Croatian National Tourist Board on Hunt for Representation Directors Abroad
March the 18th, 2022 - A tender is being announced by the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ/CNTB) for six new representation directors who will be placed to work their terms abroad.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, a tender is being announced for the selection and appointment of directors of Croatian National Tourist Board representative offices in six markets, given that the contracts of the current directors in the markets of Austria, the Czech Republic, China, Hungary, Slovenia and Sweden will expire at the end of June this year.
The decision to announce the tender was made recently at the Tourist Council of the Croatian National Tourist Board, chaired by the Minister of Tourism and Sport, Nikolina Brnjac, in the presence of the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Stanicic.
"Despite the fact that the geopolitical situation for the tourism sector has brought with it uncertainty and modified the original plans for 2022's tourism, we're continuing to work intensively to adjust our activities to maintain our status as a responsible and desirable tourist destination. In addition to the message of destination responsibility and flexibility of reservations, we're also sending out a message of environmental, economic and social sustainability to our emitting markets. The decisions made at the recently held session of the Tourist Council will enable us to adequately respond to the challenges currently facing tourism, and also maintain Croatia's position as one of the most successful destinations in the Mediterranean,'' said Minister Brnjac.
"In addition to the coronavirus pandemic, which has strongly affected the travel sector over the last two years, the situation in Ukraine is now having an impact on overall trends. As a negative consequence, the Croatian tourism sector is currently noticing a trend of the slowing down of bookings and reservations, but there have been major cancellations, nor a decline in general interest in travel. Our goal is to maintain Croatia's market visibility and its quality relationships with partners, and we want to position the country as a safe and well-prepared destination that attracts its guests with an attractive and top quality offer. The decisions of the Tourist Council are aimed at achieving those goals,'' said Stanicic.
The members of the council also adopted decisions on announcing the Call/Invitation for expressions of interest for the implementation of marketing cooperation with the organisers of top events for the year 2022, and the Call/Invitation for expressions of interest for the implementation of marketing cooperation with top Croatian athletes in 2022.
The goal of cooperation with the organisers of top events is to raise people's general level of awareness of the Republic of Croatia as an attractive year-round tourist destination with a diverse tourist offer, which will have a positive impact on increasing tourist traffic and general consumption. Additional visibility of the national tourist brand will be ensured through cooperation with Croatian athletes through the implementation of various promotional activities on communication and advertising channels.
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Who Will Enjoy Right to Croatian National Pension Payments?
March the 18th, 2022 - The much talked about Croatian national pension is now a reality, but just who will be receiving this sum of money on their bank accounts each month?
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute announced recently, the national benefit for the elderly, also known as the Croatian national pension, was set to be paid out to the beneficiaries (into their bank accounts) yesterday, more precisely on Thursday, March the 17th, according to a report from Mirovina.hr/Pension.hr.
The Croatian national pension is currently being received by 5,808 people, all of whom are over the age of 65 and who aren't receiving a pension of another kind because they haven't met the requirement of a minimum of fifteen years of service in the workforce.
If they had acquired that minimum length/time of working service, their pension would have been at least 1,072 kuna per month. However, instead the state pays them 820.8 kuna every month, provided that their total household income doesn't exceed the same amount per household member.
For example, if the husband has a pension of less than 1,641.6 kuna, the wife will receive a Croatian national pension sum on her bank account each month. If it is higher, there will be no such payments made to her.
The Croatian national pension, about which many have been talking for some time now, has a primary aim of reducing poverty in the country in old age. Women make up the most vulnerable members of the population, accounting for two-thirds of the Croatian national pension's beneficiaries.
The number of beneficiaries of the Croatian national pension, which is something multiple European countries have introduced, is only growing, but very slowly, given that the Government's projection was that this national benefit would eventually cover a far larger number of 20,000 Croatian residents.
For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.
Croatian Fina Agency Cites Decentralisation as Strategic Initiative
March the 18th, 2022 - The Croatian Fina agency is planning on working on the decentralisation of its further development, placing much more of a focus on more smaller urban areas.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes, the Croatian Fina agency has come together and contracted a partnership with University of Koprivnica North, regarding the exchange of knowledge and technology and cooperation in teaching and integrating students into the labour market.
According to the President of the Fina Management Board, Drazen Covic and the rector of the aforementioned university Marin Milkovic, the cooperation between the two institutions will include field teaching and practice within the Croatian Fina agency, designing assignments for final student work, scholarships for students and the possibility of their engagement in Fina through student services.
These partners will also transfer their knowledge to each other, and within the professional study of computer science and informatics in Koprivnica, new generations of IT people needed by the development centre will grow, which is otherwise one of ten that the agency opened throughout the Republic of Croatia several years ago. Such centres serve as central gathering points for the IT sector, according to Fina.
“It's a pleasure when we're able to do something for our students and when there's real care shown towards our young people. The possibility of scholarships, professional practice, training, learning from Fina's experts and creating future staff as we move forward for mutual benefit is commendable. Fina is also trying to operate in smaller urban areas, covering the whole of Croatia. That's how the staff in this region is retained and it contributes to further development,'' said Milkovic. Covic also emphasised the importance of cooperation with the academic community, as was previously achieved, for example, in Virovitica, Cakovec, Split and Bjelovar.
"Our strategic initiative is to decentralise our own development and get closer to the places where Fina operates. It's in our interest to develop the areas in which we work. We want to share the experience and knowledge we've gained by developing services both for the financial industry and the state. We want to enable young people to study without high costs in or near their place of residence and to work on modern tools and technologies,'' they said from Fina.
Aware that the market is full of IT experts who have the comfort to choose where to work from and even set their own conditions for potential employers, the Croatian Fina agency started creating models at the beginning of the year to attract and retain them. For this purpose, a redesign of the salary system was undertaken, which would take into account the complexity of the job, the availability of potential talent and abilities of the individual at hand.
For more, make sure to check out our business section.
Varazdin FOI Facilitating Introduction of E-Learning Models in Maldives
March the 18th, 2022 - A dose of expertise from the Varazdin FOI has found its place in the distant Maldives as the Varazdin Faculty of Organisation and Informatics (FOI) has implemented an e-learning system with project partners called AMED - Advancing Higher Education in the Maldives Through E-learning Development.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, this is a project in which Varazdin's FOI has been providing expertise for the last three years to introduce an e-learning model to the National University of the Indian Ocean Islands, which really needed such a system due to its poor traffic and network connectivity over more than 200 islands.
The project started back in 2019, is fully funded by the Erasmus + programme of the European Commission in the amount of 720,592 euros, and its main goal is to strengthen capacities and dissemination of knowledge in higher education. So far, almost all of the project activities have been carried out involving more than 50 participants from the University of the Maldives (MNU).
They participated in various fields of education there through a developed study programme with the aim of capacity building and training for the application of online teaching. A study programme in four modules has been developed and will be accredited to be made available for the future training of teachers and other staff at MNU and after the completion of the AMED project.
This week, project partners from the Maldives, the Open University of Catalonia and the Croatian Academic and Research Network (CARNET) are in Varazdin to present examples of good practice in implementing e-learning and applying new technologies and distance learning models.
"Within the project, we worked on raising the strategic approach to the introduction of e-learning and developed a unique strategic document that will enable the University of the Maldives to further develop its e-learning," said the project manager and vice dean at the Varazdin FOI, Prof.Dr. Igor Balaban.
Experts from FOI Varazdin and CARNET organised so-called job shadowing that enables the transfer of good practice in the organisation and implementation of e-education/learning to the Maldivian education system.
"A total of sixteen of our representatives from various sectors of the Maldives National University are participating in the presentations and workshops in the field of e-learning to improve the existing processes in our institution," explained the project manager at MNU, Shimna Shakeeb. The equipment for the implementation and further development of e-learning in the Maldives worth 200,000 euros was also procured and installed.
"Many of our teachers weren't familiar with this type of technology and we're glad that after this project, our university will be making even more progress in terms of technological development," said Vice-Rector of the National University of the Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Shareef.
Today, the Varazdin FOI will also host the final conference of the DIP2Future project, which aims to develop educational programmes, qualification standards and occupational standards in the field of ICT, and which brings with it four new study programmes: Data Technology and Artificial Intelligence, Systems Management Information Security and Privacy, Distributed and Interactive Systems and Business Systems Transformation and Innovation Management.
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Medical Chamber Launches Humanitarian Campaign for Ukraine
ZAGREB, 17 March 2022 - The Croatian Medical Chamber (HLK) said on Thursday that it had launched a humanitarian campaign to raise funds to help the Ukrainian people and doctors.
The HLK is to donate HRK 300,000 as part of the campaign and it calls on its members to help raise funds, which will be used to buy medical products and equipment for Ukrainian doctors and people.
The HLK said that it strongly condemned the Russian aggression on Ukraine and the increasingly frequent attacks on civilian buildings, health institutions and medical workers.
The HLK drive will last until 1 April, and the money raised will be paid into a special fund for medical aid to Ukraine, established by the European Forum of Medical Associations (EFMA), Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) and World Medical Association (WMA).
The HLK said donations can be made via its bank account IBAN: HR7923400091511179558, poziv na broj 2022; opis uplate "Hrvatski liječnici za Ukrajinu".
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Defence Minister: Croatia, UK Committed to Preparation for Future Security Challenges
ZAGREB, 17 March 2022 - The Croatian government on Thursday adopted a conclusion that took note of an international act on the strategic partnership between the Croatian and UK ministries of defence, with Minister Mario Banožić saying it was part of joint preparations for future defence and security challenges.
Under the Conclusion and Implementation of International Treaties, the Act was signed in Zagreb on 1 February during a visit by the UK defence secretary and submitted to the Croatian government, the Defence Ministry said in a press release.
Minister Banožić said that the obligation of strategic partnership reflects Croatia's commitment to the defence and security partnership in support of a stronger Alliance and common interests and values.
"The document confirms the joint commitment to ensuring further equipment to respond to future defence and security challenges. Through the programme of bilateral action, we will continue to promote the interoperability of the Armed Forces and achieve defence and security objectives and a common vision of stronger strategic cooperation," said Banožić.
"As allies, we will additionally strengthen interoperability by implementing joint training and exercises, both bilaterally and within NATO," the minister said.
For more, check out our dedicated politics section.
EU Regulators Warn Europeans of Highly Risky Crypto-assets
ZAGREB, 17 March 2022 - The European Union's financial regulators on Thursday warned consumers that "many crypto-assets are highly risky and speculative", the Croatian National Bank (HNB) said.
This warning comes in the context of growing consumer activity and interest in crypto-assets and the aggressive promotion of those assets and related products, especially through social media.
The warning was issued by the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) that consist of several regulators whose including the EBA, ESMA and EIOPA.
Consumers should be aware of "the lack of recourse or protection available to them, as crypto-assets and related products and services typically fall outside existing protection under current EU financial services rules."
"In relation to the current situation in Ukraine, and with a view to ensuring the proper implementation of the sanctions in place, the ESAs welcome the clarification by the Council of the European Union of the scope of the restrictive measures against Russian and Belarusian entities and individuals as regards crypto-assets," the ESAs said in a press release.
Government Imposes Employment Ban for Public, State Services
ZAGREB, 17 March 2022 - In order to ensure the continuity of control of employment in the public and state sectors, the Croatian government on Thursday imposed a ban on fixed-term and permanent employment in state and public services, providing for certain exceptions and defining terms for lifting the ban.
The ban on employment in state and public services was envisaged by laws on the execution of the 2020 and 2021 state budgets, but not by the law on the execution of the 2022 state budget. This is the reason why the government today adopted two new decisions to impose a ban on employment in public, as well as state administration services.
Reduction of parafiscal levies
The government also sent the parliament amendments to the State Survey and Real Property Cadastre Act for discussion under fast-track procedure, as part of measures from the Action Plan for the reduction of non-tax and parafiscal levies.
The amendments are aimed at abolishing the collection of most charges related to the use of data required to issue extracts, copies and certificates of data from the state survey, real property cadastre and infrastructure documentation, and the register of buildings, spatial units and geographic names, as well as related to access to information and certain actions requested by clients, and at abolishing the collection of administrative fees.
The amendments are part of the measures Croatia has undertaken to implement in order to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) and the banking union, and the deadline for their implementation is the end of March.
For more, check out our dedicated politics and lifestyle sections.
Radars Did Not Recognize Drone as Right Sort of Alarm, Plenković Says
ZAGREB, 17 March 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that Romanian and Hungarian radars did not recognise the drone that crashed in Zagreb a week ago as there were other false alarms that occured around the same time, but all Croatian partners understood the seriousness of the situation.
Speaking at a cabinet session, Plenković said he visited NATO's Combined Air Operations Centre in Torrejón, Spain yesterday and once again clarified with them radar images from last Thursday night.
"Romanian and Hungarian radars did not recognise the vehicle as the right sort of alarm. That's very demanding given that there are a lot of such blips... It appeared, it didn't appear, and in those days there were other false alarms and fighter jets were raised over situations of a different nature."
"However, since the drone crashed in Croatia's capital, all partners understand the seriousness of the situation". Plenković said.
"There are three possible scenarios, a mistake was made, it was sabotage or it was intentional. That has to be determined so that all surveillance mechanisms are ready for such situations and so that attention is paid because of the war in Ukraine", he said.
"Not even NATO's system could have seen the drone without being informed by those whose radars were closest to it", he added.
The drone carried explosive device
"We will inform the public of all details so there is no confusion, false information, wrong comments and expert analyses without insight into what really happened because that's not good either for the public or those commenting on incomplete information."
The relevant authorities are still looking into all the details of the crash. It has been established that that it was a Tupolev Tu-141 Strizh reconnaissance drone whose range was over 1,000 km.
Given the traces found at the crash site, it has been established that the drone had an explosive device which exploded several metres below ground, Plenković said.
He went on to say that military exercises were taking place these days in Croatia with the French and US air forces, reiterating that this was a strong message to the Croatian public that the allies and partners were with Croatia in this situation.
He also said Croatia had taken in 7,200 Ukrainian refugees to date.
For more on this developing situation, check out our dedicated politics section.
70 Buildings Undergoing Retrofitting, Decision for Another 400 Adopted
ZAGREB, 17 March 2022 - Two years after the Zagreb earthquake, 70 buildings are undergoing retrofitting on their own and decisions have been made for about 400 buildings to be reconstructed under the Reconstruction Fund scheme in March, April and May, Deputy Zagreb Mayor Luka Korlaet said on Thursday.
"Concerning those 70 buildings, their inhabitants organised themselves, took loans and started with the reconstruction, counting on being refunded by the Reconstruction Fund," Korlaet explained, adding that that was legitimate however the state has to increase the number of decisions through the Ministry and the Fund.
Answering reporters' questions Korlaet said he wasn't satisfied with the pace of reconstruction, two years on since the earthquake which hit Zagreb and northwestern Croatia on 22 March 2020.
"When speaking about the retrofitting of private buildings - a large number of decisions have been made by the ministry and the fund and they are now being implemented," he underscored.
In March and April, works will already be visible.
As far as reconstruction of public buildings is concerned the city authorities are stronger in that regard. "Reconstruction is underway of buildings owned by the city and we are doing the best we can for that to progress at some sort of normal pace," he said.
He underscored that the majority of schools have been reconstructed, with four elementary and eight secondary schools to go.
Koralet announced that it's now time for other public buildings such as theatres and museums and also health institutions.
For more, check out our dedicated politics section.
