ZAGREB, Dec 19, 2020 - The Supreme Court has dismissed a motion to review a Zagreb County Court ruling in favour of a Geology Institute employee who sued her employer over the non-payment of a base pay rise under an agreement dating back to the Ivo Sanader cabinet, Jutarnji List reported on Saturday.

This means the state risks being sued by many public sector employees which would cost the budget by over HRK 2 billion if the government does not reach an agreement with the unions which have already filed pilot lawsuits, all of which have been ruled in their favour, the daily said.

The pilot lawsuits have been filed over the non-payment of a 6% base pay rise in 2016 to which the Sanader cabinet committed in 2006. The global financial crisis followed, and the government and unions agreed in 2011 that the base pay would rise by 6% annually when GDP increased by 2% or more year on year over two consecutive quarters.

Said increase occurred in 2015, yet the government and the State Bureau of Statistics claimed that the GDP increase had not gone up by 2% but that, for the first time, they rounded it up to four decimals and that the increase was therefore 1.9998%.

That was when the first pilot lawsuits were filed. The Preporod union claims that 400 have been ruled in workers' favour and that 170,000 public sector employees could eventually benefit from this. Courts have awarded them amounts ranging from HRK 5,500 to 9,000.

On September 3, the education ministry ordered schools to initiate reviews if they lost the lawsuits. The ministry's position is that the prerequisites for applying the 2006 agreement were not met, given that it stipulates the deferral of the rise by as many quarters as GDP decreased, and that the rise therefore should have occurred only in January 2019, the newspaper said.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

December 19, 2020 – By the decision of the Croatian Journalists' Association's members, the journalist of the year for 2019 is Đurđica Klancir of the net.hr portal. The Otokar Keršovani Lifetime Achievement Award was posthumously awarded to Mladen Kušec, the Croatian Radio and Television journalist and editor.

As the Croatian Journalists' Association reports, on their 110th birthday, journalistic awards were given for the best works published in 2019. The awards were presented in nine categories, and eight journalists were awarded.

With 194 votes, journalist Đurđica Klancir from the net.hr portal was named a journalist of the year for 2019.

"In my thirty years of journalism, I went through a lot from a novice journalist to the editor-in-chief in several newsrooms. I have been fired several times for advocating for true journalism. I must say that sometimes it is difficult to find an editorial office that would accept journalists with a firm, clear, and honest attitude. Therefore, I thank my editorial staff net.hr and its editor-in-chief who allowed me to start again as an ordinary journalist and to show that knowledge and skills cannot be lost," said Klancir. She added that we should be brave and not become shadows but fair and honest journalists.

Andrej Dimitrijevic from Telegram, who received 162 votes, and 24sata journalist Ivan Pandzic with 133 votes, were also nominated. In total, 118 journalists competed, while 506 journalists voted, and 27 ballots were invalid.

The Otokar Keršovani Lifetime Achievement Award was posthumously awarded to Mladen Kušec, journalist and editor from HRT, who died last month. His son Goran received his award. Mladen Kušec was an exceptional individual who, in his journalistic career of more than half a century, has almost imperceptibly preserved all the features of "eternal" journalism – one that is curious, that notices, that researches, deepen,s and refines.

Croatian Journalists' Association awarded more Croatian journalists:

Marija Jurić Zagorka Award for Written Journalism – Goran Gerovac, editor and columnist at Večernji list

Marija Jurić Zagorka Award for Radio Journalism – Mirjana Radulović, journalist at non-profit radio community Radio Rojc, Pula

Marija Jurić Zagorka Award for Television Journalism – Silvana Menđušić, RTL Television

Award for cinematography Žarko Kaić – Zoran Marinović, cameraman and reporter of Nova TV

Marija Jurić Zagorka Award for Internet Journalism and Jasna Babić Award for Investigative Journalism – Andrej Dimitrijević, journalist at Telegram

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December 19, 2020 - At the Pula Tourist Board's assembly, the rebalance of the financial and activity plan for this year and the plans for 2021 was adopted. 

Glas Istre reports that with COVID-19 and all measures in June, the first rebalance was passed, assuming only 15 percent of last year's overnight stays in the peak season. But tourism traffic started already in June, and in ten months, 935 thousand overnight stays were realized, which is 41 percent of last year's figures.

Compared to the previous year, the highest percentage of overnight stays was realized by weekenders (96 percent), followed by nautical tourism (65 percent), rooms and apartments owned by legal entities (49 percent), private accommodation (48 percent), and campsites (41 percent). The biggest losers are hostels, recording only eight percent, tourist apartments (18 percent), and hotels with 23 percent of last year's traffic.

According to the new supplementary budget, revenues amount to HRK 5.512 million, 72 percent more than planned in May but 43 percent less than the original plan for this year. Total expenditures now amount to around HRK 4,822 million, 15 percent more than the first supplementary budget. More activities were realized than planned in the spring without the need for borrowing credit - summer concerts and parties in cooperation with the City, Pula Half Marathon, EU project Pula Fortification System, Advent 2019, Pula Carnival, Irrigation Verudela Art Park, and other smaller activities.

The plan for 2021 envisages revenues of around HRK 6.635 million. Still, the director of the Tourist Board, Sanja Cinkopan Korotaj, says that it is challenging to plan anything because there are several unknowns - including the amount for tourist tax and membership fees for small renters, how many companies will ask for refunds in the final accounts and reducing membership fees. But they decided to look optimistically, and the planned revenues are 20 percent higher than this year.

A team of experts from Arena Hospitality Group, Uniline agency, and Pula Tourist Board has been formed, preparing promotional actions for next year and when the pandemic in Europe calms down. "We will be ready to react quickly," says the Pula Tourist Board.

Together with the tourist boards of southern Istria, they will create the operational plan of southern Istria for 2021-2027, and other activities will be organized on a smaller scale than last year - there will be Visualia, Pula Half Marathon, Days of Antiquity, Pula Dances, Advent, summer concerts and entertainment. With the cluster of Southern Istria, projects have been prepared for the Association Fund tenders at the Croatian National Tourist Board to develop the destination for animal friends and trail lovers.

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December 19, 2020 - Croatia and Denmark will play the third-place match of the Women's Handball Euros on Sunday at 3:30 pm in Denmark. 

After losing to France in the semi-final on Friday, the Croatia women's handball team will play against the host Denmark in the match for third place at the European Championships.

Norway defeated Denmark 27:24 in the second semi-final match on Friday. 

Norway had two big series in the second half

Denmark opened the match better. Apart from the beginning (1:0), the host of the championship was never behind in the first half. Denmark's biggest advantage was when they were up by four goals, and they went into halftime with an excellent plus three (13:10).

However, at the beginning of the second half, Norway had a 4:1 series and was back in the lead. It was played goal to goal until just before the end of the match when Norway had a 6:1 series and had a five-goal advantage (27:22).

The most efficient for Norway was Nora Mork with six goals, while Mia Rey scored the most for Denmark, also with six goals.

Norway deservedly won a spot in the final for the 11th time, while Denmark will fight for the bronze for the third time.

Norway is the record holder with seven European titles from ten appearances in the final so far. They lost twice to Denmark in the championships hosted by Denmark, and they also lost the 2012 final in Serbia to Montenegro, in a game with two overtimes. Norway also has one bronze medal.

France will play in the final for the second time in a row. Two years ago, they beat Russia in the final (24:21) in front of their fans.

Croatia has already achieved the best result at the European Championships

The match for third place is scheduled for Sunday at 3:30 pm. The final is at 6 pm. Recall that Croatia lost to France in the semi-final on Friday (19:30).

Regardless of the outcome of Sunday's match, the Croatia women's handball team have already achieved the best placement at the European Championships.  

Croatia entered the Euros as the ultimate underdog, and coach Nenad Šoštarić had many problems with injuries and the selection of players before they left for Denmark. However, even with a weakened squad, Croatia shocked favorite Hungary in the first round, then the world champions the Netherlands and Serbia in the remaining group stage games.

Croatia opened the second round with a victory against another favorite, Romania, and then suffered their first defeat against a mighty Norway. Croatia then topped Germany in a decisive match for a spot in their first-ever European Championship semi-final, where they lost to France. 

Croatia’s best result at the Euros thus far is fifth place in 1994.

Source: Index.hr

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December 19, 2020 - Brac Island introduces green renewable energy policies after a cooperation agreement with local stakeholders was signed on Friday.

Dalmacija Danas reports that a Cooperation Agreement of Local Stakeholders on the Road to Independent and Clean Energy on Brac Island was signed in Supetar on Friday. The signing of the Agreement thus completed drafting the initial Energy Transition Plan of the island of Brac from 2021 to 2030, prepared by the working group Otok Brač, with technical support and coordination of Porzana d.o.o., Zagreb in co-authorship with the EU Clean Energy Secretariat.

Ivana Markovic, the mayor of Supetar, expressed satisfaction with several things, but especially pointed out ‘the commendable unity of the island and all eight local self-government units in finding the best opportunities, spatial among others, for some things like a communal solar power plant to be realized’.

"Together with ten island communities in the Republic of Croatia, Brac has applied for the EC tender, which includes obtaining funds for the development of the Strategy on how to reach energy transition projects. A total of 26 islands in Europe have received funding for this. As the name suggests, our ultimate goal is for our island, like all others, to be self-sustaining, take advantage of all the natural opportunities the island has, and develop alternative energy forms. I am glad that all the municipalities on Brac have joined, and what I am happy about is that large funds have been left with Europe, and it is about 750 billion euros for all the islands. I hope that all of us together, not only local self-government units but also citizens and entrepreneurs, will prepare projects and use the funds provided by the EU. For Supetar, this specifically means using renewable energy sources, the use of sun and wind, to be in some way independent. The use of solar panels ultimately has a double effect - reducing the negative impact on the environment and streamlining the business of entrepreneurs and saving households," said Markovic, adding that this is a broad project, a strategy that is not based only on Supetar.

Ivan Samardžija, as a representative of RERA, but also one of the two island coordinators (in charge of the islands of Brac and Hvar, while the other coordinator is in charge of Vis, Solta, and Drvenik Veli and Mali) explained his role.

"Our task is the overall coordination of all public legal bodies, stakeholders on the island to withdraw EU funds and overall island development. We are working on developing the National Island Development Plan in cooperation with the Ministry of Regional Development and EU funds, and we will soon start an individual Island Development Plan. Following the amendments to the Law on Islands, we are working within the County Development Plan, so we will arrange practically all the documents and start working for this time period."

The mayor of Pučišća, Marino Kaštelan, also pointed out some problems, i.e., difficulties that he noticed after working meetings on this topic.

"We had a meeting in Pučišća, where the experts, representatives of public authorities and regulatory bodies at the state level focused on energy issues, and all interested investors in the field of renewable energy sources gathered. We had a quality and well-argued discussion that should lead to the final resolution of investors' problems. On the one hand, we have a state that is overwhelmed by the demands of different investors with different ideas for renewable energy projects - power, the capacity of seven gigawatts in the next year or two - and on the other hand, these same investors have not properly proved ready for such projects.

Now there should be some criteria according to which it would be decided which projects go further and then really follow them. In my opinion, the key problem is the transport of energy from Dalmatia, where we know that we have the best conditions for the production of solar energy in solar power plants and wind farms. We can spend that energy in Dalmatia for a period, when tourism is at its peak, for example, but in principle, real consumption is in Croatia's interior. To transport this energy produced in Dalmatia inland, huge investments are needed. This should be done by HOPS, the network that moves from Konjski towards the interior, towards Zagreb, so that it expands and upgrades. That the 400 kW line is strengthened so that the amounts of energy can be placed further.

This way, we will have smaller projects. If every product cannot reach the market with quality and cheapness, it will eventually stop being produced. That's where I see the problem. Maybe my approach is a bit more conservative because a lot can be done with smaller things, local, individual investments from panels on the roofs of family farms to electric bicycles. All this is useful and valuable, but we will make the right step only with the right infrastructure. I understood; there are funds. I call on HEP and the Ministry of Economy to be partners with these investors because the benefits are mutual," concluded Kaštelan.

Maja Jurišić, president of the Island Movement, commented that ‘energy transition is a luxury in Croatia.’

"The experience of working with the Secretariat for European Islands has shown me that Croatia is one of the few, if not the only, that has all its islands connected by an electric cable to the mainland. So we have a fairly secure system, as much as some might disagree with it. In Europe, however, many islands are ‘torn off’ from the mainland because they are too far away, dependent solely on themselves, on fossil fuels with high shipping costs and unclean energy sources. When we ask the average person on the island, they think that the energy transition is not a development priority at the moment - survival is a priority for most. As a tourist country branded as a destination with a thousand islands, we have the opportunity to raise the destination, the complete picture of the country, by introducing green renewable energy policies. On the contrary, by introducing renewable sources, we reduce costs and increase competitiveness, increase the visibility of the destination and thus ultimately compete in the market," explains Jurišić.

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December the 19th, 2020 - I think just about everyone has an HZZO story, and not a positive one. I myself have quite a few of them in which they sought documents that quite literally do not even exist before they'd agree to give me access to what my employer pays every single month and what I have a fundamental right to - basic healthcare. I know I'm far from the only one, and this article is, as such, unlikely to surprise anyone.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, due to the influx of patients who couldn't go to hospitals to have various tests done because of the ongoing pandemic, private polyclinics asked the Croatian Health Insurance Institute (HZZO) to contract a larger number of procedures for referrals multiple times throughout the year. HZZO said no.

HZZO refused them to perform this act of decency every single time, explaining that the request was unjustified precisely because the contracted capacities of public hospitals apparently remained unused, ie vacant. This primarily regards magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and PET CT scans, the sort of examinations that are most often needed by cancer patients, and many of them cannot be delayed due to the nature of that disease.

Private institutions that provide some of the services at the expense of HZZO, such as the Medikol polyclinic and the Sveta Katarina Special Hospital, warned that the state hasn't used the services of private health institutions in other segments during the pandemic, even though they've been offering such services readily since back in spring.

HZZO figures confirm that the pandemic has slowed down important diagnostics, but also that public hospitals, even without the presence of the novel coronavirus, have a generally weaker execution of contracted procedures than private ones do. Last year, hospitals performed 95 percent of their planned MRI procedures, and this year only 80 percent were performed, ie 110.3 thousand procedures instead of the contracted 136.5 thousand of them.

About a hundred fewer patients are being treated in hospitals per month than they were in the previous months, and almost 5,000 fewer bedridden patients were treated than last year, equal to about 12 percent less on a monthly basis. In the case of PET CT this year, the number of examinations at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb is similar to last year (3174), but last year and this year, about a third fewer procedures were performed than agreed.

In 2020, 4620 procedures were contracted at Rebro, and 3174 of them were performed. Back in pre-pandemic 2019, 29,516 magnetic resonance procedures were contracted in private polyclinics, and 25 percent more were performed.

For the same money, 30,208 procedures were contracted during the first 11 months of this year, and 15 percent more were performed. Polyclinic Medikol, the only private institution that performs PET CT, performed 99 percent of its contracted examinations last year, as was the case during the first 11 months of this year.

The Medikol Polyclinic has an agreed number of services with HZZO, which mostly involve radiological and nuclear diagnostics, at the level of 40 percent of the capacity utilisation that the polyclinic actually has at its disposal. During 2020, Medikol has repeatedly asked HZZO to increase its services at the expense of the Institute, and as stated, HZZO said no, despite the dire situation we're all in.

''Unfortunately, HZZO keeps on giving us negative answers to all of our inquiries about the possibility of increasing this contractual limit, with the explanation that we're not the only contracted health institution,'' stated a rightfully annoyed Trstenjak Rajkovic of Medikol.

This year, the number of patients who paid for services themselves because they couldn't have them performed normally in public health institutions increased, and due to the limited contracted number, they couldn't provide the service based on a referral.

At the same time, due to the ongoing crisis, they had a large number of appointments. When it comes to PET/CT, they have a fixed contractual number of tests for a total of 7380 procedures per year, which is why a good part of oncology patients were literally forced to pay for this test out of their own pockets, and it costs about 10 thousand kuna. When it comes to MRI devices, about 10 thousand procedures are contracted per year.

As has since been found out, HZZO does indeed plan to extend the contract period, and after a comprehensive analysis of how things were executed this year, and in accordance with available funds, it will plan as well as possible. Medikol expects that the number of procedures will increase in 2021, because the pandemic hasn't simply annulled the existence all other, often very serious diseases.

At Medikol, they believe that the low level of cooperation between public and private healthcare in Croatia is still a question of stigmatisation of the private sector. The director of the aforementioned polyclinic pointed out that in a situation where the public health system is overloaded, enviable human and material resources boasted private healthcare facilities remain unused.

HZZO confirmed that during the contracted period there were no changes in the contracts they hold with private facilities, meaning there were no changes in the scope of work despite the need for that obviously being stronger than ever before.

Jadranka Primorac, a member of the Management Board of the St. Catherine's Special Hospital, pointed out that HZZO's cooperation with private institutions could only represent savings for the state, and not an extra cost.

"By contracting with private institutions, the state pays only for the service, and we bear the costs of everything else, from the purchase and maintenance of equipment to staffing costs and all other costs. It's clear to us that the pandemic, along with the reduction of economic activities and the consequent situation with the state budget, caused a loss of revenue and additional costs for public health, but additional contracting in the last quarter of 2020 wouldn't be a major financial expense for HZZO and would significantly contribute to reducing waiting lists. Through the Croatian Employers' Association, we offered cooperation to the Ministry of Health way back in March to help during the pandemic,'' revealed Jadranka Primorac.

St. Catherine's Hospital has contracted very little further capacity for radiological examinations with HZZO, which will only further increase the burden on the public healthcare system, especially in the future when even greater pressure is expected from patients who couldn't get things done because of the virus.

"Our goal isn't for HZZO to cover all services, but there's room for expansion and I hope that it will be considered,'' concluded Primorac.

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December the 19th, 2020 - Odojak (suckling pig) is a much loved meal for many a Croatian meat lover and quite the staple on many a Croatian restaurant. With coffee to go available just about everywhere, why not odojak to go? Here in the Croatian capital, this new place is more than likely to be a hit.

As Vecernji list/Zoran Vitas writes, on the very first day of it having opened its doors, Zagreb's brand new Odojak to go facility showcased precisely just how popular it is going to be among the meal lovers of the city as a little crowd gathered outside waiting for a taste.

As expected, Zagreb's brand new Odojak to go which is located in Laniste saw lines of people forming in front of it pretty much all day. Last week, leaflets appeared in this particular Zagreb neighbourhood with the message that a ''store'' will be opened soon, where lamb and suckling pig from the spit, as well as veal cooked in a favoute way will be sold. The queues outside the brand new Odojak to go, as well as the current epidemiological measures which cause delays, saw some people waiting for around twenty minutes before even being able to get inside.

Neven Husinec, who opened a store in Laniste with his wife Arnela said that things had started out excellently for Odojak to go and that they were feeling good about their new venture. The Husinec couple is otherwise from Krizevci, where the meat for Odojak to go is prepared, and then delivered in half an hour, still warm and fresh, along the new highway to Zagreb.

''Well, look, we started this on our own, every now and then you get the desire for odojak or veal, and something like that is rarely available in small quantities. It was then that we realised that people are looking for something just like that, for christenings and similar events, so it's good that people know where to go, they don't have to look anymore,'' said Neven, who admitted that although he had a good feeling about it, he was surprised at the amount of people who came.

The store is beautifully decorated, because that is otherwise Neven's wife Arnela's profession.

''I worked in fashion for a long time, because of the pandemic it's no longer possible, so we started with this and I applied what I'd learned in my previous job here. No, we really didn’t expect it to go this well, it looks like we were right. And we're still late! We wanted to start earlier. For the sake of the whole family, this could be good,'' she said.

It's winter, it's Christmas time, and what if it warms up and people start wanting lighter food? Well, in that case we'll just go to the coast. This sort of food is just as popular down there, and many of the people who were here at Odojak to go today will also be going down there at some point,'' the Husinec couple concluded.

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December the 19th, 2020 - The pandemic has showcased just how heavily we need to turn towards homegrown produce, and one brand new Croatian food store, Crotaste, opened its doors in the very heart of Zagreb to promote domestic products and local OPGs.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes, the Crotaste Croatian Food House was opened in the centre of Zagreb in Cesarceva street on Friday. It is a promotional and sales centre whose goal is to provide small and medium-sized Croatian producers from all over the country a place to promote and sell their local products.

Crotaste will boast a very wide range of domestic products, and products with European quality labels have an advantage when it comes to marketing. As Krunoslav Dugalic, the director of the Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food (HAPIH) explained, with this move, they enabled everyone who has outgrown doorstep sales far easier placement, and products will rotate, there will be county by county promotion, all in line with the ultimate goal of connecting Green (continental) and Blue (Adriatic) Croatia. Currently, the number of items being sold at Crotaste stands at more than 200 and they come from about a hundred family farms from all parts of the country.

Crotaste's shelves include Slavonian kulen, Dalmatian and Istrian prosciutto, GMO free eggs, asparagus, wine and many other high-quality Croatian products, from olive oil to Pag cheese, arancino and fish from the Adriatic, which the capital's residents will be able to buy for everyday consumption, as will tourists.

"Everything offered here is original and healthy, and this is just one of the pieces of the mosaic in creating a better Croatia, a better Slavonia," said Bozo Galic, Vukovar-Srijem County Prefect, and Minister Mario Banozic agreed with him. Slavonia can certainly be a generator of agricultural production. He also mentioned that he hopes that soon, the trade situation will be more favourable and that Croatian products will be on the tables of EU countries.

"Croatian agriculture is vulnerable, but we're slowly changing that. This year, we've achieved the highest growth in ten years in terms of both productivity and sales, and we'll continue to help domestic producers with measures. Agricultural food production is the future, and projects like this will be even more present. We're a small country, and we can boast of as many as 28 products with European quality labels,'' said the Minister of Agriculture Marija Vuckovic, who asked people to buy local during this festive season.

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