December the 30th, 2021 - President Zoran Milanovic has never been shy in expressing his opinion and is very well known for speaking his mind. This has been the case when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic and the introduction of digital Croatian covid certificates as well. It seems now, however, that those digital Croatian covid certificates that Milanovic had been so vocal about until recently, are being checked for validity at Pantovcak.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, it should be noted that, as hinted at above, President Zoran Milanovic has repeatedly warned that his Office will not require anyone to present a valid digital Croatian covid certificate when enteting, which is a move made by the National Civil Protection Directorate that the Croatian President considers to be stupid. The reality now looks decidedly different.

According to Novi list, Nikola Jelic, a spokesman for the Office of the President, confirmed that the epidemiological measure adopted by the National Civil Protection Directorate was applied in Pantovcak despite opposition from some officials, including Milanovic himself, at least if we look at what he has said about the measure.

“Members of the Honorary Protection Battalion at the entrance to the Office of the President are requesting valid digital Croatian covid certificates from each of our employees, as well as from visitors. As for the employees in the Office of the President, this isn't a problem for us because 95 percent of them have been fully vaccinated, which puts us well above the national level,'' Jelic assured.

When asked how it was that President Zoran Milanovic's announcements that he would not "harass people" about digital Croatian covid certificates failed to come to fruition, Jelic said that the president never said that he intended to break the law.

"He spoke exclusively about inspectors, and as I've said, digital Croatian covid certificates are regularly checked in various places in this country, so there is no real need for inspectors to come at all, and of course, that means there's no need for them to come and punish the head of the Office, either,'' concluded spokesman Jelic.

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

December the 30th, 2021 - Remember the talk around the Croatian national pension idea in which all individuals of the appropriate age would be paid out money from the state? It seems that none of that even touched the results the state had initially hoped for after just one year of it having been in force.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, in the very first year of the Croatian national pension's application, otherwise known as the national benefit for the elderly, failed quite catastrophically in resulting in what was expected by the government.

This has been shown by the analysis of experts from the Institute of Public Finance (IJF), who determined from HZMO (Croatian Pension Institute) that when looking at data from the end of November, only 5,658 beneficiaries received their payments of 800 kuna per month. There are many factors which point to just why it failed so miserably.

When the law on the so-called Croatian national pension was passed, which has been in force since the beginning of 2021, it was estimated that out of about 60,000 people who did not meet the minimum pension requirements, 19.7 thousand senior citizens could meet the criteria for receiving benefits this year, costing the state budget around 132 million kuna in total.

Given the shortfall in the number of beneficiaries by the end of November, only a third of that amount was used to pay out those benefits.

A lack of information provided to the target population about many of its (typically Croatian) complex application processes, including the fact that some of those entitled to the benefit are located in remote places without access to banks or even ATMs are cited as highly possible reasons for the failure of the Croatian national pension idea, at least according to senior IJF analysts.

For more on Croatian and European Union (EU) politics, make sure to check out our dedicated politics section.

December the 30th, 2021 - One German financial expert has claimed that Eurozone entry for Croatia, which is due to take place quite soon, is still premature. Is the country ready for the changes? Apparently not, according to Otmar Issing.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, in addition to joining the Schengen area, Croatia's Eurozone entry has been cited as one of the main goals of Croatian foreign policy for years now. This goal should be achieved at the beginning of 2023, for which Croatia has the support of Brussels.

That said, there are some economists such as former European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Otmar Issing of Germany who believe that Eurozone entry for Croatia would be premature, Deutsche Welle reports.

As he said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitungu (FAZ), currently no country is ready to join the Eurozone. "At the moment, I can't see any country that is ready enough to join the Eurozone," Issing told FAZ on the occasion of the recent twentieth anniversary of the introduction of the euro into circulation back on January the 1st, 2002, which those of us who grew up in Europe remember so well.

"It can't be said that every new member of the Eurozone necessarily contributes to the weakening of the euro, but these countries must guarantee some lasting stability. It isn't enough to get ready for the wedding and then return back to your old habits once you're married,'' said Issing, who also played the role of ECB chief economist from 1998 to 2006 and was credited with strategically planning the introduction of the euro as the bloc's single currency.

The last EU member state to enter the Eurozone in 2015 was Lithuania, and currently Bulgaria is also aiming to join. In fact, according to the membership agreement, all members of the European Union are obliged to accept a common currency when they meet the criteria, the only exceptions to this was the United Kingdom, which kept pound sterling, and Denmark.

Issing believes that the heterogeneity of Eurozone member states and thus different focuses when it comes to interests is already a big problem for the ECB. He believes that the governors of the national central banks should follow a common course and not simply blindly follow national financial policy. Issing also defended the euro against accusations that its introduction has made everything more expensive.

"It can look like that when it comes to purchasing daily necessities, so that's the impression people have. But when we look at spending which occurs in regard to most of the household budget, such as rent or heating costs, those costs have remained stable even after the introduction of the euro,'' Issing told FAZ.

Issing, who previously held the same position at the German central bank before taking office at the ECB, said the decision to print non-national symbols on euro banknotes at the time was a decision that proved correct in the end.

“Imagine if the French wanted to put Napoleon on their banknotes. How would the countries who were occupied by Napoleon react to this? That's why we decided on the symbolic motif of the bridges,'' Issing concluded.

For more, check out our politics section.

Croatians are passionate advocates of requesting time off work between public holidays and weekends, effectively creating additional mini vacations throughout the year. A look at the nation's obsession with long weekends, plus a list of all national holidays in Croatia in 2022

2021 was a rough year for Croatians. No, not just because of the pandemic and a whole slew of related (and unrelated) socio-economic issues. It was a depressing year because we were deprived of one of our favourite things in life: long weekends. 

While it’s probably safe to say that everyone enjoys taking time off work, people in Croatia take their annual leave very seriously and make extreme use of their PTO balance. See, we don’t just appreciate the occasional long weekend when a public holiday happens to fall on a Friday or a Monday.

Instead, we prefer public holidays to fall mid-week, so that we can take matters into our own hands and create as long of a weekend as possible with a few savvy time-off requests.

Holidays falling on Tuesdays and Thursdays are ideal. Take one day off work between the holiday and the weekend, and you have yourself a mini four-day vacation. It’s called ‘spajanje’ in Croatian, the act of ‘connecting’ holidays and weekends by the means of PTO use. If you manage to pull this off several times a year, it means taking your annual leave to another level.

Each December, as the year draws to a close, we all hurry to check our calendars to see what the next year will bring. Alas, 2021 didn’t provide us with a lot of reasons to rejoice, as most major holidays fell on weekend days. Labour Day (May 1st) was a Saturday, as well as Christmas Day. Statehood Day, Assumption of Mary and St Stephen’s Day all happened to fall on a Sunday. Rude. What a waste of national holidays. 

Are we Croatians a bunch of lazy bums who’d do anything to avoid going to work? It may seem like this is the case, but technically, we’re not slacking off as we still get the same number of days off in a year either way. We’re just very particular about how we schedule our holidays to maximise our annual leave. Why turn down a few additional short vacations each year? 

And yes, we’re aware we're not reinventing the wheel here; workers around the world love booking a few days off around public holidays to bag an extra long weekend or two. It’s just that no one seems to be as excited about this as Croatians are. The national urge to connect holidays and weekends is such a wide-spread phenomenon in Croatia, no self-respecting media outlet would fail to inform the public what they have to look forward to in this regard. This time last year a grim headline on tportal warned, ‘The 2021 holiday calendar is a nightmare. We’ll be working more than ever’. A bleak prospect. 

Things are looking up in 2022, though. It’s the last week of December, and there’s no end to enthusiastic articles about the coming year being a ‘long-weekend paradise’ and advising when to take a day off to get the most out of your annual leave. 'It simply wouldn’t make sense to have a weekend off, go to work on Monday and then have a day off again on Tuesday', says an article on Dnevnik. 'Go ahead, take a day off and connect those two!'

It’s truly a national sport. 

Croatians to themselves in 2022, probably.  

So, what opportunities do Croatian workers have to take a mini vacation in 2022? We start off with a disappointment, New Year’s Day falling on Saturday.  

Luckily, we won’t have to wait long thanks to Epiphany on Thursday, January 6th. Take a day off on Friday, and you get a nice four-day vacation to recover from the stressful Christmas holidays... or whatever else you prefer to use as an excuse.

June is a particularly fruitful month in this regard. Corpus Christi is observed on June 16th this year (Thursday), while the following week brings the Anti-Fascist Struggle Day on June 22nd (Wednesday). You’d have to take five days off work, but it would mean getting out the office for 11 days in total. Not too shabby. 

There’s also All Saints’ Day on Tuesday, November 1st if you have any leftover time off on your balance. On top of all that, a few other holidays happen to fall on various Mondays and Fridays this year, so there are plenty of long weekends to enjoy either way. 

Take a day off.

Of course, not everyone gets to make use of this perk as taking leave, PTO or otherwise, heavily depends on profession. It’s mostly office workers and other 9-5 employees on a Monday-Friday schedule who benefit from ‘spajanje’. Others, from medical professionals to those working in the service industry or the media, don’t even bother marking public holidays on their calendars. Every day is a workday, especially in a tourism-oriented country. 

On a more serious note, what to expect on public holidays in Croatia? If your visit happens to coincide with one of Croatian national holidays, you might not even notice the difference. Government offices and banks will close on holidays, but most supermarkets, restaurants and bars typically remain open.  

Easter Sunday, All Saints’ Day, Christmas and New Year’s Day are notable exceptions, as most businesses close down on those days. Chances of finding an open store on one of these four holidays are slim, so stock up on groceries and other essentials beforehand. 

Public transport in Croatia continues to run on all holidays. Depending on the location and the holiday in question, some services might operate on an adjusted schedule so remember to look up the timetables a day or two in advance.

Here’s the list of all national holidays in Croatia in 2022: 

New Year's Day: Saturday, January 1

Epiphany: Thursday, January 6

Easter Sunday: April 17

Easter Monday: April 18

Labour Day: Sunday, May 1

Statehood Day: Monday, May 30

Corpus Christi: Thursday, June 16

Anti-Fascist Struggle Day: Wednesday, June 22

Victory Day: Friday, August 5

Assumption of Mary: Monday, August 15

All Saints' Day: Tuesday, November 1

Remembrance Day for the victims of the Homeland War and Remembrance Day for the victims of Vukovar and Škabrnja: Friday, November 18

Christmas Day: Sunday, December 25

St. Stephen's Day: Monday, December 26

ZAGREB, 29 December, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday he understands the message from disgruntled residents of Petrinja, who booed him and threw a snowball at him on his arrival for a Mass for the victims of least year's earthquake. 

"The situation caused by the earthquake has left a great many people in a dire situation, so it is normal that some people are dissatisfied and that they voice their opinion and protest with a boo and a snowball. That's all part of our job and I understand and respect this message. We heard it," the prime minister said after the Mass.

The protest was organised by the Petrinja Spring civil initiative, whose members showered the prime minister and government officials on arrival at the church with shouts of "We want reconstruction!" and calls for faster reconstruction.

Plenković said that the government would do all in its power to help the people currently living in temporary accommodation and to speed up the reconstruction process.

During his tour of the earthquake-affected areas of Sisak-Moslavina County on Wednesday, President Zoran Milanović said that the reconstruction process was slow and that the biggest problems were poor organisation and crisis management, which he blamed on the prime minister.

"He should consult engineers and construction experts to realise the scale of the damage done and what it means to rebuild Banovina, with 40,000 structures damaged," Plenković said in a comment on Milanović's accusations.

"It's not something that can be done overnight, nor would it be responsible from us to promise that this job can be done quickly. This process will take time," Plenković said.

After the Mass, the prime minister visited people living in container homes after they were left homeless by the magnitude 6.2 earthquake on 29 December 2020.

ZAGREB, 29 December, 2021 - Glina deputy mayor Branka Bakšić Mitić said on Wednesday in Majske Poljane, where President Zoran Milanović visited the six-member Bjelajac family, that nothing had been built following a devastating earthquake a year ago today, other than thanks to private donations.

"But there too things get stuck because of the paperwork," said Bakšić Mitić, who was elected to the post of deputy mayor designated for ethnic Serb representatives.

The Bjelajac family lives in two container offices, she said, adding that the paperwork for the construction of their new house had not arrived yet because of the construction ministry.

The money for the construction has been raised and the project designed, but the family has not received a permit yet because the plot is over 3,000 m2 and should be under 2,000.

Asked about other houses, Bakšić Mitić said nothing had been built, other than over 50 houses thanks to private donations.

She said donations came from the government of the Serbian province of Vojvodina and the Baptist Church, and that the City of Belgrade was building six houses in Majske Poljane, expected to be ready by the end of March, and 34 in Glina.

The state has been reconstructing only chimneys on houses deemed to be safe, while the reconstruction of public buildings has not begun, she said, adding that the infrastructure damage in the Glina area exceeds HRK 300 million.

Glina mayor Ivan Janković said that this town, where President Milanović talked with volunteers today, would mark the earthquake anniversary by lighting candles for the five Glina residents killed in the tremor.

"Glina is a town that lives and has a future, but without the state's support, we won't make it," he added.

ZAGREB, 29 December, 2021 -  The head of the Split University Clinical Centre's infectious diseases department, Ivo Ivić, told the press on Wednesday that coronavirus numbers were still high in Split-Dalmatia County.

The infectious diseases specialist said that he was afraid that new coronavirus numbers would continue rising and that the consequences of New Year's Eve parties and revellers' gatherings would be getting hooked up to mechanical ventilators and funerals.

Over the last six weeks, the number of COVID patients being treated in the Split hospital was around 180, and we have now surpassed that number, he said.

As many as 100 patients have been admitted to emergency rooms for urgent checks both today and yesterday, and before that there were about 60 such cases a day, Ivić said.

Over the last two days, there were 47 COVID hospital admissions, and before that there were roughly 15 hospital admissions per day, he said.

The doctor warned that 80% of COVID patients admitted to the hospital were unvaccinated persons, and most of them were aged over 80.

This infectious diseases specialist went on to say that although the healthcare authorities had been dealing with an intensive epidemic for six weeks, people did not change anything in their behaviour.

He warned about the fast spread of the Omicron variant of SAR-CoV-2, although it seems to have less pathogenic effects, and explained that the higher numbers of new cases meant more pressure on hospitals.

Ivić said that the low vaccination rate in this county should be ascribed to ignorance, a lack of understanding, and the victory of social media reporting that "exaggerates the side effects of  the vaccines, so people, who cannot understand anything of that and have no knowledge of COVID and vaccines, feel insecure and do not want to be inoculated." 

ZAGREB, 29 Dec 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Wednesday he would not allow inspectors to come to his office to check compliance with the COVID certificate mandate.

"They can't come in. The army checks who enters and the army is not run by (Prime Minister Andrej) Plenković," he told the press in Glina, saying that the law on the certificates was unconstitutional.

Commenting on referendums, the president said the number of signatures required to call a referendum should not be lowered as that would lead to direct democracy and turn into "a trampling of minorities."

Milanović also called out Defence Minister Mario Banožić for obstructing the procurement of Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.

"Odd things are happening. America is practically offering us as a present something the army needs and someone is systematically trying to refuse it," he said, adding that Banožić received a letter from the Pentagon hurrying him up to make a decision.

"Someone doesn't want the Croatian Army to get something that is essential for the country's defence capability," the president said.