recording higher wheat prices these days, basic white Croatian bread could reach an unprecedented price of as much as 15 kuna per piece, as was confirmed by the director of Zitozajednica, Nada Barisic, to Jutarnji list.

Predictions are currently within the price of 15 kuna, according to Jutarnji list.

As Barisic told the aforementioned publication, the Croatian bakery industry is quite worried because the price of wheat is currently at record levels, and the situation changing so rapidly that contracts with suppliers are being signed for a maximum of one month at a time because nobody can, nor do they want want to guarantee that these prices will not change again and again.

A tonne of wheat on the French stock exchange currently costs 400 euros, in Argentina 354, and in Chicago 399 euros per tonne, which means that for a kilogram of wheat it is now necessary to set aside as much as three kuna in this country.

Furthermore, the average wholesale price of plain, white flour in 2021 stood at 2.50 kuna per kilogram, while it is currently at the level of four kuna, and the increase in wholesale prices has already spilled over to the prices of retail products and as such, nobody can guarantee that it will not grow further.

"As you can see, a kilo of flour in Croatian stores is now ten kuna, which is the best evidence of the market situation. The prices of bakery products across Croatia in general have been growing steadily since 2020, and although most analysts had previously predicted that the situation would stabilise by now, this hasn't happened and we can see the market going quite wild, as a result of rising energy and fuel prices,'' Barisic said.

Last year, 1,100,000 tonnes of wheat were harvested, of which about 400,000 tonnes of which were used for domestic needs, which shows that there is enough grain for domestic needs and for export, but possible difficulties will arise if there is too much demand globally, which can once again result in price increases.

"Everything is very uncertain and the Croatian bakery sector is in big trouble. We can be calm when it comes to the supply of wheat, but not in terms of prices. It's likely that, if there is no stabilisation, we will no longer be able to eat even the most basic white Croatian bread at current prices and that the possible price will end up being 15 kuna for a loaf of white bread,'' confirmed Barisic.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

March the 27th, 2022 - The most numerous Croatian Easter guests so far are coming from nearby and neighbouring countries, and this figure also includes Croatian residents visiting other parts of the country themselves.

We recently wrote about the Croatian 2022 pre-season not turning out (at least so far) quite how predictions and expectations seemed not so long ago. With private accommodation owners worrying about the state of affairs on the run up to summer, luxury travel agencies have a slightly different picture.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, the number of reservations made by Croatian guests is systematically growing from year to year, meaning that for the upcoming Easter break, Croats and residents of Croatia, along with Germans and Slovenes, will make up the largest number of guests, as was reported by one travel agency for luxury accommodation - Croatia Luxury Rent.

According to their current sales statistics, Germans lead the percentage of total bookings with a share of 23%, followed by the neighbouring Slovenes with 19%, Czechs with 13%, then Austrians with 12%, and Croats with 11% of the share. However, the Czech market is experiencing the biggest growth compared to the otherwise key emitting markets, meaning that the Czechs will be at the very top in terms of Croatian Easter tourism numbers for 2022.

The largest number of guests who have booked their accommodation on the Adriatic and partly in the interior/continental part of the country during the Easter holidays are coming from the emitting markets of Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Austria.

In addition to these markets, the total share is completed by the Italians, Hungarians, Slovaks and Serbs, while a significantly smaller percentage will be made up by visitors from France, Switzerland and neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At the top of the list of the most numerous guests during last year's Easter holidays were Croatian guests, which was to be expected due to the events caused by the coronavirus pandemic at the time. This year's sale of Easter holiday arrangements has produced, as they say, an interesting situation according to which Central Dalmatia is systematically growing, much like it did last year, in terms of the number of reservations made, meaning that it is closer to Istria and Kvarner, which were otherwise very well known for Croatian Easter tourism.

This form of growth trend began to gain momentum during last year's post-season, but continued with a surprising jump during the Christmas and New Year holidays: Central Dalmatia at one point was on par with the number of reservations made up in Istria. Further development confirmed the unquestionability of Istria's popularity, which took the expected lead during the last ten days before the holidays, in other words, things returned to their earlier standards.

Looking at the current regional division of the number of reservations, Istria is rather unsurprisingly at the top with 41% share, followed by Dalmatia and the islands with 30%, Kvarner with 19%, and the mainland and the far south, which accounts for the remaining 10%. It's worth noting that the type of technology that encourages and improves tourism has significantly raised the level of service quality, meaning that renters are more or less forced to continuously invest in their accommodation, follow current trends and expand aspects of their offer that will allow them to stand out more and be recognised.

For more on Croatian Easter tourism, check out our travel section.

March 27, 2022 - Several sources from the ruling coalition claim that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has broken through and that a wider Croatian Government reshuffle will take place around May 30.

This began to be seriously considered after the arrest of Minister of Construction Darko Horvat, and especially after Uskok opened investigations against two other members of the Government: Minister of Labor and Pensions Josip Aladrović, who is suspected of favoring the employment of two people in 2018 and 2019 while being director of the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute, and Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milošević, who is suspected of mediating in "arranging" incentives for selected companies, reports Slobodna Dalmacija.

The idea of ​​a broader government reshuffle, according to sources, was terribly pushed by the latest affair that erupted after the Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds Nataša Tramišak publicly announced that she had received terrible threats but did not report them to the police until her public appearance, nor to her boss - the Prime Minister. They are convinced that Tramišak has already been de facto written off, especially after Prime Minister Andrej Plenković publicly said that "the whole situation with Minister Tramišak is extremely bizarre" and that "it is not yet completely clear to him".

''I will not make statements. The whole case was taken over by the police.'', was all that Minister Tramišak told Slobodna Dalmacija yesterday.

The idea has been ''cooked'' before

A source from the HDZ says that the story about the government's reshuffle was "cooking" even before the Tramišak case, that it will cover much wider than her, Aladrović and Milošević, and that it will take place between Easter (April 17) and Statehood Day (May 30).

''As for Minister Tramišak, it is clear that she no longer has any confidence. A more serious reconstruction is being considered, which would not only affect her and the members of the Government burdened with investigations (Aladrović and Milošević). There are executed people in the Government, such as the Minister of Agriculture Marija Vučković, and the stay of the Minister of Health Vili Beroš is still uncertain.'', says the source. He claims that the case of the Minister of Defense, Mario Banožić, is particularly interesting. He says that he is terribly untalented and that almost no one in the party supports him (anymore).

''But it would be too bold to claim that he lost Plenković's trust because Banožić is completely loyal to him.'', he says.

In addition to the mentioned names, in the context of the Government reshuffle, sources from HDZ and the ruling coalition parties note that the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Tomislav Ćorić could also leave the Government".

One of the sources claims that he received information that Tomo Medved (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Veterans' Affairs) could replace Mario Banožić as Minister of Defense.

''I think that would be a phenomenal move because the President of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, respects him terribly, especially because of Medved's role in the country's defense. Therefore, Milanović could no longer score easy goals, as he does now with Banožić. However, I think that Plenković will not give up Banožić, not (only) because of their good relationship, but because of Milanović who would declare such a move his victory (in a clash with the Government and Prime Minister Plenković).

Ministers are silent

Deputy Prime Minister Tomo Medved was not in the mood yesterday to discuss the government reshuffle.

We did not receive any comment on the information on the government reshuffle from the others mentioned in that context: Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milosevic, Ministers Banožić, Aladrović, and Beroš, as well as from the Minister of Agriculture Marija Vučković.

Some of Plenković's coalition partners are also strongly advocating a broader government reshuffle.

- I am sure that there will be a reconstruction. Without going into, of course, whether they (Aladrović and Milošević, n. A.) Are guilty or not, it is objective that the burden of these investigations puts the Prime Minister in a position to go into government reshuffle. This is not in dispute or questionable at all. In addition, there are still some open topics in the public and it can be assumed that some other ministerial positions may be the subject of government reshuffle - says the head of the Reformists  Radimir Cacic. 

HSLS President Dario Hrebak is also a supporter of the (wider) government reshuffle.

''HSLS will continue to support the ruling majority, but we should not run away from the problems we have. As a serious party, we believe that Croatia does not need new elections because of everything that is happening in the world, as well as in the domestic economy. But that does not mean that we will not advocate certain refreshments in the Government within the ruling majority. I think it would be good to do that. But the final decision on the reconstruction is made by the prime minister. He is the prime minister, he is forming the Government, and he will best assess whether he needs reconstruction. HSLS sees its role as a party that will not blackmail or condition anything, but propose. We will certainly suggest that we need to refresh the Government because we have two more years of mandate and we are simply coming to a political position that requires us to make certain changes. I would like to mention once again that Prime Minister Plenković has a much broader picture. He should suggest when, in what way, and whether a government reshuffle is needed. HSLS will continue to support the ruling majority.'', says Hrebak.

Consultations have not yet begun

A source from the HDZ, who is also convinced of the government's spring reshuffle, says "serious consultations on the subject in the party have not yet begun".

"We haven't come that far yet," he says.

Clearly, there are those in the HDZ who believe that the government reshuffle should not go much further than those burdened with investigations such as Aladrovic and Milosevic.

''Why would Minister Tramišak, for example, leave the Government as part of a package that includes persons who are the subject of Uskok investigations? Unlike them, she is "pure", she received threats because she did not want to please anyone. After all, we will discuss her position in the Government on Tuesday at a meeting of the HDZ leadership. While the Prime Minister finds it bizarre that Tramišak did not report the threats to the police before she spoke about them publicly, it is bizarre to me that he has a Minister of Defense who has not been able to evict the Nazi for more than two weeks, and it is bizarre to me that in Zagreb, more than two years after the earthquake, reconstruction has not yet begun'', says the interlocutor from the ruling party.

For more, check out our politics section.

March 27, 2022 - Marin Čilić lost only three games on his way to the Miami Open 3rd round, defeating Australian Alexei Popyrin 6:0, 6:3 on Saturday.

Marin Čilić flew by Popyrin in the 2nd round of the ATP tournament in Miami on Saturday! Namely, it took only 55 minutes for Marin Čilić to win the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami. Croatia's best male tennis player lost only three games to the 92nd-best tennis player in the world, Australian Alexei Popyrin - 6:0, 6:3.

In the match, the posied Marin won the first nine games and quickly resolved all doubts about the winner. The Croatian tennis player immediately took a 3-0 lead in the second set and kept the advantage until the end for the final victory.

He scored six aces with a first-serve percentage of 68 percent. He also did not allow his opponent a single break.

Marin will face the new star of the tennis world, 18-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (16th on the ATP list). This will be their second meeting, while Čilić won the first test last year. Carlos Alcaraz defeated Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 6:3, 6:2 in the 2nd round. 

Recall, Croatian tennis player Borna Ćorić lost to German Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami. It was their seventh meeting and the fourth victory for the world #4 player and the tournament's second seed. However, this match showed that Borna is slowly getting into the right shape after a long break due to injury. 

Furthermore, Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić also advanced to the 2nd round of Miami. The best doubles team in the world last year surpassed the Georgian-Serbian side of Nikoloz Basilashvili / Laszlo Gere in the first round - 7-6 (3), 6-1. They will face Canadian Denis Shapovalov and Indian Rohan Bopanna in the round of 16 tonight around 22:00 Croatia time. 

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo also had an easy victory in the first round of the Miami tournament. The Croatian-Brazilian duo defeated Belgians Sander Gille and Goran Vliegen in two sets - 6-4, 6-1. They will next meet Italians Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini in the 2nd round. 

After an early defeat in the singles competition, Ana Konjuh successfully continued her performance in doubles at the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami. Konjuh and Swiss partner Belinda Bencic defeated Angelina Kalinin and Jelena Ribakina 6-2, 6-7 (4), 10-7.

Konjuh and Bencic lost in the decisive super tie-break with 7-3, after which they won seven consecutive points.

Source: HTS

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

March 27, 2022 - WRC Croatia Rally 2022 returns to Croatian roads from April 21 to 24, featuring the best drivers in the motorsport world.

The first edition aroused great interest in Croatia and delighted the international motorsport community. The excellent organization was awarded a new three-year contract which put Croatia on the WRC map.

The first WRC Croatia Rally dramatically finished with winner Frenchman Sebastien Ogier - and exciting races await us this year as well. 

Schedule and stages: Where is WRC Croatia Rally 2022?
All locations in Croatia are known. 

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Shakedown Okić (9:01)
Friday, April 22, 2022

SS1: Mali Lipovec - Grdanjci 1 (8:33)
SS2: Stojdraga - Gornja Vas 1 (9:26)
SS3: Krasic - Vrskovac (10:19)
SS4: Pećurkovo brdo - Mrežnički Novaki 1 (11:32)
SS5: Mali Lipovec - Grdanjci 2 (15:05)
SS6: Stojdraga - Gornja Vas (15:58)
SS7: Krasic - Vrskovac 2 (16:51)
SS8: Pećurkovo Brdo - Mrežnički Novaki 2 (18:04)

Saturday, April 23, 2022

SS9: Kostanjevac – Petuš Vrh 1 (7:43)
SS10: Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok (8:419
SS11: Platak 1 (10:09)
SS12: Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 1 (11:38)
SS13: Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 2 (15:16)
SS14: Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 2 (16:14)
SS15: Platak 2 (17:42)
SS16: Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 2 (19:08)

Sunday, April 24, 2022

SS17: Trakošćan – Vrbno 1 (7:18)
SS18: Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 1 (8:38)
SS19: Trakošćan – Vrbno 2 (10:26)
SS20: Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 2 (Power stage – 13:18)
Podij – Zagreb, Trg svetog Marka (15:30)

Croatia Rally 2022: Tickets and instructions for spectators

A special feature of this year's WRC Croatia Rally is the organized arrival of the audience. The organizers expect around 350,000 spectators from Croatia and abroad. Tickets range from 75 to 300 kuna and can be purchased HERE.

Who will drive the WRC Croatia Rally 2022? The order of the drivers before the race
Like last year, Kalle Rovanpera arrives in Croatia as the leader in the WRC rankings. The 2022 season is the first with a new generation of hybrid cars.

WRC standings after two races (Monte Carlo and Sweden):

1. Kalle Rovanpera (Toyota) 46
2. Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) 32
3. Sebastien Loeb (Ford) 27
4. Gus Greensmith (Ford) 20
5. Sebastien Ogier (Toyota) 19
6. Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) 18
7. Craig Breen (Ford) 16
8. Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) 15
9. Andreas Mikkelsen (Škoda) 12
10. Olivier Solberg (Hyundai) 8
11. Ott Tanak (Hyundai) 5
12. Ole Christian Veiby (Volkswagen) 4
13. Elfyn Evans (Toyota) 4
14. Erik Cais (Ford) 2
15. Jari Huttunen (Ford) 2
16. Nikolaj Grjazin (Škoda) 1
17. Egon Kaur (Volkswagen) 1
18. Adrien Fourmaux (Ford) 0
19. Lorenzo Bertelli (Ford) 0

Which Croatian drivers are at the Croatia Rally?
The biggest Croatian hope will be Viliam Prodan, the Croatian rally champion. Last year, due to car problems, he had to finish the race early. 

Rally and Croatia: What is the WRC, and how did it get to Croatia?
After Formula 1, the WRC (World Rally Championship) is the largest car race in the world. It has been held since 1973. It is estimated to be watched by more than 850 million people, and the broadcast goes to 250 TV stations worldwide.

In addition to promotion, Croatian tourism will benefit as the WRC attracts thousands of high-paying guests. Croatia Rally is also a great promotion for motorsport in Croatia. 

In 2021, Croatia hosted the WRC caravan in Zagreb and its surroundings for the first time. This is due to many years of efforts of the organizers whose perseverance and effort defeated much richer countries and were given the opportunity to host this great sporting event.

Source: Gol.hr

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

March 27, 2022 -  The new deadline for constructing Pampas stadium, which NK Osijek will use, has been moved to December 31, 2022.

The stadium was initially supposed to be completed in June 2020, but it has already been moved twice at the investors' request and was finally supposed to be completed in June 2022. As it became clear that due to problems in the construction, the stadium would not be completed this summer, the City of Osijek once again decided to meet the investor on a new deadline, reports Nacional.hr.

“NK Osijek asked the city to extend the deadline for constructing the Pampas stadium and camp until December 31 this year. The price of the entire project is 60 million euros," Sportske Novosti reported on the position of the city leaders.

The construction of the stadium was initially led by Eurokamen, but in March this year, their contract was terminated on the grounds that "due to the dynamics of the contractor's work, the entire project and the completion of the stadium was endangered." At the same time, Strabag d.o.o. was chosen as the main contractor to complete the stadium, assisted by Pharos 95. Kft.

"NK Osijek Football School unilaterally terminated the contract with Eurokamen d.o.o. to execute the first phase of works on the construction of the sports and recreational building of the Football School and NK Osijek. The investor regrets that the company Eurokamen d.o.o. will not complete the works. Still, such a move was necessary because the dynamics of the contractor's work would jeopardize the entire project and the stadium's completion," said the club.

The stadium, which will have a capacity of about 12,000 seats, together with the auxiliary fields, was initially supposed to cost 35 million euros, but due to construction difficulties and rising prices for construction materials, it will be necessary to allocate significantly more funds, mainly from the Hungarian government.

The stadium project has four phases and began in September 2019.

You can see the construction site from a few weeks ago below:

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

March 27, 2022 - Croatia has secured Pot 2 in the 2022 World Cup draw after playing 1:1 against Slovenia on Saturday. 

After drawing 1:1 against Slovenia on Saturday, the Croatia national football team secured a place in the second strongest group in the 2022 World Cup draw. 

The draw for the World Cup will be held in Doha on Friday, April 1. The 2022 World Cup will be hosted by Qatar from November 21 to December 18 this year.

The International Football Federation (FIFA) has indicated that strong draw groups will be formed according to its ranking, which will be published on March 31. Since the qualifications are still not over on all continents and because Croatia is currently 15th in the FIFA rankings, one point from two games against Slovenia and Bulgaria was enough for Zlatko Dalić's side on this mini-tour in Doha.

Thus, Croatia's goal was achieved already in the first match against Slovenia, and now Croatia can anticipate the draw a bit more relaxed. 

Croatia has thus avoided some powerful teams by securing Pot 2. 

Namely, Croatia cannot meet Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Uruguay. Mexico and the United States should be added if those two national teams confirm their spot at the World Cup in the remaining two CONCACAF rounds. Potential opponents from Pot 1 are Qatar, Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain, and Portugal, unless North Macedonia shocks them in the remaining qualifier. 

In Pot 3, Croatia is most likely threatened by Sweden, Egypt, Japan, Iran, Serbia, Morocco, Korea, and Poland. The last group will include Ecuador and Saudi Arabia for sure. 

Thirty-two national teams will play in eight groups of four teams at the World Cup. The top seeds in the draw will be the host Qatar plus the top seven ranked national teams in the FIFA rankings, announced on March 31. It will be the last World Cup with 32 national teams, and from 2026, 48 national teams will participate. Europe will have 13 representatives in Qatar, and there can be a maximum of two national teams from the same continent in each group.

Recall, the current World Champion is France (and Croatia the 2018 finalist), while we will not watch the current European champion Italy at the World Cup this year. 

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

March 26, 2022 - The Ministry of Education has released the calendar of the new school year for public discussion among Croatian schools. According to it, the next school year would start on September 5 and end on June 21.

The exception, as before, is the students of the final grades of high schools whose classes end on May 26, reports Jutarnji List. And this time the holidays are many: the autumn break begins on October 31 and classes are already on November 2; the winter holidays are in two parts - the first from 27 December to 5 January (with classes starting on 9 January) and the second part from 20 to 24 February (classes from 27 February). The spring break for students will follow from April 6 to 14, with classes starting on April 17.

Although the next school year is scheduled to end on a day like this (June 21), a public debate among Croatian schools is proposing a return to the old solution, when classes ended earlier, usually around June 15. "It would be good for students to start their summer vacation earlier, so corrections based on summer vacation are necessary for a complete calendar, and there is room for correction," the discussion proposal reads.

While it is praised that students have more short breaks during the year, the comments state that everything that enters the third week in June is not good. Students are overworked, teachers are burned out, and climatic conditions are often unbearable. In these conditions, it is extremely difficult to maintain the high level of concentration required by the end of the school year, the proponents of returning to an earlier summer vacation explain.

As an additional argument, they offer enrollment in high schools ending in the second half of July. "I think that classes should end earlier in June, as was the case until recently, so around mid-June. Classes until the second half of June, when it is already very hot, will be very uncomfortable. Most schools do not have air conditioning,", they said.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.