ZAGREB, 21 April 2022 - The government will provide financial assistance to beekeepers in Međimurje after the mass death of bees, Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković said on Thursday after a government session.

She recalled that the government had helped local beekeepers after the scourge of bees in 2020 when about 40 honey farmers were given 1,300 bee colonies and the aid was worth HRK 1 million.

Vučković said that now the authorities were waiting for the findings of a veterinary inspection to establish whether the mass death was caused by a contagious disease or if the bees were killed by the effects of the use of protective chemical agents. Recently, an estimated 17.5 million bees in about 350 beehives in Međimurje have been found poisoned.

Local apiarists say that the wrong application of protective agents in fruit growing as well as in rapeseed cultivation has led to the mass poisoning of bees.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 21 April 2022 - After a two-year break, the SSSH union federation will mark International Workers' Day on 1 May with a protest march and rally in Zagreb to warn about the need for pay rises, better protection of workers' rights, and collective bargaining.

After two years when International Workers' Day could not be observed due to COVID, the conditions now exist for doing it in a safe and appropriate way, with a protest, Dijana Šobota of the SSSH told the press on Thursday.

€750 minimum wage goal by 2026

SSSH president Mladen Novosel said the unions' goal was for the average pay to be at least €1,500 and minimum wage €750 by 2026. He is confident the goal will be achieved through collective agreements, which, he said, some employers continue to refuse.

The protest rally will be the first warning that we will do everything in the coming period to have a clear system and pace of collective bargaining in the private sector as well as maximum coverage of workers with collective agreements, he said.

We demand that the government, as the employer, raise wages in the public sector in line with GDP and inflation growth, and that, as the legislator, it encourages collective bargaining and reduces currying favor with employers, he added.

Novosel said that despite the government's measures, the cost of living had additionally increased due to the war in Ukraine and that he hoped the government would agree to public sector unions' pay rise demands.

For more, check out our politics section.

April 22, 2022 - Aa breakdown of the Split fast food scene with go-to tips for the best grilled chicken, ćevapi, burek, and sandwiches in the city.

Split like any city in Croatia has a lot of fast food places that serve street food and are adored by both the locals and the foreigners. But still, I have this thesis that Splićani have a unique relationship with their fast foods.

People from Split aka Splićani adore food but are always in a hurry since they try to fit 15 hours in a 12-hour day. So it is not a coincidence that this form of food preparation is very common in our everyday life.  There is a rumour that once you cross the Sveti Rok tunnel, you cannot order a boiled egg as a topping in most fast food places. I cannot imagine a world without boiled eggs as a topping. 

I will try to divide the Split fast food scene into the following categories: best grilled chicken, best čevapi, best burek, and best sandwich since these are the most preferred meals.

Best grilled chicken

This meal is extremely popular in Split, and it is usually less frequent in other parts of the country. You get a flatbread or tortilla with grilled chicken fillet in it and you choose the toppings (vegetables, sauces, etc.). This quick and tasty meal is best at Kaleta, Šešula, Ježurko and Bili Pivac. Kaleta is plain and simple but certainly one of the most popular ones, because of their freshly baked flatbreads and perfectly seasoned chicken.  Šešula offers some innovative combinations such as chicken and shrimps, chicken with prosciutto and Parmigiano, and chicken with asparagus and bacon, all served inside a flatbread. Ježurko is famed for its "čarobna" (translates into magical) which is deep-fried chicken breast filled with cheese and ham served in a bread bun. And last but not least is Bili Pivac, which is not technically in Split but on the outskirts of it, in the suburb of Strožanac. Bili Pivac offers 8 different chicken dishes called “Travel around the world in 8 chicken sandwiches” which include Italiano, Americano, Curry, Mexican fire, Dalmatinac, Gyros, Slavonac, and Gorgonzola. The fact that Splićani travel outside of the city just to eat their chicken speaks volumes about them.

Best ćevapi

Ćevapi is a traditional grilled meat dish that originates from Bosnia and Herzegovina but is widely represented across the Balkan region. Ćevap is grilled minced meat rolled like a small sausage and it is served inside a flatbread with toppings which include “ajvar” (roasted pepper and eggplant spread),  “kajmak” (clotted cream-like product), and onions. It is worth mentioning that Ćevapi are usually served in sit-down restaurants, but in Split, they are often eaten on the go.

The best čevapi in Split are the following Gyros, Densi, Ba!će, Lozo, and Kantun Paulina. Everyone in Split has their favourite place to eat čevapi and each one has its own style so I would simply recommend trying them all.

Best burek

Burek is a traditional dish originating from Turkey, but again very popular in Croatia. It is a savory pastry filled with cheese, meat, and other combinations. We can distinguish between two types of burek, the traditional one baked in a round baking tin and cut into triangles and the other one which is rolled in a spiral and more commonly called pita. The triangle one can be found in every bakery as part of their usual offering but there is also ST-Burek which is specialized in burek. On the other hand, Burek Pita Jelo and Moja jedina Pita are specialized in making spiral burek and they offer a larger variety of fillings besides the regular meat and cheese, such as pumpkin, leeks, spinach, and other combinations.

Best sandwich

I don't know if this is a thing in other parts of Croatia or in other parts of the world, but Splićani have a love for sandwiches. Every fast food in Split has a sandwich as part of its offer and it is usually the most modest meal but at the same time one of the most popular, especially among the younger generation. In Split, a sandwich is called "topli" which translates to warm, but it is actually a toasted sandwich with ham, cheese, and toppings. I would recommend Loza, Medeni, Popaj, and Sedmica for this type of fast food.

The absolute king of un-toasted freshly made sandwiches is Rizzo sandwich bar. Rizzo deserves a special sub-category among sandwiches since it is praised for its freshly baked bread and aa delicious variety of ingredients.

Needless to say, the Split fast food scene is very specific since every food facility that offers the aforementioned meals is considered fast food and there is simply a bunch of those. Fast foods are changing as time goes by, but these meals are sure to stay for a long time while offering fast, simple, and on-the-go meals for locals as well as tourists. 

Locations:

Pizzeria Kaleta Ul. Zrinsko Frankopanska 9

Bili Pivac (Jurasova ul. 970, 21312 Podstrana)

Fast Food Šešula (Paraćeva 19)

Fast Food Ježurko (Ul. Domovinskog rata 66)

Gyros travnički ćevap (Ul. Domovinskog rata 57)

Fast Food Den-si (https://goo.gl/maps/sawiVR3oFNb4hAjk6)

Ba!će (Križeva ulica 1)

Fast Food Lozo (Vukovarska ul. 48)

Kantun Paulina (Matošića ul. 1)

ST-Burek (Domaldova ul. 13) 

Burek Pita Jelo (Put Plokita 87)

Moja jedina Pita  (Ul. Tolstojeva 32)

Fast Food Medeni (multiple locations)

Fast Food Popaj (multiple locations)

Fast Food Best - Sedmica (Domovinskog rata 22)

Rizzo sandwich bar  (multiple locations)

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

One of the joys of living and writing about Croatia over the last 20 years has been the constant stream of new discoveries. When I first bought my house back in 2002 on Hvar, there was very little in the English-speaking media about Croatia apart from the aftermath of war and the fabled coast of former Yugoslavia.

I myself knew little about my new home island (having only heard its name 2 days before I arrived and agreed my purchase), but it was not long before I got to learn just what a treasure I had stumbled upon. Named by Conde Nast in 1997 as one of the top 10 most beautiful islands in the world, few had bothered to delve any deeper into the island beyond the beach and the nightlife, and when I started my first blog, Total Hvar, back in 2011, I began to discover a real bunch of treasures. For here was an island which boasted the oldest public theatre in Europe, had more UNESCO heritage than any island in the world, several outstanding grape varieties found only in the island's excellent wines, and even (it seems) the oldest olive tree in the country dating back some 2,500 years. The more I researched, the more I learned, and the more even locals followed the blog so that they could learn more about the island of their birth from this curious foreigner. 

But it wasn't just Hvar. As I became more established as a writer based in Croatia and curious about the Croatia away from the beach, the more interesting the inbox became. Did I know about... would I like to attend... come and see this unique festival... Over the years, the invitations have been constant, inspiring, and often unique - it has been genuinely a privilege to learn - and write about - such interesting topics as rarely get reported on outside the Croatian language. 

And one thing I have learned over the years here was that Croatia would always be the most surprising when I least expected it. And so it proved a few years ago, when a chap called Ognjen Bagatin asked me to come to his polyclinic. He was a long-term fan of my blog and had something to show me that he thought I would find interesting. 

Croatia's medical tourism industry. 

An industry I had not even heard about in my 15 years living in the country, but within an hour of Ognjen's time and a subsequent tour of three Zagreb facilities, I realised that here was an incredible gem that was already competing on the world stage in terms of excellence and affordability, and was - once again - a Croatian tourism story untold. After a tour of Bagatin Clinic, St Catherine's Specialty Hospital, and Svjetlost Eye Clinic, I was hooked and wrote the first of many articles on medical tourism in Croatia and its potential - Health Tourism is Coming Home: Why Zagreb is the Next Big Medical Tourism Destination.

(Ognjen Bagatin with his Berlin award)

And it seems that my introductory medical tourism facilities were rather impressive on the world stage. A couple of years later, I was in Berlin at the International Medical Travel Journal awards, as Bagatin won best international cosmetic surgery in the world. St Catherine's (among MANY other things) was the first facility in Europe to partner with Mayo Clinic on its innovative OneOme pharmacogenetic test, and a host of global celebrities were heading to Zagreb to fix their eyes at Svjetlost, including Ivana Trump.

(Ivana Trump with much better vision after a visit to Svjetlost - Photo credit: Svjetlost.hr)

And yet, as impressive as the Zagreb medical tourism offer appeared to be, the really exciting centre of Croatia's medical tourism industry appeared to be on the coast close to Rijeka, in the region of Kvarner. Hvar (another amazing thing I learned about my adopted island) was the home of organised health tourism in Europe, dating back to 1868, but Opatija and the Crikvenica riviera were not far behind, and they had built on their impressive history by offering a quite phenomenal range of leading medical tourism services. One clinic in Rijeka was treating a staggering 60,000 (mostly Italian) dental patients a year. The key factors being high quality and low price. 

Just how much of a saving, and just how much of an impact that successful medical tourism can have, is encapsulated in Carl's Story, one of the best Croatian tourism promotion stories I have ever come across - and a story which transformed Carl's mouth, self-confidence and future, while saving him tens of thousands of dollars. You can read the story here. 

For me, the epicentre of Croatian medical tourism excellence pivoted around the annual Crikvenica International Health Tourism conference, which brought together the best of the country's health tourism experts, as well as some truly world-class speakers and examples of best practice, including Sherine Azli, CEO of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council, whose interview with TCN had me on a flight to Kuala Lumpur the following year to collect a media award for medical tourism. 

Having attended the 2018 and 2019 conferences in Crikvenica, the 2021 conference opened my eyes to a new synergy for Croatian tourism, and one which had not been discussed before - digital nomads and remote workers. One of the key target markets for the industry was the 1.2 million Croatian diaspora in the United States, and with the Cleveland Clinic CEO himself a Croat, word of Croatian medical excellence was an easy story to tell. It was a good strategy, and the work done by ACAP (Association of Croatian American Professionals) was commendable. 

But by 2021 - at least in my opinion - the market had changed considerably, and one of Croatia's most untapped tourism potentials revealed itself. Listening to the ACAP presentation on efforts to promote to the 1.2 million diaspora made a lot of sense, but the world had changed since the 2019 conference. And rather than working hard to persuade a niche market to board a plane from halfway across the world, a new, much bigger market presented itself, with the additional benefit that they were already here. 

Digital nomads. 

Croatia is becoming one of the hottest nomad destinations in Europe, as more and more people are choosing to spend time working remotely from Croatia. They are attracted by the lifestyle, climate, nature, gastronomy, safety, spoken English, great WiFi, affordability and accessibility. All great reasons to come and spend a month or twelve. 

But very few foreigners know of the excellence and affordability of Croatia's medical tourism offer. From dental services and cosmetic surgery, to eye surgery and physiotherapy, the best of the best in Croatia compares with the very best in the world in numerous cases, but at a fraction of the price. 

And with the increased flexibility and mobility of the workforce, it has never been easier to plan for affordable medical procedures - and the recuperation time in idyllic nature, climate and lifestyle as might be necessary. 

Croatia, your safe, affordable, lifestyle destination where your medical needs can be addressed for a fraction of the price back home. It is perhaps not classic tourism, but it is tourism which is sustainable, lucrative, and for the future. The stars are aligning on this latest tourism gift. It remains to be seen if Croatia will take advantage. 

To learn more about medical tourism in Croatia, check out the dedicated Total Croatia guide.   

April 21, 2022 - With less than two weeks to go until the Work.Place.Culture conference kicks off in Dubrovnik, TCN continues to present the elite lineup of speakers who, through their experiences and wisdom, will put the Pearl of the Adriatic on the digital nomad world map. Up next, a house favorite: Dean Kuchel on the power of yes and connecting your way around the world.

In the midst of a pandemic that to this day still has no end, cities like Dubrovnik stepped forward to change the way they positioned themselves in the tourism industry. There had to be something beyond the flights, the cruise ships, and the hundreds of thousands of tourists walking its ancient streets, and that is when Dubrovnik, in an exemplary union between the city administration and its tourism board, turned its attention to a group that in recent years has been revolutionizing the concept of remote work in Croatia: digital nomads.

Back in July 2020, the city and tourist board of Dubrovnik agreed to a proposal from Saltwater Nomads and Total Croatia News to put it on the map for digital nomads. Following Croatia’s first Digital Nomads conference in October 2020, the city was presented with a program for 2021 that would help attract digital nomads to visit, and stay, in the city. Tanja Polegubic, the founder of Saltwater, proposed a unique event - a digital nomad in residence program. A competition to select 10 nomads from around the world, who would then live in Dubrovnik for a month and collaborate on a plan to make the city more attractive to the digital nomad community. The program was promoted through Total Croatia News and drew global interest. The event came to life in April 2021 with the digital nomads in residence arriving in the city. Over four weeks, the Saltwater program team facilitated a series of workshops involving the visiting nomads, the city, the tourist board, and the local community.

This year, and to continue to show that Dubrovnik is on the way to being a hotspot for digital nomads, Saltwater Nomads, the City of Dubrovnik, the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, the Digital Nomads Association Croatia (DNA Croatia), the Croatian National Tourist Board and Total Croatia News will hold the first Work.Place.Culture. conference from May 5 to 7 in Dubrovnik. Work.Place.Culture is the conference which brings work from anywhere to absolutely everywhere. Join remote professionals and destinations from around the world as they inspire a global workforce that has greater location flexibility than ever before, and the destinations which are reinventing to support them through policy, infrastructure, and community.

Most definitely, the soul of the conference (together with the magical city of Dubrovnik) will be its spectacular lineup of top speakers from the ever-evolving world of remote work. In recent weeks, TCN has shared a bit more about them, and this time it's Dean Kuchel's turn, a man who needs no introduction if you're talking about Croatia and digital nomads in the same sentence. Think of a country, and surely Dean has visited it. But the most important thing, beyond his surprising record of known countries, is his will and energy to promote the culture of remote work and the development of communities among digital nomads in each of those countries. Dean's first contact with Croatia as a destination for digital nomads was at the Zagreb Digital Nomad Week last year in June, where he drew everyone's attention with his life motto: ''Say yes, go explore!''. Later, he became Zagreb's digital nomad ambassador in September, and in the following months, he found time in his busy travel schedule to reconnect with Croatia, visiting Zagreb and Dubrovnik. Today, Dean shares with us his expectations ahead of the Work.Place.Culture conference.

Dean Kuchel and the Croatian digital nomad story seem to be intertwined. Great to see you coming back to conferences in both Dubrovnik and Zagreb in May and June. How long will you stay this time?

Between May and June, I plan to stay around a month in Croatia, I’m on a little bit of a tight schedule this summer trying to visit many friends and my family in order to celebrate my 40th birthday in June.

As a global traveler with a keen interest in Croatia, explain how the scene in Croatia has progressed since you spoke at Zagreb Digital Nomad Week less than a year ago.

I’ve always been super excited about everything that happened in the past 12 months, whether is the activities by the government, the tourism boards, and the private sector with examples such as Saltwater Nomads, Total Croatia News, Digital Nomad Valley, and the Digital Nomad Association… so many things happening in the country. And in the past year, it just leaped forward to really position Croatia as one of the leading destinations for nomads and I think it works.

We see Nomad Base planning to have its next event in Croatia, bringing 300 or 400 digital nomads. More and more friends and people in my network are starting to talk about Croatia as one of their destinations this year and next year, so definitely I can see the results. Croatia seems to be very structured now, so if a digital nomad chooses to go to Croatia, there are enough resources for them to find all the information, all the activities, and everything that happens there, and that’s beautiful. And you can also throw Cromads into the mix here!

You are a man who could build a community on the moon. How do you see the nomad community developing in Croatia?

The community in Croatia definitely evolved, I see a big step forward in the last year. I recently traveled to Zadar’s Digital Nomad Valley where I met a lot of groups of connected people, and this connection and community is what makes people stay much longer in Croatia, and it’s what makes many other people around the world consider Croatia as a destination.

With this being said, I think there’s still a lot of work to do in order to connect different communities within Croatia into one, single, unified community. From my side, my take on communities is that we need a single community that connects everyone rather than spread them and break them into smaller groups. I think this is where Croatia can improve a little bit and I wanna see more collaboration when it comes to communities, and between the different cities and regions in the country.

A few words about Dubrovnik, which is perhaps not the most obvious nomad destination, but it has worked hard to change that perception. Your thoughts?

It’s an interesting question because, if you asked me three months ago about Dubrovnik I would tell you, ‘‘yes, it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and it’s the perfect backdrop to host such an event’’, but for me, it was more of a place to come, visit, see the Old City, and move on. But then, three months ago, I spent a little over a week in Dubrovnik and I was able to discover a city that is really an amazing destination for nomads. It obviously offers all the beauties of an old city, the access to the ocean, the great weather almost all year long, and then I found that there are bars and cafes, and plenty of restaurants. I met with other nomads that spent time there and expats that have been staying in Dubrovnik for a long time.

I think it is up and coming, and definitely hosting and holding this event in Dubrovnik would help to spread the word out that it’s not just a place for the touristic comfort, but also for nomads to come and spend the whole season.

You will be speaking at the Work. Place. Culture. conference in Dubrovnik in May. What is your topic, and what are you looking to get out of the conference?

I’m very excited about the Work. Place. Culture Conference in Dubrovnik! I’m happy to be back in Dubrovnik for the second time within five months, and I’m also excited since I’m taking a more active role this year, as a contribution to supporting Croatia’s effort to become a top digital nomad destination.

In regards to my talk and the topic, if you want to know what I’ll talk about, you should attend and you can do so onsite or online. Join us at the event, and I can just give away that the words ‘‘digital nomad lifestyle’’, ‘‘world travel’’, and ‘‘community-building’’ will be touring in the air.

I’m definitely looking forward to expanding my network, connecting with locals, connecting with digital nomads, and I really hope to inspire the local community and local businesses to see the benefit and the good that the digital nomads, both the people and the lifestyle, can bring to the country and help flourish in all different areas: business, tourism, or economy-wise. It’s something that is important for me and I hope to bring it with me to this conference.

Next steps for Croatia?

In one word: synergy. There’s a lot of beautiful effort being put by cities and regions, tourism boards, the different private ventures, and I would like to see a single ecosystem that connects all these efforts and companies altogether, that focuses on these efforts and reaches the goal of making Croatia a top destination for digital nomads. I think Croatia can really benefit from more collaboration between the different ventures, and this is where I think Croatia should head next.

And, as always with your crazy lifestyle, what is next for Dean Kuchel?

Right after the conference, I will head to the Nomad Base - Croatia meetup, and from there I’ll head to Tel Aviv, Israel, to spend some time with my family and friends to celebrate my 40th birthday. I’ll then attend and speak at the Bansko Nomad Fest in Bulgaria, and at some point, during the summer I’ll head back to Bali, Indonesia, where I have grown a few roots and building a house. A big, big change for the frequent traveler that I am.

You can learn more about and connect with Dean through his official website, Facebook, and Instagram.

You can buy your tickets for the conference in Dubrovnik through this link, and you can download the full programme of the Work.Place.Culture Conference in Dubrovnik here.

Work. Place. Culture. is a collaboration between the City of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads, and TCN, with support from the Digital Nomad Association Croatia and Dubrovacka Bastina. Zagreb Digital Nomad Week is a partnership between Zagreb Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads, and TCN. 

To learn more about magnificent Dubrovnik, check out the Total Croatia Dubrovnik in a Page guide, in partnership with Sun Gardens Dubrovnik.  

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

ZAGREB, 21 April 2022 - The head of the REGEA regional energy agency and President Zoran Milanović's adviser on energy and climate, Julije Domac, on Thursday sent an open letter to Minister Tomislav Ćorić with several proposals for mobilising citizens to invest in greater use of renewables.

Domac writes to the Economy and Sustainable Development Minister that in the current circumstances, marred by the energy crisis, energy products' price hikes and efforts to reduce the import of fossil fuels, as well as against a backdrop of climate change to which Croatia is also supposed to respond, the intention of his letter is to point out the need and possibilities of civic energy as an important element of Croatia's overall energy transition.

Therefore he calls for stepping up the development of the market and for opening the door to large-scale participation of citizens in small solar power projects, such as rooftop panel projects.

Domac advocates that investments in individual solar panels up to 50 kilowatts should be exempt from Value Added Tax and for making the procedure simple.

He is also for the introduction of a uniform rate for co-funding solar panel investments up to 25%.

Gradual deregulation of power prices

Domac says that it is necessary to elaborate a system of gradual deregulation of electricity prices for households within three years so as to make electricity prices equal for all categories of consumers.

He holds that the current price tariffs, which make it possible for households to have markedly lower energy prices, undermine cost-efficiency and return on investment in the renewables sector.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 21 April 2022 - There is "serious potential to create instability" in the Western Balkans because it is "a testing ground for geostrategic rivalries," Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Thursday.

Speaking to the press after talks with his Bulgarian counterpart Teodora Genchovska, he said they agreed that it was necessary to do everything so that the repercussions of the Russian aggression on Ukraine "don't spill over to the Western Balkans and Southeast Europe."

"There is still, unfortunately, in a certain sense, serious potential to create instability given that the Western Balkans is, in a certain sense, a testing ground for various geo-strategic rivalries," said Grlić Radman.

Genchovska said the Bulgarian-Croatian cooperation within NATO was very good and that a more secure European southeast was conditioned by the cooperation between NATO member states.

The Three Seas Initiative is also important to Bulgaria due to energy autonomy, she said, adding that this initiative has become a lot more significant due to the war in Ukraine.

The two ministers said Bulgarian-Croatian relations were friendly, without outstanding issues, and that the two countries supported each other for Schengen and OECD membership.

Grlić Radman said it was important to Croatia that Bosnia and Herzegovina's election law be changed because it "favours electoral engineering" and allowed Bosniaks to outvote Croats.

Genchovska said Bulgaria fully supported Croatia's aspirations for the BiH crisis to be solved.

As for the North Macedonia-Bulgaria dispute over history and identity, Grlić Radman said he hoped the two countries "will find a mutually acceptable solution which will allow North Macedonia to continue its European journey."

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 21 April 2022 - Two pensioners' associations on Thursday asked the government to raise pensions by 10% and change the pension indexation model, due to the rise of inflation and food prices, for seniors shortchanged in the pension reform.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, they say that in February the average pension was 35.5% of the average pay, which puts Croatia at the bottom of the EU. Last year two in three pensions were below the poverty live at just over HRK 2,900.

Since the rise of inflation and food prices poses an additional blow to pensioners' low living standards, the associations expect the prime minister to take action to protect the oldest citizens.

The associations demand that by the end of June, pensions be raised by 10% for all those who retired after 1 January 1999, saying that this would total HRK 308 million a month for 1.14 million pensioners.

The associations don't want the 10% increase to be in force only until prices on the world market are put under control, but a lasting intervention for seniors whose pensions have been cut by 10% by the then pension reform.

They also demand that pensions up to HRK 2,000 be indexed by 120% and those from HRK 2,000 to 4,000 by 110%.

The government has announced that as of next month it will pay an energy allowance for seniors whose pensions are below HRK 4,000.

The associations welcome that, but propose that seniors whose pensions are below HRK 1,500 be entitled to a HRK 400 monthly energy voucher, to which only those receiving national and guaranteed minimum allowances are entitled.

For more, check out our politics section.