June 25th, 2021 - Croatia does not have the right to ignore the fact that its farms are old, that someone has to stay living there, and that it requires agriculture investments to catch up to developed countries, Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković said at a regional workshop on Friday.

This was the first regional workshop on the "Strategic Plan for the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) 2023-2028," intended for local and regional government representatives and experts.

Vučković said that interested beneficiaries could be informed of the challenges of the future CAP and the basic elements of the future national strategic plan.

She recalled that the agriculture strategy to 2030 had been completed, as has a study on the strategy's impact on the environment. The strategy has four objectives - increasing the productivity of agricultural production and its resilience to climate change, strengthening the competitiveness of the agriculture-food sector, reviving rural areas, and stimulating innovations.

On the other hand, the National Strategy Plan is being prepared according to future EU regulations and incorporates matters that the strategy doesn't.

"We are opening important and challenging issues related to the financial allocation, about certain definitions that didn't exist before, for example, what is a real or active farmer... The challenges ahead also mean satisfying climate and ecological ambitions concerning investment in new technology," said Vučković. 

Commenting on the challenges in agriculture in the coming period, Vučković underscored that each country in the EU has its specificities.

" Agriculture, in fact, is that activity that has to equally consider all three pillars of sustainability - economic, social, and green sustainability," she said, adding that the agriculture policy wishes to contribute to maintaining Croatia's beauty, biodiversity and to reduce the negative impacts of climate change.

She underscored that the rural development program definitely brings structural changes to Croatia's agriculture.

She announced that amendments to the Farmland Act would be prepared soon.

For more news, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

June 25th, 2021 -  The COVID-19 epidemic has affected the lives of persons with disabilities and children with developmental difficulties and their families, the ombudswoman for persons with disabilities, Anka Slonjšak, said in parliament on Friday, presenting a report on her work in 2020.

The epidemic's effect and last year's earthquakes have shown all the shortcomings in the system to which we have been pointing for years, she said.

Problems such as a shortage of experts in medical, educational, and social care institutions, computer illiteracy, and poor availability of transport to rehabilitation centers are yet to show the effects on mental, physical, emotional, and social health, Slonjšak said.

She singled out the lack of continuity in the provision of medical services, saying it led to the health of many people deteriorating.

She said distance learning had a particularly negative effect on children with developmental difficulties.

Last year also saw a standstill in legislative changes regarding persons with disabilities, Slonjšak said, adding that it was necessary to adopt as soon as possible new laws on social care, personal assistants, and the inclusion supplement.

In 2020, Slonjšak's office received 2,266 complaints, 94 more than the year before, and most were about work from home and social care. The office sent legal entities 420 recommendations and warnings, as well as moving 20 legal amendments.

MPs unanimously supported Slonjšak's report, underlining the need to raise further awareness of the needs and rights of persons with disabilities.

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 centers across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

June 25th, 2021 -  MPs on Friday rejected President Zoran Milanović's recommendation that Zlata Đurđević is appointed Supreme Court president by 81 votes against, 37 for, and five abstentions.

Before the vote, Marijan Pavliček (Sovereignists) reiterated that Đurđević was unacceptable because she was "ideologically colored, an exponent of liberal-left politics and a toy in President Zoran Milanović's hands."

"There is no ideology about her. On the contrary, she is a professional who bothers all those who don't want change," said Krešo Beljak (People's Party).

Peđa Grbin (Social Democrats) said there were two groups, one that felt that everything in Croatia's judiciary was all right and wanted to change things.

Dražen Bošnjaković (ruling HDZ) said Đurđević did not apply for the post, that she broke the law and that it was therefore unacceptable to appoint her to the Supreme Court.

Stephen Bartulica (Homeland Movement) said Đurđević was "not the best candidate."

Milorad Pupovac (Independent Democratic Serb Party) said it was a pity the procedure had been contaminated from the start and that it was not only a matter of a good candidate but the election atmosphere.

Urša Raukar Gamulin (Green-Left Coalition) said one should elect based on objective and professional criteria and that short-term political interests should be eliminated from such elections.

Marija Selak Raspudić (bridge) called everything a farce in which parliament was reduced to a worthless institution that should participate in a show whose outcome was predetermined.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June 25th, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, Croatia registers 118 coronavirus cases, and four related deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Friday.

The number of active cases is 552, and it includes 209 hospitalized patients, 13 of whom are on ventilators, while 3,643 persons are self-isolating.

To date, Croatia has registered 359,521 coronavirus cases, including 8,196 deaths and 350,773 recoveries, of which 104 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,128,519 persons have been tested for the virus, including 4,009 in the past 24 hours, and 2,468,051 vaccines against COVID-19 have been administered, including 1,467,772 persons who have received one dose and 1,000,279 both.

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 centers across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

June 25th, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković Friday congratulated Croatia Independence Day, observed today, saying that it was a memorial day marking parliament's historic decision to launch Croatia's separation from the former Yugoslavia.

By adopting the Constitutional Decision on Croatia's sovereignty and independence and the Declaration on the proclamation of a sovereign and independent Croatia on 25 June 1991, the Croatian parliament confirmed the plebiscitary would the Croatian people expressed at a referendum the previous May, Plenković said in his message.

We confirmed that freedom and independence, that centuries-long dream of the Croatian people, by winning in the Homeland War, he said, thanking Croatia's first president Franjo Tuđman and all defenders and their families "whose lives and sacrifice are woven into the foundations of Croatia's independence."

Plenković said that 30 years after the parliamentary decision which set the path towards independence, Croatia was a member of the EU and NATO, had chaired the Council of the EU, and was about to join Schengen and the eurozone, which he said were the remaining strategic EU integration goals on which the government was intensively working.

Today, faced with new challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of devastating earthquakes, climate change, and catching up with the fourth industrial revolution, we are committed to economic recovery, reconstruction, energy, green and digital transition, demographic revitalization, and reforms, Plenković said.

Crucial for making the economy more resilient to future threats and swift post-crisis recovery are the investments and reforms the government envisaged in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. We obtained considerable funds at the European level.

Observing Independence Day, faced with numerous challenges, Croatia needs unity and to look to the future more than ever, he concluded.

For more news, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

June 25th, 2021 - Croatia expects to join the eurozone in early 2023 and plans to meet all the requirements by then, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Brussels on Friday.

He is attending a two-day EU summit which today will include a eurozone summit.

"That's an opportunity for me to state once again our willingness to meet all the criteria and, after entering the Exchange Rate Mechanism last year, to meet the action plan and create the prerequisites for Croatia to become a member of the eurozone during 2023, hopefully at the beginning," Plenković told reporters.

At the eurozone summit, he said, he will present the timetable Croatia expects regarding accession "given all the achievements in implementing the euro introduction strategy since 2018."

Member states' leaders began the second day of the EU summit by discussing economic recovery from the effects of the pandemic.

Plenković said he expected the Commission to approve Croatia's recovery and resilience plan in July, after which Commission President Ursula von der Leyen would come to Zagreb to personally give the Commission's the green light for the 6.3 billion worth grant plan.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June 25th, 2021 - The abortion ban in Croatia will not happen because more than 70 percent of citizens do not want it.

Jutarnji reports, commenting on the adoption of the resolution on sexual and reproductive health by Predrag Fred Matić in the European Parliament, Member of Parliament We can! Sandra Benčić said during a guest appearance on the N1 TV show Novi dan that the resolution deals with the overall reproductive and sexual rights of women, that it is an "exceptional" document and that she congratulated Matić on his "huge success".

"I believe that now, regardless of these attempts not to implement this resolution, attempts to reduce it in any way, that there will be a strong message to governments that women's reproductive and sexual rights are part of the right to health and will be respected", said Bencic for H1.

Asked what she thought about the request to discuss the resolution in the Parliament, Benčić said that she thought it was pointless.

"I can understand that someone is against abortion and that on a personal level it is considered something that should not be in the law. It’s someone’s attitude and it’s understandable. However, this resolution alone does not go beyond what our law goes beyond. Our law also says regarding the appeal of conscience that doctors have the right to appeal to conscience, but that hospitals are obliged to provide a sufficient number of doctors who do not have a conscience appeal so that it can enable abortion for those who want it" said Benčić.

"There will be no ban on abortion in Croatia for the simple reason that more than 70 percent of women and men in Croatia believe that the issue of abortion, contraception, and reproductive rights remain minimally as they are now. That is a thing that the right side of the political spectrum will not succeed in, because the citizens do not see it that way" she added.

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June 25, 2021 - The issue of maritime welfare in Croatia was raised once again after a heated discussion on a beach in Drvenik Veli. Here are the details of the case and legal guidance to the maritime welfare in Croatia.

With the 2021 tourist season already being 58% better than 2020, tourists once again visit Croatia as one of the top holiday destinations.

However, like any year, the season can't go without at least some sort of incident.

Lovely beach, disgusting words

Yesterday, Croatia was shocked and enraged with the incident that happened on a beach on Drvenik Veli island (not so far from Trogir). Croatian journalist Tonka Alujević and her friend went to a beach where two Czech tourists started complaining that it's a private beach, perks of paying for a villa, and that Alujević needs to leave. Alujević refused to leave, stating that beaches are maritime welfare and cannot be privatized, refusing to move. After, as Alujević claims Czech tourists hit her head with a phone, they called the villa owner. 24 Sata daily newspaper published a video Alujević's friend recorded.

„Ma'ams, Ma'ams, how did you get here? On foot?“, asked the owner on a phone that was on speaker and held by the Czech tourists.

„I'm a journalist. Do you know Croatian laws? Do you want to end up in media?“ replied Alujević with a chill face while smoking a cigarette on a sunny day at the beach.

„Come on, put me in the media, come on put me! But first, go to the land register and see that my beach is private," screamed the owner in Croatian, with a lot of derogatory phrases (if only Czech tourists had a translator to understand the rich swear word heritage of Croatian language, right?)

The whole thing ended up with inspection stepping on the scene. Despite the video footage being clear, the owner, identified by Index.hr as Tomislav Meštrović, owner of Centovi Dvori Villa, tried to justify himself, saying everyone is welcomed at the beach, and he attacked the women because they passed through his doorway.

„No, I have no idea what video, who what... who knows what that is... I called the police for trespassing through my land“, said Meštrović to Index.hr when asked about the footage.

the conversation at the beach, screenshot/ 24sata

Law and order

Following this story, Index.hr's columnist Goran Vojković analyzed the law to clear up the issue of maritime welfare.

„The Maritime Welfare and Sea Ports Law states 'at least six meters from a line horizontally distant from the line middle waters'. But it can be wider, for example, if part of the land that in its nature or use serves to exploit the sea. It can also be narrowed- for instance, if support walls or a public road are close to the sea“, Vojković listed general rules but adding that maritime welfare border is specifically determined.

„So, the coast is free to use where the beach is, in general, six meters. You can come and use it for your needs, such as bathing, tanning, or walking. The land behind can be private, but the coast cannot“, concluded Vojković.

On the other hand, there are ways to limit the use of maritime welfare.

„There are some parts of the coast where you cannot enter. You can enter the marina and walk around it, but only until 10 pm. You cannot enter at all in a shipyard port. Those are the parts of maritime welfare for which the state assigned a concession to someone. The concession can limit or terminate public use“, explained Vojković.

Additionally, the law states that it is possible to have a beach in its concession and limit public entrance. But it needs to be registered, and the prices are so expensive that there are very few beaches like this in Croatia (Drvenik one not included in that small list).

„If someone claims that has a concession and that he/she can exclusively use some part of the coast, he needs to have a proof you can easily check in the register. I repeat, there are very small examples; even beaches in front of five-star hotels are public good“, Vojković pointed out.

And such beaches are filled with deck chairs, food stands, etc. But as Vojković pointed out, on a public beach, you have the right to bring your own deck chair, your own food, and drinks, and you can't be forced to consume content on the beach.

„In short, enjoy the Adriatic coast- with some very small exceptions of exclusive concessions, the entire coastline (including island coast) is free for your use and joy. Nobody can hold a grudge or complain if you came to a bath where they think it's 'their' beach. If someone is uncomfortable, don't debate, call authorities“, advises Vojković.

Pixabay

And the beach is open for public happily ever after

As Jutarnji List reported, the Drvenik case has a conclusion to an intriguing plot. Unhappy with Meštrović's behavior, Dalmatian locals went vigilantly and started writing bad reviews on Google, seeing the villa losing its value and tourists.

„Even though neither the building, nor its surroundings changed since the video was released, the unkindness of the owner was enough to move once-prestigious villa to the lowest grading Croatian places on Google“, says Jutarnji.

A couple of more lessons can be learned for a successful and enjoyable season from this tale.

For owners: present your offer fair in accordance with the law as transparency is the best way for your offer to beat the competition.
For tourists: if you were promised a private beach, but you see locals coming, don't be rude to them and don't attack them. The only one you can really be mad at is your host, who perhaps lied about what they can truly provide.

Learn more about beaches in Croatia on our TC page.

For more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.