July 16, 2020 - Young Croats have the best digital skills in Europe

Figures released by the European Union show that young Croats have the best digital skills in Europe. 97% of 16 to 24-year-olds in Croatia have basic or above basic digital skills.

The amazing result by young Croats is notably superior to their closest competitors Estonia, Lithuania and the Netherlands (all three 93%). By contrast, some neighbouring countries in south-east Europe observed the lowest shares; Romania (56%), Bulgaria (58%), Italy (65%), Hungary (68%).

Education in Europe was moved entirely online in recent months in response to the closure of schools. It seems Croatian students were the best-placed to deal with the switch to digital.


Croatia's 16 to 24-year-olds lead in digital skills across the whole of Europe

To obtain the figures, European authorities assessed young people in four specific areas of internet and software use; information, communication, problem solving and software skills.

Information skills include the ability to identify, locate, retrieve, store, organise and analyse digital information. Communication skills include using emails, social networks, online communication software such as video calls and uploading content online. Problem-solving skills included transferring files between devices and the installation and management of software and apps. Software skills are considered the ability to use and manipulate content such as spreadsheets, photo, video or audio files and the use of word processing software.

Not all of the proficiency displayed by young Croatians can be attributed solely to studious work at their home PCs or laptops; many of the skills young Croatians possess are accessible on and learned from mobile phones. However, education in Croatia does play a significant role in the country's amazing digital literacy.

In addition to the good standard of digital education available in Croatian schools, one contributing asset is the Croatian Makers programme run by Nenad Bakic. It is the largest non-governmental educational programme in the EU, has assisted in the digital education of over 200,000 children in Croatia and has educated over 3,000 teachers in Croatia for free so that they may pass on vital digital skills to future generations. The programme has been so successful it has extended beyond Croatia's borders and now also educates young people and their teachers in countries like Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.

July 16, 2020 - We bring you an uplifting story about a recently published book titled "No Stone Unturned: A Remarkable Journey to Identity" by Nadean Stone, a member of the National Federation of Croatian Americans, about her decades-long search for her birth parents.

I first talked with the author in March, when she emailed me to share her amazing story that led to the discovery of her Croatian ancestry. Her story begins in Canada, where between 1945 and 1973, almost 350,000 unmarried Canadian mothers were persuaded, coerced, or forced into giving their babies up for adoption. (Andrews, Valerie: White Unwed Mother: The Adoption Mandate in Postwar Canada, Demeter Press, Toronto 2018.) Many babies were illegally given away, like a puppy at the pound, for a nominal donation to the church. Nadean shared with me that, “On Christmas Eve, 1952 I became one of those babies. From the moment my grandmother disclosed the story of my adoption, my birthday wish every year was to find my mother.” Nadean started her search in 1973 when she was 20.

Nadean with her Great-Uncle 

In 2008, the Province of Ontario changed its law, enabling legally adopted persons to access their birth registration records. That document usually contained the birth mother’s name at the time of the child’s birth, her home address, age, religion, nationality, and professional occupation. Armed with that information, the adoptee could then search Ontario databases, telephone directories and in time locate their birth parent. Birth father names were seldom placed on this document as it was not a requirement. After many communication exchanges with the provincial government, the hospital where Nadean was born and the Children’s Aid Society, she discovered that adoption had never taken place. Nadean was simply given away by Mother Superior at the hospital. This resulted in denial of her access to any birth records.

In 2013, Nadean increased her search efforts with an intense focus on DNA. She had concluded that “DNA became my only source of hope. In December 2013, I tested with 23andMe but didn’t know how to proceed with a search. However, the DNA indicated that I was of Eastern European descent, with one Croatian parent. A DNA genetic genealogist, Olivia, found my post on a Canadian adoption website in February 2017 and offered to assist. Olivia had me test on Ancestry to ensure we covered all possibilities and Olivia downloaded my DNA info to GEDmatch, a website designed to assist adoptees.”

Olivia and Nadean divided their responsibilities. Nadean sent messages through both Ancestry and 23andMe portals to all her new cousins asking them to share their DNA, family surnames, residences in Europe, the US, and Canada, family trees. They explained the mission to find her birth mother. Nadean messaged more than 150 cousins at numerous times during the journey. As the months progressed, many of the “cousins” became invested in her search. They exchanged personal email addresses and telephone numbers, creating a “Village of Cousins” desperate to help “the baby find its mother.”

Ancestry DNA found Nadean’s birth father’s family in June 2017 when his daughter tested. I asked Nadean how it felt to hear the news and she exclaimed that "I never thought I would find my birth father. I thought the chances of finding my mother were slim and even if she was alive, she might not be well or have the mental capacity or desire to share his identity. I must say that finding him first through DNA, was truly a miracle." It turned out that Nadean’s father, Vinko Tatarević died in 2000. Vinko was a Croatian fighter pilot during World War II, a Croatian Ace who was featured in a book called Croatian Aces of World War II. Vinko is considered to be a hero in his home town of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

2-year-old Nadean on the farm

In finding Vinko, Nadean and Olivia zeroed in on the remote town he immigrated to in Canada in the early 1950s. Nadean and her husband Bill traveled there in August 2017, set up in the town’s library and texted addresses of names and addresses of possible family members from 1951, 1952, and 1953 telephone directories to Olivia who compared them to her spreadsheets. On their last day in town, they abandoned the library and utilized detective skills. They sought out elderly Croatians who might have known her birth parents in 1952. Nadean shared her story and explained that finding her mother was her only remaining wish in life. Nadean shared that “We found the house where Vinko lived during the 1950s and took photos and we found Peterson Electric where he had worked." The ownership had changed and they no longer had his employment records. They visited the Croatian Hall, the Croatian Catholic Parish, and the Multicultural Association sharing all around the purpose of their visit. Bill found a listing that day as well for the Croatian Recreational Center. Nadean called and left a message with their departure imminent.

There was a big break when Leonard, an elderly Croatian man called with the news later that evening. Leonard said he knew Vinko very well. They had both worked initially at the bush camps upon arrival in Canada. Although Vinko was older than Leonard, Vinko had been very good to him and had taken care of him. He told Nadean that Vinko was very handsome and all the women in North Bay were in love with him. Leonard did add that he did not know any of Vinko’s girlfriends. 

Although not successful on that trip, Nadean continued in her dogged efforts to find her mother, resulting in an astonishing journey with a miraculous ending. Nadean started a memoir in 2017 as her life was already replete with unbelievably daunting life challenges, including a harrowing escape from a Caribbean island. As one reviewer noted, “This book is a MUST READ. Never judge a book by its cover. Don’t let the beauty and softness of Nadean fool you. She is tough as stone. No Stone Unturned is a real-life story that contains all the elements for a great movie: Real-life drama, pain, suspense, romance, royalty, politics, and more. You will cry, laugh, and get angry. Thank you Nadean for being transparent and opening up your soul to share such personal details.”

Her goal in writing the memoir is to use it as a platform for change. Nadean hopes to bring attention to the issue and to petition the Province of Ontario to amend the law enabling non-adoptees equal rights to their records. She has consulted with a leading civil rights attorney in Toronto who is interested in this precedent-setting case. In July 2018, Nadean filed a petition with the UN Commission on the Rights of the Child illuminating numerous Articles of the UN Convention that the Province of Ontario has violated in its treatment of illegally adopted children.

It was over several conversations with the author that the objective of her lifelong journey and her book became clear and Nadean said it best last week with her quote that, "My goal is to inspire readers to find faith, hope and the courage to persevere, despite the odds and to never give up." Her memoir, No Stone Unturned – A Remarkable Journey to Identity is available on Amazon. She also created a Birth Search Directory on her website to assist adoptees in their search, www.nadeanstone.com.

Nadean's book is a riveting story that I highly recommend to all readers who want to be inspired at this time of a pandemic. It is a triumphant memoir of courage and perseverance, a story of love on many levels, and proves the miraculous and joyous ending we can achieve when we never give up!

If you want to learn more about Croatian diaspora, follow our dedicated section.

July 26, 2020 - A lot is already publicly known about the new Croatian government, although its ministers are yet to be officially announced. Who will be the new ministers? 

From what we've been able to read in the media so far, the new government will have three first-time ministers, people less known to the Croatian public as they haven't been in the political spotlight in the previous administrations. Jutarnji list writes about those three new ministers in Andrej Plenković's government: Nikolina Brnjac, Boris Milošević, Nataša Tramišak. Let's find out more about them, as the final preparations for Andrej Plenković's meeting with President Zoran Milanović take place. In that meeting, the President will give Plenković the mandate to form the new government. 

There was a lot of talk about Nikolina Brnjac as a minister in the Croatian government whenever there were any changes at any number of ministries since Plenković has been in charge. It's often said that she's one of "his people," and the fact that she joined the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) when he became President in 2016 confirms the bond between them. She's been the state secretary in two different ministries in the previous term: Ministry of the sea, traffic and infrastructure, where she left because of numerous disagreements with minister Butković, and after that, she went to the Foreign Ministry, where she was given an essential diplomatic role during the Croatian presidency, although she had no diplomatic experience. She was born in 1979, has a Ph.D. in traffic sciences. She is expected to head the newly-formed Ministry of tourism, youth, and sports. She held the eighth position on the HDZ slate for the elections, in IV election district, and got 552 preferential votes there, not winning a Parliament seat. 

We've gotten used to the minority representatives in Croatia supporting whoever is forming the government, and once in a while, they even get a seat at the big table. This Andrej Plenković cabinet will be such a cabinet, with the position of Deputy Prime Minister for social activity and human rights created just to seat a minority representative. Boris Milošević will get that position, an experienced politician, born in 1974 in Šibenik, a representative for the Serbian minority. He's a lawyer who's already served in two administrations, both time as deputy Minister of Public Administration (interesting tidbit: once in an SDP government, and once in HDZ-Most government). He's also the President of the Serbian National Council, where he took over after 22 years of Milorad Pupovac's presidency. He got 7.715 votes at the election. 

The least known to the general public among the three is Nataša Tramišak, a 38-year-old lawyer from Osijek, who's spent most of her career working in regional development and EU funds, so it's highly appropriate that she's about to become a minister dealing with these topics. She hasn't always been an HDZ member; before she joined, she ran for Antunović municipality position as a member of heavily right-wing HSP in 2009, along with Ivan Anušić, who has since become an HDZ vice-president. She's worked in Osijek-Baranja County as a person in charge of investments and EU funds, where she's proven herself to be a very successful workaholic, always on top of any project she's in charge of.

If it turns out someone else is named to the Government position for the first time, we will update this article with information about the other new minister (there is still uncertainty on who will be the next Education and Science Minister).

July 16, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Dubrovnik.

Croatian Aviation reports that Spanish low-cost airline Volotea is announcing a return on its international routes to Dubrovnik, while routes to Split are already in operation.

The well-known Spanish low-cost airline resumed regular flights to Split last week. The company launched certain lines from France to Split, and introduced one from Athens.

Split - Marseille from July 8, once a week, Wednesday,

Split - Nantes from July 8, once a week, Wednesday,

Split - Bordeaux from July 8, once a week, Wednesday,

Split - Lyon from July 8, once a week, Wednesday,

Split - Athens from July 8, once a week, on Wednesdays.

Volotea is currently running some lines to the Adriatic Pearl, including Dubrovnik - Athens (Tuesdays) and Dubrovnik - Nantes (Thursdays). However, three more routes from France will be introduced soon:

Dubrovnik - Bordeaux from July 29, once a week, Wednesday,

Dubrovnik - Marseille from July 29, once a week, Wednesday,

Dubrovnik - Toulouse from July 29, once a week, on Wednesdays.

The company has opted for a minimum number of weekly frequencies, only once a week, but will expect an increase in the number of flights next month. B717 and A319 aircraft have been announced on all routes.

Furthermore, Ex Yu Aviation reports that Ryanair subsidiary Lauda has sacked plans to launch flights between Vienna and Dubrovnik, which were meant to kick off this summer. Recall, flights were initially meant to start on March 29 but were pushed back to August 1 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ex Yu Aviation writes that this line was to operate twice per week, and was to be performed by Ryanair equipment on behalf of Lauda. Austrian Airlines resumed its seasonal service between Vienna and Dubrovnik in June.

To conclude, Avio Radar reports that Swiss airline Helvetic Airways plans to travel to Brac soon. Namely, the airline will travel from Zurich on July 27, with return on Thursday, July 30. Helvetic has only Embraer ERJ-190 aircraft in its fleet. All Fokker F-100s left the fleet by December last year. The flights are in cooperation with the Swiss travel agency Meersicht Travel & Lifestyle. 

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

July 16, 2020 - The new government of Andrej Plenkovic should have 16 departments, and it will have four vice presidents in addition to the prime minister. The new government will also be much younger, with an average age of 46. 

Jutarnji List reports that the youngest ministers will be Ivan Malenica, who has not yet turned 35, and Josip Aladrovic (35), while the oldest is Gordan Grlic Radman, who is 62 years old. There will be at least four women in the government.

Davor Bozinovic will continue being Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, and Zdravko Maric Minister of Finance. The new vice president for national security will be Croatian Defense Minister Tomo Medved.

From the national minorities, which with their eight deputies are the second strongest partner in the new ruling majority, SDSS's Boris Milosevic is coming as Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Human Rights.

All the ministers who remain without positions in the Government, namely Vesna Bedekovic, Marko Pavic, Gari Cappelli and Drazen Bosnjakovic, will be members of Parliament.

As Jutarnji already unofficially announced, the Ministry of Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy could be divided between three departments. The Ministry of Health, which will continue to be headed by Vili Beros, could be joined by the Ministry of Social Policy, while the current Ministry of Labor and Pension System, headed by Josip Aladrovic, should be joined by a section covering family and demography. However, this is not yet the final decision because Aladrovic may eventually have the social welfare department.

The 'new' Ministry of Tourism should be called the Ministry of Tourism, Youth and Sports, and it will be headed by Nikolina Brnjac.

Brnjac was also mentioned as a possible candidate for the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, but in the end, it was decided that Natasa Tramisak, the current head of the Administrative Department for Investments, Development Projects and EU Funds in Osijek-Baranja County, should take over from Marko Pavic. She is also the only candidate of Slavonian HDZ members who had to get at least one ministry, considering their result in the elections in Slavonia.

Either the Ministry of Regional Development or the Ministry of Agriculture is in the game, which will continue to be led by Marija Vuckovic.

Mario Banozic will no longer be the Minister of State Property but will become the new Minister of Defense after Damir Krsticevic resigned, while the department of state property will be merged with the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning, headed by the current Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, Darko Horvat.

The Department of Economy will merge with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Tomislav Coric will be the head of this mega-ministry.

The departments of justice and administration will also merge. The new Ministry of Justice and Administration will be headed by the current Minister of Administration, Ivan Malenica. Gordan Grlic Radman is the new-old Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Oleg Butkovic remains in the position of Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, while Nina Obuljen Korzinek will continue to head the Ministry of Culture.

Only the question of the new Minister of Science and Education remains open. It was speculated that Radovan Fuchs would take over the ministry, then that it might be led by the current assistant Ivana Franic. HDZ/EPP MEP Tomislav Sokol was mentioned as a possible candidate, and the latest information is that it could be Mato Njavro, vice dean of the Zagreb School of Economics and Management.

But all these speculations were unofficially denied by the Government, and that remains the only open question.

On Wednesday, Andrej Plenkovic and his HDZ associates held a working lunch at the well-known Zagreb restaurant Baltazar with the new ruling majority. All representatives of minorities were present at lunch - the president of HSLS Dario Hrebak, the president of HNS Predrag Stromar and the president of the Reformists Radimir Cacic.

The last meeting in Baltazar in a similar composition was held in September last year when Milan Bandic threatened not to support the budget, and even then, the Prime Minister said that he would like to continue cooperation in the next term with those who enter Parliament. 

At the working lunch, the Prime Minister spoke to the partners about the new architecture of the Government, presented the further dynamics of events until the constitution of the Parliament and the new Government, and about the Government's program. Namely, separate agreements will not be signed with the coalition partners, but their ideas and demands will be heard and what is logical will be incorporated into the joint program of the Government.

"The conversation took place in an excellent atmosphere and we talked about the cooperation so far and everything we have achieved together in the first term. I also presented the dynamics of this and next week. After the official election results are announced on Thursday, I will have a meeting with the President of the Republic, and after I get the mandate to form the Government, he and the Speaker of Parliament will agree on the first constituent session scheduled for next week," said Plenkovic after lunch. He added that it is first a matter of voting on systemic laws on the new government, and then a vote of confidence in the government. The constituent session of the Parliament is planned for July 22 in the Parliament building, and the next day, Thursday, a vote of confidence in the Government will be held. There will be no parliamentary sessions on Friday.

SEC President Đuro Sessa will bring the final results of the presidential election to Pantovcak on Thursday at 11 am, and then at 11:30 am, Plenkovic will come with 76 signatures, and the President will entrust him with the mandate to form the Government at around 12 noon.

The Prime Minister said that on Thursday he would announce the structure of the new government and the number of ministries, and on Monday, after the session of the HDZ Presidency, he would also announce the names of the new-old ministers.

"We have drafted the Government's program based on our "Safe Croatia" program, we will consult with partners to see what their programs are and we will incorporate all this into the joint program of the Government," said Plenkovic.

He also said that the partners would participate in the form of state secretaries in the government.

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

July 16, 2020 - Zagreb's Mladost defended the title of the Adriatic Regional League, defeating the host Jug AO Dubrovnik 15-11 (3-2, 3-5, 7-2, 2-2) in the final played at the open swimming pool in Dubrovnik's Gruz.

HRT reports that Mladost reached their second title in this competition primarily with a great third quarter, which they won 7-2. The team from Zagreb managed to neutralize Loren Fatovic, who scored as many as five goals in the first two quarters, while the other players of the home team were utterly harmless in the attack.

On the other hand, Harkov filled Popadic's net with three goals and Cuk with two long-range shots. Perhaps the critical moment of the game happened in the middle of the third quarter, more precisely with the 10-8 result for Mladost, when the referees assessed that after Papanastasiou's shot, the ball did not cross the goal line, although the impression is that the Jug center scored.

The most efficient player for Mladost was Serbian player Milos Cuk with five goals, Konstantin Harkov added three, Alexander Bowen and Lovre Miloc scored two, and Cosmin Radu, Luka Bukic and Josip Vrlic scored one goal each. Loren Fatovic scored six times for Jug AO, though no one else scored more than one goal, including Filip Krzic, Danil Merkulov, Marko Zuvela, Hrvoje Benic and Paulo Obradovic. Ivan Marcelic was also great at the gates of Mladost with 14 saves.

Jug AO and Mladost will soon start the final series of the playoffs for the title of Croatian champion. The champion will be the team that is the first to achieve three victories, and the first game on the program is on Saturday in Dubrovnik.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

July 16, 2020 - The President of the Croatian Football Federation, Davor Suker, hosted Eduardo Alves da Silva, the former prominent member of the Croatia national team, who will be the HNS ambassador at the European Championship next year.

Eduardo gladly accepted the proposal to be the ambassador of the Croatian Football Federation and the Croatia national team at Euro 2020, which has been postponed to the summer of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The favorite 'Dudu' will once again be with the national team, for which he played 64 times and scored 29 goals, which makes him the third-best scorer of in Vatreni history, behind Suker (45) and Mario Mandzukic (33).

Eduardo interviewed for the official HNS website.

How did this cooperation with HNS come about?

Last Christmas I was in Zagreb, I visited President Suker and through a conversation, he suggested the idea to me. I gladly agreed. I will be honored to be the ambassador of HNS and the Croatia national team at the upcoming Euro.

EURO 2020 will be Croatia's eleventh major competition in history. Is this confirmation of good work in Croatian football?

The results of the HNS speak for themselves. Croatia is continuously a participant in major competitions, and when you have two medals from world championships in 20 years, there is nothing more to add. I see that this high level is maintained even today, that great talents are being developed that will keep Croatia at a high level in the future as well. Quality work with young people is undoubtedly what sets Croatia apart from others, and I am thrilled that President Suker and the current leadership recognize this and invest in it.

Croatia is coming to the EURO as the World Cup finalist. How did you experience the World Cup in Russia?

Then I played in Poland, where I watched all the matches of our national team. I played for Croatia for ten years and I am aware of the quality that this national team has. Several times we really missed the chance for great success, especially in 2008 against Turkey and 2016 against Portugal. In 2012, we had an objectively difficult group with two finalists, but even then, we played very good football. So I'm not surprised that Croatia reached the final because I know these guys and I know how good they are. I played with 80 percent of these guys and I’m so glad they achieved such a fantastic success.

The captain of Vatreni, Luka Modric, also achieved incredible success, with whom you shared the locker room at Dinamo and the national team. Could you have predicted that Luka's career would develop like this?

As a young footballer, each of us dreams of being the best in the world, like our role models like Zidane and Romario. I played a lot with Luka, even against him a few times when he was at Tottenham and at Real, and he really deserved everything that happened to him. He built his career carefully, step by step, and reached the highest possible level that he earned with his quality and his work.

Regardless of the departures of several essential players after the World Cup, Croatia triumphantly went through the qualifications. What can the Vatreni do at Euro 2020?

It was expected that there would be a small drop after the World Cup because every new team needs time to play. See how much time Klopp needed and now this Liverpool team is the champion of Europe and England. It is now clear that Croatia is again ready to be competitive at the Euro and come far again.

Everyone's plans were thwarted by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

Of course, we are all sorry that a virus has appeared that, among other things, has affected the football calendar in the same way. However, for Croatia as well as for others - I don't think it will be too much of a problem. It remains to be seen what the situation will be with the fans because Croatia is used to playing with great support from the stands.

How do you view the opponents who await Croatia at the Euros?

Whoever qualifies for the big competition is a serious team. England and Croatia are the favorites on paper. England is the host and is of very high quality, and Croatia is a World Cup finalist. But the Czech Republic is a team that plays well in the final tournaments, and whoever comes as the fourth team in the group will also be a tough opponent. Still, of course, I see Croatia as one of the passengers in the next round.

As an extremely successful striker, how do you rate Croatia's center forwards today?

The strikers are certainly among the most important figures on the pitch for any team. Football has changed a lot; there are not so many traditional "nines" but the striker is expected to work a lot for the team, cooperate and open the space with wings that score a lot of goals. Still, it’s important to have a striker who can score from nothing. I think that Croatia has excellent solutions in the attack in Petkovic and Kramaric, and we shouldn't be worried about that position.

You can read the full interview on the HNS website. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

As Vedran Marjanovic/Novac writes on the 15th of July, 2020, in the midst of the preparations for the recently held parliamentary elections, the Government expanded the circle of Croatian citizens who have the ability to exercise the right to have their additional health insurance paid out from the state budget, of which there have been about 670,000 so far.

These are, among others, 378 thousand family members and single people who have a lower income, about 150 thousand students and about 29 thousand insured persons with 100% disability.

It is estimated that under the new Law on Voluntary Health Insurance, the right for the state to pay for their additional health insurance will be exercised by another 200 thousand Croatian citizens this year alone, with a belief that in 2021, the state budget, due to the effects of cononavirus on the economy, will be obliged to pay for the additional health insurance for close to one million citizens.

''Detailed analyses of the number of insured persons who are entitled to a supplementary health insurance policy on the basis of the income census at the expense of the state budget of the Republic of Croatia are still being prepared, and we'll be able to provide accurate information later on. Last year, 520 million kuna was allocated from the state budget for supplementary health insurance policies at the expense of the Croatian state budget, ie around 779.87 kuna per policy or per insured person,'' the Croatian Health Insurance Institute (HZZO) answered in response to the question of just how many Croatian citizens will have their additional health insurance politices paid for from the state budget, and in what amount(s).

In any case, back in May this year, the Government decided to change the formula according to which the right to additional health insurance is determined at the expense of the state for Croatian citizens of a lower financial status. According to the old regulation, the basis for exercising the right was the amount of income of 1,516 kuna for a family member, or 1939 kuna for a single person. Anyone below that amount was able to receive supplementary health insurance payments from the state budget.

The problem, however, for many families and single people who have exercised the right to have their additional health insurance paid by the state arose when, due to some increase in their pension or salaries, they transferred the aforementioned amounts back to them and as such, they were left without this assistance from the state. If we take the average annual expenditure of almost 780 kuna, it is certainly not small for families and single people of a lower financial status. In addition, the cost of living is constantly increasing, which increases in pensions or salaries can barely keep up with.

''About 260,000 low-income Croatian citizens remained without their additional health insurance payments being made directly from the state budget from 2012 to 2020 due to a typically very minimal increase in their income,'' claimed MP and President of the Croatian Pensioners' Party, Silvano Hrelja, who sent a proposal to Parliament last year with the aim of changing the formula for calculating the ''threshold'' for the exercising of the right to have this paid from the budget.

Hrelja stateed that the goal of his bill was to increase the threshold for family members of a lower financial status by 313 kuna, and for single people by around 400 kuna.

''The Government rejected my bill on the grounds that it was financially unacceptable for the budget, although I calculated that the implementation of the law as proposed by the budget would cost an additional fifty million kuna in 2019 and 100 million kuna this year. Then, the Government passed a regulation according to which the income census increased by 47 kuna for family members and by 61 kuna for single people of a lower financial status,'' Hrelja explained.

Under the new Voluntary Health Insurance Act, the threshold for exercising the right to have additional health insurance payments paid for by the state is aligned with the growth of the cost of living and the rate of change of the average gross salary in the country. According to the remarks of the Government submitted to the Parliament with the proposal of the aforementioned law, the threshold for the realisation of the payment of additional health insurance payments from the state budget will increase this year to 1563 kuna and 25 lipa for family members, or by 2000 kuna for singles, and thus the coverage of Croatian citizens who are free to exercise that right will be greater.

While HZZO stated that the amount of additional health insurance policies that could be paid for by the state, the Government stated that the expected number of newly insured persons who could meet the conditions for the payment of this type of insurance from the budget is around 200 thousand, with the corresponding annual additional budget expenditure standing at 160 million kuna.

''At this time, we're not able to increase the funds from the state budget to cover additional health insurance policies, given the fact that this depends on the indexation or harmonisation of the income threshold with changes in the average consumer price index, as well as changes in the average gross wage at the end of the year, this also regards the available funds in the state budget,'' they stated from HZZO.

The aforementioned political party claimed that the new coverage of the right to have additional health insurance payments paid out from the state budget will cover a maximum of 13 thousand newly insured persons, ie, that the Government actually released completely incorrect estimates in their notes to the proposal of the Law on Voluntary Health Insurance.

For more, follow our lifestyle section.