ZAGREB, 15 Nov 2021 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović met with Pope Francis during his visit to the Vatican on Monday, discussing the situation in the Western Balkans and Europe, as well as vaccination against COVID-19.

Speaking to reporters after a private audience with the pontiff, Milanović said he agreed with the Pope's view that vaccination is "an act of love for oneself." He added that he does not think this is different from the recent statement made by Croatian bishops, who said that vaccination should be voluntary and testing non-invasive.

"In the Vatican, everyone has been vaccinated, and it appears that a scientific view on this matter prevails, although face masks are not being worn much," Milanović said.

He said he had a problem with COVID restrictions because they were not based on science. "The vaccines have been invented by several brilliant minds, while this nonsense with anti-epidemic measures has nothing to do with science. In Austria, they are banning unvaccinated people from leaving their homes as of today. What is that? Is that science or are those methods reminiscent of the 1930s?"

Milanović called on citizens to get vaccinated but noted that they also have the right to be protected from arbitrariness. "I am wondering where are human rights champions, where is the European Court of Human Rights, which has the ambition to tailor countries' constitutions? They are nowhere to be seen," he said, adding that he would like to hear the Court's opinion on the rights of people who are being forbidden to leave their homes because they are not vaccinated.

Milanović said that Pope Francis has "interesting views on Brussels as a somewhat alienated center of power that does not understand that European states are historically nation-states."

He said that the Pope presented him with a mosaic showing a winegrower picking grapes, as well as his works and speeches, while he presented the Pope with a 14th-century Glagolitic missal written by Duke Novak.

Milanović also met with the Holy See's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher. They discussed the situation in Croatia's neighborhood, notably in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"We discussed things that are troubling us and that we can perhaps resolve better with the Vatican's assistance. Their view suits us. They can help. There are limits, of course, but we can also help ourselves because we are members of the EU and NATO," Milanović said.

"As long as the (Bosnian) Croats insist that they should not be deprived of the right to choose their representative and as long as they look to Sarajevo, you can be happy. Once the Croats turn away from Sarajevo and say they are no longer interested, that will send chills down your spine. An educated guess is that the Croats still care about Bosnia and Herzegovina," Milanović said.

He said he has invited the Pope to visit Croatia. "He is quite old, and I'm not sure if he should be a globe-trotter after turning 80, but he is absolutely welcome to Croatia."

Croatia's ambassadorial post in the Vatican has been vacant for a year now, and this issue has been raised by Cardinal Gallagher, Milanović said.

Asked by the press whether he would confirm Davor Stier as the new ambassador to the Holy See, the president said he was following the rules of conduct, including one that the names of future ambassadors are not made public.

Milanović said that Stier used to be an editor of an Ustasha newspaper in Argentina. "You don't know that. Do you know that he is from Argentina? He was politically active there. One of the last things he was doing there was editing an Ustasha newspaper. And what was he doing there? He certainly wasn't selling ice cream," he told Croatian reporters covering his visit.

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ZAGREB, 15 Nov 2021 - Kosovo and Serbia should find a way to normalize relations and Croatia will support them in that, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Priština on Monday.

"Croatia's stand is that we support stability, that we are for de-escalating all the tensions we have seen in recent weeks, that it's first of all up to Serbia and Kosovo to find the optimal way to resume dialogue and respect either the existing agreements or reach new agreements which will make the relations better," Plenković said at a joint press conference with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

Croatia is interested in developing relations with Kosovo and normalizing the relations with Serbia as much as possible, Plenković said. "We will do our best to support normalization between Kosovo and Serbia."

Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković with Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti. (Photo: @AndrejPlenkovic/Twitter)

Kurti invited Serbia to mutual recognition of the two countries, saying that they should talk about the disappeared.

"We want to join NATO and the EU. It's necessary to make progress in the Euro-Atlantic integration process," he added.

Plenković said Croatia supported EU enlargement and that the road to membership represented "a clear anchor and course of political, social, economic and sectoral development."

"Serbia's European perspective is equal to that of all Southeast European countries, he added.

Serbia is conducting EU accession negotiations, while Kosovo has not been recognized by five EU member states - Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain - so Serbia, Plenković said, "is several steps ahead of Kosovo."

Photo: @AndrejPlenkovic/Twitter

He is confident the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue with the EU's mediation will bring them closer to membership and "eventually, I don't know when bringing to mutual recognition. But it's up to the states to agree on that."

A meeting was held between Plenković, Kurti, their delegations, and the two countries' business people, including representatives of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Ericsson Nikola Tesla and KONČAR - Electrical Industry.

Before the pandemic, Croatia-Kosovo trade was €100 million annually. Croatia is Kosovo's seventh biggest foreign trade partner.

Plenković said the relations between the two countries were "friendly, full of understanding and the wish to intensify them."

Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic with President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani. (Photo: @AndrejPlenkovic/Twitter)

He also met with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, who presented him with the Saint Theresa presidential medal.

The medal was also given to Josip Samardžić, director of the general hospital in Slavonski Brod which treated the passengers from a Kosovo bus that crashed near the Croatian city in July. Ten people were killed in the accident.

Plenković was also received by Kosovo Parliament Speaker Glauk Konjufca.

Later today he will visit the Croat community in Janjevo and the Croatian contingent within the NATO-led peacekeeping Kosovo Force.

This is the first official visit by a Croatian prime minister to Kosovo in ten years.

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ZAGREB, 15 Nov 2021 - Businesses in Vukovar-Srijem County generated a consolidated net profit of HRK 655.5 million in 2020, which is an increase of 7.2%, while gross investments in new long-term assets decreased by 43.7% to HRK 193.9 million, a report by the Financial Agency (FINA) shows.

A total of 2,273 businesses had their registered headquarters in Vukovar-Srijem County and employed 20,063 people, which is an increase of 310 or 1.6% year-on-year.

Entrepreneurs in the county generated a total revenue of HRK 22.7 billion in 2020, up 17.4% on the year, whereas total expenditure increased by 17.8% to HRK 22 billion.

Profit amounted to HRK 1 billion, which compared to the previous year was an increase of 10.2%, while losses jumped by 16.3% to HRK 359.3 million. The result is a net profit of HRK 655.5 million or an annual increase of 7.2%.

Exports rose by 39.2% to HRK 9.2 billion while imports fell by 9.6% to HRK 968.1 million, resulting in a trade surplus of HRK 8.3 billion.

The average net monthly wage amounted to  HRK 4,749, or 6.5% more than in 2019, and 20.5% less than the national average of HRK 5,971.

Of the two largest cities in the county, Vinkovci registered 688 enterprises with 8,267 employees and a loss of HRK 170.8 million, whereas Vukovar generated a total revenue of HRK 13 billion and a profit of HRK 516.3 million or net profit of HRK 404.2 million, FINA reported.

The Prvo Plinarsko Društvo gas company from Vukovar generated the highest profit in that period (HRK 226.6 million), the highest total revenue (9.8 billion) and the highest revenue from foreign sales (HRK 6.9 billion).

The Boso retail chain from Vinkovci had the largest number of employees (965) while the biggest loser in 2020 was the PIK Vinkovci Plus agriculture company,  generating a loss of HRK 70 million.

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ZAGREB, 15 Nov 2021 -  The Zagreb-based AI startup Mindsmiths is the winner of the global award Top of AI Startups given by the Alliance for Responsible AI to projects that responsibly apply artificial intelligence.

The Croatian startup, with its AI platform, was recognized as the best among 17 projects from 10 countries.

The Mindsmiths AI platform enables the creation of Autonomous Support Systems that are applied in a number of industries, from healthcare for chronic patients to financial advice to clients in the banking sector.

A startup from Russia and the UAE, Life Peak, a digital system that enables online monitoring and predicting dangerous psychophysical conditions for individuals, was second. The Spanish solution Insikt, which works to develop AI models that allow organizations to gather intelligence on online activities directly related to terrorism, hate speech, extremism, radicalization, or human trafficking, was third.

"We believe that artificial intelligence is a tool that must be used for human good. Although there are threats associated with artificial intelligence, we are convinced that this technology must be at the service of humans. That is why we have launched a competition that will recognize and reward startups that work on projects for the benefit of society as a whole," said Juan Ignacio Rouyet, president of the "We The Humans" organization.

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ZAGREB, 15 Nov 2021 - The Croatian Journalists Association (HND) on Monday warned that the head of the HRT public broadcaster's "Business operation" unit, Mislav Stipić, has filed a private slander lawsuit against two HND vice-presidents, thus continuing a string of lawsuits against reporters and HND leaders.

Stipić has sued HND vice-presidents Branko Mijić and Goran Gazdek over a statement published on 12 March under the title "Bačić's taking to court leading people of the HND and Croatian Trade Union new attack on media freedoms", the HND said in a statement.

The latest case continues the shameful string of lawsuits against reporters that have made Croatia recognizable in the EU as a country where power-wielders use lawsuits to square accounts with reporters and media, thus threatening journalistic and media freedoms, the HND says, noting that Croatia has been at the bottom of EU rankings with regard to respect for media freedoms.

HND president Hrvoje Zovko said this was yet another attack on the HND by Stipić but the HND would continue speaking and warning about the situation at the HRT as well as his role in it. 

Stipić resented allegations in the said statement that former HRT director Kazimir Bačić, dismissed over corruption charges, targeted anyone who had dared speak up publicly about serious accusations of sexual harassment and mobbing, made against Stipić by an HRT employee and corroborated by two other employees, which Bačić tried to cover up, the HND said.

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ZAGREB, 15 Nov 2021 - The value of fiscalised receipts in Croatia last week was 14% higher than in the comparable week of 2020 and 7% higher than in the same period of 2019, show data released by the Tax Administration on Monday.

In the period from 8 to 14 November 2021, the total value of fiscalised receipts was HRK 3.6 billion, HRK 440.8 million, or 14% more than in the same period of 2020.

At the same time, the number of receipts issued grew by 15% to 40.5 million.

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November 15, 2021 - Renowned Croatian painter Krupa was awarded the 'New Ink-Painting Art Award' for the work 'Kupa river in Ladešići' by the ICCPS in Tokyo, Japan.

An academic painter and an honorary doctor of modern ink painting Alfred Freddy Krupa (1971-) as an invited author was awarded the 'New Ink-Painting Art Award' for the work 'Kupa river in Ladešići' according to the decision of the jury of the International Society for Ink Chinese Calligraphy and Ink Painting (ICCPS) based in Tokyo, Japan.

In 2019, the 'Kupa in Ladešići' brought the Croatian painter Krupa the 'Grand Prize' and the title 'Artist of the Month' (ArtList.com, Dallas / TX /, USA).

All invited/awarded artists will be presented at the online exhibition (10th International Exhibition of Chinese Calligraphy and Ink Painting) which will be available from 15 to 21 November 2021. This exhibition is traditionally physically held every year in China, but this time it is organized online due to well-known exceptional circumstances. It should be emphasized that this is Krupa's third award in Asia. He was previously awarded twice in China (2013 / ICCPS Special Advisory Award / and 2018 / 1st place in the competition on the occasion of the Chinese Year of the Dog).

In addition, in 2017 he received another award in the form of recognition of the title 'Master of Watercolorists' by the International Watercolor Society - Hong Kong.

In 1996 he was the author of the Manifesto of the New Ink Art Movement, and in 1998 he received a postgraduate research scholarship from the Government of Japan as the first Croatian academic painter, and in the fall/winter of 1998/1999. conducted at Tokyo Gakugei University.

Since 2012, he has been an elected member of the International Society for Chinese Calligraphy and Ink Painting, North American Branch. He becomes a member by inviting the artist and formally receiving the founder after the person is nominated by other managers (directors of branches) in the company.

In 2014, the Zagreb ITG published the monograph 'Alfred Freddy Krupa', and the painter himself is the author of a number of published texts and several books.

One of his inks, "Neo - Minimalism, 2013 ", is in the TATE Gallery, Special Library Collection, and avant-garde work from the same art movement "The original artwork - Modern ink painting, what is it ?", is at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA, Manhattan Artist Book Collection). The Silesian Museum in Katowice (Poland) also acquired two works for its collection.

According to the 'General Lexicon of Artists' (Berlin, 2020), Krupa is the most important European artist in the segment of modern ink painting, and the British 'Aesthetica' (2019) describes him as a 'pioneer of modern ink painting for which he gained international recognition.'

At the beginning of 2019, Croatian painter Krupa was included in the TOP 10 Modern ink shower painters by ArtFact.net.

After a long series of awards and recognitions, the year 2021 began for him with “1. World Award in Painting 'and the title' Artist of the Year 2020 at the 13th International Art Festival' Interartia 'organized by the International Art Academy & Society ', Volos, Greece.

In the same style, it ends with this award in Japan.

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ZAGREB, 15 Nov 2021 - Minister of Labour and Pension System Josip Aladrović on Monday said that there is no rational reason to reject being tested for coronavirus, underscoring that employers would decide on the fate of those who refused to be tested.

"We can try and have understanding, for a certain period of time, for people who do not wish to get vaccinated. However, there is no rational reason to reject testing and I think that we all need to show responsibility here," Aladrović told reporters.

Speaking ahead of the introduction of COVID certificates in all state and public service facilities on Tuesday, Aladrović underscored that the healthcare and welfare sectors, where COVID certificates were introduced in October, had demonstrated a high level of responsibility, adding that he did not believe other systems could encounter any major problems for introducing the certificates either.

Asked what will happen to employees who refuse to be tested, Aladrović underscored that their employers would be the ones to decide.

"The related lay-offs so far have been at the level of statistical errors. I expect a vast majority of employees will be responsible, however, employers will be the ones to decide in cases of non-compliance," he said and added that this was in line with the law.

Commenting on ongoing protests against COVID certificates, he said that they were exclusively politically motivated. "It is really difficult to find any rational reason for the protests," the minister said, adding that he expected them to wane at one point.

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