ZAGREB, 13 April 2022 - The coverage with and access to the 5G network in Croatia has grown since the summer of 2021, when licenses for the 5G frequency range were issued, to 60-70%, and a new auction is being prepared for the existing frequencies, to be held in early 2023, HAKOM regulator official Tonko Obuljen said on Wednesday.

Obuljen, who chairs the HAKOM Council, was speaking at the third 5G Day event, organised by the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM), after a two-year break caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"A lot has happened in the past two years. Frequencies were awarded, and a new auction is being prepared for the existing frequencies, for which licenses expire in 2024, and we want telecommunications companies to have time to prepare," Obuljen told Hina.

He noted that it was still difficult to assess how much money the new auction would bring to the state budget, adding that considering that most of the spectrum would be awarded at the national level, he expected all telecoms to participate.

HAKOM is glad about the development of the electronic communications market and 5G, which will certainly contribute to improving Croatia's position on Europe's digital map and with regard to the EU's DESI index on the degree of digitalisation, he said.

Obuljen noted that various startups developing solutions based on 5G technology would be presented at 5G Day, adding that some of the startups that had attended the first 5G Day  had developed their business and many were operating around the world.

One of them is Rimac Automobili, which today presented its visions and products, in which connectivity at high 5G speeds plays a major role.

"In five-six years we expect a boom in 5G services and solutions, which are applicable in all areas of life and work, notably transport, car industry, healthcare and medicine, energy and all other sectors," Obuljen said.

As for the situation on the market and expectations this year, Obuljen said that the market was constantly growing even though no longer in leaps because all telecoms offered convergent services and invested much, but that despite market saturation, growth was expected this year as well.

HAKOM director Miran Gosta said that prices on the telecommunications market would have to grow as well because of rising input costs, with telecoms being particularly concerned about electricity price increases. He added that it was difficult to say how much and when those prices would go up.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 13 April 2022 - In February this year, 993 building permits were issued in Croatia, which is 21.1% more than in the same month last year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS).

Of those, 882 or 88.8% were issued for buildings and 111 or 11.2% for other structures.

Compared with February 2021, the number of building permits issued for buildings increased by 30.7% and the number of those issued for other structures fell by 23.4%.

The value of works envisaged in the permits was HRK 3 billion, which is 28.3% more than in February 2021, when their value was HRK 2.3 billion.

The permits issued for buildings estimated the value of works at HRK 2.3 billion (+34.6%) and the permits issued for other structures estimated the value of works at HRK 675 million (+10.1%).

Of the total number of building permits, 806 (81.2%) were issued for new-builds and 187 (18.8%) for reconstruction projects.

A total of 1,780 building permits were issued in January and February 2022, an increase of 12.2% compared with the same period in 2021.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 13 April 2022 - The Soviet-era military drone that crashed in Zagreb last month was armed, it carrying a bomb in place of a camera, Nova TV reported on Tuesday night citing sources close to the investigation.

The TU-141 unmanned aerial vehicle crashed near a student dorm in the Jarun district of southwest Zagreb shortly after 11 pm on 10 March, damaging about 40 cars in a nearby car park, but injuring no one. It came from Ukraine, having flown over NATO members Romania and Hungary before crashing in the Croatian capital after running out of fuel. It remains unclear who launched it.

The Zagreb County Prosecutor's Office is due to announce the results of the investigation carried out so far at a press conference starting at 11 am on Wednesday.

For more, check out our dedicated politics section.

ZAGREB, 13 April 2022 - The fight against the COVID-19 epidemic has cost the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) HRK 5 billion (€666.6m) over the last two years and two months, Jutarnji List newspaper said on Wednesday.

The cost only includes testing, treatment, sick leave and vaccination, but not other economic costs, the cost of equipment or the cost of conversion of hospitals and other facilities used for the treatment of COVID patients.

As for the costs covered by the HZZO, treatment cost around HRK 1.9 billion (€253.3m),  testing HRK 1.7 billion (€226.6m), sick leave HRK 290 million (€38.6m) and vaccination HRK 1 billion (€133.3m).

The newspaper said that the amount spent by the HZZO would be enough to cover the debts of the health care system.

In addition to the cost of health care, by far the most expensive measure was the government's job retention scheme, which cost HRK 18 billion (€2.4bn).

In total, at least HRK 23 billion (€3.06bn) has been spent on combating the coronavirus epidemic since the first case was confirmed in Croatia on 25 February 2020, according to Jutarnji List.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

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.

ZAGREB, 13 April 2022 - The quarantine mandate is being lifted for all people who have been in contact with a COVID-positive person, and a second booster dose is being introduced for people aged 80 and above and for nursing home residents aged 65 and above, the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) announced on Wednesday.

"In Croatia, the number of new cases per million people is now 221 on average, hospitalisations are rapidly falling, with slightly over 500 people currently being treated in hospital, and the daily number of deaths over the past several days has been below 10", HZJZ director Krunoslav Capak said.

"All these stable epidemiological indicators allow us to ease the restrictions on the one hand, and recommend extra caution and security to our elderly, most vulnerable citizens on the other," Capak said, adding that the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Medicines Agency have issued a joint recommendation for a second booster dose for the elderly.

The fourth dose or the second booster dose should be administered at least four months after the first booster dose, and the mRNA vaccine of Pfizer or Moderna should be used for this purpose. The second booster dose is also recommended to persons with an increased risk of developing serious forms of the COVID-19 disease who have been immunised with the Janssen vaccine.

As for the quarantine mandate, the HZJZ said that persons who have been in contact with a COVID-infected person need not quarantine any more, regardless of their vaccination status or whether or not they have recovered from COVID-19, but must wear a face mask for 10 days after their last contact and self-test on the fifth day. They must also avoid any large gatherings and contacts with people at risk of developing serious forms of COVID-19.

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.

March 13th, 2022 - Yesterday, Bots&Pots was opened in Zagreb on Vlaška 50 as the world's first restaurant with robotic chefs capable of preparing all kinds of one-pot meals.

Bots&Pots is a new model of digitized catering, with an ambitious plan of expanding first throughout Croatia and eventually across the world with the help of the franchise business model. The kitchen is run by GammaChef robots that prepare a meal in under 15 minutes all in front of the eyes of the customers. Robots can cook any meal that can be prepared in a pot, hence the name of the restaurant Bots&Pots. They offer Mediterranean-style dishes that include different soups, risottos, stews, seafood pasta, gnocchi, and much more, all for affordable prices. The dishes are designed by a chef Vedran Varvodić and there are also additional employees or as they call them robot operators that prepare the ingredients for robots and serve the customers. After the chef designs a meal the robot makes, a digital recipe and with the help of in-house developed software it can reproduce all the steps with 5 robots restaurant can deliver 60 servings per hour.  

As reported by Jutarnji.hr their current menu includes the following main dishes: daily soups, fuži with chicken and spinach, fuži with shrimps and zucchini, black risotto, octopus goulash, gnocchi on goulash, arrabbiata, chili con carne tortillas, Thai red curry and pumpkin, and mushroom risotto. The prices range from 25 to 65 kuna for the main dishes.

This project was developed by Hrvoje Bujas, Đulijano Nola and Dražen Drnas. Đulijano Nola and Dražen Drnas are the founders of GammaChef a Split based startup that started more than 6 years ago and focused on developing a state-of-the-art smart robotic cooker. As with any startup, these two engineers started in a garage with the aim of combining their two passions engineering and cooking. Their initial idea was to bring a robotic cooker to every household, but they soon realized that the international home appliance market was still not ready for this revolution. As they believed strongly in their idea they embarked on a journey to prove to the business world the contrary. With the help of entrepreneur Hrvoje Bujas, they implemented this technology to develop an innovative restaurant with robotic chefs that is a real game-changer and aims to conquer the world restaurant scene. Hrvoje Bujas and Đulijano Nola already cooperated on several successful projects such as CrnoJaje, Osiguraj.me, and GoHome. 

The whole process is automated from the just-in-time procurement to the preparation of the meal and service in the restaurant. This is a perfect landscape for a franchise model as everything can be standardized and easily scalable. As Bots&Pots stresses their aim is not to rival the restaurants with "fine dining" models but rather fast-food chain giants such as Mcdonald's and KFC.

The time will tell will this Croatian innovative concept manage to stir up the industry with high quality, affordable meals, and fully automated and digitalized restaurants. 

If you want to find out more about Bots&Pots you can check out TCN's previous article on this innovative business model.

For more, check out our business section.

April 13, 2022 - We are getting closer to the Work. Place. Culture. remote work conference in Dubrovnik, and TCN continues its look at the list of high-class international speakers who will be sharing their wisdom in the Pearl of the Adriatic. On this occasion, we talk with Rowena Hennigan, a remote work mentor and global thought leader who will introduce us to the importance of community and human connection in the constantly evolving world of remote work.

A busy season for Croatia's digital nomad story is about to begin. Last year's highlights included the introduction of the digital nomad permit on January 1, 2021, and destinations such as Zagreb and Dubrovnik attracted global interest with award-winning events such as Zagreb Digital Nomad Week and Dubrovnik Nomads-in-Residence project.

Both Zagreb and Dubrovnik will continue their push to position themselves in the market in 2022, with Zagreb Digital Nomad Week 2022 set to take place in June, and a news conference before that in Dubrovnik, as previously reported on TCN: Work. Place. Culture.

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.

Additionally, as part of the Work.Place.Culture Conference, the Dubrovnik Tourist Board is launching its official workation program pilot, in conjunction with Saltwater and Sun Gardens Dubrovnik. The winning team will enjoy a 1-week stay (between 1 and 9 May 2022) at the 5 Star Sun Gardens Dubrovnik and have the chance to partake in a specialty workshop – strategy planning, team building, wellbeing, and leadership are among the options available. The all-star team will also present at the Work. Place. Culture. Conference on 5-7 May 2022. Applications are open until this Friday, April 15! Click HERE to apply.

Total Croatia News continues to present the elite lineup for the Work. Place. Culture., this time with Rowena Hennigan. A family-related epiphany introduced her to the wonderful world of remote work, and today Rowena is recognized as a global thought leader. ''Remote work has enabled me to live flexibly, work from anywhere, travel extensively and find work-life balance. I relish in being an advocate and a leader on the education and skills needed for effective remote work practices.'', says Rowena. Today, Rowena has been able to use her experience working and traveling to identify the key factors that help form the right discipline to live as a digital nomad, and as a published academic author and researcher, she knows exactly how to transfer this knowledge to all those seeking to educate themselves on remote working skills.

You are recognised as a global thought leader in the field of remote work. Tell us firstly about your personal journey and how you achieved your current lifestyle. 

Back in 2015, when myself and my young family were living in Dublin, my daughter developed chronic childhood asthma and life was tough. Luckily, as I returned to work after maternity leave both my employers at the time allowed me to work flexibly and remotely. That was when my partner and I had the epiphany: if we could work remotely in Ireland, why not somewhere with a better climate to support our daughters' health? We took the decision to move to Zaragoza in Spain and keep our lifestyle as mobile and flexible as possible. We are now a location-independent family, with a base in Zaragoza, but nomading for short periods in other locations, such as France, Italy, Vietnam, Indonesia, parts of Spain, Gran Canaria and Portugal. We combine travel with work and we are mainly “slowmads”, meaning we work and travel at a slow pace in a certain region.

You are an advocate and leader on the education and skills required for effective remote work practices. What would you say are the 3 key skills required to develop this new reality?

First, self-management and self-leadership; from conscientiousness to self-discipline, remote workers act independently and need the self-regulation skills to make that a success. Second, communication & interpersonal skills; the art of effective communication is vital for remote working, alongside the ability to make and maintain strong relationships in a virtual environment. And third, teamwork & virtual collaboration skills; knowing how to work and collaborate efficiently in a virtual team. 

You are also an academic. How much has the future of work entered academia, and what role does academia have to play in its development?

As an industry academic, I have enjoyed seeing the two worlds of industry and academia getting more closely aligned in recent times. As various evidence-based research and insights are widely distributed amongst the corporate community and learnings are shared. However, more cooperation and collaboration is needed between these two worlds.

Your prognosis on where all this is going. How do you see the global work landscape in 5 years?

Looking into my crystal ball, I see 3 key factors:

1. Individual worker well being, needs and empowerment will be a key focus as knowledge workers demand more life-work-integration, well-being support and options for asynchronous work from organisations.
2. Work from (almost) anywhere will become more prevalent, as the infrastructure for true Remote Work is further established and supported eg. the growth of EOR (Employer of Record) like Remote.com and also supporting services such as insurance, from SafetyWing.com.
3. Hosting effective in-person events and meet-ups will be a new skill and talent area. As more teams work remotely, further emphasis will be put on the in-person time and its quality, leading to an increased emphasis on frequency, location, activities and social interactions.

And so to the Dubrovnik Work. Place. Culture. conference. Why does it appeal to you, what will you be speaking about, and what do you hope to get from your time in Dubrovnik?

Croatia’s efforts and innovation in the Digital Nomad space have been on my radar for a few years now! I am delighted to be able to visit in person and see the ecosystem for myself, taking the opportunity to learn from the wonderful team there.

My keynote will focus on the importance of community and human connection, to support any successful digital nomad and remote worker destination.

You obviously follow global trends in remote work. How do you assess Croatia's efforts so far, and what does it need to do to move things forward?

Firstly, what has been achieved so far needs to be recognised, as the Croatian digital nomad visa has only been active since January 2021. Few people appreciate the massive bureaucratic and administrative hurdles regions have surpassed to achieve and launch nomad and residency programs in recent times. So I applaud those efforts.

The future is nomadic so Croatia should continue to break down administrative barriers and proactively understand the needs of nomads that visit the Country.  Listen, learn and act on their guidance so that it is a win-win relationship.

You can learn more about and connect with Rowena through her official website, RoRemote, or through LinkedIn.

If you have not yet registered your team to participate in a luxury workation in Dubrovnik, you can do so through this LINK. Applications are until this Friday the 15th!

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. 

April the 13th, 2022 - Croatian banks are placing stricter and stricter conditions on those they provide loans to as rising interest rates are anticipated by the financial system.

As Marina Klepo/Jutarnji/Novac writes, in anticipation of rising interest rates, customers of Croatian banks are already noticing heightened caution, and loan offers are somewhat less "generous", especially when it comes to cash loans. As such, some clients have been noticing quite an unusual trend - larger Croatian banks refer them to smaller ones, which have less rigorous procedures, and often lower interest rates.

The Croatian National Bank's comparative list of credit terms shows that "cash" can now be obtained in sixteen different banks, but only half of them, the smaller and medium-sized ones, actually offer fixed and variable interest rates. Today, all large Croatian banks are approving these loans exclusively at a fixed interest rate.

In an effort to protect themselves from increased repayment installments, many people over more recent years have decided to take out loans with fixed interest rates, not only for long-term housing loans, but also for non-purpose cash loans, which are now mostly being approved for a period of ten years. Over the past year and a half, judging by the Croatian National Bank's comparative list, it's fairly clear that large banks have eliminated variable interest rates that were more favourable. The reason for this could be the effort to keep the existing, very high interest rates, as they are.

In the case of kuna cash loans, the fixed interest rate effectively (with all costs) ranges from 5.5 percent, as offered by two small Croatian banks, Imex and Karlovacka banka, to as much as 7.32 percent in Zagrebacka banka and 7.49 percent in Samoborska banka. Since October last year, Croatian banks have slightly revised their fixed interest rates, some are higher, some are lower. For Zagrebacka banka, for example, their interest rate was raised from 7.16 to 7.32 percent, for RBA it was lowered from 7.42 to 6.9 percent, while a number of banks kept about the same figures.

The real boom in approving these loans occurred back in 2018 and 2019, when they increased by about 5.5 billion kuna per year. Today, the total amount of these loans, according to the Croatian National Bank for the month of February 2022, reached 53.4 billion kuna, while the amount of housing loans amounted to 68.3 billion kuna.

Who are the clients of Croatian banks who are taking out cash loans? A recent Croatian National Bank survey "Which loans do we take? A microanalysis of Croatian household debt" shows that more expensive loans are more often used by households whose income isn't sufficient to finance their current consumption. It's very likely, the study concludes, that some households use “unsecured loans” to consolidate overdrafts or credit card debts, and for most households these efforts have proved unsuccessful. In the end, they end up with even more indebtedness.

In some cases, people took out cash loans and to, at least in part, finance the purchase of properties. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, interest in cash loans has fallen sharply and banks have approved many more housing loans. According to the latest Croatian National Bank data for that same month of February, housing loans were eight percent higher than they were back in the same month last year, slightly slower than they were in January, when the growth rate was 8.4 percent, and non-purpose cash loans accelerated slightly, from 3.3 to 3.4 percent.

When it comes to housing loans, Croatian banks still offer all kinds of interest rates, and they generally range from three to four percent. Those who need a smaller amount, up to 500,000 kuna, can currently get the best loan from the Istrian Credit Bank.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.