December the 4th, 2020 - When it comes to Croatian banks, or perhaps it is more realistic to say banks which operate within Croatia, the options are numerous. Despite the amount of choice on the table, PBZ has won the title of Bank of the Year in Croatia thanks to the prestigious The Banker magazine, for which it had to satisfy many very stringent requirements.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, a very wide range of quantitative and qualitative criteria were considered for The Banker magazine's award, which is considered the "standard for banking excellence" in the challenging and demanding financial industry.

Dinko Lucic, the president of the management board of the Croatian bank PBZ, on the occasion of the proclamation of it having won The Banker magazine's Bank of the Year Awards 2020, said:

''We're extremely proud of having received this prestigious international award, which our bank has acheived for the second year in a row now, and that pride is especially emphasised during these difficult and very challenging times dominated by the coronavirus pandemic. I would especially like to emphasise that this success wouldn't have been possible without our employees, their continuous commitment and hard work of the entire PBZ Group team, the support of the parent bank team as well as all our clients for whom we're constantly striving to be even better.''

''We're continuing down the path of innovation, focusing on the continuous improvement of our services and customer relations and the further transformation and digitalisation of our business, which proved to be crucial during the pandemic,'' concluded PBZ's Lucic.

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December the 4th, 2020 - The amount of comprehensive documentation and other paperwork needed to be handed in and inspected in order for those applying to be granted new Croatian COVID loans under the most recently introduced measures has been reduced.

As Novac/Marina Klepo writes, among the new measures introduced to help the economy presented by the Government over recent days is a new package of Croatian COVID loans in the amount of 1.3 billion kuna, prepared in cooperation with the Hamag-Bicro agency. When asked where the funds will come from, the Minister of Finance Zdravko Maric said that the cash for the Croatian COVID loans has been secured in a way so that some of the funds from EU funds will be redirected to Hamag-Bicro.

Criteria and conditions

The Agency will continue on with the implementation of the amended programme "COVID-19 working capital loans" by focusing on micro, small and medium enterprises that are seeing declines in revenue when compared to last year, and which have been closed by the decision of the National Civil Protection Headquarters. Such companies will need to have achieved a drop in revenue of 60 percent or more when compared to 2019. Apparently, obtaining these Croatian COBID loans will be easier and faster than it has been so far, given that the main complaint from those applying has been about the complexity of the procedure and the general slowness in approving the loans.

''In order to process requests faster, Hamag-Bicro is working intensively to further reduce the scope of the required documentation. We're also working on changing the programme so that as many enterprises as possible get the opportunity to get a Croatian COVID loan,'' they say from the Agency, emphasising that in the coming days, they will inform enterprises and the public about all of the criteria and conditions which must be met.

Hamag-Bicro was otherwise the very first institution to offer Croatian COVID loans in these utterly extraordinary circumstances back during this spring, and the documentation required to obtain the loan included an annual report of the past two business years, a gross balance for the period from the last available financial report to the last day of the month before submitting the loan application, then a solvency certificate not older than 30 days, a tax administration certificate on the state of debt to the state and a credit report of HROK, not older than 60 days, was also required.

However, as these are very favourable loans indeed (up to 100,000 euros for a period of five years, including a grace period of 12 months, and with an interest rate of only 0.25 percent), the typically Croatian procedure didn't discourage those making applications. The agency was overwhelmed with requests, so after a month - the available funds were spent.

However, the agency points out that a significant number of business owners didn't submit complete documentation when submitting their requests, to which they responded by making sure all enterprises were given the opportunity to complete the documentation and thus complete the documentation. The further speed of processing such requests, they say, also depended on the speed of delivery of the required documentation. This reduced the possibility of disqualification due to incomplete documentation to a minimum.

Requests received

Given the large number of requests received, the agency states that they have made additional efforts to increase the initial allocation from 1.14 billion to 3 billion kuna, in order to provide funds for all those who are positively evaluated. Additionally, in order to resolve the received requests as quickly as possible, and in understanding the needs of enterprises, they added that they have utilised all of their available capacities, respecting the defined rules and procedures.

Finally, since the onset of the crisis in March at the national level, they have placed more funds on the market “than all commercial banks combined”. Due to the great interest of enterprises in Croatian COVID loans, they are making further efforts to open up more new tenders for access to working capital, and also to extend the moratorium.

''We're working to provide all Hamag-Bicro loan users with the possibility of a moratorium until July the 1st, 2021,'' they point out.

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December the 4th, 2020 - Coronavirus struck Croatia with its most horrific blow during the month of November. As the pandemic broke out of control in October and took the most lives so far in November, 10,000 tourists visited Croatia, some of which remain now we've entered December.

As Barbara Ban/Novac writes, according to the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB/HTZ), there are about ten thousand guests in Croatia, of which six thousand are foreigners, and given the circumstances and restrictions on international travel, no significant tourist traffic is expected during the month of December, although some hotels, camps and household facilities will still continue to operate regardless of the situation.

Most tourists are currently in Zagreb, Vir, Split, Rijeka, Dubrovnik and Pula.

According to data from the eVisitor system, from the beginning of this year to the end of November, 7.7 million tourists visited Croatia, realising slightly more than 54 million overnight stays, which is 50 percent of the results recorded during the same period back in 2019.

There were 1.6 million Croatian tourists recorded and they jointly realised a decent 11.2 million overnight stays, making them second most numerous tourists among all nations, behind those in first place - the Germans.

After the Germans come the Slovenians, Poles, Czechs and Austrians in the category of foreign tourists and in terms of overnight stays. By types of accommodation facilities, the highest number of overnight stays realised in 2020's first 11 months was in household facilities, around 22 million, then in campsites around 8.8 million, and in hotels - around 7 million.

By Croatian counties, the most overnight stays were realised in Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Zadar counties, while the top destinations in terms of overnight stays realised were Vir, followed by Rovinj, Medulin, Porec, Mali Losinj, Crikvenica and Umag.

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December the 4th 2020 - The very real fear of spiralling and uncontrolled coronavirus spread has seen the well known Croatian shipyard send some of its employees home. Some Brodosplit workers are now no longer on site.

As Morski writes, the Split-based shipyard Brodosplit published a notice on the measure for the additional protection of Brodosplit workers from the potential exponential spread of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has been published on its website.

"Given the increase in new cases in Split and Split-Dalmatia County, there is a real danger that the new coronavirus virus will start spreading uncontrollably, in which case it will inevitably affect a large number of Brodosplit workers," the statement said.

''In order to further reduce the risk of such an outcome and protect key construction projects, in particular the completion of the construction of the Ultramarine polar cruiser and the construction of the Janssonius polar cruiser on slipway No. 3, as well as the production of the elements of the ''Ston'' bridge, Brodosplit's management has decided to send some Brodosplit workers home to use their annual leave as of the 7th of December 2020 as an additional measure to protect the shipyard from a major coronavirus outbreak.

It is expected that with the minimum number of workers present on site at Brodosplit, the risk of the uncontrolled spread of the virus will be reduced to a more reasonable extent and as such, Brodosplit can successfully complete all of its key projects within the agreed deadlines, the eventual cessation of which would be fatal to the shipyard due to the spread of the pandemic.

Closing the shipyard down was absolutely not an option for us at any point, so we have to do everything we can to avoid it. Let’s stay responsible, take care of yourselves, your colleagues, and especially your families. We hope that the situation with the pandemic will calm down soon and that we'll be able to return to our previous, normal lives and normal work activities as soon as possible'' Brodosplit said in a statement intended for its workers.

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December 4, 2020 – Accepting all known knowledge of the Coronavirus risk and the announced vaccines, security and risk experts International SOS have published their latest, annual Travel Risk Map. It says Croatia is one of the most safe countries in 2021 for visitors

With the end of the life-halting Coronavirus in sight, thanks to several effective vaccines announced, which country would be best to visit next year? Well, Croatia is one of the most safe countries in 2021 for visitors.

It's been a long, difficult year for everyone. It's maybe hard to believe if you live in Croatia and haven't much travelled outside the country, but the residents of Croatia have had it no more difficult than anywhere else. With only around 4 million inhabitants, there's lots of space in Croatia to move around.

Take in comparison Britain's London. That one city (1,572 km²) alone has 9 million people. Croatia has 56,594 km² for less than half the number of people. But, this generous amount of space in which to move around is not the only reason Croatia is one of the most safe countries in 2021 for visitors.

On 2 December 2020, Total Croatia News published the annual report based on the Global Terrorism Index, identifying Croatia is one of the most safe countries in 2021 in regards to the absence of terrorist threat and effect. Now, according to the latest annual Travel Risk Map, it has been designated that Croatia is one of the most safe countries in 2021 for visitors.

Security and risk experts International SOS's Travel Risk Map for 2021.

The map, created by security and risk experts International SOS , ranks the safety of countries across the globe taking into account medical, security and road risks. It assesses the risk of political violence, social unrest, and the threat of violent and petty crimes – and, most importantly this year, the impact of the pandemic.

For the first two categories, countries are given a rating out of five, while road safety is rated out of four based on the mortality rate per 100,000 people. The places with the highest risk level for security issues are mostly in Africa, with South Sudan, Mali, Yemen, Somalia and the Maiduguri region of Nigeria listed under the most dangerous, along with the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Ukraine.

International SOS's map showing the countries with the most and least Covid-19 disruption. Very low-risk countries are marked in white, low risk in grey, medium in blue, high in purple and very high in pink.

Very few countries rank above Croatia in the new safety map, New Zealand, Tanzania and Nicaragua among them, meaning Croatia is one of the most safe countries in 2021 for visitors.

For the residents of crowded cities elsewhere in Europe, Australia or the USA who have felt more than restricted in 2020, it might be worth remembering when planning next year's escape that Croatia is one of the most safe countries in 2021 for visitors.

December 3, 2020 – New species, the Dancing Springtail has been videoed performing the fascinating and unique dance from which it takes its name. This recent discovery is so far absolutely unique to one quiet corner of Croatia's Krka National Park

It takes all sorts to make the world. In modern-day America, this is more usually said 'It takes all kinds to make the world go round'. But, this famous saying is older than the United States of America. It comes from the Spanish novel, Don Quixote, published in 1605 and written by Miguel de Cervantes - 'de todos ha de haber en el mundo' (literally, 'there must be of all [types] in the world'). Nowhere is this historic phrase more applicable than in biodiversity.

Bugs are often not the prettiest of creatures. We really don't like it when they come into our homes. But, as TCN learned in our recent article on Stinky Martin aka Smrdljivi Martin, every indigenous species has a role to play in our ecosystems. No matter how unsightly, every bug has its rightful place.

The Dancing Springtail, discovered living in a micro-section of Krka National Park, is not beautiful like a butterfly. Its silver body displays no bold colours capable of catching the eye. But, it does have its own mesmerising dance. And, so far, it is absolutely unique, not only to Croatia but to one tiny corner of Krka National Park.

Observed and recorded in video two years ago, the Dancing Springtail has now been classified and given its own name - Lepidocyrtus chorus, the second word pertaining to the curious waltz the Dancing Springtail is seen to do. Thought to relate to its feeding, diet and possibly digestion, the Dancing Springtail makes a circular movement with its abdomen, while keeping its head in one position. It rotates in both directions. This dancing movement is unique to this Croatian sub-species.

The Dancing Springtail was spotted and specimens collected from the old stone steps in the area of HPP Miljacka in Krka National Park. The stairs are usually damp, partially covered by overhead trees and overgrown with lichen and moss. This particular area of the Krka river canyon, around the Miljacka waterfall, is of exceptional importance to Krka National Park, due to the mix of caves and water features which occur there and the biodiversity within the area. For these reasons, this area is off-limits to the public. The Dancing Springtail has, so far, been seen nowhere else in the world.

The body length of the Dancing Springtail, minus the head, is 1.7 mm. The top of the body is covered with silver scales, but upon closer inspection, it has dark purple spots on the sides of its fourth abdominal ring. On its head, between the antennae, there is a purple-colored patch, roughly in the shape of a triangle.

The steps near the Miljacka waterfall where the Dancing Springtail was discovered © Krka National Park

The Dancing Springtail is a sub-species of a wider family of hexapods known as Springtails or Collembola (Skokuni, in Croatian). These bugs are no longer classed as insects, because their mouths are internal, rather than exposed. There are about 3,600 different species of Springtails. They have been observed to feed on leaf litter, fungal hyphae, spores, pollen, animal remains, colloidal materials, minerals and bacteria. In doing so, they assist the decomposition process of natural areas. They are reputed to be one of the most abundant of all macroscopic animals, with estimates of 100,000 springtails living in every square metre of ground. Anywhere there is soil, you can dig and surely find them.

A Dancing Springtail © Krka National Park

Springtails get their name from an appendage they have on their abdomen which is held under constant tension. When released, the appendage allows them to fling themselves high through the air in as little as 18 milliseconds. They use this jump as a defensive mechanism and in order to migrate to fresh feeding grounds. The appendage makes springtails one of the best jumpers on the planet.

Springtails possess the ability to reduce their body size by as much as 30% in response to rising temperatures in their environment. Warmer conditions increase their metabolic rates and so the decreasing of their size helps them survive. Springtails are good bio-indicators of soil quality and are currently used in laboratory tests for the early detection of soil pollution. Rumours persist that the United States investigated weaponising springtails for use in biological warfare, indeed that they were used for such a purpose in the Korean War. No widely-accepted proof of this usage exists.

Via the study of fossils, we know that springtails have been on the planet for at least 400 million years. If the Dancing Springtail of Krka National Park has been around for that long, its unique movement is probably the longest-running dance in the world.

ZAGREB, Dec 3, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Thursday held talks with representatives of associations of persons with disabilities on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, underscoring the need to include them in every aspect of social life.

"This is an occasion to once again highlight this topic and the need for a better inclusion of persons with disabilities in every aspect of the social life, for better understanding and cooperation, and for facilitating all aspects of integration and normal functioning in society," he said at a video conference.

This year has put an additional strain on persons with disabilities due to the extraordinary circumstances with COVID-19, he added.

There are one billion people in the world with some disability, including 100 million children. In Croatia, there were 512,000 persons with disabilities last year and the latest data show that we are coming close to 590,000, said Plenkovic.

He recalled the earthquake which struck the Zagreb area in March, saying that in adopting measures and the reconstruction law, the government paid special attention to persons with disabilities, exempting them from paying for reconstruction.

Plenkovic said more than HRK 1.1 billion was paid in 2019 for the implementation of the national equal opportunity strategy for persons with disabilities, with more than HRK 700 million spent nationally and almost HRK 400 million by local government.

He recalled the measures the government adopted to improve the status of persons with disabilities, including an increase of the disability allowance from HRK 1,250 to 1,500, a 75% increase of the disability allowance budget from 2016, a 20% increase of the assistance and care allowance, an increase of the caregiver fee from HRK 2,500 to 5,000 as well as a 59% increase of funds for social welfare associations.

Minister: It's important to do as much as possible

Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy Minister Josip Aladrovic said it was important to do as much as possible to enhance care and improve the quality of life of all persons with disabilities.

He said that until November 1, the Bureau for the Evaluation, Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities gave 429 employers more than HRK 88 million in incentives for the employment of 1,378 persons with disabilities.

As of 31 October 2020, 11,347 persons with disabilities have been registered as employed, a mild increase from the start of the year, said Aladrovic.

Many achievements but problems still exist

Marica Miric of the Croatian Union of Associations of Persons with Disabilities said the joint marking of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities was a civilisational step forward.

"There have been big achievements. Unlike many countries, Croatia has made a big step forward in the treatment of persons with muscular dystrophy. We are talking about huge funds and successes."

She said the issue of personal assistants remained unsolved and called for quality solutions.

December 3, 2020 – It's been 100 years since Rudolf Fizir, one of the greatest Croatian aircraft designers, came back from Germany to his hometown Ludbreg and started building his own aircraft.

Imagine that seaplanes are connecting all Adriatic islands, while every place on the mainland and the islands has its own airfield. Well, a century ago, one Croatian aircraft designer had exactly the same idea.

Rudolf Fizir, who was one of the greatest men in Croatian aviation history and the most famous and most effective Croatian aircraft designer, was driven by a great desire of converting landplanes into seaplanes. During his life, he constructed a total of 18 types of motorized aircraft (13 planes, 3 seaplanes, and 2 amphibians), some of which were also mass-produced.

Although Croatia has never had its own aircraft industry, Croats have designed and built aircraft from the very beginning of aviation. Although Slavoljub Penkala was the first, the most famous and most effective Croatian aircraft designer was Rudolf Fizir.

First aircraft at 22

Rudolf Fizir was born in 1891 in Ludbreg, where he finished primary school. He attended the Secondary Vocational School in Zagreb, but was soon sent to the Technical High School in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, and then to the Technical Faculty in Toulouse, France.

After leaving Toulouse, he began to realize his dreams at Wismar in northern Germany, on the Baltic coast, where he enrolled at the Aeronautical Engineering Academy. There, in 1913, as a 22-year-old student, he constructed his first aircraft, but the construction of this sport biplane remained only in the plans. He graduated as an aeronautical engineer in 1915. During World War I, he had worked in many car and aircraft factories in Germany and Hungary during which he had amassed extensive experience in aircraft: Fokker Flugzeugwerken in Schwerin, the Hansa und Brandeburg Fleugzeuwerken, and the Hansa-Lloyd-Werk near Berlin.

However, in 1920 he decided to return to his homeland and his hometown of Ludbreg.

From the garage to the construction office

As an undeniably talented engineer from Ludbreg, he was one of the founders of the military and civil aviation in the former Yugoslavia. In Croatia, which was the cradle of aviation, both in the Slavic South and in the Balkans, he did not find the possibility of action, because the new Kingdom of SHS concentrated all aviation activity in Serbia.

When the project to build a Zagreb aircraft factory failed due to Serbian interests, Fizir moved to Novi Sad, where he worked in the air force command. He was simultaneously building his aircraft in his garage in Petrovaradin. His home workshop grew over time and he got a construction office where many young aeronautical engineers and constructors grew up with him.

According to his designs, modifications of trophy military aircraft were made, and thus the small Brandeburgs, the first domestic aircraft, were created. However, the first fully domestic aircraft called the Fizir F1 was constructed in 1925. This aircraft had such good aerodynamics that in September 1927 it won first prize in the Petite Entente competition, in the category of aircraft with engines above 400 hp. More than 50 pieces of these aircraft were mass-produced in various versions.

Fizir also produced five seaplanes under the name Veliki Fizir (Big Fizir) and air amphibians.

Fizir FN – his greatest success

He also built a school two-seater, which proved to be excellent, so it was adopted as the basic school type of the Yugoslav Royal Aeroclub. It was produced in a series with various engines in more than 190 copies, and it was named Fizir N (N for "nastavni", meaning teaching), and later Fizir FN. Fizir FN is also his greatest success, or as he named it "Zmaj" ("Dragon"). It was a two-seater with dual controls and it was characterized by the ability to fly at low speeds with exceptional stability, which are the characteristics of top school aircraft. It was in use for 30 years after World War II as an instruction aircraft. On various types of his aircraft, nearly a thousand military pilots completed flight school.

Interestingly, his aircraft were often named after the engines he used, such as Fizir-Wright, Fizir-Titan, Fizir-Jupiter, and Fizir-Mercedes. Since his aircraft were mostly made out of wood, they were very economical to produce.

Fizir did not follow the power of the engine but paid more attention to the construction of the aircraft itself, and his aircraft are characterized by simplicity and precise construction.

In 1930, it was produced in a variant with floats for landing on water surfaces, called FN-Hydro, in a series of five copies. It was his first amphibious aircraft, which was also the first domestic amphibious aircraft in history. Fizir was building his seaplanes guided by the idea of connecting all Adriatic islands with seaplane lines and creating a network of airfields on the Adriatic. To this day, only one restored copy has been preserved in the Technical Museum in Zagreb.

He constructed for the rest of his life

By World War II, Fizir had built both a tourist monoplane and the first domestic sports aircraft with a closed cabin. During the war, Fizir served in the NDH Air Force as head of the technical office and head of the technical service. At the same time, he founded the Institute for Aircraft Design at the Technical Faculty in Zagreb where he taught aircraft construction as an associate lecturer. From 1921 to 1940 he was an aircraft designer in Zemun.

After the war, from 1950, he worked as a motor-wheel constructor at the Zagreb ZTM engine factory in Zagreb, which was transferred to Belgrade soon after excellent results. Fizir also worked as a civil aviation inspector and continued to construct aircraft even in pension. He constructed a new sports aircraft and built a four-seater FA-2 amphibious vehicle. It was built in the Croatian Aerotechnical Institute in 1960, and the only copy was used in the Crikvenica Aeroclub. In that work, he was caught by pneumonia, from which he died.

Fizir's work and contribution are still appreciated today

The end of all his constructive lucidity did not receive recognition in the former Yugoslavia. However, just before his death, he received the highest design diploma from the French. In 1960, the International Aviation Federation (FAI) based in Paris awarded him the prestigious Paul Tissandier Diploma for his overall contribution to world aviation. By the way, this award is given to those who have distinguished themselves by special efforts in aviation in the private and sports field.

Since 1961, a memorial aviation competition Fizir-Cup has been held in his honor in his native Ludbreg, which has kept the tradition to this day.

The building of the Center for Culture and Information "Dragutin Novak" in Ludbreg has been adorned with a memorial plaque with his image since 1971, and the same institution published a book 15 years ago on the occasion of an expert meeting on his life and work. The Ludbreg aero club and a Ludbreg street also bear his name.

Ludbreg High School, in cooperation with the City of Ludbreg, constructed the installation "Fizir's Plane", which is on display today in the park of the old town.

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