ZAGREB, 10 Dec 2021 - Lawmakers on Friday supported the better regulation of  adult education and life-long learning, expressing hope that new act under which vouchers to finance adult education and training will be introduced, will encourage adult education and retraining.

The 2030 target is to reach the EU average of 10.8% adult population covered by education, while Croatia's average is now 3.5% Science and Education Ministry's State Secretary, Tomislav Paljak told the parliament.

The bill has been proposed so that every adult citizen in the country can have access to education and retraining that will provide them with a better position on the labour market and consequently better social status, underscored Paljak.

One of the novelties in the bill is the introduction of vouchers to finance adult education and HRK 300 million has been earmarked for this scheme that will encompass about 30,000 beneficiaries by 2026. The vouchers can be used for all education levels of both employed and unemployed people, he explained.

Independent MP Marijana Petir asked if the measure would be available for residents in rural areas, with Paljak saying that that would be a difficult challenge but he believes, once the campaign starts it will reach everyone.

Dragana Jeckov (SDSS) said that there are about 600 institutions providing adult education with about 11,000 different programmes but they are obviously not achieving their set objectives. The labour market is yearning for certain occupations yet at the same time we have a lot of unemployed people.

The bill also regulates the obligation for permanent adaptation of adult education programmes in order to address the needs of the labour market and to monitor the quality of implementing programmes.

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ZAGREB, 10 Dec 2021 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Friday that the bill on introducing the euro currency in Croatia was being prepared and the draft could be outlined in mid-January while its final adoption could be expected in April next year.

In addition to that bill, it will be necessary to amend 46 laws and 70 by-laws prior to the euro changeover, Marić said at a conference on Croatia's accession to the euro area, organised in Rovinj by the Večernji List daily and Istria County authorities.

The blueprint for the euro adoption envisages that on 1 January 2023 Croatia ought to be ready to enter the euro area while the formal announcement of accession to the euro area is expected mid-2022.

"At that moment, Croatia will practically enter the final phase and the preparations for the euro changeover will have to be stepped up," said Marić and recalled that almost 1.1 billion coins and 500 million kuna banknotes have to be withdrawn and banks, post offices, Fina and companies need to be pre-supplied with sufficient euro coins and banknotes.

The financial sector will have to adapt and then there is one huge common task and that is to inform and protect consumers as an integral principle of the entire process.

Prices will have to be expressed in both currencies as of August next year and that should also help alleviate inflation pressure.

"As of 1 January 2023 we will change over to the euro overnight and then have another two weeks for both currencies in circulation and citizens will be able to continue to pay in kuna but after that payments will be in euro. The dual prices will remain for at least one year," he underscored.

"Prime Minister (Andrej) Plenković and (HNB) Governor (Boris) Vujčić and I are lobbying our European colleagues for Croatia to be the next country to enter the European monetary area. We all know that we have a highly eurorised society and economy. And the HNB too, is integrated into the European system of central banks, so it is natural to head towards what is stipulated in EU accession agreements," he said.

The conference further heard that despite some of the economic risks that may occur by relinquishing the national currency, changeover to the euro opens a series of economic opportunities.

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ZAGREB, 10 Dec 2021 - Croatia has registered 3,797 new coronavirus cases and 71 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Friday.

The number of active cases stands at 26,824 and among them 2,329 infected persons are receiving hospital treatment, including 326 who are on ventilators.

A total of 23,617 people are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 648,003 people have been registered as having contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus, of whom 11,516 have died.

A total of 609,663 people have recovered, including 4,585 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 3,559,322 people have tested for the new virus, of whom 11,178 in the last 24 hours.

As of Thursday, 4,338,159 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with 54.74 per cent of the total population, or 65.28 per cent of the adult population, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,221,412 people have received at least one dose and 2,019,336 of them have been fully vaccinated, which is 59.56 per cent of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 10 Dec 2021 - Camping is the leader of Croatian tourism this year with 90% of the nights generated in the record year 2019 as well as in terms of quality and possibilities, even during a pandemic, and market announcements indicate the results will be even better in 2022, a camping congress heard on Thursday.

The 15th congress of the Croatian Camping Union in Tuhelj brought together over a 100 professionals and campsite representatives from across Croatia as well as their guests from the German, Dutch, and Italian auto clubs.

Assistant Tourism Minister Robert Pende said HRK 2.2 billion was earmarked for tourism in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, with HRK 1.2 billion going to the real private sector, including campsites.

Representatives of the German ADAC auto club and the Dutch ACSI said the "boom" in arrivals of their campers to Croatia would continue next year, adding that Croatian campsites, like those in Italy, are among the best in Europe, some even the best.

ADAC members and others love to camp in Croatia, said Uwe Frers of ADAC, and more and more will arrive because during the pandemic they saw quality firsthand. They were also impressed by the high level of hygiene and other coronavirus rules, he added. "The pressure from Germany on your campsites will certainly be even stronger in 2022."

Ramon van Reine of ACSI said the next camping season in Croatia would be the best to date in terms of Dutch arrivals.

2021 was excellent too, he said, adding that the Dutch love Croatia and that a new group of tourists is joining in and would like to come from April through September.

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ZAGREB, 10 Dec 2021 - Members of the Croatian parliament on Thursday started a heated debate on a bill on the protection of the population against infectious diseases which envisages fines up to HRK 50,000 for responsible persons not complying with the COVID-19 certificate mandate in bodies governed by public law.

COVID certificates are unconstitutional and unlawful and they are not an effective measure and it has been proved that only testing can protect the population, said Miro Bulj of the Opposition Bridge party.

He said that the amendments to the law would usher in "unconstitutional lockdown and abuse with COVID certificates."

Josip Borić of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) responded that the Bridge party in fact, "is the only one that wishes to lock down citizens within Croatia if COVID certificates were to be abolished."

"You cannot travel to any other country without a COVID certificate," Borić explained.

Branko Bačić (HDZ) underscored that questioning COVID certificates resembles something that would be debated in the Middle Ages rather than the 21st century.

He supported the introduction of certificates with the argument that of 570,000 tests, which have been conducted since the COVID certificate mandate for the public sector, 8,515 were positive.

Had those 8,515 persons entered the system, that would have led to the infection of about 50,000 people and about 100 would have died, claimed Bačić and recalled that all democratic countries have introduced the certificates.

Opposition MPs pointed out a series of illogical, inconsistent, and vague measures adopted in the attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

People are tested prior to entering Slovenia and when they get to the border with Austria they get a positive result which makes the certificate redundant, Dario Zurovec of the Fokus party said and underscored that any restriction of movements is contrary to the Constitution and EU legal acquis.

Hrvoje Zekanović of the Croatian Sovereignists (HS) explained that one can enter a building housing a post office without a certificate but have to produce it when they arrive at the counter. If you can enter a shop without a certificate then that should be valid for a post office too. He wondered who would cover the cost of losses post offices might suffer due to the mandatory certificates.

Decisions should be brought by a two-thirds majority

The opposition called for decisions to be adopted with a two-thirds majority in the Sabor.

Andreja Marić of the Social Democratic Party (SDP)  called for complying with the advice and recommendations made by experts and doctors and for vaccination, however, she wondered whether COVID certificates perhaps are a restriction on human rights and freedom because some institutions do not require certificates yet others do.

Anka Mrak Taritaš of the GLAS party said that the discussion should be focused on the life and death of citizens rather than on COVID certificates.

During the 1991-1995 Homeland War, an estimated 15,000 citizens were killed, and the COVID-19 pandemic has taken 11,500 lives in Croatia so far, she underscored.

Let those under the influence drive too!

Katarina Peović of the Workers' Front (RF) said that Croatia has the most liberal anti-epidemic measures in Europe and responded in an ironic manner to those who argue that vaccinated people can also spread the virus, that she would appeal to let people under the influence to drive, "because those who aren't under the influence can also cause accidents."

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ZAGREB, 10 Dec 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday congratulated the new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on his appointment, thanking Germany for its support to Croatia in its bid to join the Schengen area of passport-free travel and the euro area, the government said.

"My most heartfelt congratulations on your appointment as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and best wishes for a successful term in office. I look forward to cooperation in further deepening relations between our two countries as well as on topics of importance for the future of the European Union," PM Plenković said in his message.

Srdačno čestitam @OlafScholz na izboru za saveznog kancelara ?? i želim puno uspjeha u obnašanju dužnosti! Radujem se suradnji na daljnjem jačanju partnerstva i gospodarskih odnosa ????, kao i na temama važnima za budućnost ??. https://t.co/EzGoUTkGaA

— Andrej Plenković (@AndrejPlenkovic) December 9, 2021

He also expressed gratitude for Germany's support to Croatia's efforts to accomplish its strategic priorities - membership of the Schengen area and of the euro area, underlining the importance of a common contribution to the stability and EU membership prospects of Southeast Europe.

"The 30th anniversary of our bilateral relations next year is a symbolic opportunity to additionally strengthening our partnership and cooperation on the political, economic, scientific and cultural fronts, as well as in a number of other important areas," Plenković said in his message.

Scholz was sworn in as Chancellor on Wednesday. He is Germany's ninth post-war chancellor and successor to Angela Merkel, who held the post since 2005.

Germany's new Social Democrat-Green-Liberal government, headed by Scholz, has 416 deputies in the 736-member 20th Bundestag.

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ZAGREB, 10 Dec 2021 - Currently there are 172 political parties entered in Croatia's registry of political parties, the Večernji List (VL) daily reported on Thursday, while commenting that it seems that the less trust in politicians, the higher number of registered political parties Croatia has.

At the end of 2020, there were 168 political parties formally registered.

From 31 April to 30 November 2021, nine parties were added to the registry, and 14 were erased from the list.

The latest entry in the registry is "Grobnička stranka" led by Suzana Šebalja Colnar, and the headquarters are in Žeželovo Selo in the municipality of Čavle.

The registry was established in January 1990, and the first entry was the Croatian Social and Liberal Party (HSLS). Since then, 390 political parties have been registered formally, however, many of them have been also removed from the registry.

The requirement for establishing a political party is that at least 100 natural persons with active legal capacity agree to find it and register it. The registry is run by the ministry of justice and public administration, the daily newspaper says.

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December the 10th, 2021 - Fazana in Istria is putting its money where its mouth is and getting ready to construct various new facilities, from a sport centre to a care home to new traffic and communal infrastructure.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Fazana's Radomir Korac recently presented his draft budget for next year, which will be firmly on the agenda of the Municipal Council.

"In the past, Fazana has flourished on all levels, both economic and cultural, in terms of sports and overall activities. The municipality has increased by several tens of percent and today it has 3,650 inhabitants. From a small fishing village and a point of orientation to the City of Pula, today, we're among the ten most developed municipalities in all of Croatia with great prospects for further development,'' he stated.

''Many infrastructure projects were created in that period, and many are still ahead of us. The Municipality of Fazana plans to invest significant funds in development in 2022, namely, 23,035,000 kuna will be invested for the purchase of non-financial assets, and 4,100,000 kuna through capital aid to utility companies such as Vodovod and Pragrande, which totals 27,135,000 kuna in capital investments,'' announced Kora, noting that all of the above represents 52.3 percent of budget expenditures, which indicates, he added, that the municipality has a very high level of investment, as reported by local portal Glas Istre.

Among the most prominent infrastructure projects for Fazana, the mayor pointed out the preparation of project documentation and the construction of a new care home, a new youth centre, the construction of a football centre in Fazana, the construction of the Valbandon social and sport centre, a skate park, a recycling yard and much, much more, all of which will also require fresh traffic and communical infrastructure.

In addition to all of the above, significant funds will be invested in the construction of Fazana's water supply and sewerage networks in the closer Valbandon area. In 2022, the largest project will start, the Pula North Agglomeration, which will seek to properly address the issue of the sewage and water supply network, which will enable the expansion of the construction area and solve the current overloaded sewage network. Not dealing with this represents an obstacle to further tourism development in and around Fazana.

He also announced that next year, a building permit will be obtained for the extension of the primary school, he also said that the construction of one side of the port in Valbandon will begin in the same year, which will provide a hundred new berths, and at the same time the project of the Port of Fazana will be completed in cooperation with the Port Authority.

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