ZAGREB, 26 March 2022 - Daylight Saving Time (DST) starts on Sunday, 27 March at 2 am, when clocks will be moved forward by one hour to 3 am.

The clocks will be set back one hour to standard time on Sunday, 30 October 2022.

According to the current EU law, DST starts on the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Sunday of October.

DST is the practice of setting the clocks forward one hour from standard time during the summer months, and back again in the autumn, in order to make better use of natural daylight and reduce electricity bills.

Although the European Commission proposed scrapping DST a few years ago, the member-states of the EU have not yet agreed on this proposal.

ZAGREB, 26 March 2022 - The decision made by the City of Sisak and Mayor Kristina Ikić Baniček (SDP) to ban Caritas Croatia to conduct a humanitarian action in local schools prompted MP Marijana Petir to report the whole case to the Public Ombudswoman as an example of "discrimination based on faith and education".

The report filed by this independent lawmaker on Friday reads that the ban issued by the city authorities violate "the religious rights and freedoms " of the Catholic Church, which are guaranteed by the Croatian Constitution and the international treaties between Croatia and the Holy See.

Recently, the Caritas charity has reported that Catholic Religious Education teachers said that they they had been summoned by the headmasters of schools in the City of Sisak to be informed that they would no longer be allowed to conduct humanitarian actions in schools and that only volunteers of the city's Red Cross branch could carry out charitable campaigns in the schools concerned. Until this ban, both Caritas and Red Cross volunteers were engaged in humanitarian drives aimed at collecting aid for victims of the 2020 devastating earthquake and for Ukrainian victims of the Russian invasion.

Petir writes in her letter to the Public Ombudswoman that the RE subject is a part of the school system and that apart from the theoretical knowledge which should be acquired, the role of this subject is also to encourage students to do concrete acts of charity for others.

She recalls that between 75-95% of school-age children attend RE classes in the City of Sisak and that their religious rights are enshrined in the Constitution.

The ombudswoman is requested to take swift steps in line with the law to protect believers and their rights.

After the news about the ban was broken on 17 March, Hina asked the city authorities for the comment but no response was sent.

ZAGREB, 26 March 2022 - Croatian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivan Sabolić on Friday denied allegations by some local media outlets about Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković having lobbied during the European Council's meeting for the deferment of Bosnia's general elections.

The allegations that Plenković advocated the postponement of the elections, which are expected to be held in October, and that the European Council dismissed that possibility were first presented by the Klix news portal, and after that some other local media outlets disseminated them.

Bosnian presidency member Željko Komšić immediately joined the comments that this failed attempt by Croatia's officials to defer the polls is an important and clear message to Bosnia and Herzegovina's authorities.

This prompted Ambassador Sabolić to issue a statement in which he denied the invented allegations.

The story about the refusal of the alleged Croatian proposal is made up with the obvious aim of downplaying the recognised and well-accepted constructive efforts of PM Plenković and the Croatian government to speed up a political agreement on the limited constitutional reform and the reform of the electoral law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the diplomat.

Sabolić recalled the Strategic Compass, adopted by the EU, fully recognised Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitutional architecture and that at Croatia's initiative, the EU reiterated its readiness to make additional engagement in a bid to help local politician to reach agreement on Bosnia's new electoral law.

The European Council, which held a two-day summit meeting in Brussels, also discussed "the prolonged political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina," read the Council's conclusions.

The European Union, which "reiterates its commitment to the European perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans," calls on leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina "to demonstrate a strong commitment to finalise swiftly the constitutional and electoral reform, vital for stability and full functionality of the country, as well as to support all other priority reforms set out in the Commission’s Opinion to obtain a candidate status."

"The European Union stands ready to continue its high-level engagement in this regard," the European Council says in its conclusions.

As for the Strategic Compass, the document reads that it is "of particular interest to support the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on the principles of equality and non-discrimination of all citizens and constituent peoples as enshrined in the Bosnia and Herzegovina constitution."

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 26 March 2022 - The heads of state or government of the European Union's member states, who on Friday concluded their two-day summit meeting in Brussels, tasked the European Commission to propose an efficient solution to electricity price hikes.

The European Council calls on the European Commission "to submit proposals that effectively address the problem of excessive electricity prices while preserving the integrity of the Single Market, maintaining incentives for the green transition, preserving the security of supply and avoiding disproportionate budgetary costs," according to the Council's conclusions.

The Council of the EU and the European Commission are called upon "to reach out to the energy stakeholders, and to discuss, if and how, the short-term options as presented by the Commission (direct support to consumers through vouchers, tax rebates or through an "aggregator model/single buyer", State aid, taxation (excises and VAT), price caps, regulatory measures such as contracts for differences) would contribute to reducing the gas price and addressing its contagion effect on electricity markets, taking into account national circumstances."

After the discussion on the excessive energy prices, which took several hours, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that it was difficult to find a single solution which would suit all the member-states, having in mind that some of them are highly dependent on Russian Russian gas, oil and coal imports.

The EU has three goals: to ensure new supply routes for gas, complete and improve the gas and electricity interconnections throughout the Union, and provide direct support to consumers, he added.

ZAGREB, 26 March 2022 - Croatia is considering the possibility of increasing the capacity of its LNG terminal on the island of Krk from the current 2.6 billion cubic metres of gas to 2.9 billion cubic metres annually, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Brussels on Friday.

He explained that the current infrastructure allows for this increase.

"We believe that we can achieve this increase with the current infrastructure of our LNG ship and all the existing plants there," Plenković said after the end of the two-day summit meeting of the European Union, which discussed Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, energy and energy price hikes.

Plenković reiterated the strategic importance of the Krk LNG terminal for the diversification of gas supply routes, particularly in the current crisis.

Considering the EU-US partnership expressed in the Joint Statement on the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) imports from the US, which expect to rise, Plenković said that investments in LNG terminals and the accompanying infrastructure would definitely grow, adding that it remains to be seen how many ships are available.

Ukrainian refugees

Plenković told the press that Croatia had already taken in 10,000 refugees from Ukraine, who fled the Russian invasion of their country.

It is certain that more and more refugees will arrive and that they will stay longer, he said.

Croatia can cover the costs of accommodation of Ukrainian refugees on its own until a joint model for financing is not found at the EU level, the premier said.

March the 26th, 2022 - Could Croatian strawberries from the fertile and ever-rich Neretva Valley in southern Dalmatia be under threat following an unusually long dry season?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, due to an abnormally long dry period, Croatian strawberries from plantations down in the Neretva Valley have been placed in danger, as reported by the Maslina portal.

Although it is now climatologically spring, meaning that the general level of precipitation should technically be enough at this moment in time, the situation is completely different and unusual for this time of year. Only 20 millimetres of rain has fallen so far, while for comparison, about 800 mm fell in the period from October to December.

According to agro-estimates, about two million strawberry seedlings have been planted down in the Neretva Valley, which should be harvested during April, but in order for the these much loved 100% Croatian strawberries to properly ripen, they need regular watering with high quality water, which is not available in the Neretva Valley.

Namely, the water is salty owing to the location, which was repeatedly warned about by the association of fruit and vegetable producers (Neretva Youth/Neretvanska Mladez), which addressed the situation in an open letter to the competent Minister, Marija Vuckovic, warning her of the problem of irrigation.

The association warned that Croatian strawberries are an agricultural crop that is extremely sensitive to increased salt concentrations, especially sodium chloride, but the water in the canals from which local farmers take what they need is currently of extremely poor quality, which is naturally placing Croatian strawberries and indeed other locally grown produce in an unfavourable position.

They also pointed out that extreme climate changes haven't bypassed the Neretva Valley either, because there has been and continues to be almost no rain.

"For two months now, we've been experiencing an extremely dry period with a dry wind - bura", the Neretva Youth Association explained for the Maslina portal.

For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

March the 26th, 2022 - When it comes to the current crisis facing Ukraine following neighbouring Russia's invasion last month, many believe that the complicated processed involving formalities for Croatian Ukraine refugee integration must now be scrapped.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, the unprecedented influx of refugees from Ukraine presents a current very real challenge across the EU and non-EU Europe, as although Ukrainians are interested in getting involved quickly in normal life in their new countries, including gaining legal employment, potential employers offering them jobs has been plagued with complicated red tape. Successful Croatian Ukraine refugee integration relies on the typical draconian processes in this country being cut down significantly.

After the formal application and obtaining an ID card, which gives Ukrainian refugees opportunity to open a Croatian bank account, it is inevitable that they will then need to have the basic documentation for contracting certain jobs, from certificates of competency to diplomas, and this is proving to be a problem. As such, there are already calls for a model to simplify and speed up the inevitable formalities that face displaced Ukrainians here.

People fleeing grenades naturally didn't think to pick up and bring certificates or diplomas or notarised copies to Croatia with them, and on the other hand, for a large number of activities in this country, it is still necessary to go through the nostrification procedure.

These formalities are already a problem for overall Croatian Ukraine refugee integration and especially for jobs that require certificates of secondary education. For example, a large retail chain that wants to hire Ukrainian workers is still pending a decision because the applicant hasn't yet been issued an ID card or an OIB, nor do they have a certificate confirming their completion of secondary education in Ukraine.

Complex cases

Even more complex are the cases for jobs that are in the register of regulated professions, for which it is necessary to obtain certificates from the competent institutions on the recognition of foreign professional qualifications, and there are about 280 professions on that list for Croatia.

These procedures are the most demanding and rigid in the cases of doctors of medicine. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, these processes were complex and time-consuming, under the jurisdiction of various state bodies, and now many would-be employers are hoping that this will be an opportunity for it to improve the system in general.

Anny Brusic, the director of the HUP Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, has stated that employers expect the state to make a decision for Ukrainians to not need certificates for certain occupations. "In this situation, it can be possible to introduce a mentoring system for occupations that require certificates, it can be a good and effective solution," said Brusic.

For weeks, the European Commission (EC) has been asking national bodies to find solutions to determine the equivalence of both European and Ukrainian qualifications frameworks, and is considering new guidelines to facilitate the recognition of professional qualifications acquired in Ukraine. It is also a priority to provide assistance to persons interested in vocational training and retraining, in order to enable those who are interested in overcoming any lack of certain skills as easily and quickly as possible.

EBRD coordination

Here in Croatia, these activities are coordinated by the EBRD and involve representatives of the private sector, NGOs, while public employment services, in this country's case the CES, will play a key role in assisting newcomers from Ukraine in determining their skills, qualifications and connecting them with job possibilities.

For more, check out our politics section.

March the 26th, 2022 - Renters have become concerned and are biting their nails at the fact that the Croatian 2022 pre-season isn't quite what was expected as yet. Could hopes for Easter tourism be dashed?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, according to local Zadar portal Zadarski.hr, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Croatia will likely have much fewer guests over the Easter period than we had hoped.

''It’s hard to say how much fewer people there will be than expected, but I'm hearing that these days, the cancellations of some larger groups who had Easter reservations are slowly trickling in. Personally, I had a lot of reservations in April and May, but everything in April ended up being cancelled. Everything is changing from day to day,'' said Martina Nimac Kalcina, president of the Family Tourism Association at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), when asked about the potential number of tourists we could expect in Dalmatia over Easter.

Since February the 24th and the beginning of the Russian invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, everything has changed. Until then, the Ministry of Tourism and Sport confirmed, the dynamics of reservations and announcements for the main part of the tourist year were at a record level, such as what was experienced back in pre-pandemic 2019, and in some segments even ten percent better. The current geopolitical situation related to Ukraine, rising energy prices and inflation have somewhat affected tourism news, but it is good, the ministry said, that reservations haven't stopped entirely. The same has been being said by the president of the Family Tourism Association at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

"The situation isn't as catastrophic as the pandemic caused it to be, but the war in Ukraine has slowed down reservations a lot. The Croatian 2022 pre-season is incomparably worse than it should have been. Everything started out well after the New Year, and then, literally from the first bombing of Ukraine, it slowed down sharply. On the same day, inquiries stopped arriving and after a few days they started reappearing, but very slowly. There have been no cancellations for large numbers of people, but there are for the Croatian 2022 pre-season.

Those cancellations have been coming from everywhere - from America, most of them from Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia… Some Americans are still planning to come here, but there are very few of them, incomparably fewer than they should be, because Croatia's position on the map of Europe looks close to Ukraine and Russia,'' said Nimac Kalcina, noting that unlike private accommodation, which is already feeling the effects of the war in Ukraine, there have been cancellations in the case of cruises so far.

However, she believes that the main tourist season will be very good if the situation with the war in Ukraine doesn't escalate.

"I hope that our season will be full, there are reservations, new ones are still coming in. Renters who have more attractive facilities shouldn't be worried, but it's a question of people's length of stay, the Croatian 2022 pre-season, the post-season… All cards are now on the table… Because as people's travel dates approach and the situation in Ukraine fails to calm down, tourists simply cancel their reservations. It's understandable that people postpone making decisions about holiday dates because they can see that the situation isn't changing. An additional problem is that the war brings even higher inflation,'' said Nimac Kalcina in an interview with Zadarski.hr.

"Nothing drastic is happening here," said Bojan Milicevic, a spokesman for the Le Meridien Lav hotel in Podstrana near Split, adding that there had been "some very minor cancellations, several small groups directly linked to the Ukrainian and Russian markets." The only noticeable drop has been the booking of individual guests from distant destinations such as America. However, they aren't expecting any major problems from the European markets at the Le Meridien Lav hotel, provided, of course, that the war situation doesn't escalate.

"We don't have any cancellations from any European guests. Things look pretty good to us when it comes to the state of reservations being made. Of course, the Americans are our pretty strong guest segment that we need to keep an eye on. But, in general, our picture looks good thanks to regular guests from Scandinavia and Western Europe, who, along with the Americans, are our most numerous guests. We'll see. It should be borne in mind that a lot has changed, as have booking trends, once Americans planned trips a year in advance. The coronavirus pandemic has changed all that, now it is no longer the case,'' Milicevic concluded.

For more, check out our travel section.