Switching to Euro Will Help Croatia Enjoy Better Credit Rating
ZAGREB, 13 Sept 2021 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Monday that the introduction of the euro as the sole legal tender would impact Croatia's credit rating, and quoted the Fitch agency's presumption that the country's admission to the euro area would raise its credit rating by two notches.
Addressing a meeting of the National Council for the introduction of the Euro as Official Currency in Croatia, which was also attended by the EC Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, Minister Marić recalled that the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic triggered off a rise in the budget gap, and last year the general government deficit amounted to 7.4% of the country's GDP.
This year, it is estimated at 3.8%.
According to the latest estimates, the budget deficit in 2022 will fall to 2.6% of GDP and to 1.9% in 2023, while in 2024 it is projected to be 1.5% of GDP.
Marić recalled that as a consequence of the higher budget deficit, the public debt also rose in 2020 when it reached 88% of GDP.
This year, the public debt is likely to fall by two percentage points to 86.6%, and in 2022, it is expected to be reduced by a further three percentage points.
Marić expects the public debt to be 76.8% of GDP at the end of 2024.
He announced a shift of the focus to inflation, noting that inflation trends were now present worldwide.
Croatian National Bank (HNB) Governor, Boris Vujčić, said that Croatia's admission to the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) II had brought the country under the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and it also joined the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM).
Concerning the HNB, we are already in the bank union to a large extent. Our experience from participation in the SSM and SRM is good, we have adjusted ourselves to that, Vujčić said.
Commenting on fears of higher prices being triggered off by the euro changeover, the governor pledged the protection of consumers and good communication.
"We are preparing the code of ethics which will be offered to businesses and services to sign, whereby they undertake fair performance during the euro changeover, he explained.
We will introduce monitoring and we will use the best practices of countries that have already converted their national currencies to the euro, he said.
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Prime Minister Confident Croatia Will Be Ready to Join Euro Area on January 1st, 2023
ZAGREB, 13 Sept 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday he was confident Croatia would be ready to enter the euro area on 1 January 2023.
Speaking at the 11th meeting of the national council for the introduction of the euro as Croatia's official currency, Plenković said Croatia had the full support of the European Commission and the European Central Bank to join the euro area.
"We approached this process in a very structured way, carefully. We believe we will fulfill in time all the commitments we undertook by entering the Exchange Rate Mechanism."
He said the government regularly discussed reform implementation in money laundering prevention, the business environment, public administration management, and the justice system, adding that he was confident all the ministries involved would fulfill what had been agreed.
Highly euroized economy
Plenković reiterated that over 60% of Croatia's export was to EU member states, over 60% of tourists in Croatia came from the euro area, over two-thirds of savings and half the loans in Croatia were in euros and that Croatia was already a highly euroized economy.
The experience of the countries which joined the euro area shows that it benefitted both their citizens and economies. Entering the euro area will eliminate the currency risk and exchange costs, reduce interest rates, boost foreign investment, and increase the possibility of financing on the capital market, which we are sure will have an additional effect on our credit rating, Plenković said.
That will also facilitate exports and tourist arrivals, he added.
By comparing pay and price trends in new member states, one can conclude that gross wages increased considerably in relation to price growth, he said. "Living standards increased considerably after the introduction of the euro."
Plenković reiterated that Croatia would have €25 billion in EU funds at its disposal in the years ahead.
"We expect an advance of €818 million could arrive in Croatia in the weeks ahead and, with the GDP growth we saw in the second quarter and which, after such a successful tourism season, will certainly be such in the third quarter as well, to embark on strong economic recovery, strengthening the resilience of the Croatian economy, quality of life, and raising the standard of our fellow citizens."
Dombrovskis: EC strongly supports Croatia's work and ambition to join the euro area
The European Commission Executive Vice President of for an Economy that Works for People Valdis Dombrovskis said at the meeting the Croatian government had shown a strong political will and set ambitious goals.
The Commission strongly supports the work and ambitions of the government and other Croatian institutions to join the euro area, which requires meeting all Maastricht criteria, he added.
Your economy is recovering well and will receive support via the recovery and resilience plan. Croatia is the biggest recipient of EU funds. 11.6% of GDP has been allocated to Croatia in grants, he said.
Dombrovskis said taking the euro path was worth it as it would lead to a more prosperous economy.
Asked by the press about the current inflationary pressures and if prices would go up once Croatia joined the euro area, the Commissioner said one should carefully monitor the impact of introducing the euro on prices also while preparing to introduce it in order to prevent significant price growth.
He said that when the euro was being introduced, product prices were being monitored in two currencies, among other things so that citizens could get used to prices in euros.
The relevant authorities will also have to monitor prices. Latvia, for example, where Dombrovskis was prime minister, conducted a campaign for a fair and equitable introduction of the euro.
Everything that was necessary was done to prevent the introduction of the euro from being used to raise prices, and even retail chains took part in the campaign, he said.
He added that no significant price increase was registered in the Baltic countries that entered the euro area last.
Plenković told the press there was no need for a referendum on euro adoption, explaining that during its referendum on its European Union's admission, Croatia also assumed the obligation to enter the euro area.
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About 10 Anti-maskers Outside Krapinske Toplice School
ZAGREB, 13 Sept 2021 - Several protesters gathered outside Krapinske Toplice Primary School on Monday morning to support a parent who does not want his child to wear a protective mask while attending classes, and also an expert team is expected to arrive to provide psychological assistance at the site.
The pupil concerned on Monday again came to school without a protective mask and was denied access to the school building.
The first protest of this kind was held on Friday when about 20 people rallied because that boy, who refuses to wear a face mask, had been banned from entering the school. The protest was organized by the boy's father, who says a mask makes it difficult for his son to breathe and that the school does not allow him to use common areas without it. In that way, he said, his son is being denied the right to an education.
Education Minister Radovan Fuchs is also expected to visit the school today.
The school's headmaster, Samson Štibohar, said today that they had asked the parents to obtain from doctors the medical explanation that the child should be exempt from the mask-wearing rule on medical conditions.
I find all this escalation unnecessary, the headmaster explained.
On Friday he said that children's health and safety came first and that the protest was the result of one parent's refusal to comply with the measures, protocols, and decisions under which headmasters had to create work guidelines for the new school year.
"The problem is that the pupil and his parent refuse that he wears a mask in the hall and the toilet and when entering and leaving school, which takes maybe two minutes," he said, adding that he saw nothing positive in the protest.
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Businesses in Zagreb, Osijek and Varaždin Top Ranking Considering Net Profit
ZAGREB, 13 Sept 2021 - Enterprises from Zagreb, Osijek, and Varaždin top the ranking considering the 2020 consolidated net profit broken down by cities, shows an analysis of data provided by the Financial Agency (FINA).
The remaining seven cities that make the top ten list in this survey are Karlovac, Sveta Nedelja, Rijeka, Čakovec, Solin, Vukovar, and Kutina.
Businesses in the top 10 cities make up 4/5 of total net profit of all businesses in Croatia
The consolidated net profit of the businesses registered in all those ten cities in 2020 was HRK 16.6 billion, and the consolidated net profit of all the businesses in the whole of Croatia totaled 20.97 billion last year.
There were 62,365 businesses registered in those ten cities, and they employed 493,716 people or 52.1% of all the workers on the payrolls of all the businesses across Croatia.
In Zagreb alone, there were 46,347 registered businesses with 369,080 employees on their payrolls, and they made a net profit of 12.2 billion kuna or 73.5% of the total net profit of all the businesses in Croatia in 2020. The business performance of the Croatian power company HEP pushes the capital city to the top of the ranking.
Osijek ranks second with its businesses making a net profit of HRK 669.6 million. The biggest eastern city ranks second owing to the business performance of the Žito food company.
Varaždin comes in as third, with the net profit of the businesses registered in this northern city totaling HRK 571.6 million. The largest share of this success is contributed by the Zagorje-Tehnobeton construction company.
Karlovac follows with HRK 509.4 million, and Sveta Nedelja, a town west of Zagreb, registered HRK 490.1 million in the net profit of the businesses in that area.
The list also includes Rijeka (HRK 489.6M), Čakovec (HRK 476.1M), Solin (HRK 438.2M) Vukovar (HRK 404.2M) and Kutina (HRK 353.3M)
(€1 = HRK 7.5)
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Census Kicks Off Under Slogan "Together We Create a Picture of Croatia"
ZAGREB, 13 Sept 2021 - The census of population, households, and dwellings in Croatia, conducted under the slogan "Together We Create a Picture of Croatia", will last from today, 13 September, until 17 October, and for the first time, it will be implemented in two stages, the first of which will be digital.
The census is the most comprehensive statistical survey and covers three elements -- population, households, and dwellings. In the first stage, until 26 September, citizens will be able to self-enumerate via the e-citizens system.
In the second phase, from 27 September to 17 October, census takers, that is the field staff, will conduct face-to-face interviews with citizens and register, with the help of electronic devices, all census units that have not self-enumerated.
In the first phase, citizens will be able to fill in a questionnaire of about 60 questions to register themselves and the members of their household.
The self-enumeration rule is that if more than one member of a household uses the e-citizens system, only one member enters data on other members of the household, the household itself, and the dwelling.
The reference time of the census will be midnight 31 August 2021.
A total of about 9,500 persons will be engaged in the implementation of the census, including about 8,000 census-takers, 1,100 controllers, 170 instructors, and 45 coordinators, as well as members of county census committees, branches, and census centers.
The census refers to Croatian nationals, foreign nationals, and persons without citizenship who have permanent residence in Croatia and persons who at the reference time of the census reside in Croatia.
The first results will be published no later than 60 days after the end of the census, and the final results will be published according to the publishing program and calendar of statistical data issues of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).
The DZS will conduct the census in compliance with the recommendations of the national COVID-19 crisis management team, given the coronavirus epidemic.
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Croatia's Coronavirus Update: 167 New Cases, 592 Hospitalized Patients, 751 Recoveries
ZAGREB, 13 Sept 2021 - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has conducted 3,871 coronavirus tests, and 167 have returned positive (4.3%), the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Monday.
There are currently 5,532 active cases, and 592 are hospitalized patients including 59 placed on ventilators.
In the last 24 hours, seven patients infected with coronavirus have died, raising the COVID-related death toll to 8,447.
Since the first registered case of the infection with this novel virus in Croatia, 384,082 people have caught the virus, and of them, 370,103 have recovered, including 751 recoveries in the last 24 hours.
To date, 43.37% of the total population, or 52.07% of the adult population have got vaccinated.
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Memorial Plaque Placed in Karlovac at Site of Former Synagogue
ZAGREB, 13 Sept 2021 - The city of Karlovac on Sunday held a ceremony of placing a memorial plaque at the site of the former synagogue which was built 150 years ago in that Croatian city and demolished in 1960.
Addressing the ceremony, Israeli Ambassador to Croatia Ilan Mor said that the contribution of Jews to Karlovac, Croatia, Europe, and the world must not be forgotten.
Croatian rabbi Luciano Moše Prelević said a Jewish prayer which, he explained, he always prays when commemorating "the disappearance of the Jewish community" in a certain area.
Ambassador Mor thanked the president of the association "Jews in Karlovac", Tena Bunčić, for founding the association which, with the help of Karlovac County and the City of Karlovac, reconstructs the life of the Jewish community in Karlovac.
In this way, the great contribution of Jews in Karlovac and other cities in Croatia to the development of cultural and economic prosperity is saved from falling into oblivion, he said.
The ambassador wished all Jews a happy Jewish New Year.
The head of the Zagreb Jewish Community, and the coordinator of the Jewish communities in Croatia, Ognjen Kraus, wished that "something be done for a better future, apart from talking about graves", and he spoke about the suffering of Karlovac Jews in Ustasha camps in 1941 and later.
Karlovac Mayor Damir Mandić said that Karlovac is an open city that nurtures the coexistence, and County Prefect Martina Furdek Hajdin said it was important that history, as the teacher of life, be objective and impartial, "that the fate of Jews acts as a reprimand, and that we should be grateful for the indelible mark of Jews in the economic and cultural development of this area".
The culture ministry's official, Davor Trupković, said that they were trying to contribute to a better presentation of historical data and multiculturalism and multireligiousness, that the Jewish cemetery in Karlovac was an important reminder, and that numerous cultural goods spoke about the Jewish community in Karlovac as an integral part of the city.
Tena Bunčić, the initiator of this event, is the great-granddaughter of the conductor of the first Croatian choral group "Zora" (Dawn), David Meisl. Bunčić said that while researching the life of her great-grandfather she had discovered how much the Jewish community had contributed to Karlovac. That contribution, she added, is the fruit of their love to this city. That is why she founded the association "Jews in Karlovac", through which the memories of that community are renewed.
Kraus told Hina that there were now about 10% of ethnic Jews in Croatia compared to their number before World War II.
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Autumn Offers in Croatia Planned to Extend Season, Some Up to 50% Off
September 13, 2021 - October is Croatian Tourism Month, where autumn offers in Croatia can be enjoyed up to 50% off.
Slobodna Dalmacija reports that October this year will be "Croatian Tourism Month," as part of which Croatian citizens and foreign tourists in Croatia will be able to enjoy offers up to 50 percent off and use the tourist offer and services throughout the country, the director of the Croatian Tourist Board (CNTB) Kristjan Staničić said.
This joint project of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the CNTB is currently being prepared, and all important information will go through the CNTB campaign, announced Staničić, recalling the excellent results of last year's project "Vacation-Worthy Week."
"Motivated by the desire to extend the season as much as possible, but also respecting the suggestions of users on the one hand and service providers on the other, we decided, together with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to provide up to 50 percent off for domestic and foreign tourists throughout October. Naturally, it will be important for the service provider to adhere to the prescribed epidemiological measures, which will then be in force and act responsibly," Staničić emphasizes.
The second wave of the campaign for domestic tourists, "Experience domestic. Explore rural Croatia!" launched this year to encourage domestic tourist traffic by getting to know rural destinations, is also announced for the autumn.
"In the second wave of this campaign, we will promote an additional four thematic destination videos, which are under development, and which will seek to bring closer the rural tourist offer, and an ongoing campaign for domestic tourists dedicated to cycling "Cycling, explore, and enjoy!" focused on the EuroVelo 8 route, which as part of the EU project covers the entire Croatian coast, from Istria to Dubrovnik," says Staničić.
He believes that all this will encourage tourists to use autumn for a short vacation at popular prices and locals to further discover Croatia in an interesting, healthy, and sustainable way. This will increase the current 10.6 million overnight stays this year.
Noting that for the last quarter of this year the CNTB has a fully prepared communication and advertising strategy, Staničić reveals that at the end of September there will be a campaign of thanks, with the working title "Thank you" on all "Croatia, full of life" social networks/profiles in ten markets with the most overnight stays this year.
"The goal is to draw attention to Croatia further, and through the positive experiences of the tourists themselves and their impressions shared on social networks, to thank them for choosing Croatia and spending a great vacation here," says Staničić.
In October, they are planning a campaign on culture, history, intangible heritage, eno-gastronomy through the platform "Croatia Hearts and Crafts" in cooperation with Google, through which an interactive presentation of everything Croatia can be proud of is presented.
Asked whether the revenues from the tourist tax, which is an important income of the CNTB and the system of tourist boards, improved due to better than expected and good physical results in the season (arrivals, overnight stays), Staničić pointed out that in the circumstances without a pandemic meant higher revenues, both for the entire tourism sector and economy and the CNTB.
However, for additional relief and assistance to the tourism sector in business, regulations were adopted that defined the tourist tax reduction and membership fees for renters, tourist taxes for boaters, and tourist membership fees for businesses. This was reflected in the CNTB budget and the entire system of tourist boards, Staničić notes.
"Although about 77 percent of the results from the record 2019 have been achieved so far, which is better and more than the planned 60-65 percent of results, that does not mean higher revenues of the CNTB, which by reducing fees and membership fees has made a strong contribution to the sector in achieving the results we are witnessing today.
We continue to work according to the adopted Annual Work Program for this year, with the most funds allocated for promotional, marketing, and PR activities to maintain Croatia's position as the safest and most successful tourist destination in the Mediterranean. I believe that we will more than successfully end this tourist year in that respect as well," states Staničić.
He adds data from eVisitor, according to which from September 1 to last weekend, i.e., September 11, there were 904 thousand tourists in Croatia or only 7 percent less than in the same days in 2019, with 2 percent more overnight stays or 6, 3 million. Most of them, 5.7 million overnight stays, were realized by foreign tourists, which is an increase of 3 percent, although compared to the same day in September 2019, there were about 9 percent less or 820 thousand, which means that they stay longer in Croatia.
With domestic tourists, the situation is the opposite - in the first 11 days of September, there were as many as 31 percent more than at the same time in 2019 or 83 thousand, but they realized 6 percent fewer overnight stays or 619 thousand.
On September 11, there were more tourists in Croatia than on the same day in 2019, i.e., about 510 thousand of them compared to about 460 thousand, while on the same day in 2020, there were about 200 thousand.
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European Junior Windsurfing Championship Ends in Bol, Ian Anić U15 Champion!
September 13, 2021 - Croatian Ian Anić is the European champion in windsurfing in the U15 iQ foil Olympic class, ahead of Israeli Gefen and Latvian Busmanis at the European Junior Windsurfing Championship in Bol.
In the U17 group, Frenchman Eliot Ponce-Baranski won among men and Israeli Tamar Stainberg among women. In the U19 competition, the best among the men was Frenchman Gaspard Carfantan, and among women, Israeli Mika Kafri. Slovenian Lina Eržen, who finished second, was also excellent.
The Open European Championship in the iQ foil class was held last week at Zlatni Rat, organized by the Sailing Club Labud from Split and the windsurfing club Zoo station Bol, with the support of the Bol Tourist Board and the municipality. Over 118 competitors from 17 countries competed in three disciplines - course, slalom, and marathon in ideal conditions, which once again put Bol on the list of destinations that should be counted on in world windsurfing.
This is the second important competition held this season in Bol on Brač - in July; the popular Zlatni Rat beach hosted the World Windsurfing Championships before hosting the young hopes of world windsurfing - among which may be the future Olympic winners. Namely, the iQ foil class was approved in November 2019 by the World Sailing Council as windsurfing equipment at the 2024 Olympic Games in France. Thus, the IQ foil replaced the RS: X, which has been the Olympic equipment of choice since Beijing 2008.
"I am delighted with the results and conditions that did not disappoint - we had wind every day, ranging from 12 to 25 knots, which is not often the case even in destinations more famous than ours. All guests are delighted with Zlatni Rat, Bol and Croatia, and the Israelis, Poles, and British are returning for preparations, which will bring Bol an additional significant number of nights in the pre-season and post-season," says Toni Bulić, one of the two organizers of the competition.
Competitors collected points to enter the medal race throughout the five days of the competition. A total of 84 races were raced in three disciplines. The 12 final races included the competitors who collected the most points in their category through the competition - 12 of them per category. The results in all disciplines were added up for the medal race for which a special field was agreed today.
"I am very pleased with the progress of our competitors, juniors who performed at this week's open European Junior Championships, but also seniors. They only got the equipment a couple of months ago and progressed very quickly, and these are phenomenal results. We have never had better surfers at that age, not only in Croatia but also in the Adriatic," said Marin Siriščević from JK Labud, coach of all Croatian competitors in Olympic windsurfing, to whom experts attribute the main credit for the great success of Croatian competitors.
In the Olympic windsurfing class, the European Championships in Marseille for seniors, which starts at the end of October, is significant. Palma Čargo (21) and Luka Mratović (34) from Split will go with coach Siriščević to collect points that could lead them to the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. What is especially gratifying is that the generations gaining experience in Bol today are of great Croatian hope for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Photos: Roni Marinković / Snimke: Trio Stories
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HNL Round 8 Recap: Livaja Hattrick for Hajduk, Wins for Dinamo and Rijeka
September 13, 2021 - The 8th round of the Croatian First League was played from September 10 to 12, 2021. This saw a Marko Livaja hattrick for the Hajduk win, while Dinamo and Rijeka celebrated victories at home. Here is our HNL round 8 recap.
Gorica v. Hr. Dragovoljac (1:1)
Gorica and Dragovoljac opened the 8th round on Friday, September 10, 2021, in Velika Gorica.
While the first half went without goals, Gorica's Stojanovski scored the first goal of the match which was ruled offside by VAR in the 56th minute. Lovrić missed a penalty for Gorica 7 minutes later, but Babec scored a minute after that for the 1:0 Gorica lead. Strkalj equalized in the 74th minute for the final 1:1.
Gorica is currently in 5th place with 15 points, while Dragovoljac is in the last place with 4.
Dinamo v. Šibenik (2:0)
Dinamo and Šibenik met at Maksimir Stadium on Saturday, September 11, 2021.
It was another match with a scoreless first half. Lauritsen scored for the Dinamo lead in the 68th minute, which Ivanušec increased to 2:0 10 minutes later.
Dinamo is currently in 1st place with 16 points (and one game less), while Šibenik is in 7th with 7.
Rijeka v. Slaven Belupo (2:1)
Rijeka and Slaven Belupo met at Rujevica Stadium on Saturday, September 11, 2021.
After a 0:0 first half, Hadzic put Belupo in the lead in the 63rd minute. However, that didn't last long, as Drmić equalized for 1:1 in the 78th minute before scoring his second goal in the 85th minute for 2:1.
Rijeka is currently in 3rd place with 16 points (and one game less), while Belupo is in 9th place with 5 points.
Istra 1961 v. Hajduk (1:3)
Istra and Hajduk met in Pula on Sunday, September 12, 2021.
The lack of goals in the first half was redeemed by Marko Livaja, who put Hajduk up 0:1 thanks to a penalty in the 51st minute. A second penalty was awarded to Hajduk 6 minutes later, which Livaja scored for 0:2. Livaja's hattrick came in the 74th minute for the 0:3 lead. Drena got one goal for Istra in the 87th minute for a final score of 1:3.
Istra is currently in 8th place with 6 points (and one game less), while Hajduk is in 2nd with 16.
Lokomotiva v. Osijek (1:1)
Lokomotiva and Osijek closed out the 8th round on Sunday, September 12, 2021.
The match's first goal was scored in the 70th minute, thanks to Dabro for the Lokomotiva lead. A double-yellow for Fiolić forced Osijek to play with a man down from the 75th minute. Topcagic was able to equalize in the 3rd minute of added time for the final 1:1 draw.
Lokomotiva is currently in 6th place with 11 points (and one game less), while Osijek is in 4th with 14.
You can see the full HNL table HERE.
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