8 LOT Lines to Croatia Planned for Summer to Five Croatian Airports!
May 12, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia as 8 LOT lines to Croatia will operate this summer to five Croatian airports!
Croatian Aviation reports that Polish national airline, LOT Polish Airlines, plans to operate regular flights to five Croatian airports in the summer season. We bring you the planned flight schedule, currently confirmed by the airline.
After a short break without operations in January and February, the Polish LOT resumed traffic to Zagreb with the first day of the summer flight schedule this year. The line is currently in operation three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and the company will gradually increase the number of operations. It will operate 6 times a week during the peak summer season between Zagreb and Warsaw. Before the pandemic, LOT operated twice a day to Zagreb.
Lines to Dubrovnik Airport
At the end of April, the line between Warsaw and Dubrovnik started operating twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. On this line, there will be an increase in the number of operations. The company plans to run to Dubrovnik four times a week.
In addition to the line from Warsaw, LOT will resume traffic on the line from Poznan, which will be in operation from June 3, once a week, every Thursday. From June 19, the third line to Dubrovnik will be introduced, from Krakow, also once a week, on Saturdays.
Lines to Zadar Airport
This summer, LOT will also have two lines to Zadar. The line from Warsaw will operate from June 19, once a week, on Saturdays, and from the same date, the line from Rzeszów will also be in operation once a week.
The company has already resumed traffic on the line between Warsaw and Split. The line is in operation twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays, and LOT plans to keep two flights a week on this line throughout the summer season.
Return to Rijeka Airport as well
Good news for Rijeka airport, too! Although the company had previously considered canceling the route to Rijeka and withdrew it from sale, flights are now available for booking again, and LOT plans to resume traffic on the line between Warsaw and Rijeka from June 19 with one flight a week, on Saturdays.
On the routes to Croatia, LOT plans to use Embraer aircraft (170, 175, 190, 195), but already on the first flights to Dubrovnik, the company used a larger capacity aircraft - B737-800.
This flight schedule is a planned schedule of the airline which, in case of higher demand, will react by introducing additional flights, but also cancel certain ones in case the booking is not satisfactory, which became the practice of all airlines after the global pandemic.
Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.
For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Croatian Chamber of Commerce Membership to Remain Mandatory
May the 12th, 2021 - The Croatian Chamber of Commerce membership which is bothersome to the vast majority of Croatian enterprises who frequently claim that their membership, and as such their fees to the chamber, don't offer them anything in return.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, changes to the law on the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) which were announced after last week's meeting of coalition partners and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic left many astonished. Most of those who had their jaws hit the floor in amazement have been waiting for years for a clear message that Croatian Chamber of Commerce membership should become voluntary. Of course, that isn't going to happen.
The idea is, as most expected, to keep Croatian Chamber of Commerce membership as a mandatory obligation, but to release small companies from the obligation to pay their membership fees.
The very fact that some companies will remain under the obligation to pay is doubtful because it brings enterprise owners into the muddy waters of constitutional inequality, since in settling an obligation, the constitution doesn't distinguish between categories of companies headquartered in Croatia.
The move has been made as a partial solution to the problem of dissatisfaction among some company owners with the existing Croatian Chamber of Commerce membership model, which, as lawyers say, if realised according to the announced concept, will open new divisions and continue to generate a sense of injustice among the country's various business owners.
In other words, if we're going to change and abolish Croatian Chamber of Commerce membership fees, then such a reform should be well thought out and prepared for. For now, neither the Croatian Chamber of Commerce nor the relevant Ministry of the Economy have received more detailed information on when the new rules should start to be applied, ie what the transitional period for releasing companies from paying Croatian Chamber of Commerce membership fees will actually look like or be.
Unofficially, it can be heard that this concept envisages a series of changes in the very definition of the size of companies, as well as that Croatian Chamber of Commerce membership fees paid by a smaller number of companies will be "corrected". There are no details on it all yet, but the existing criteria by which the size of the company and the corresponding fee were determined in the Croatian Chamber of Commerce differed from the criteria set by the law on accounting.
According to this law, companies are classified into micro and small, medium and large enterprises depending on their respective amount of total assets, income and the average number of employees during the business year.
Micro-enterprises mustn't exceed two of the three conditions - they mustn't have assets of more than 2.6 million kuna, revenues of more than 5.2 million kuna and they can't have any more than 10 employees, small enterprises may not have more than 30 million kuna in assets, 60 million kuna in revenues and more than 50 workers, while medium-sized enterprises can't have more than 150 million kuna in assets, 300 million kuna in revenue or more than 250 workers.
When calculating Croatian Chamber of Commerce membership fees, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce defines three groups, the first of which, those considered small and currently make up the majority of members and should now be exempt from membership, are companies that do not exceed two of the three criteria - 7.5 million kuna in total assets, 15 million kuna in revenue and 50 employees.
The second group, medium-sized companies, are those with assets of up to 30 million kuna and revenues of up to 59 million kuna, and 250 employees. This category of enterprises currently pays a monthly Croatian Chamber of Commerce membership fee in the amount of 1083 kuna, while large enterprises who exceed two of the three aforementioned criteria are obliged to pay a considerable sum of 3973 kuna per month.
When it comes to just how much the membership fees could increase, there's no unofficial information yet, but it's likely that this will follow. At this moment in time, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce collects about 160 million kuna from various membership fees, and about 32 million kuna from other services and activities.
The open question remains as to which of the rights will be able to continue being used by enterprises who will no longer need to pay membership fees, as well as possible membership fee hikes for those who must continue paying.
The Minister of Economy, Tomislav Coric, announced that part of the financing of the activities of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce will be transferred to the state budget, but there are still no details on the delimitation of financing from fiscal and parafiscal sources.
For more, follow our business section.
Croatian Recovery Plan Focusing on Modernisation of Ports, Trams, Ships
May the 12th, 2021 - The Croatian Recovery Plan is going to place a focus on modernising trams, ports, vessels, catamarans and more.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, the Croatian Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO) is worth a total of 47 billion kuna, it has five components, of which a massive 26.2 billion kuna will flood back into the domestic economy. It also includes the development of a competitive, energy-sustainable and efficient transport system, for which 5.5 billion kuna is planned.
The plan, as pointed out by the Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butkovic, who presented the transport part of the Croatian Recovery Plan at the weekend at the Port of Rijeka, envisages the continuation of significant investments in modernisation of transport infrastructure with the aim of developing sustainable transport and encouraging smart solutions. reforms of the railways, road and air sectors, as well as the reform of maritime and inland waterways.
"We're ready to go ahead with all of these reforms, to implement all of these projects, and this is an opportunity to continue this strong investment cycle in transport infrastructure, which today amounts to a little more than 25 billion kuna. With the resilience programme, we're continuing on with a strong investment cycle which, by 2030, when we add it all up, will be worth more than 30 billion kuna, mostly for the railways, as well as for all other projects,'' said Butkovic.
He added that the construction or reconstruction of Croatia's railway infrastructure, the modernisation of seaports, the procurement of three new passenger ships and three catamarans, as well as brand new ferries, trams, buses, new photovoltaic power plants and more.
Butkovic also announced that through the implementation of these reforms until 2026, amendments to the Road Act will also be adopted, which will create the proper conditions for the interoperability of electronic toll collection systems and increase overall road safety.
Namely, one of the most anticipated projects is the establishment of a new electronic toll collection system. Butkovic said that Hrvatske autoceste/Croatian motorways (HAC) is now in a very serious phase of launching a tender for a new contactless toll collection system on all sections of the country's motorways.
For more on the Croatian Recovery Plan, follow our politics page.
Measure Relaxations Coming? 3 Things Civil Protection Directorate Must Approve
May the 12th, 2021 - Could Croatia soon relax its anti-epidemic measures? If so, there are three things that the Croatian Civil Protection Directorate must approve in order for anything to alter going forward.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, with the aim of putting a halt to economic downturn and job losses, at yesterday's Civil Protection Directorate of the City of Zagreb's meeting, conclusions were reached on sending an initiative to the National Civil Protection Directorate to revise and amend the decision on the necessary epidemiological measures restricting gatherings and introduce other necessary epidemiological measures and recommendations to prevent transmission of COVID-19 during gatherings.
Proposals for amendments to the decision on the necessary epidemiological measures relate to the following:
- A work permit for catering and hospitality facilities with a detailed prescribed manner of their work organisation
- Permission to organise events and weddings with the rapid testing of guests and external service providers related to the event
- Permission to hold fairs and exhibitions out in the open air
- Given that we already have a lot more knowledge about preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus, and a large number of people have been vaccinated, they believe that it is possible to re-apply the recommendations for infection prevention in restaurants both with and without terraces with the gradual easing of restrictions related to COVID-19 that were in force back in May last year, which prescribe the organisation of the facility's work, limit the total number of visitors and alter the method of serving food and drinks.
- In the same such facilities, the method of the work of employees and the serving of guests should be changed, and special rules for restaurants in accommodation facilities and others that have a buffet style of serving food should be provided.
- The possibility of implementing this recommendation would especially help the work of those in that particular industry who don't have outdoor terraces or other open spaces on which to offer their services. The City of Zagreb also supports the Safe Event/Wedding Standard project, which specifies proposals for the rapid testing of guests and external contractors before the event takes place and limiting the number of people present both indoors and outdoors.
On top of all of the above, the Civil Protection Directorate of the City of Zagreb also reiterated the problems caused by the ban on holding fairs and other forms of economic and tourist events, especially those where products are sold or exhibited. The existence of a large number of small companies and family farms (OPGs) depends on the production and sale of products at such open fairs. Since we're currently deep into the season of selling planting material, lettuce, spring onions and the like, and if producers have no way to offer their products, much of it will fail, and customers will settle, among other things, for products from supermarkets where they often buy imported goods, and not Croatian produce..
The City of Zagreb would, in compliance with all of the other epidemiological measures, hire additional covid wardens in order to ensure the proper control over the implementation of the altered epidemiological measures.
For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centres across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.
Question Marks Over Croatian 2021 Tourist Season Remain Plentiful
May the 12th, 2021 - The Croatian 2021 tourist season continues to have multiple question marks hanging over its head as warmer weather is here and the summer is rapidly approaching. Despite the advent of numerous vaccines which are highly effective against the novel coronavirus, issues with tourism and travel remain.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian tourist market has finally been somewhat more lively in recent days, and the agencies for renting apartments and holiday homes are recording slightly more inquiries from foreign guests, but they're primarily related to July and August. Some guests say that they've already been vaccinated, and some ask if the hosts have received the vaccine, there are even requests for everyone they will come into contact with during their stay to be vaccinated, writes Slobodna Dalmacija.
The owner of a boarding house from the Central Dalmatian island of Brac, who wished to remain anonymous, will have to fulfill such a request put to them by would-be guests. This individual says that given the improving situation with the pandemic over recent days, there are more inquiries from guests for the upcoming Croatian 2021 tourist season.
Minimal interest
Bookings for the month of June is currently extremely poor, in fact it's terrible. However, guests are insecure and tend to ask for a greater possibility of cancellation, even when they're offered various discounts on making an advance payment. This was confirmed by Natasa Ljubicic from the "Top Season" agency.
''Most of them inquire about the possibilities of cancellation and typically ask for a complete refund in such a case. This is very inconvenient for owners who want to agree to cancel, but at least three days before arrival, but guests want it to be made possible one day before their planned arrival,'' explained Natasa, who has many years of experience under her belt. She confirmed that interest in apartments in cities is really small, but that she expects that most guests this Croatian 2021 tourist season will book at the last minute, which is understandable given the unstable situation regarding travel for leisure, vaccination certificates and negative test rules at borders.
She added that those guests who come by plane are waiting for the proper regulation of air transport on which they can actually rely, because one day, as she recalled, some guests informed her that their flight to Split had been cancelled.
The Dubrovnik-based agency Online Croatia has also noticed a more lively interest in reservations in recent days. What dominates conversations with foreign tourists is, as with others, the issue of flexible booking cancellations. They have almost no reservations for June, and they're also not interested in September because they assume that tourists are wary of last year's situation happening again this year, when at the end of August the public health situation worsened everywhere and countries began to close their borders.
''This year, it's more complicated to enter the country, given that negative PCR tests or confirmations of vaccination or proof of having recovered from COVID-19 are required, which is, for example, an additional considerable expense for a family of four. According to the latest information we have, such an obligation also applies to children older than seven, and we don't know if it will stay that way because something does alter every now and then,'' stated Maja Cupic, the owner of another agency.
Cupic, whose agency has focused more on closer markets since the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic, also expects that most bookings this Croatian 2021 tourist season will be at the last minute.
For more, follow our travel section. For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centres across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and choose your preferred language.
President Zoran Milanović Says HDZ Should Exempt Itself From Vote on Zlata Đurđević
ZAGREB, 11 May, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović has said that his candidate for Supreme Court President Zlata Đurđević's programme is not the reason to reject her candidacy and that the HDZ should exempt itself from voting on her appointment as the party is in a conflict of interest, having been convicted of corruption.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Milanović said that nobody had read Đurđević's programme and that it was more serious than anything Plenković had ever written but that that was not crucial for her appointment.
Plenković will come up with another reason (to reject her) tomorrow, he said.
Plenković said on Monday that Đurđević would not be backed by the ruling majority also due to her "populist political programme."
The premier said that the programme was designed to restore the system of election of judges as existed at the time when politicians appointed judges, recalling that she had failed to apply to the first public call for the position.
Milanović said today that he expected the Supreme Court President to be strict, have high criteria and, if necessary, launch disciplinary proceedings.
If a "completely inexperienced" politician like Plenković could have become "such a brilliant prime minister", then Ms Đurđević can do a job that is still less complicated than that of a prime minister, said Milanović.
The HDZ should exempt itself from the vote on the Supreme Court President because the party has a case pending before the Supreme Court, he noted.
To the extent the Supreme Court President will have minimum influence on the case, the HDZ is in a conflict of interest, he added.
Milanović also said that Plenković had started entertaining plans to have him replaced.
Plenković said yesterday that he received a report from Albania, where "Milanović's friend (PM Edi) Rama" was initiating a no-confidence vote in President Ilir Meta for interfering in elections and inciting to hate speech and violence.
"He is talking about the Albanian no-confidence vote instead of phoning Rama and congratulating him, like most European leaders. By the way, the Albanian president was elected by the parliament, and I was elected by Croatian voters," Milanović said, adding: "He should take care that that does not happen to him."
Two NGOs to File Report Over Burning of Rainbow Flag
ZAGREB, 11 May, 2021 - The Rijeka-based LORI lesbian association and the Rainbow Families association of LGBTIQ couples and individuals who have or want to have children will file a report with the local prosecutorial authorities over the burning of a rainbow flag on the City Hall building.
In the night between May 7 and 8, a video of the burning of the flag was posted on the Instagam profile "riječani.1987", which is linked with the Armada football fan group, with the message: "This is the response to the newly-adopted law on adoption by same-sex couples."
LORI and the Rainbow Families said they would file a report for incitement to violence and hate and causing damage to another's property.
The two associations said they expected a prompt reaction by the competent state institutions, with LORI recalling that in 2020 it filed a report with the Rijeka prosecutor's office over graffiti saying "Kill faggots", sprayed on a window of the Rijeka City Hall after an exhibition dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the association was staged there.
For more about LGBT in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Zagreb Stock Exchange: Crobex's Six-Day Winning Streak Ends
ZAGREB, 11 May, 2021 - The Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) Crobex on Tuesday fell by 0.45% to 1,950.84 points, thus ending its six-day winning streak.
The Crobex10 declined by 0.55% to 1,200.06 points.
Today's regular turnover totalled HRK 8.7 million, HRK 6.7 million less than on Monday.
Apart from that, an additional five million was generated by a block transaction with shares of the SZAIF fund which changed hands at the price of HRK 22.20. SZAIF shares turned over HRK 1.9 million in regular trading, with a price rise of 11% to HRK 22.20.
In terms of the volume of trading, the Atlantska Plovidba shipping company was the best performer, HRK 2.1 million. After its shares gained more than 45% in value in the last five days, today their price fell by 3.90% to HRK 370.
A total of 53 stocks traded today, with 28 of them registering a price fall, 19 saw a price increase and six remained stable in price.
(€1 = HRK 7.529086)
For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Migrant Smuggling Market in Balkans Worth €50 Million
ZAGREB, 11 May, 2021 - The migrant smuggling market in the Western Balkans is worth at least €50 million a year, says a report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, describing Serbia as an important destination for migrants because it borders with four EU member states.
The report notes that Serbian police have discovered several tunnels, three to seven metres deep and up to 30 metres long, under the wire fence along the Serbia-Hungary border near the Hungarian town of Szeged and village of Ásotthalom and the Serbian village of Kelebija.
The tunnels are considered relatively risky due to the possibility of arrest and the danger of them collapsing. The smugglers' fees range from €500 to 5,000.
This is much less than during the 2015 migrant however statistics show that the regional market for migrant smuggling is still large regardless of attempts to close the so-called Balkan migrant smuggling route, says the Global Initiative, an international network fighting acquisition of illegal gain and crime.
Quoting Voice of America, the Belgrade media reported about the report, which focuses on the flows of people, drugs and money in the Western Balkans.
Using maps and analyses helps identify key entry and exit points for migrant smuggling through six Western Balkan countries, as well as locations that serve as drug smuggling hubs. Not even the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have disrupted illicit flows, says the Global Initiative.
Its report identifies Serbia as an important destination for asylum-seekers and migrants because the country borders with four EU members - Croatia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
The report quotes data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) under which in 2019, 30,216 migrants entered Serbia, almost twice as many as in 2018. The report also quotes data from the Serbian Ministry of the Interior under which in 2020 more than 8,500 migrants were prevented from illegally crossing the Serbian border.
Feasibility Study For Hospital Project in Osijek to be Prepared
ZAGREB, 11 May, 2021 - The 35 million kuna contract on the elaboration of a feasibility study for the construction of a new complex housing the hospital centre in Osijek was signed on Tuesday in that biggest eastern Croatian city.
The document on preparing the feasibility study was signed by Health Minister Vili Beroš, the Osijek Hospital Centre head, Željko Zubčić and the representative of the consortium of bidders. As many as 30 million kuna will be provided from European funds, whereas the health ministry will cover the remaining 5.2 million.
Regional Development and EU Funds minister, Nataša Tramišak, said at the contract-signing ceremony that the co-funding from the EU funds was ensured through the "Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem" project.
She said that the construction of the future hospital centre was estimated at two billion kuna, and the exact sum would be known after the Osijek hospital centre provided full information.
Zubčić said that the new hospital centre "is a greenfield investment", and would be built at a new location. He said that the new hospital complex "is a necessity for Osijek and Croatia's east.
The elaboration of the feasibility study is expected to take a year.
(€1 = HRK 7.5)
For more about health in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
