Independent MP Says Croatian Society Not Radicalised
ZAGREB, October 23, 2020 - Independent MP Nino Raspudic, who is a member of the parliamentary group of the opposition Bridge party, on Friday dismissed assessments that the Croatian society was frustrated and that there was political extremism in the country.
"Conclusions are being made even before the end of the investigation into the tragic attack in St. Mark's Square and its outcome is being prejudged," Raspudic said in reference to the October 12 incident when a 22-year-old man shot and wounded a police officer guarding the government headquarters in Zagreb, killing himself afterwards.
Raspudic stressed that there was no organised political extremism in Croatia, either left or right.
He noted that the talk about "some horrible radicalisation" was a government spin designed to divert attention from crime and corruption.
Raspudic also believes that President Zoran Milanovic was right to ask that the National Security Council hold a meeting.
As for a campaign joined earlier in the day by numerous media outlets which disabled readers' comments on their web sites for two hours in order to draw attention to the problem of hate speech, Raspudic said that disabling comments was an act of censorship.
"What is being proposed in amendments to the Electronic Media Act is actually the setting of excessive norms and it is wrong," he said, adding that Bridge advocated freedom and responsibility and that it would submit its objections to the bill in first reading.
Raspudic also noted that media outlets that had joined today's campaign against hate speech had, by doing so, revealed themselves as "pro-regime media outlets", having the same goal as those wishing to restrict freedom of speech.
MP Marija Selak Raspudic, also of the Bridge parliamentary group, said that one should first deal with the issue of censorship, and then with "potential escalation of hate speech."
"As regards statements coming from the government, we want to point out that the prime minister is unwarrantably specific when criticising individual political stakeholders... calling them out even over potential future terrorism," she said.
She also criticised PM Andrej Plenkovic for being against criticism against specific media outlets while calling at the same time the entire media scene immature.
"That means that media outlets need a big daddy to teach them how to work or adopt rules that will restrict their work because they are not mature enough to assume responsibility for their actions," she said.
Valamar Invites All Digital Nomads to Istria and Krk Island
October 23, 2020 - Valamar invites all digital nomads to Istria and Krk Island as part of its 'long stay offer,' valid until March 2021.
Valamar is the latest to include a "long stay offer" or accommodation rental for at least one month, which is valid from September 30, 2020, to March 31, 2021.
HRTurizam reports that the special offer can be used in two Valamar camping resorts that are open all year round - Istra Premium Camping Resort 5 * in Poreč and Ježevac Premium Camping Resort 4 * on the island of Krk.
"The service of renting mobile homes for longer stays in Valamar's camping resorts is ideal for all guests who want to change the current location of their offices and allow themselves or their employees to work in nature with a fast internet connection," says Bruno Radoš, director of camp operations and regional director at Valamar.
In the package of services at the Istra Premium Camping Resort, guests will be able to use the free shuttle service and use the saunas, indoor pool, and gym at the nearby Valamar Diamant Hotel & Residence. The camp also has a Stay Fit program for exercise, fitness, and recreation through which they will be guided by coaches and other types of sports recreation and entertainment.
The offer also includes a modern camping home by the sea, high-speed internet connection (200/200 Mbit / s), premium family facilities, organized entertainment for children within the Maro Club, Multimedia Game Lounge, and Istra Theater.
"A longer stay in Valamar's camping resorts is ideal not only for guests who want to relax but also for companies that want to provide their employees with the opportunity to move their offices and stay in nature by the sea this fall and winter. When, in addition to all the services and benefits we provide to our guests, we add the excellent price of the accommodation package, which starts at 450 euro per month, we believe that guests will recognize a great opportunity for a long-term stay at sea," added Radoš.
Guests who decide to spend a longer period in Ježevac Premium Camping Resort on the island of Krk also expect opportunities for recreation on the multi-purpose sports field and rich facilities in the Multimedia Game Lounge - an entertainment zone with video games.
There is also a great complement to Valamar's online store Valfresco Direkt with free delivery of ready meals and groceries.
Thus, Valamar joined the new "long stay" trend of opening hotels according to the workspace model, following other global hotel chains, such as Hilton, Marriot, InterContinental, and many others. Also, Booking com and Airbnb have recently introduced options for longer stays in accommodation facilities.
"Digital nomads promote a new way of working and living, and we invite all those who simply want to change their place of residence for a while to come to Istria and the island of Krk and make a good and relaxing use of the coming months," concluded Radoš.
Interestingly, when we look at the bigger picture, Valamar is targeting families, digital nomads, and digital companies that can move their office to the modern campsites.
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Croatian Dejan Nemcic The Best Geography Teacher In The World
ZAGREB October 23, 2020 – Croatian professor Dejan Nemcic is the best geography teacher in the world. He was awarded the status in the annual Global Teacher Awards for the vivid and imaginative way he engages students
Croatia has the best geography teacher in the world. Dejan Nemcic from Ivo Andrić Elementary School in Sopot, Zagreb was on Thursday 22 October named as the winner in his class by the annual Global Teacher Awards. He is one of the few winners this year from this part of Europe.
After he was named a recipient of the award, Dejan Nemcic was interviewed by Croatian media outlet 24sata. In the interview, he dedicated the award to his students.
Dejan Nemcic, who is originally from Garešnica in the south of Bjelovar-Bilogora County, was nominated because of the vivid and imaginative way he engages students in geography. Using online communications and multi-media he places students directly within the environments they're learning about.
Ivo Andrić Elementary School in Sopot, Zagreb, where Dejan Nemcic teaches his inspired geography lessons © Ivo Andrić Elementary School
“I tell sixth-graders about the disappearance of the Amazon rainforest,” Dejan Nemcic detailed to 24sata as an example of his methods. “Then, my colleague Ana is waiting for us in a boat on the Amazon and we see everything as it really is. It’s the same with the favelas in Rio de Janeiro.” Using such collaborations and techniques he has allowed his students to travel the world from their classroom. He teaches everything that is included in the official curriculum but, with the blessing of the school administration, is free to teach it in his own inspiring way.
Around 150 members of the Croatian diaspora, located in the four corners of the earth, assist as part of the extended network of collaborators Dejan Nemcic has built over the last decade.
Educators from all over the world are included in the annual Global Teacher Awards. Teachers are nominated for inclusion by those who respect and admire their work. Dejan Nemcic was nominated by the EduBalkan platform.
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Croatia Confirms Record 1,867 New Coronavirus Cases, 7 Deaths in Last 24 Hours
ZAGREB, October 23, 2020 - A total of 1,867 new coronavirus cases and seven related deaths have been confirmed in Croatia in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Friday.
This is the largest single-day number of new infections since the outbreak of the epidemic. The current number of active cases is 8,394.
Among those infected, 716 are receiving hospital treatment for COVID-19 and 49 are on ventilators.
Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 31,717 people have contracted the novel virus, 413 of them have died and 22,910 have recovered, including 846 in the last 24 hours.
Currently, 25,889 people are in self-isolation, A total of 428,961 people have been tested to date, including 7,313 in the last 24 hours.
Interliber: Zagreb Book Fair To Be Held Following COVID-19 Measures
October 23, 2020 – The Zagreb Book Fair Interliber will continue its tradition and be held from November 10 to November 15, 2020, at the Zagreb Fair (Zagrebački velesajam).
For the 43rd year in a row, Zagreb will host the well-known international Interliber book fair. As announced by the organizers, during the six days, the Interliber book fair will be a hot spot for all lovers of books and the written word.
However, due to the current situation with the coronavirus pandemic, for this often crowded event, all security measures have been prepared to stay safe in this realm of books.
Namely, the passages between the exhibition spaces will be widened to four meters and the number of pavilions in which the fair will be held will be increased. A larger number of entrances and exits will be provided for each pavilion, and visitors' body temperature will be measured without contact at each entrance.
Due to the maintenance of the safe flow of people, the number of visitors will be measured at the entrance and it will be limited. Also, visitors are recommended to move in one direction. Of course, wearing a mask is mandatory for all visitors, and disinfectants will be provided in all pavilions.
Interliber is the largest literary event in Croatia and a platform for the promotion of books, writers, reading, science, and knowledge that brings together the most important publishers and bookstores with a rich book offer of current titles.
Despite the uncertain situation with the pandemic, Interliber's 43-year-long tradition will continue, and all the book lovers will be able to find a long-desired book at an affordable price or get all the necessary literature for school.
The fair will be open for visitors from 10 am to 9 pm every day, and during the weekend until 10 pm. The entrance to the fair is free.
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Croatia Records Jugoton Funk Reveals Hrvatska's Heaviest Grooves
ZAGREB October 23, 2020 - Preserved by Zagreb's Croatia Records, the vast archive of giant Yugoslavian music label Jugoton throws up some incredible surprises on the newly released Croatia Records Jugoton Funk Vol. 1
James Brown, Funkadelic, Sly & The Family Stone, Fela Kuti - when you think of funk music, it's black artists that usually come to mind. Although, not if you're Croatian. One of the country's best-loved (and most missed) musicians, Dino Dvornik, was often referred to as the King Of Croatian Funk - his electro explorations in the genre during the early 90s were so innovative they don't sound out of place on dancefloors today. But, though he here might be known as the king of this style, Dino Dvornik was far from the first to record funk music in Croatia.
Marijan Kašaj - Ideja
One of the highlights of Croatia Records Jugoton Funk Vol. 1. Although a classically trained opera singer, Zagreb's Marijan Kašaj expressed a much more rough vocal style when singing rock music, notably as the frontman of the band Grešnici (The Sinners). This song comes only from a rare 45 single and was composed and arranged by Vladimir Delač
The recently released Croatia Records Jugoton Funk Vol. 1 compilation finally lifts the lid on the largely untold history of homegrown Croatian funk music. Culled from the darkest depths of the gargantuan Croatia Records Jugoton archive in Dubrava, this collection tells a story of ambitious musicians joyfully creating some of the wildest sounds to have ever come from these lands. Effortlessly cool and in many cases very surprising, it is a soundtrack that is perhaps even more relevant on today's world stage than when it was made.
Dalibor Brun - Davni život
Rijeka musician Dalibor Brun explored soul and funk music across three solo albums. This track, from his third, features a wild Hammond solo performed by extremely famous Croatian singer and songwriter Oliver Dragojević. “You can hear some funky tracks in Oliver's own back catalogue, but to find him playing such a wild style as a session musician on Dalibor Brun's track is a very unexpected,” says Dr. Smeđi Šećer. “At the time of these recordings, some of these artists were already well established, so they could afford to collaborate and experiment as they wished.”
“Most of Jugoton's output was pop and folk music,” Croatia Records Jugoton Funk Vol. 1's Dr. Smeđi Šećer tells TCN. Alongside co-compiler, Zagreb's Višeslav Laboš, this Rijeka DJ is part of a small scene of enthusiasts who have been reviving the ex-Yu funk sound over recent years - online, on mixtapes and at niche club nights. “These are mostly very obscure releases. You would have to go looking around secondhand record shops for maybe 10 years to find all of these.”
Igor Savin - Alfa
Son of prominent Croatian conductor, composer and opera director Dragutin Savin (longtime director of the Osijek Opera), Igor Savin is a pianist, vibraphonist, composer, arranger and producer who studied at the Theoretical Department of the Academy of Music in Zagreb. He continued his studies by one of the first Croatian students at the prestigious American College of Contemporary Music Industry Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied harmony, improvisation and composition. As an eighteen-year-old, he founded his first jazz band. He played piano and vibraphone in symphony, studio and festival orchestras, and in the Big Band of HRT. He is the author of music for numerous films, cartoons, television shows, theatre plays and often used melodies from Balkan folk music to inspire his jazz and contemporary classical pieces. In 1984, he founded the electronic studio of the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall.
Time spent rifling through secondhand shops for old, forgotten and obscure music is a pastime known as digging. A phenomenon popularised since the birth of American hip hop in the 1980s, it has been responsible for turning the music of the past into some of the most-contemporary sounds we hear on today's radio or dancefloors. Over the last four decades, countless soul, R&B and hip hop stars have sampled older music to create chart-topping hits. Digging for vintage sounds has subsequently become a global trade. Obsessives Dr. Smeđi Šećer and Višeslav Laboš are two of the best-informed that search for contemporary-relevant sounds in the back catalogues of Balkan music.
Josipa Lisac - Ležaj od suza
'Ležaj od suza' (A bed of tears) is taken from Croatian megastar Josipa Lisac's classic debut LP 'Dnevnik jedne ljubavi'. It is not the only track on the album which you can hear international funk DJs play in some of the coolest clubs in London, Berlin, Manchester and New York. She is backed here by Jugoton's first prog-rock band, Time, plus the strings and horns section of the HRT Orchestra. The iconic cover art of Lisac's debut album was a photograph taken by Croatian photographer Jozo Ćetković, who also took the photograph of Croatian model Branka Habek which is used to form the cover art of Croatia Records Jugoton Funk Vol. 1
For Croatia Records Jugoton Funk Vol. 1, they've been greatly assisted in their endeavors by Zagreb's Croatia Records. Not always regarded as the hippest supplier of niche sounds like forgotten funk, Croatia Records's careful preservation of the Jugoton back catalogue (which they inherited after the break-up of Yugoslavia), has meant that the entire recorded history of the giant Yugoslav label has been made available not only to album compilers like Smeđi Šećer and Višeslav Laboš, but to all. Over recent years, Croatia Records has embarked on an ambitious project to digitalise the entire Jugoton archive. Containing some 70, 000 music recordings and 14, 000 artifacts, this is no small undertaking.
The first Jugoton Records HQ, located at Ilica 213, Zagreb. It subsequently moved to Dubrava, on the site where Croatia Records remains today © Photos from the book History of Vinyl Production in Croatia by Veljko Lipovšćak - provided by Croatia Records
Of all the companies that issued music in the former Yugoslavia, Jugoton was the largest. Based in Dubrava, Zagreb, Jugoton was much more than the type of record label we know today - theirs was an entire industry of culture. Jugoton traces its roots all the way back to the 1930s when it began life as the Elektroton label. After the Second World War, the label was nationalized and renamed Jugoton.
In the two photos above, we can see the Jugoton vinyl pressing factory at two different stages of its evolution © Photos from the book History of Vinyl Production in Croatia by Veljko Lipovšćak - provided by Croatia Records
The hydraulic semi-automatic vinyl pressing machine 'Litostroj' at the Jugoton pressing plant 1967 - 1979 © From the book History of Vinyl Production in Croatia by Veljko Lipovšćak - provided by Croatia Records
At the peak of its influence, Zagreb's Jugoton did more than just sign artists and release music. On the Dubrava site where Croatia Records now stands was a then ultra-modern production studio where famous artists from all over Yugoslavia would come and record. Jugoton made its own discs – at its peak, Jugoton's pressing plant churned out 30, 000 vinyl records every day. By 1982, its decade-old cassette production line made 20,000 units per day. They also owned the largest chain of music stores within the country. As well as the domestic artists signed to Jugoton, the label licensed and released music by some of the biggest artists of the day, including Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple and Pink Floyd. Its audience was the 20 million+ inhabitants of Yugoslavia.
Part of the Jugoton studio set up on the Dubrava site. This specific equipment was in use between 1964 and 1975 © From the book History of Vinyl Production in Croatia by Veljko Lipovšćak - provided by Croatia Records
Though the music contained in Croatia Records Jugoton Funk Vol. 1 does not sound immediately like the folk and pop music we associate with the label, considering the size of the Croatia Records Jugoton archive it is perhaps less surprising that such anomalies can be found.
“Western music always had a strong appeal in Yugoslavia,” says Dr. Smeđi Šećer. “At the beginning of the communist regime, there was a strong implementation of censorship. But, in the 1960s the (communist) party seemed to relax and allow some western influences through. From this decade, a lot of cover versions of western artists started to be recorded by Yugoslavian singers. Yugoslavian labels would officially license western music and release it here. For instance, you can find releases by Ray Charles on the PGP-RTB label out of Belgrade from the early 1960s. All of this started to influence the music made here. Arsen Dedić, for example, recorded the first Yugoslavian bossa nova record in 1963.”
Zagreb musicians pictured at the small sound hall at Jadran film © From the book History of Vinyl Production in Croatia by Veljko Lipovšćak - provided by Croatia Records
“The funk sound from here can be really interesting - quite unique. While some bands did try to record this black American music in exactly the style as the Americans did it, many artists from here enjoyed experimenting with the style - in particular some pop artists and progressive rock bands. They took the rhythm and the funk from the American music, but added their own styles – sometimes distinctly Balkan styles – over the top. Boki Milošević and the Belgrade Jazz Orchestra spring to mind immediately.”
Zdravko Čolić - Mujo kuje konja po mjesecu
A giant of Yugoslavian music, Zdravko Čolić's inclusion on Croatia Records Jugoton Funk Vol. 1 is one of the most unusual (and rarest) pieces of music in his back catalogue. It is a funk version of the Bosnian sevdah classic 'Mujo kuje konja po mjesecu (Mujo changes the horseshoe by the moonlight)'. “This is from an extremely rare compilation of pop festival music,” says Dr. Smeđi Šećer. “It's not something you'd come across every day. It was shown to me by a Slovenian DJ colleague. I only ever saw a physical copy of this release maybe two or three times in all my years spent digging.”
The world's largest exporter of music is the United States. The second-largest is the United Kingdom. That these two largest exporters share a common language – and it being one of the world's most widely spoken – is no coincidence. It can be difficult to export music from Croatia and other Balkan nations purely because of the language barrier. People like to understand the text of what they are listening to. Such barriers can be overcome with overtly emotional delivery, such as in the case of folk music like sevdah, but also when the musical style is something relevant to the dancefloor. Especially within a niche international scene like rare funk.
Even after the label stopped being Jugoton and became Croatia Records, famous artists from all the former countries of Yugoslavia would still come to work at the recording studios in Dubrava. In this photo from the early 1990s we see (left to right) Croatian singer Željko Bebek from the Sarajevo-formed Yugoslavian rock giants Bijelo Dugme, Macedonian guitar virtuoso Vlatko Stefanovski from the band Leb i sol and Bosnian singer, guitarist, arranger and producer Nikša Bratoš from the band Crvena Jabuka. Bijelo Dugme was the most popular and best-selling rock band from Yugoslavia. Their first recordings were offered to record label Diskoton in their native Sarajevo. They were turned down, allegedly as the label's release schedule was already full for the following six months. This is widely considered the greatest business mistake in the history of Yugoslav record publishing. On the same day as this refusal, Zagreb's Jugoton snapped the band up for an initial five-year contract © Photo from the Croatia Records archive and licensed for exclusive use within this article by Croatia Records
“Quite a few of these records are well known among connoisseur collectors outside of ex-Yu countries and they have a high price,” says Dr. Smeđi Šećer. “You can find Yugoslavian funk included on mixtapes by rare funk and hip hop collector DJs from all over the world. I know of one mixtape made by a well-known DJ from New York which uses only music released in the former Yugoslavia. And why shouldn't that be the case? This is the era we live in. You can go out in Zagreb and hear a Croatian DJ play Peruvian psychedelic cumbia music or afrofunk, so there are definitely DJs in the UK, the USA - maybe even Peru - who will play Yugoslavian funk. It's just feel-good dancefloor music that transcends all boundaries.”
The digital and CD version of Croatia Records Jugoton Funk Vol. will be released shortly by Croatia Records. The extravagantly designed double vinyl album version is out now and was released under license by specialist Dutch vinyl company Everland Music. The last vinyl album produced by Jugoton’s vinyl pressing plant in Croatia was a disc containing the sermons of Pope John Paul II
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PISA Research: Croatia in High Eighth Place in Terms of Global Competencies
October 23, 2020 – Compared to the other 27 participating countries, Croatia ranked eighth in the overall PISA research of global competencies, and Croatian students achieved a significantly better result than the average, according to the results published on Thursday.
As Hina reports, this result announcement of students' global competencies completes the seventh cycle of the OECD PISA 2018 research, the National Center for External Evaluation of Education (NCVVO) reported on Thursday, October 22, 2020.
Global competencies were examined as a set of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values students need for a harmonious life in multicultural societies, success in a changing labor market, efficient and responsible use of media platforms, and support for sustainable development goals.
Global competencies examined as an additional innovative domain
NCVVO reminded that in the spring of 2018, 6609 Croatian 15-year-olds from 179 secondary and four primary schools participated in the PISA reading, mathematics, and science literacy survey. Global competencies were examined as an additional innovative domain in which countries could arbitrarily join. The results of the PISA research of reading, math, and science literacy were published in December last year.
When it comes to global competences, Croatian students achieved 506 points, which, it was pointed out, is a significantly better result than the average of 474 points.
The highest, fifth level of achievement, which implies that students possess complex knowledge and skills such as critical reflection on global events and activities for individual and collective well-being, was achieved by 4.2 percent of Croatian students, which is in line with the average of all respondents being 4.3.
On the other hand, the basic, second level of global competencies was not reached by 33.3 percent of Croatian students, which is significantly less than the average of all students who participated in the research, which is 49 percent. It was explained that these are students who do not possess the basic competencies needed to successfully deal with global problems and social-political, economic, and environmental challenges.
Above-average results, but great space for improvement
"Although our students have achieved above-average results, it is clear that there is great space for improvement, both in terms of global competencies and in other areas of PISA research," said NCVVO director Ivana Katavić.
She believes that when the national exams are introduced, which are a common and regular evaluation tool in other countries, Croatia will have a basic mechanism for establishing and systematically monitoring the quality of education.
"Objective achievements of students in basic knowledge and competencies in the most important parts of educational cycles will provide students, parents, and the entire education system with feedback on the quality of acquired knowledge and skills that students should acquire during a particular educational cycle," said Katavić, adding that the feedback will enable quick reactions and the introduction of measures to improve educational outcomes at key educational moments for our students.
The achieved results of Croatian students indicate that significantly better results were achieved by girls – eight points more than boys, high school (gymnasium) students – 574 points or 146 points more than students of vocational programs, students attending schools in larger cities, and students of more favorable socioeconomic status.
Out of 27 participating countries, the best average score was achieved by Singapore (576 points), Canada (554 points), Hong Kong (542 points), and the United Kingdom (534 points). The worst results were achieved by the Philippines (371 points), Morocco (402 points), and Kazakhstan and Indonesia (408 points).
Croatian students expressed greater awareness of global issues
NCVVO reported that Croatian students, their parents, and school principals completed an additional questionnaire examining attitudes and contextual factors that may have an impact on student achievements in the field of global competencies. Out of 79 countries participating in the PISA 2018 survey, 66 joined this additional questionnaire.
It was pointed out that, compared to the OECD average, Croatian students showed greater awareness of global issues such as migration, equality between men and women, and international conflicts, as well as a higher degree of self-efficacy, whereby students of more favorable socioeconomic status show significantly higher awareness and self-efficacy.
Parents of Croatian students also expressed a higher level of awareness of global issues compared to the average score in 14 countries that also completed a questionnaire for parents.
Croatian students showed an average interest in learning about other cultures, an average level of respect for people of different cultural backgrounds, a slightly lower level of cognitive adaptability as the ability to adapt thinking and behavior to new situations, cultural environments, and circumstances when interacting with people from other cultures, and a lower degree of understanding of different perspectives.
Attitudes of Croatian students towards immigrants are more positive compared to the average of OECD countries.
More than 90 percent of Croatian students said they spoke two or more languages, which is significantly higher than the OECD average of 68 percent, with more languages spoken by girls, students with more favorable socioeconomic status, and students whose parents themselves speak several languages.
However, compared to their peers from OECD countries, Croatian students are less willing to take action related to local and global problems, and they notice much more the discriminatory behavior of a larger number of their teachers.
According to the principals, topics related to global issues and intercultural learning are less included in school and teaching curricula in Croatia, compared to OECD countries.
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Zagreb Advent 2020: Smaller Edition will Expand to Neighborhoods
October 23, 2020 - Given the epidemiological situation around Europe at the moment, it's hard to imagine any Christmas markets will be held this year at all. Here's the latest on Zagreb Advent 2020.
Vecernji List reported on Thursday that Zagreb Advent would be organized by Zagreb Markets (Tržnice Zagreb) and, according to the latest, the Zagreb Fair (Zagrebački velesajam).
In recent days, media speculation about the organization of the capital's biggest event has been mixed. But for now, the City administration is certain that Advent will be held, albeit on a smaller scale than previous editions. How exactly it will look, i.e., how many caterers will be allowed in certain locations and how the food will be served, is still to be decided.
"We only started discussing this topic two days ago; we will define the details at the working meetings. Advent will not be able to be at the level of previous years because there are fewer tourist arrivals and travel in general," said Mirka Jozic, head of the Office of Economy. At the meetings, it was agreed that the caterers would disperse, so Advent will be in the city center and the neighborhoods and allow counties to participate by exhibiting their souvenirs.
"The main attraction will be the area around the cable car, where caterers will also offer their products," said the City. They also note that Zagreb Fair will be in charge of the organization, allocating houses and catering, in cooperation with the Zagreb Caterers' Association and the Independent Association of Caterers, and Zagreb Markets will take over the logistics.
"We also demanded that anyone who is not a caterer be eliminated from renting houses or stalls. This should be solved by determining special coefficients based on the number of employees, income, and turnover of individual caterers," said Marin Medak, who has participated in Advent so far and is also a representative of the profession in meetings with the city administration.
Medak believes they could have an outline of the Advent organization by the end of the week. As for the allocation of houses, the caterers ask for a special committee to decide on it, including someone from the City, the catering sector, and. the Chamber of Crafts.
If the decision is passed by the Assembly, the procedure for allocating public space will be carried out by a special commission that will have a president and four members and their deputies. Locations will be awarded through a public tender, the commission will consider the received bids, and then the most favorable will be determined and submitted to the mayor.
The most favorable bid in the public tender procedure for setting up houses is a bid that meets the conditions of the public tender and contains the highest offered amount of a one-time location fee," explains the decision that took place last summer.
A returning tenant will have the right to take advantage of the tender, but one company will not rent more than 40 percent of public space. However, locations will be allocated directly, without a public tender, if there are vacancies after the tender. The commission will also decide who will get the location directly, i.e., they will propose candidates to the mayor.
As for the organization of cultural events, for which the Zagreb Tourist Board is in charge, they will take place following the National Headquarters' recommendations, whose measures are still awaited.
"We are in constant contact with them, and we are waiting for the decision of the Assembly, so we will know in which direction everything will go. So far, we have several framework scenarios, and we will hone the detail," said the Zagreb Tourist Board.
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Flights to Croatia: LOT Operates to Zagreb in November, Dubrovnik Service Canceled
October 23, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as LOT operates to Zagreb in November and cancels its Dubrovnik service.
Croatian Aviation reports that Polish national airline LOT has announced its flight schedule for November this year. Compared to last year, the company will operate only to Zagreb, and the line to Dubrovnik has been canceled for this year's winter flight schedule.
This summer, LOT Polish Airlines operated on numerous routes from Warsaw and other Polish cities to destinations in Croatia (Zagreb, Rijeka, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik). Despite the corona crisis, more than 13 new lines have been introduced. Croatia was extremely accessible to Polish tourists by air bridges in this crisis summer season, which is confirmed by the number of arrivals of Polish tourists in the Republic of Croatia this year.
LOT returned to Croatia on July 1, and this summer, it operated on a larger number of routes compared to the summer flight schedule of the previous year.
In the winter flight schedule, which will take effect soon, LOT will keep only one active line to Croatia. Namely, the company plans to operate on the line between Warsaw - Zagreb. Four flights a week have been announced every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. E170 aircraft with a capacity of 70 passengers will operate on the route.
Flights on Wednesdays and Fridays will operate in the morning, while flights on Mondays and Saturdays are announced in the afternoon and evening, respectively.
Although LOT also operated on the Warsaw - Dubrovnik line last winter, this will not happen this winter. Due to the impact of the global pandemic and weak demand, the company has temporarily discontinued this line and plans to operate on it from the spring of next year.
As confirmed to Croatian Aviation from this airline, LOT plans to operate next summer on all routes on which it operated this summer (only the Warsaw - Rijeka route is in question). Still, the decision on the realization of these flights will depend primarily on travel restrictions and demand itself.
Until the spring of next year, LOT will operate regularly only to Zagreb, to a much lesser extent compared to last year's winter flight schedule.
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Ambitious Plan Key for Croatian Economy, Not Just Eurozone Entry
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 23rd of October, 2020, the ongoing coronavirus crisis could accelerate the integration of capital markets across the European Union in order to encourage the recovery of small and medium-sized enterprises as soon as possible through alternative sources of financing. What does this mean for Croatia and Eurozone entry, exactly?
Capital market integration should also make it easier for banks and financial investors to invest in the capital of companies that strive for sustainable operations and in line with the European Union's green agenda. New ideas are constantly being sought during these truly unprecedented times in which the coronavirus pandemic brought the world the greatest global economic crisis since World War II. The significant levels of uncertainty and the impossibility of clearly estimating how long it will all last are accelerating various innovative solutions.
Shortly after the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic began, it became clear that its impact on the Croatian financial services sector could be strong and far-reaching. With Croatia's Eurozone entry plans, it was unclear at first what effect the economic woes would have.
However, despite the severity of the unpredictable situation, the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (Hanfa) believes that we're at a turning point that - if we prepare well - might accelerate our stronger recovery in the capital market.
There are a number of challenges facing the financial sector in the future, from a number of geopolitical tensions, such as trade wars, growing economic and political instability, climate change and rising premium risks to the sustainability of public debt. It's also worth emphasising the problem of corporate liquidity due to the tightening of financing conditions - a pressing solvency problem that will only manifest itself after the expiration of assistance from national governments - which will lead to a possible increase in stress levels across financial markets.
In light of Croatia's economic recovery, especially after the coronavirus crisis passes, a very ambitious European Union plan to establish a Capital Markets Union is of high importance for Croatia, according to Ante Zigman, President of the Hanfa Board, who spoke on the matter during a recent presentation.
As he pointed out, with Croatian Eurozone entry, the continuation of the integration of the capital market into the EU is of significance for the Croatian economy. After the first one back in 2015, in September this year, the European Commission issued a new action plan which by the end of 2022 is divided into three basic goals through as many as 16 different measures. The first goal is to support green, digital, sustainable economic recovery by providing more affordable financing to European companies.
Digitalisation has come into focus because digital changes in the way we pay for things and provide financial services are changing even faster with this crisis forcing our hands. According to the market capitalisation of the 500 largest financial service providers in the world, the rapid growth of the share of the financial payments industry and fintech companies is obvious, and banks are finally losing their dominance in the financial world.
Croatia already has a basis for the growth of new digital financial companies due to changes in methods of payment, where transactions via the Internet and mobile banking are growing rapidly. The growth of young digital fintech competition has some major advantages, such as stronger market competition and lower service prices, reduced market concentration, greater transparency and better access to financial services in general.
The second is to make the European Union an even safer place to save and make long-term investments, and the third is to integrate national capital markets into what would truly be one single market.
In the long run, this should focus more on financing from the banking to the non-banking sector, enable the easier and cheaper financing of sustainable companies that currently don't have access to recover their equity through banks and traditional lending, and the easier transition of the economy to sustainable and environmentally friendly business within a constructive Union-wide plan.
The proposed plan doesn't diminish the importance of national stock markets, but connects them so that through future uniformed and harmonised regulations, investors can find good opportunities for cross-border investment, that large and small investors can more easily invest and that tax treatment of such investments is equalised throughout the EU.
In addition to strengthening new investments, the plan also includes financial literacy of the aging European population as well as the growth of their investments for pensions.
The plan defines the intention to alleviate the tax burden in cross-border investments, standardises bankruptcy proceedings between EU member states in order to protect all types of investments, unambiguously defines the concept of shareholders across the EU to harmonise rules governing the relationship between investors, intermediaries and issuers, and foresees all barriers to the use of new digital technologies in all capital markets being removed in the long run.
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