ZAGREB, 10 March 2022 - A former commercial director of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dinko Suton, will join the Office of the President as its secretary-general.

President Zoran Milanović's decision to appoint Suton has been advertised in the Official Journal and enters into force on 1 April.

At the same time, a decision to relieve Mirjam Katulić as secretary-general of the Office of the President has been published, taking effect on 31 March.

At one stage Suton was the director of the company Milanović established after leaving the post of prime minister.

Katulić, a former employee of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs who is now retiring, joined the Office of the President during Ivo Josipović's presidential term.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 10 March 2022 - As of Thursday, Croatian authorities will be issuing digital EU COVID-19 certificates as proof of recovery based on a rapid antigen test, said the AKD company, a government-owned manufacturing company for the production of high-security printed products (ID cards, passports, etc.).

Testing must be performed by an authorized laboratory and the test must be from the EU list of reliable rapid antigen tests. A certificate can be requested and obtained on the 11th day from the first positive test, and its validity is 180 days from the day of testing.

For earlier test results it is possible to retroactively claim a certificate of recovery if the positive result of a rapid antigen test is no older than 1 October 2021.

AKD recalled that the European Commission on 22 February made a decision enabling member states to issue digital COVID certificates of recovery based on rapid antigen tests. Until now certificates proving recovery from COVID-19 were issued only on the basis of a PCR test.

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, 10 March 2022 - Croatia has registered 1,728 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and 18 people have died as a consequence while there are 10,255 active cases, the national COVID response team reported on Thursday.

Currently, 821 COVID patients are in hospital treatment 57 of whom are on respirators.

Also, 6,302 persons are self-isolating.

Under the vaccine rollout scheme, 65.59% of the adult population is fully vaccinated.

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

ZAGREB, 10 March 2022 - The city of Lviv in the west of Ukraine is faced with food and drug shortages as well as a shortage of volunteers to help the newly-arrived refugees who mostly lack safety, Croatian Ambassador to Ukraine Anica Djamić told Hina on Thursday.

More than two million people have fled Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion on the country two weeks ago.

Djamić said that western Ukraine was faced "with an unprecedented number of refugees". People from the east of the country fleeing daily attacks by Russian forces are trying to reach the west of the country or Lviv as a stop on the way to EU countries, she said.

The ambassador said that everything in Lviv had been put to the service of people in transit to a safer destination, adding that the city's railway station is full of people, notably women, children and the elderly.

The authorities of the Lviv district have set up reception centres where people stay for a shorter or longer period of time, but food, water, medicines and toiletries are in short supply, the ambassador warned pointing also to a shortage of volunteers to distribute aid.

Djamić left Kyiv last week in a UN convoy, and her journey to Lviv, located around 540 kilometres from the Ukrainian capital, lasted four days.

The Croatian ambassador will resume her duties in Lviv.

"We have been in touch with all Croatian nationals in Ukraine whom we inform regularly about possibilities of departure for Croatia," she said, adding that some of them did not want to leave Ukraine but that the embassy was keeping channels for them to leave open. 

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 10 March 2022 - Members of parliament on Thursday supported a proposed decision to send up to 70 Croatian troops to Hungary as part of NATO forces, agreeing that this was required by the current situation and was also Croatia's obligation.

Presenting the proposed decision, the State Secretary at the Defence Ministry, Zdravko Jakop, said the current security situation in the east of Europe was one of the most serious threats to Europe's security in the past decades.

"The attack on an independent, peaceable, democratic state is a bitter reminder that freedom, peace, security and stability cannot exist if we are not prepared to defend them," Jakop said.

Jakop said that in recent months NATO had generated additional rapid reaction forces, deploying additional forces in the eastern members of the alliance, consolidating existing forces in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and forming new battlegroups in Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania.

A total of HRK 38 million has been secured in the state budget for the implementation of the government's decision to send troops to Hungary, he said.

Currently, Croatia has 181 troops in UN and NATO peace missions, and most of them, 141, are serving in the mission in Kosovo.

We must be solidary, we must respect our obligations, this is the defence of peace and international order, MPs of both the ruling majority and the opposition said during the debate.

"That is the only guarantee that we will preserve what we have acquired because we live in a crazy world, with crazy leaders that will stop at nothing to launch armed conflicts," said HDZ MP Rade Šimičević.

"It is important to send a message that participation in NATO does matter, a message that in the event of a threat we are prepared to act together," said Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Peđa Grbin.

Nino Raspudić of the Bridge party, too, supported the decision but noted that a risk assessment should have been made and the context of the decision should have been explained in geopolitical terms.

Care was taken of security assessment, and the estimate was that this is the best, least risky proposal, Jakop replied.

MPs also wanted to know if the Defence Ministry was considering increasing the number of Armed Forces members, considering the instability in Croatia's neighbourhood.

"There is a possibility of enhancing the forces with reservists, the law also provides for civil-military cooperation, there is no grading of readiness for the time being but activities are defined on a daily basis," he said.

Asked by independent MP Marijana Petir if additional NATO forces would be needed in Croatia, Jakop answered in the negative.

"That option is not being considered," he said, adding that the security situation in the neighbourhood and in Southeast Europe was being monitored and that for the time being there was no reason for concern.

For more, check out our politics section.

March 10, 2022 - AC Hotel by Marriott Split will open at the beginning of July in Croatia's tallest skyscraper - the Dalmatia Tower!

Split will be enhanced by another hotel this summer, housed in the tallest skyscraper in Croatia! Namely, AC Hotel by Marriott Split will be located in the 135-meter high Westgate building, a skyscraper known as the "Dalmatia Tower," reports Slobodna Dalmacija.

It will be the first Croatian hotel under the brand of one of the most prestigious hotel groups globally, and the opening is planned for the beginning of July.

"We are intensively carrying out works on interior design and furnishing following the high standards of the AC Hotel by Marriott brand. We plan to open the hotel in the first days of July. Since we want to provide top service and experience to guests, staff education and training are already underway, and AC Hotel by Marriott Split will receive its first guests in early July," said the investor Westgate Group.

AC Hotel by Marriott Split will have 214 rooms located on 11 floors, from the 17th to the 27th floor, and thanks to the specific shape of the tower, all rooms will have a sea view.

In addition to five modular conference halls with a total capacity of 300 people, guests will also have at their disposal a spa & wellness center with an indoor pool, a restaurant, bars, and lounge.

"The hotel will employ over 100 staff, and managerial positions have already been filled. For the remaining jobs, advertisements are currently placed on social networks, and will soon be on employment portals and local media, and of course, on the pages of Slobodna Dalmacija," they explained. 

The price per night is unknown, but they point out that it will be formed following the standards of Marriott International and the local market and will vary depending on the desired period of stay.

"We will soon open sales through the online channel and the official website of the hotel when the prices for different periods of stay will be visible to everyone," concluded the Westgate Group.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

March 10, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as four Ryanair Pula summer flights have been announced, and Brussels Airlines returns to Zadar Airport. 

Irish low-cost airline Ryanair will operate on four international routes from Pula Airport this summer. Namely, these are direct flights to destinations in Austria, Belgium, Poland, and the United Kingdom, reports Croatian Aviation.

The first line to London (Stansted Airport) will run from March 27, twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. From June 2, the third weekly flight is added, on Tuesdays, with this flight schedule remaining in force until the end of September. Two-weekly flights have been re-announced for October, with the last Ryanair flight to London on October 27. 

B937-800 aircraft with a capacity of 189 seats have been announced to London. A total of 29,862 seats are available between London and Pula on this Ryanair line.

The very next day, March 28, the line for Brussels Charleroi will start operating, with Ryanair announcing three weekly flights, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, until October 28. B737-800 aircraft have also been announced on this route, with a total of 35,154 seats between Charleroi and Pula.

From June 1, the new Ryanair line between Pula and Vienna will start operating twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays, until September 28. A320 aircraft have been announced on this route.

On June 3, the last, fourth line to Pula, from Poznan, Poland, will start operating. Flights have also been announced twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, until September 30. Between Pula, Poznan, and Vienna, the Irish airline is offering a total of 25,200 seats this summer.

On the four announced routes to Pula Airport, Ryanair offers a total of more than 90,000 seats (90,216), and with an average passenger cabin occupancy of 86% (data for February 2022), this airline could bring over 80,000 passengers to Pula this summer.

Belgian airline Brussels Airlines is introducing a scheduled flight between Brussels and Zadar in the upcoming summer flight schedule, reports Croatian Aviation.

The seasonal route between Zadar and Brussels was introduced by the Belgian national airline in the 2018 summer flight schedule, but the line was not in operation during the last two seasons due to the pandemic.

Although it did not announce the line in its initial summer announcement, Brussels Airlines subsequently released tickets for this line, which will start operating on May 7.

The flights will run once a week, every Saturday, and are currently scheduled until the end of the summer flight schedule (October 29). The A319 aircraft with a capacity of 141 seats will operate on the route. 

With the return of Brussels Airlines to Zadar Airport, Zagreb Airport remains the only destination in the country to which this airline has not returned after the lockdown in Europe. Zadar Airport, in addition to the Brussels Airlines line, also has a flight to Charleroi in the summer schedule, operated by Ryanair.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

March 10, 2022 - Croatia Airlines and Osijek Airport have continued cooperation on developing the international Osijek-Munich line and agreed that it would be year-round, ensuring that passengers from Osijek-Baranja County have a direct connection with Europe throughout the year.

It should be reminded that direct Osijek-Munich flights were introduced at the initiative of Osijek-Baranja County, the City of Osijek, Osijek-Baranja County Tourist Board, Osijek Tourist Board, and Osijek Airport, after which Croatia Airlines and Osijek Airport signed an agreement on business cooperation based on which the national carrier, from November 15, 2021, to January 14, 2022, and for the first time in its history, introduced direct international flights between Osijek-Munich and thus connected eastern Croatia with Europe by air, reports Croatian Aviation.

Thanks to the excellent cooperation of all participants in this project, the achieved results, and the quality market demand for flights, space has been opened for further improvement of the route, which will continue to be available to passengers every Monday and Friday from May 2 this year.

The cooperation on the Osijek-Munich line has provided additional conditions for even easier and faster travel for residents and business people in Osijek-Baranja County as well as other travelers, which at the same time creates conditions for improving the Croatian economy and tourism.

"From the exceptional cooperation in the winter with our partners Osijek-Baranja County, the City of Osijek, the Osijek-Baranja County Tourist Board, Osijek Tourist Board, and Osijek Airport, we have reached a new and high-quality year-round line that will ensure direct air connection with the German market throughout the year, i.e., flights to an important European transport hub through which passengers can travel around the world. Furthermore, I am glad that in eastern Croatia, we will contribute to the development of tourist and economic potentials of Osijek-Baranja County and the city of Osijek, and at the same time strengthen the business of Osijek Airport, making it an even more important transport point in Croatia," said Jasmin Bajić, President of the Management Board of Croatia Airlines.

"When the first business cooperation and the first selected Osijek Airport trial line becomes year-round, it is a sign that we are on the right track, and related to repositioning the airport, but also the development of our destination. Therefore, I would like to thank everyone for their cooperation, from Minister Oleg Butković, County Prefect Ivan Anušić, Mayor Ivan Radić, and President of Croatia Airlines Jasmin Bajić, and especially to all media that support us in promoting this important line, which is becoming a traditional link not only with Germany but also the whole of Europe," said Ivan Kos, director of Osijek Airport.

"Continuing cooperation with Croatia Airlines and establishing a year-round airline from Osijek is one of the first steps towards revitalizing our airport and strengthening its capacity. In cooperation with the relevant ministry, a project is being prepared that includes expansion and modernization of infrastructure and all accompanying facilities of the passenger terminal building, and project documentation for the Osijek Airport expansion is being prepared to be ready to accept larger aircraft in the future. In recent years, Osijek-Baranja County has recorded positive economic indicators as well as the development of continental tourism, and this year-round, but also new lines that are planned will certainly contribute to even stronger economic development," said Ivan Anušić, Osijek-Baranja County Prefect.

"This line has connected Osijek with an important European transport hub, and thus with the whole world, and it is a great thing that the line is becoming year-round. This continuity will certainly contribute to the development of the economy, especially in Osijek's Nemetin Industrial Zone. The proximity of the Airport is one of the reasons why Osijek is an attractive city for investors. Osijek is not a seasonal city, Osijek lives all year round, and this line confirms and strengthens that," said Osijek Mayor Ivan Radić.

As the Osijek-Munich year-round line is established, return airline tickets are available to passengers at a promotional price of 129 euros. Tickets are available through  www.croatiaairlines.com. 

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.