ZAGREB, 12 May 2022 - Croatia has recorded 637 new coronavirus cases and seven COVID-related deaths in the past 24 hours, and currently there are 4,781 active cases in the country, the national coronavirus response team reported on Thursday. 

There are 386 hospitalised patients, 17 of whom are on ventilators, and 2,348 people are self-isolating.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic in Croatia, a total of 1,129,836 COVID cases have been registered and 15,912 people have died as a consequence.

To date, a total of 4,828,304 tests have been conducted, including 4,231 in the past 24 hours.

As of 11 May, a total of 5,248,022 doses of a COVID vaccine have been administered and 59.50% of the total population has been inoculated or 70.77% of the adult population, including 68.71% of the adult population fully vaccinated. 

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

May 12, 2022 - Last week's Work. Place. Culture. conference combined animated discussions on the remote work revolution with Dubrovnik's stylish and versatile conference settings. The first in a 4-part series looking at 4 incredible and very productive days - the opening night at Sponza Palace.  

There are few cities that do it better than Dubrovnik when it comes to putting on a how of heritage, beauty and hospitality, and so it proved again last week for the latest step the Pearl of the Adriatic is taking in its digital nomad story. 

Having hosted the first-ever digital nomad conference in Croatia back in October 2020, Dubrovnik for Digital Nomads, followed by the award-winning Digital Nomads-in-Residence program in April last year, the City of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik Tourist Board, continued its cooperation with Saltwater Nomads and Total Croatia News, with additional support from the Croatian National Tourist Board, Digital Nomad Association Croatia, and Dubrovnik Heritage, with the Work. Place. Culture. conference. 

(Sponza Palace, which hosted the opening night, sponsored by the Croatian National Tourist Board)

The 3-day event, which attracted a high-quality lineup of global speakers, including three of the top 10 LinkedIn voices on remote work, was chiefly held at Lazareti, but with other components dotted around the city, showcasing the beauty and magic of Croatia's most famous tourist destination, and allowing stimulating conversations to take place in relaxed environments. 

Having attended each day and watched attendees marvel at each setting, I thought an in-depth look not only at the conference but how the city's various locations and treasures can add to a conference appeal, was a topic worth exploring in depth. 

(From left to right: Lucijana Jerkovic, Tanja Polegubic, Ana Hrnic, and Jelka Tepsic)

And how better to start than with a stroll down Stradun to be greeted by traditional guards at the entrance to Sponza Palace? Built in the 16th century in a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles, the inner courtyard is one of the city's most picturesque meeting points. 

The Croatian National Tourist Board sponsored the welcome party, with Head of Global PR, Lucijana Jerkovic, joining Deputy Mayor Jelka Tepsic, Dubrovnik Tourist Board director, Ana Hrnic, Digital Nomad Association Croatia President, Jan de Jong, and Saltwater Nomads CEO, Tanja Polegubic, welcoming delegates to the conference to the soothing tunes of an accompanying saxophone. Check out the atmosphere in the opening night video by Hashtag Content Agency. 

Some photos from the opening night:

(Sally Bunnell, CEO of NaviSavi, who flew in from Nebraska, flanked by the marketing team from Sun Gardens Dubrovnik. NaviSavi won the 7-day Win a Workation competition at the luxury 5-star resort)

(Part of the sizable team from Albania, who came to learn and network, ahead of the inaugural Tirana Nomad Festival in September. The Estonian Tourist Board, considered European leaders in the digital nomad story, are behind to the right.)

(Dean Kuchel, self-proclaimed King of Digital Nomads, and a previous Zagreb Digital Nomad Ambassador, together with current Dubrovnik Digital Nomad Ambassadors, Yvette Pelgrom and Mandy Fransz)

(When NaviSavi met Saltwater Nomads)

A look at the first day of the conference, as well as more of Dubrovnik's picturesque conference settings, tomorrow. 

To learn more about the Work. Place. Culture. conference, visit the official website. 

For more news and features about digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section.

May 12, 2022 - In the atrium of the Croatian National Theater in Split, the Green Future Conference was officially presented, an international event held on June 8 and 9 at the Croatian National Theater in Split.

The Green Future conference will address the topic of green transition, one of the most attractive topics in the world of business, public policy, mobility, sustainability, finance, and every other sector and business. Over 40 foreign and domestic experts will attend the conference, who will try to bring this topic closer to those who will mark the coming years and explain how to adapt certain activities to the green transition quickly.

"Instead of going elsewhere to learn about some of today's most important topics, why not bring the best to our city? As a result, the idea was recognized not only by those living and doing business in Split but by large domestic and foreign tech companies. In addition, the idea was recognized by the European Commission, which is sending an ambassador for innovation, and Hajduk!

Incompatible? Absolutely compatible when so many great people and organizations come together with a good goal. I thank everyone who invested trust, knowledge, work, and energy in making the Green Future Conference happen in Split, and I invite you to be a part," said Antonija Eremut Erceg from the Organizing Committee of the Conference, whose importance is recognized by many stakeholders, sponsors, and partners who got involved.

The Green Future conference, among others, is supported by the two largest Croatian tech companies, Rimac Group and Infobip.

"I am thrilled that the organizers recognized us as a strategic partner in this project. It is essential to emphasize such topics in the public and media space because a green future is what we all strive for. Apart from the fact that Rimac Technology is a partner of the Green Future conference, it is a special pleasure that Croatia will be presented in a modern and advanced light, and this conference will certainly occupy an important place on the world map of business events. As we are an active participant in the conference, in addition to other big names from the world of business globally, visitors will have the opportunity to participate in a lecture by Roger Moorhouse, Powertrain Research Manager from Rimac Technology, who works with his team of experts to develop technological innovations in electric motors, for which the Rimac Group is known all over the world today. I believe that visitors will be delighted with the unique content in Split," said Miljenko Baković, product manager from Rimac Technology.

Although the process of green transition is a challenge for most, some companies have already recognized its importance and started implementation with the aim of a faster, more successful, and more profitable business.

"OTP banka has recognized the importance of sustainable financing and the challenges it poses to banks and non-financial companies. To this end, we are integrating ESG criteria into our strategy, and we have established a special department in the bank in charge of sustainable development. To soon feel the progress in sustainability and meet the requirements of the Green Plan, cooperation with all stakeholders is essential. The role of banks is to accelerate sustainable financing, for which we especially value data on company plans and insight into sustainability trends. The Green Future conference allows us to exchange practices and experiences and ask questions to which we do not yet have answers. Our President of the Management Board, Balázs Békeffy, will actively participate in the conference as a keynote speaker and member of the Management Board Zvonimir Akrap in the panel on sustainable financing. In addition, the Green Future conference will host several speakers with experience in policymaking, emphasizing mobility, and many other solutions used iin smart cities" said Silvija Bareša, Director of Corporate Communications of OTP banka d.d., the gold sponsor of the conference.

The City of Split is on the way to becoming a smart city in the complete sense of the word, which has already stepped in the direction of sustainability through the implementation of specific digital solutions.

"I am glad that we will have an international event in Split on a topic that changes our development and business strategies and daily choices for the better. The City of Split supports the Green Future Conference, and RaST will actively participate in the panel on smart cities. Oslo was the Green Capital of Europe in 2019. We want to know how they became it and what they learned from it. We brought Oslo to Split three years ago, to the conference from which Split's Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan emerged together with the Strategy. Its implementation will require external sources of funding and changes in the habits of citizens," said Goran Batinić, Director of the Development Agency Split, on behalf of the City of Split.

Conference participants have many years of experience in implementing smart and sustainable projects, ranging from transport to other digital solutions.

"Profico is a digital agency that markets its services mainly on foreign markets but has been one of the active creators of the local ecosystem for ten years. Starting from pioneering days in the startup community and co-organizing the Shift Startup conference to organizing numerous local events and training, we recognize green technologies as one of the new trends that we want to establish more strongly in the local community. That is why we joined the organization of this conference, which encourages the local community to think in the direction of new global trends and the development of globally applicable technologies," said Mateo Perak, director of Profico, one of the organizational partners of the conference.

The conference was also supported by Alijana Vukšić from the Split Tourist Board and Joško Stella from the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board and Split-Dalmatia County.

"Ever since the European Union gave guidelines for the green and digital transition, I have been thinking about how policymakers and private companies do not understand what this means and how a conference like this is needed to bring them closer, so this event helps us to bring it closer to the stakeholders who are important to us. I was very pleased with the news that the Green Future Conference is happening, and Split-Dalmatia County will stand behind it to the maximum, especially when we know that SDŽ is first in terms of solar energy in Croatia, first in planned solar and wind farms, and other renewable energy sources, and first in projects to restore the degraded coastal landscape. It is unique that something is happening at this level in Split, that we all learn something and share experiences," said Stipe Čogelja, Deputy Prefect of Split-Dalmatia County. 

The Green Future conference is a climate-neutral event held under the auspices of the two largest Croatian technology companies, Rimac and Infobip. Gold sponsors are OTP banka, A1, and Bosch, while sponsors are Daikin, Končar, and E&Y. The friends of the conference are Daikin, Professio energia, and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency, the City of Split and Hajduk. In addition, the conference is supported by Dwelt, Eutopia, GBC HUB, Croatian Green Building Council, Circuit, Business Psychology Lab, and the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Split. The organizational partners are Profico, Vajt, and Poduzetnik.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 12 May 2022 - In the first four months of this year, over 7,000 companies asked the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) for permission to hire nearly 50,000 foreign nationals to work in 300 different occupations, the Večernji List daily said on Thursday.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, around 84,000 foreign nationals were temporarily staying in Croatia in April, while about 10,000 had a permanent residence permit. They were mostly from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania, Ukraine, China, Nepal, India and the Philippines.

The jobs they are hired for are traditionally in short supply in Croatia and concern construction, tourism and hospitality, and the metal industry.

Between 2,300 and 3,000 applications were for assistant cooks, maids, cooks and bricklayers, and between 1,000 and 2,000 were for welders, locksmiths, plasterers, waiters/waitresses and cleaners.

Gross wages paid by companies may not be lower than the minimum wage for 2022, the newspaper quoted the HZZ as saying. The net monthly wage for a young foreigner without dependants would be between HRK 4,000 (€530) and 4,800 (€640).

The construction sector pays an average net monthly wage of around HRK 6,000 (€800), and the situation in the tourism and hospitality industry is similar. Highly-skilled workers are paid a gross wage of between HRK 7,100 (€945) and 7,600 (€1,010).

"No wonder then that there is a shortage of workers," Večernji List said. "Foreigners being hired by domestic companies are increasingly coming from very poor Asian countries," it added.

Although it is possible that in addition to the net wage employers pay per diems, non-taxable compensation, cover the cost of board and lodging for foreign workers, which increases their income and drives up the hourly wage, all that is too little for anyone to feel secure. In this way employers cannot count on getting the necessary number of workers, and workers cannot meet their basic needs, says the article signed by Ljubica Gatarić.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 12 May 2022 - Women MPs from Croatian leftist and liberal parties have called on the public to join protest rallies to be held in several cities across the country on Thursday evening in support of Mirela Čavajda and all women who are denied their legal right to abortion and other forms of medical care.

"It is high time we said enough is enough to the Church, to the (ruling) Croatian Democratic Union and Health Minister Vili Beroš or anyone else who has the cheek to decide on a daily basis on women's rights and the human rights of any individual to decide on their own body. Today we all have a chance to speak out for human rights and women's rights, because if we stay on the sidelines, tomorrow our daughters, granddaughters, mothers, sisters, acquaintances and girlfriends will have to justify their decisions to hypocrites and chauvinists," Mirela Ahmetović of the Social Democratic Party told a joint press conference.

This protest is the foundation for amending the law to enable women to use their own bodies as they saw fit, Ahmetović said, stressing that such an amendment was inevitable and would certainly happen. "Let's show that we are undivided on this issue," she added.

"It is important that we say enough is enough to the tyranny," Ivana Kekin of the Green-Left Bloc said and added: "All opinion polls show that 70 per cent of citizens think that women have the right to decide about their own body. We are all on the same side in this regard."

Kekin said that human, women's and reproductive rights are not respected in Croatia because of a conservative revolution that has been going on for decades. "It is no coincidence that the most conservative people are in charge of the most important health institutions which deny the right to a pregnancy termination."

Katarina Peović of the Workers' Front called for the right to abortion to be restored in the Constitution. "If the right to abortion were included in the Constitution, it would be difficult to interpret it in different ways. It is also important to admit that the Church is highly responsible for the retraditionalisation of society," she said.

"We've had enough of seeing our citizens, including women, going abroad to exercise their rights. Croatia cannot survive like that," Dalija Orešković (Centre) warned.

Protest rallies have been scheduled for 6 pm on Thursday in Zagreb, Pula, Rijeka, Sisak, Split, Šibenik, Osijek, Zadar and the southern island of Korčula to express solidarity with Mirela Čavajda, a 39-year-old who has requested a pregnancy termination because the fetus has been diagnosed with massive brain cancer six months into her pregnancy.

Čavajda recently told the media that all the hospitals in Zagreb she had contacted refused to do a termination of the pregnancy despite the fact that doctors told her that the tumour was so big the child would most likely not live long, or even if it did, it would never have a normal life.

Her lawyer, Vanja Jurić, told Hina on Thursday that the decision by a second-instance commission, which has allowed Čavajda to have her pregnancy terminated, set a precedent in Croatia because it confirmed that a pregnancy termination in such cases was legal. She said they were pleased for the sake of all women who might find themselves in a similar situation in the future.

For more, check out our politics section.

Maay 12,  2022 - Croatia's best tennis player Marin Čilić advanced to the Italian Open round of 16, defeating Cameron Norrie 5:7, 6:2, 6:1!

Marin Čilić continues his campaign in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, this time beating Cameron Norrie 5:7, 6:2, 6:1 in the round of 32 on Wednesday. 

The British tennis player, even though he is ranked 11th in the world, was helpless against Marin Čilić who played the best match of the season and perhaps his best in years, especially in the second and third sets when Čilić strung together nine games!

Čilić couldn't win the first set in which he led 5:2. At 5:3, he served for 1:0 in sets, but he did not win a single point in that game. Then, on the opponent's serve, he missed one set point at 5:4, and after 5:2 lost a total of five games in a row and was behind the 11th player in the world.

But that did not affect Čilić at all, who played in a trance from the middle of the second set. He hit absolutely everything he could and won seven games in the second set! 

He quickly won the second set and then took a 3:0 lead in the third when Norrie sought the help of a physiotherapist due to pain in his right ankle. On the way back to the court, Čilić continued his series, which climbed to nine games. Čilić took the 5:0 lead in the third set and thus concluded the match.

Čilić recorded nine aces during the match with a first-serve percentage of 64 percent. He also used 10 break points.

In the round of 16, Čilić will play against the 45th player in the ATP rankings - Chilean Cristiano Garin. Marin and Cristiano played twice in their career and Čilić won both matches.

In the round of 64, Marin beat Matteo Arnaldi 6:1, 6:4. 

Source: HTS

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

May 12, 2022 -  Ivan Perišić scored two goals for Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia final against Juventus, celebrating the 4:2 victory after extra time!

After it was 2:2, the Croatian footballer scored for 3:2 from the penalty spot in the 98th minute. Then in the 102nd minute, he scored brilliantly for 4:2 and thus brought the trophy to the current Italian champion.

Perišić fired fantastically from the outside and defeated Matti Perin to become a great hero of his team. In the end, he was deservedly named the best player in the final. 

Previously, Nicolo Barella put Inter in the lead in the seventh minute. Juventus turned it around in the 50th minute with goals from Alex Sandra and Dušan Vlahović two minutes later. Inter came back from the penalty spot through Hakan Calhanoglu in the 80th minute, and then Perišić broke the Turin team in extra time and led Inter to their 8th Cup in history.

The cult Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport praised Perišić.

"The Croat was the best player in the match. Perišić was elusive, unstoppable, unconquerable, and what he did in extra time is incredible," writes Gazzetta and reminds that Perišić is also responsible for Inter's second goal, which saved his team in the 80th minute, with Juventus leading 2:1. "Then Dumfries centered, Perišić jumped from heaven and thus allowed the ball to reach Martinez. He was knocked down by De Ligt, which is why Inter got a penalty that Calhanoglu turned into a goal."

However, extra time offered the best game for the Inter star, who is in his 30s:

"We should check the authenticity of the documents of the 33-year-old from Omiš because it is impossible for someone to play like this at that age. Ivan is unstoppable and untouchable, he is one of the oldest on the pitch, but that doesn't stop him from playing great in the most exhausting position.

His role requires him to run 60-meter sprints repeatedly, but he is consistently decisive and devastating. While others were falling from exhaustion, he was beginning to have fun and destroy Juventus. With the first goal from the penalty spot, which he scored as if pressing a button on the remote, he destroyed Inter's half of the stadium and soon after caused ecstasy.

Although practically a veteran, he showed that he certainly has the fuel for another assault and triumphantly scored a bullet from the left. After he scored, the Inter bench flocked to the field to celebrate Ivan the Untouchable." 

Gazzetta concludes: "Two goals to win and a trophy in extra time, a sky jump to save Inter towards the end of the regular season, and a thousand other useful things. Perišić is a champion who can afford to prosecute the club after a game like this because he has not yet renewed his contract, which expires in a month."

Like Perišić, Marcelo Brozović played all 120 minutes for Inter to secure their 8th Cup title and the first after 2011. 

Brozović was rated 7.5 in the Cup final match. "Inter can't do without him, and Brozović once again showed why. The Croat ensured quality and quantity. Controlled the pace of the match as a maestro. He was great at everything he did, brilliantly."

Interestingly, this was only the third match between Inter and Juventus in the Cup final. 

Source: Index.hr

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

May the 12th, 2022 - The very successful Croatian company AKD is succeeding more internationally, having offered its solution to the neighbouring Slovenian Finance Ministry and been readily accepted for the job.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, for five years now, the Public Payments Administration of the Ministry of Finance has selected the Croatian company AKD and ED Solutions as the issuer of unique identification marks for unit and aggregate packaging of tobacco products as an integral part of the European Union's overall traceability system.

This is a continuation of successful cooperation because the system was first established back in May 2019, and neighbouring Slovenia then implemented the appropriate regulation (EU) 2018/574 on technical standards for the establishment and operation of traceability systems for tobacco products.

The greatest value of this system is in the information it makes available to bodies working to combat the operations of the black market, but the benefits are also reflected in the healthcare system - ensuring the easy verification of product origin, which allows for the swift removal of non-compliant products from the market.

It's worth noting that the Croatian company AKD was a leader in development processes in the European Union as a Croatian issuer, thanks to which the Republic of Croatia was the first member state to publish the official version of the system back in April 2019 and start registering business entities.

In addition, this Croatian company has established a traceability system for customs seals, alcoholic beverages, and will incorporate its knowledge and expertise and positive practices gained through successful projects to establish a traceability system for the production and distribution chain into new services in various sectors.

In the near future, the European Commission envisages the introduction of digital product passports, which will enable product labeling, identification and linking to various sources of information relevant to the circular economy and sustainability. According to CEO Jure Sertic, AKD is ready for new European Commission requirements regarding EU digital product passports which will enable end-users and customers to make better-informed decisions, increase transparency and assist national authorities in quality control and supervision.

For more, check out our business section.