ZAGREB, 18 Feb 2022 - Croatian parliamentarians on Thursday supported amendments to a law on the establishment of infrastructure for alternative fuels, underlining the importance of building as many charging stations for alternative fuels as possible.

A state secretary at the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Ministry, Josip Bilaver, said that the amendments were aimed at developing infrastructure for alternative fuels (electricity, hydrogen, biofuels, natural gas) as a precondition for their use in transport.

This would help develop a sustainable market and transport system based on alternative fuels as well as their minimum impact on the environment and society, he said.

He noted that the bill ensured alignment with EU regulations and created preconditions for a better provision of services for users of alternative fuels by establishing a register of charging stations for alternative fuels.

1,300 new charging stations in next 2-3 years

Noting that the ministry was not satisfied with the number of charging stations for alternative fuels and their capacity, Bilaver said that under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, in the next two to three years 1,300 new charging stations would be built, of which 200 would be fast and 1,100 standard.

Anka Mrak Taritaš (Centre/GLAS) said that Croatia was dealing with the topic of alternative fuels not because it wanted to but because it had to, as it was an EU topic.

She noted that public transport was the biggest source of pollution in road, rail and other transport.

The key question, therefore, is what kind of fuels public transport vehicles will use, she said, wondering what Croatia would subsidize and what it would invest in.

The MP said that in 2021 more than 50% of vehicles sold on the European market were electric vehicles and that they would arrive in Croatia as a tourist country. Important for visitors will be what kind of charging stations we have and how fast they are. "We have to take that into account as well," she said.

SDP MP Mirela Ahmetović said that Croatia is aligning with a 2014 EU directive and its amended version from 2019, while the EC has published a proposal for a new regulation for infrastructure for alternative fuels, which should go into force already this year to encourage a faster transition to mobility with low or zero emissions, with appropriate infrastructure for vehicles powered by alternative fuels.

And we are introducing a directive that we will soon have to repeal, she warned.

Željko Pavić of the Social Democrats believes it is important that as a tourist destination Croatia legally defines the development of infrastructure for hydrogen charging stations also for vessels due to boaters who, he said, will definitely start using hydrogen as a fuel for their vessels. This is also important for people living on islands and shipping companies that will seek an alternative for oil products, he said.

Miro Totgergeli of the HDZ group said that over the past five years a large number of charging stations for electric vehicles had been built but apart from liquefied petroleum gas, the use of other alternative fuels for transport was rather limited in Croatia. The market for vehicles that do not use oil products is also very small, he said.

Noting that the EU would reduce energy consumption by 36% by 2030 to achieve the target of carbon neutrality by 2050, Vesna Vučemilović of the Croatian Sovereignists said that the volume of transport in the EU was constantly growing, which would have an effect on climate change, the quality of air, and infrastructure.

She also warned that a biodiesel factory in Vukovar was closed down in 2016 because there was no market for it.

For more, check out our politics section.

February 18, 2022 - A recent research seeking to determine the quality of the childbirth experience during the pandemic in several European countries has exposed maternity hospitals in Croatia, and for all the wrong reasons.

The prestigious journal The Lancet Regional Health Europe published this month a scientific paper entitled Quality of health care for mothers and newborns in maternity hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic: an online survey of mothers' perspectives in 12 WHO countries.

The fact that the research was featured on the cover of this scientific journal speaks of its importance on the experience of health care for pregnant women, mothers, and midwives during the pandemic, as well as the quality of investigation and conclusions.

The study included a total of 21,027 women who gave birth in the first year of the pandemic, from March 1, 2020 to March 15, 2021 in twelve countries of the WHO European Region.

The online questionnaire is based on the WHO Standards for Quality of Maternal and Neonatal Care (QMNC) and is organized in four areas: Care Provision, Care Experience, Availability of Staff and Human Resources, and the Impact of COVID- 19 on the provision of care. Based on the results in each area, an overall ranking of responses for that area (0-100) and an overall score (0-400) was formed.

The results indicate huge differences in the quality of care for women and newborns. Unfortunately, Croatia is in the penultimate place on the list of 12 countries. At the top of the scale are Luxembourg (355), Spain (345) and Germany (335) and at the bottom are Romania (275), Croatia (270) and Serbia (205).

Maternity hospitals in Croatia were rated best in the areas of care (80 out of a possible 100) and in the assessment of changes related to COVID (70 out of a possible 100), while the experience in care (65 out of a possible 100) and the availability of staff and human resources were rated worse (55 out of 100), reports Novi list.

In collaboration with the leaders of the scientific project Imagine EURO, Trieste Burlo Garofolo Institute, the project was worked on in Croatia by the head of the Reproductive Rights Program at the Roda Association, Daniela Drandić, M.Sc.

"This research once again pointed out all the problems in health care for pregnant women, mothers, and midwives, which Roda has been warning the competent institutions and the public about since the beginning of the pandemic. The only question is whether the competent institutions will direct their efforts towards solving these problems", warned the Roda Association.

"Once again, we have seen that, despite the constant talk about demography, when it comes to changes in the health care system, women and children are simply not a priority.", they added.

Several more scientific studies will be published as part of this research project, including work measuring the experiences of health professionals in the pandemic. "Over 3,000 health professionals from Europe have already participated in the research on the experiences of health professionals in maternity hospitals during the pandemic, and we call on those from maternity hospitals in Croatia to do the same; the survey questionnaire is open to all health professionals working in maternity hospitals.

In addition, we continue to invite women who gave birth in the hospital during the pandemic to participate in the research that is still ongoing; namely, we want to investigate the experiences of women throughout the pandemic''.

Source: Slobodna Dalmacija

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

February 18, 2022 - Slavonian media has announced that Red Bull is interested in putting its name on the new Osijek football stadium, which would be the first in Croatia to bear the name of a general sponsor.

It is still unknown when the new Osijek stadium on Pampas will open. The modern 12,000-capacity stadium broke the deadlines in which it was supposed to be completed - and it is expected that the stadium should be completed and ceremoniously opened later this year, reports Index.hr.

Osijek hopes that the stadium could be completed soon enough for Osijek to play in the eventual qualifications for European competitions in the summer, but there is no guarantee that will happen.

However, there is new information from Osijek about the stadium's stage of construction and who could buy the right to sponsor the stadium.

"The Osijek club and its fans will soon get much more comfortable conditions for playing and watching matches, not to mention the camp that will be next to the stadium and offer five-star training conditions to the first team and the Football School.

The exclusive ideas that the then-president Ivan Meštrović had were removed from the project, such as watching matches from the jacuzzi or the restaurant's terrace that would open onto the west stand.

This is no longer the case, much-needed rooms for players have been added to the space with the jacuzzi, and there have been significant changes in the camp itself. Namely, the original project did not envisage auxiliary fields with grandstands, which was not ideal. In the end, stands will be built along with two fields, which will undoubtedly make it easier to watch friendly matches and all younger categories," Glas Slavonije writes.

It has long been known that negotiations are underway with a new general sponsor who should buy the stadium's name as part of a long-term package. The club has been reluctant to reveal details for some time before the deal is contracted, but, as Index.hr learned, negotiations are at a serious stage.

Slavonian media writes that a giant wants to put its name on Osijek Stadium - Red Bull. The well-known producer of energy drinks already has stadiums bearing his name in Salzburg, Leipzig, and New York. Osijek could also join this elected society.

Osijek will go public with the name of the general sponsor when the cooperation agreements are signed, which should bring additional financial stability to the club. If the negotiations are successful, Osijek Stadium will be the first in Croatia to bear the name of a general sponsor. It will be one of the most modern football buildings in the region.

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

February 18, 2022 - Thanks to a four-year contract initiated by the City of Bjelovar, the dog shelter in Severin village is now run by the Bjelovar Veterinary Station. 

Based on a public procurement conducted by the City of Bjelovar, the Bjelovar Veterinary Station will care for the stray dogs in the Bjelovar area. The animal shelter is located in the village of Severin and currently cares for 109 dogs. In addition to dogs from the Bjelovar area, the shelter also takes care of dogs from nine municipalities. The four-year care contract is worth two million kuna, and about 240,000 kuna has been used so far, reports Vecernji List.

"I would say this is a real dog hotel. The property is really beautiful, very well decorated, and has all the important elements. Bjelovar Veterinary Station is a very serious company with 45 employees who do a great job. About 120 dogs pass through the shelter annually. We are glad that they have been adopted quite successfully, which is the main goal of this whole story. I want to thank the "Šapa" Society for the Protection of Animals and Mrs. Marija Horvat, with whom the City of Bjelovar had excellent cooperation. However, the current space is more adequate, there is a lot more space for dogs, and they have everything they need, from veterinary care, food, space for running, sleeping, and the like," said Igor Brajdić, Deputy Mayor of Bjelovar.

The problem of abandoned dogs is one of the burning issues both in Bjelovar and in the surrounding area. According to Brajdić, the only way is to educate and inform citizens in cooperation with the Bjelovar Veterinary Station. The city's municipal warden is regularly on the ground, he claims, and has a very extensive job, including caring for abandoned animals. He called on interested citizens to consider adopting abandoned dogs. The head of the animal shelter in Severin revealed details regarding the shelter's operation, capacity, and operation.

"Our facility had to comply with the Ordinance on the care of abandoned animals. For this reason, we have invested considerable financial resources in arranging the shelter. The inspection confirmed one of the best shelters in Croatia, perhaps the highest quality. There are a total of 32 of them in the country. Our shelter can accommodate up to 180 dogs, and the most important thing is that we have adopted about 120 of them in a year. The shelter employs four people, one doctor, two technicians, and another employee. During the morning, the shelter is cleaned, dogs are washed and fed, followed by treatment and therapy. For the time being, we are performing surgical procedures in the outpatient clinic in Bjelovar, but we also have one room here, and we can do some smaller procedures. We also arranged a food warehouse and a large bathroom for washing and caring for dogs," says veterinarian Ante Ćorić.

The municipal warden is obliged to inform the shelter about any stray dogs, after which someone from the shelter goes out on the field and checks if the dog is chipped. In any case, the animal is taken to the shelter, and if it has a chip, the owner is notified, who bears all the costs incurred.

"In case the dog is not chipped, we get in touch with the veterinary inspection, which can help us a lot. The municipal warden is very important, and we have excellent cooperation with them. Some local governments often do not understand that they are a specific service for citizens and have to take care of stray dogs, i.e., the problems that arise from that. At the Severin dog shelter, all dogs have been neutered. After the arrival of a new dog, it stays in the shelter for some time before castration," explains Ćorić and adds that the adoption process is straightforward; all that is needed is goodwill, as well as love for dogs.

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

February 18, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as British Airways Zagreb flights return at the end of the month, and new Norwegian low-cost passenger airline Flyr announced its second route to Zadar. 

British national airline British Airways will resume regular flights between London (Heathrow Airport) and Zagreb from the last day of February, reports Croatian Aviation.

Namely, as of February 28, British Airways has announced it will resume traffic between Zagreb and London. Since the beginning of the pandemic, this airline has very often changed its schedule to Zagreb, continuously canceling a number of flights.

The last time this happened was at the very end of 2021, and now, after less than two months, the airline will resume traffic to the Croatian capital.

Croatia Airlines, which currently operates between the two cities four times a week, and Ryanair, which has reduced the number of flights from seven to five in the first two months of this year, have maintained regular operations on this line.

British Airways planned to return to Zagreb at the beginning of February, but not long after all flights were canceled until February 28. After that, five flights a week were announced for March, and then all flights were canceled on Fridays. Thus, there should be four flights a week in traffic next month, every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Unlike the line between London and Zagreb, where there were significant reductions in last year's summer flight schedule, British Airways did not have such problems with flights to the coast (Dubrovnik, Split, and Pula), so larger reductions of announced flights to the coast are not expected in the upcoming summer season.

Before the outbreak of the pandemic, in the summer of 2019, British Airways had a very high demand on the line between Zagreb and London, prices were often quite high and there were as many as 13 flights a week run by the British carrier. 

Furthermore, Croatian Aviation reports that the new Norwegian airline Flyr will introduce another new route to Zadar Airport this summer.

After announcing a regular seasonal line between Zadar and Oslo, Flyr will operate between Zadar and Bergen once a week from June 11, every Saturday. The route has been announced until mid-August, i.e., August 13, and the flights are already on sale on the airline's official website.

This carrier has six B737-800 aircraft in the fleet with a capacity of up to 189 seats. Along with Zadar, Flyr will release tickets on another new line to Croatia on February 22 this year. Namely, Croatian Aviation reveals that in the upcoming summer flight schedule, Flyr will operate on a regular route between Oslo and Dubrovnik. 

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

February the 18th, 2022 - Prominent Croatian businessman and company owner Branko Roglic has been named the first president of the Bulgarian-Croatian Business Club which has been founded in the City of Zagreb.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Bulgarian-Croatian Business Club was founded in Zagreb and includes Bulgarian companies which can be found operating here on the Croatian market and Croatian business circles cooperating with and within Bulgaria in order to expand and deepen mutual their contacts and encourage further investment activities.

The well known founder and owner of the Orbico Group, Branko Roglic, was elected president of the new club, and Martin Kasabov, the executive director of Meblo Trade, was elected vice president, as the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria reported.

The founding assembly was attended by representatives of the largest companies operating on both Bulgarian and Croatian markets, such as Branko Roglic's Orbico Group itself, Podravka, Fortenova (formerly Agrokor), Meblo Trade, Rubicon Engineering AD, Elmark Group and more.

One of the first initiatives of the newly founded club will be the organisation of a Business Forum with representatives of the Regional Chamber of Commerce - Sofia in Zagreb this summer. As was pointed out, the Bulgarian-Croatian Business Club is expected to actively participate in holding various other regional business gatherings, such as hosting business delegation from Plovdiv in the Dalmatian city of Zadar, from Gabrovo in Sisak and from Vidin in Vukovar.

Congratulations on the formation of the Bulgarian-Croatian Business Club were sent by the Bulgarian Minister of Economy and Industry Kornelia Ninova, and the participants in the founding assembly were greeted by the Bulgarian Ambassador to Croatia, Genka Georgieva.

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

February the 18th, 2022 - 2022 Kvarner tourism has been presented to the Slovakian and Czech markets from which Croatia typically sees a lot of tourist traffic. Although the pandemic is likely to still affect many travel plans this year, the country is hoping for a good season.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, with a virtual presentation for representatives of Czech and Slovak agencies, the Kvarner Tourist Board, the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB/HTZ) and the CNTB Representation for the Czech Republic and Slovakia started a new cycle of presentations, which will probably continue in virtual form this year, as has been the case for many such things since the spring of 2020.

The presentation which showcases 2022 Kvarner tourism for the aforementioned markets was attended by about 30 representatives of varying Czech and Slovak agencies.

"We used the presentation as an opportunity to introduce agents to the novelties for 2022 Kvarner tourism with an emphasis placed on the large investment of Czech capital in the construction of Hilton Rijeka Costabella Beach Resort & Spa and the continuation of the ultra-popular railway line of the Czech carrier RegioJet," said Kvarner Tourist Board Director Irena Persic Zivadinov.

Guests from the Czech Republic realised more than 100,000 arrivals and almost 700,000 overnight stays back in 2021, which was very encouragingly at the record levels set back in pre-pandemic 2019, while guests from Slovakia achieved twice as much traffic as they did back in 2020.

The Kvarner region has been enjoying the status of one of the most popular foreign tourist destinations on the Czech and Slovak markets for years now, and the presentation of 2022 Kvarner tourism will likely draw many more people back.

In addition, the favourite car destinations for guests from the Czech Republic are Croatia and Slovakia, and for guests from Slovakia, those destinations are Croatia and the Czech Republic, which speaks of the traditional connection between them all.

For more, check out our travel section.

February the 18th, 2022 - European tourists after an early summer break are choosing Croatia more and more frequently, and although the pandemic is still very much around, the situation has altered drastically across the continent and travel for leisure has been made far easier for the vaccinated.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, although due to the still current global coronavirus pandemic and the currently circulating Omicron variant of the novel virus, Europeans' intentions to travel across borders are still slightly lower than they were last summer, they are significantly higher than they were a year ago, which makes the prospect of early summer tourist traffic very optimistic. An early summer break in Croatia could be just what many tourists need.

Longer trips are expected this year, during which tourists will of course spend more, covid certificates aren't as important to travellers as they were last year, and so far travellers are most attracted to enjoying a beach holiday somewhere along the coast where they will indulge in new experiences and local culture.

Croatia is the sixth most popular tourist destination for Europeans wanting an early summer break, behind the traditionally leading countries of France and Spain, Italy, Germany and Greece, behind which Croatia is only just lagging. And when it comes to Croatian tourism itself, the biggest hit this summer season could once again be tourists from Poland, for whom the country remains the number one choice.

These are the results of the latest research conducted for the European Commission (EC) for Travel in December by Mindhause (Monitoring Sentiment for Domestic and Intra-European Travel - Wave 10), with a detailed analysis of the current sentiment in Europe's leading emitting markets.

It turned out that concrete bookings made back in December 2021 were still relatively low, and early booking is still slow. Although 36 percent of Europeans are planning a trip in the months of May and June, only 17 percent have already made a reservation for an early summer break.

Despite this, as many as 61 percent of respondents in this survey are optimistic about travel in the period up to early July, with 50 percent of travel in this period planned within Europe itself.

Another positive trend is the intention of travellers to stay longer and spend more money when at their chosen destination. The propensity to travel longer than 10 nights is up 38 percent from a previous survey taken back in September, while the share of travellers planning to spend more than 2,000 euros is up 31 percent, especially among those planning to travel in May or June 2022.

For 63 percent of travellers, a holiday is the main motivator for travel, although the business segment is also showing gradual progress for the first time since autumn 2020. In the next few months, 15 percent of respondents expect to travel to attend a meeting, conference or event.

Although Europeans are eager to travel, they're postponing the booking process in hopes of enjoying more freedom and mobility later on, without the need for testing and quarantine, which is still being sought to some degree or another by several countries if you're not vaccinated.

Travel planning is therefore being extended once again, and the booking framework is being expanded - only 4 out of 10 future travellers have chosen their destination but have not yet booked, while only 19 percent have partially booked transport or accommodation for their next trip.

The Germans are a little hesitant...

Croatia is in the five most popular destinations for the Poles, Austrians and French, with Polish tourists putting the country in the top position, with as many as 10 percent of respondents preparing to head to Croatia by June.

As many as 80 percent of Poles are ready to travel, 48 percent plan to travel abroad, 47 percent will travel with family, most of them will stay for 4-9 days, and the largest share of Poles plan to spend up to 1,000 euros on travel, while more than a fifth of Poles have budget from 1,500 to 2,500 euros.

In the period until the end of June, the Austrians are in 4th place in terms of popularity, before Greece, while the French are in 5th place. Surprisingly 40 percent of Germans, otherwise very faithful to Croatia, are still undecided as to whether they'll travel or not.

Among those planning to do so, more than a quarter plan to travel within the country, with 50 percent going across the border, mostly to Austria and Spain, and in fifth place to Greece. Only 14 percent of Germans booked a holiday back in December.

For more, check out our travel section.