ZAGREB, 12 Feb 2022 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Peđa Grbin said on Saturday that this incompetent government should be forced to do at least something to make people's lives easier in the present time of high inflation.

Speaking at a press conference in the southern coastal city of Split, Grbin said that the government should have acted four months ago rather than announce only yesterday measures that he did not expect would improve people's lives.

He acknowledged that the only thing the government had done then was cap fuel prices, which  increased again as soon as the prices were unfrozen.

Grbin said that fuel prices could only jump unless there were other measures, such as those proposed by the SDP, including the new method of VAT calculation for fuel, reduction of excise taxes, and floating excise taxes.

Speaking of the measures for combating inflation, he said that the government should show empathy and responsibility and change the present system. There are a lot of measures that can be taken, such as tax cuts on food and introducing an inflation allowance for pensioners, he added.

A s a long-term measures, the SDP proposes a change to the method of pension indexation to at least slightly improve life for pensioners and make their life more decent.

MP Branko Grčić said that the government was slow in responding to inflation and that it should change the method of VAT calculation for fuel and introduce an inflation allowance for pensioners because as many as 600,000 of them lived on the brink of poverty.

Commenting on a recent threat by Split's deputy mayor, Bojan Ivošević, to a Slobodna Dalmacija newspaper editor, Grbin said that in a country where the prime minister treats reporters arrogantly such behaviour has become normal rather than the exception. 

Grbin said that what Ivošević had done was unacceptable and should never happen. "A threat in itself is unacceptable, and making a threat just because an official is not satisfied with the way a newspaper writes about him is a step beyond that," Grbin said.

For more, check out our politics section.

Rijeka is about to get its second wheelchair-accessible beach, namely at Ploče beach in Kantrida. An adaptation project of the western plateau of Ploče beach, including the new wheelchair ramp design, is currently in development.

As stated by the City of Rijeka, a working meeting was held by the city officials and representatives of local associations of persons with disabilities.

Rijeka Deputy Mayor Goran Palčevski said the implementation of the project is underway, and that one of its goals is to relieve the pressure on Kostanj beach, the only other beach in Rijeka which was purposely designed to be wheelchair-accessible.

‘We wish for the western plateau of Ploče beach to be ready by this summer, so that we would have two available beaches that are completely suited to the needs of people with disabilities during the upcoming bathing season’, said Palčevski. He added that any input or suggestions from the citizens who will be using the beach are more than welcome.

Representatives of associations of persons with disabilities thanked the City of Rijeka for this initiative and expressed their satisfaction that Rijeka will get another accessible beach. They presented several proposals and outlined ideas that will be taken into account and implemented as much as possible during the final development stage of the project.

The meeting was attended by Palčevski, Head of the Department of Health and Social Welfare Karla Mušković, Head of the Utility Services Department Maja Malnar, and representatives of associations of disabled persons. Namely, the Association of Persons with Cerebral Palsy, the Association of Persons Affected by Muscular Dystrophy of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

ZAGREB, 12 Feb 2022 - Supreme Court President Radovan Dobronić warned on Saturday that frequent amendment of laws, especially fundamental laws, was not good,.

Speaking in an interview with Croatian Radio, Dobronić spoke about the announced legislative changes that are expected to improve the judiciary, warning that one should take into account the process of adjustment.

"One can generally say that fundamental laws in Croatia are changed quite often, including the Courts Act and all procedural regulations - both the Enforcement Act and the laws on criminal and civil procedure," Dobronić said.

System stability implies the stability of regulations, Dobrinić stressed, explaining that it was generally not good to change fundamental laws "every year, a year and a half because amendment, if taken seriously, requires adjustment. Not only by those in charge of implementing it but also by those to whom it refers," said said.

"Figuratively speaking, if you change driving rules every year, saying one year that everyone should drive on the right side of the road, only to say two years later that everyone should drive on the left side, in the third year people will no longer know which rule is in force," he added.

It is a question if judges as well as civil servants apply regulations appropriately, Dobronić said, adding that countries that do not change their regulations often are more attractive to investors.

He also noted that Croatia should not have more than 100,000 new court cases a year as well as that courts should not allow situations in which some cases had been pending for 20 or more years.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 12 Feb 2022 - In the last 24 hours 5,212 coronavirus cases, out of 11,947 tests, and 51 related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Saturday.

There are 41,261 active cases, including 2,092 hospitalised patients, of whom 168 are hooked up to ventilators, while 21,275 persons are self-isolating.

To date 56.71% of the total population, or 67.47% of adults have been vaccinated, with 65.18% of adults fully.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Croatia, 1,015,185 people have contracted the disease, of whom 14,424 have died.

February 12th, 2022 - Stancija Grande near Stara Savudrija, one of Istria’s most beautiful historical residential objects, is about to be renovated and developed into a luxury tourist destination 

Namely, the estate in north-western Istria is to be transformed into an exclusive tourist resort and golf course, as envisioned in the project launched back in 2006. As reported by Glas Istre, the investment is worth between 80 and 90 million euro, and is split between two companies, Golf Stancija d.o.o. and Golf Hotel Savudrija d.o.o. so that the project could be more easily managed.

The estate spans over some 70 hectares, where the investors plan to build an 18-hole golf course, a five star hotel with a capacity of 200 beds, and catering facilities. The crown jewel of the estate, the 19th-century palace designed in a neoclassical style and also known as Villa Cesare, will house the most luxurious accommodation units within the resort.

The project is headed by the same management team that successfully implemented the Skipper project, the construction of Hotel Kempinski and of the golf course in Savudrija (Crveni Vrh). 

‘The business plan that was conceived, financed and launched by the company Pelagius d.o.o. in 2006 was scrapped a few years ago for objective reasons, and we are now starting from scratch. It’s important to point out that this project has nothing to do with mass-construction of apartments on the coast, and is subject to supervision of authorities that care for historical and cultural heritage’, said Ljubica Marfan, member of the board of Golf Stancija d.o.o.

Stancija Grande was taken over by the military during World War II, and has been left to ruin since the 80s.

The gorgeous estate is finally about to have its original grandeur restored owing to the new development project.

‘Stancija Grande was built in the 19th century as the estate of the Fabris family, the counts of Begliano from Friuli. At the end of the 19th century, it was sold to landowner Alfredo Cesare and his family, who restored it at the turn of the 20th century, hence its other popular name Villa Cesare. It’s interesting that the Cesare family was an initiator of tourism in these parts in the early 20th century, having owned two villas, Villa Lotte near Stara Savudrija and Villa Ziani near Valfontana, with the latter built exclusively for tourism purposes. With our project, we will essentially give the ruined building of Stancija Grande its historical splendour back, but in a new tourist edition, with respect to the continuity of tourism development in these parts’, said Marfan.

The architectural integrity of the building, as well as its layout, will be preserved according to strict conservation regulations, with the estate seamlessly integrated into the landscape as whole.

According to Marfan, negotiations have been started with the Four Seasons to manage the new luxury property. The hotel chain was reported to be breaking into the Croatian market on several occasions, but hasn’t as of yet, so the investors now hope to win them over with their project in Istria.

A new golf course, envisioned as one of the most beautiful golf courses in Europe, will be built in the area between Stancija Grande and the new hotel, some two kilometres from the coastline. Marfan pointed out that this is primarily a greenfield project that is very environmentally friendly, as reported by Glas Istre in a more detailed feature.

‘The entire project is being developed based on the principles of sustainable development and using state-of-the-art technology. Where golf courses are considered, this includes desalination of sea water for the purposes of course maintenance, use of solar energy for production of electricity, and installation of glass facades with integrated devices for storage and conversion of solar energy. We also plan to have water-purifying toilets installed wherever possible, with the goal of saving water’, said Marfan.

The golf course was designed by Diethard Fahrenleitner from St. Johann in Tirol, the architect who previously designed the golf course in the aforementioned Kempinski complex in Istria. It’s set to be quite a scenic location; the coastline is nearby, and the investors are planning to plant olive groves and vineyards throughout the course as a nod to the estate’s history: Stancija Grande used to be a combination of a residential estate used by the owner and his guests, and an agricultural estate that employed the local population. 

Last autumn, Miro Oblak sold the project managed by the Pelagius company to Konrad Ackermann from Switzerland. Marfan explained that Croatia has become a very attractive holiday destination to Switzerland over the last two years, and as such interesting to Swiss investors. Istria holds the top spot due to its geostrategic position, i.e. proximity, but also for its hospitality and natural beauty which justify the confidence of the growing number of guests who are choosing the Istrian peninsula as their holiday destination.

It has also won over Ackermann who decided on this business partnership. 'In addition to their own capital, they will also be investing credit funds as they cooperate with the two largest Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse. The directors of these banks have already visited us and are satisfied with the plans we presented’, said Marfan, adding the company absolutely believes in their vision for the new elite resort in Savudrija.

ZAGREB, 12 Feb 2022 - Croatia's population has shrunk by more than half a million since 2001 but the number of employees in local government units has swollen in the past 20 years, the Večernji List daily reported on Saturday.

In municipalities, the number of local government employees has increased by 2.5 times, in cities it has increased by 50% while in counties it has doubled.

"The number of local and regional government employees has increased from 10,692 to 19,047, that is, by as much as 78.4%. The same trend can be noticed as regards employment in the state and public sectors, where in the last 13 years outlays for employees have increased by HRK 11.8 billion or 68%," MP Natalija Martinčević of the People's Party - Reformists said in parliament, calling for prompt action to change the system.

"The century we live in is a century of informatisation and digitalisation, which enables all users to obtain a whole set of services on their own and that significantly reduces the scope of work of the existing public administration," she said.

In 2020 there were 19,047 local government employees in 576 local and regional government units (428 municipalities, 127 cities, 20 counties and the City of Zagreb).

An analysis by former public administration minister Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović, a lecturer at the Zagreb Faculty of Economics, shows that in 2019, 2,409 people were employed in county government bodies, 10,777 were employed in city government bodies, and 5,861 in municipal government bodies.

That means that a county administration employs an average 120 people, a city administration close to 85, and a municipal administration 14. Comparing data for 2018 and 2019, Jurlina Alibegović showed that in that period the number of employees in municipal administration rose by as much as 7.3%, the number of county administration employees grew by 2.3% and the number of those working in city administration bodies rose by 11% in 2018 compared to 2017.

For more, check out our politics section.

February 12, 2022 - English Premier League side Chelsea won the Club World Cup trophy on Saturday against Palmeiras, giving Mateo Kovačić the trophy for the third time in his career. 

Chelsea footballers defeated Palmeiras 2-1 (1-1) in a dramatic outcome only after extra time in the Club World Cup final. With a goal scored by Lukaku in the 55th minute and a penalty by Kai Havertz in the second half of extra time, Chelsea became world champions. Kovačić was subbed out just before the match went to extra time, in the 91st minute. 

Thomas Tuchel returned to the bench after recovering from the coronavirus, while Edouard Mendy, who became the African champion with Senegal, returned to the goal after Kep was brilliant in the semifinal. 

The Blues' stopper trio remained the same, with left-back Hudson-Odoi replacing Alonso. Instead of Jorginho, Kante started with Kovačić in the middle. Mount replaced Ziyech in the attack, while Havertz and Lukaku retained their starting positions. However, after half an hour, Mount came out for Pulišić.

Chelsea chased revenge in this tournament after they failed to win the Club World Cup in their only appearance so far in 2012. Brazilian club Corinthians won 1:0 then. All European clubs won the Cup after that year - Real Madrid four times, Bayern twice, and Barcelona and Liverpool once.

Recall, Kovačić has already won two Club World Cup titles with Real Madrid. Now, after winning the Champion League with Chelsea last season, he has taken the world title with the club he joined in 2018. Kovačić was also brilliant in the Club World Cup semifinal against Al-Hilal, completing 90 percent of his passes. The English media praised him after the match for another great performance. 

African champion Al Ahly won third place at this year's Club World Club Cup, convincingly beating the Asian champion, Saudi Al Hilal 4-0 (3-0) in the match for third place.

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

ZAGREB, 12 Feb 2022 -  "Dizionario geografico portatile" by Swiss geographer and cartographer Isaak Bruckner, royal geographer of the French king Louis XV, a valuable book stolen in 1987, was returned on Friday to the National and University Library (NSK) in Zagreb, the Culture and Media Ministry said.

The book was handed over to NSK director Ivanka Stričević by Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek and Croatia's Ambassador to Italy, Jasen Mesić, who reported on the process of locating and returning the book.

The book was stolen together with a large number of other valuable library items in the 1980s by a three-member group, led by Aleksandar Milles.

Some of the stolen books have been returned and some are still being searched for.

The return of the work by Isaak Bruckner is a result of long-lasting cooperation between the NSK, the Culture and Media Ministry and the ministries of the interior and foreign affairs, that is, the Croatian Embassy in Italy.

Among the publications that have been returned so far is a rare copy of "Trinum magicum sive secretorum magicorum opus continens" by Caesar Longinus from 1614, returned to the NSK in November 2020, and "Selenographia sive Lunae descriptio atque accurata tam macularum eius, quam motuum diversorum… delineati" by Johannes Hevelius, returned in July 2019.