ZAGREB, 3 Oct, 2021 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović announced on Sunday that everything was ready for the introduction of mandatory EU digital COVID certificates in the healthcare and welfare systems.

"Everything is ready. ... I am confident that the people working in the healthcare and welfare systems will do their best and that the interests of patients are their priority. I think they will continue to observe the professional and ethical principles as they have so far," Božinović told RTL television during a visit to Velika Gorica, just south of Zagreb.

Commenting on the request by the nurses' union for assessment of the constitutionality of this decision, Božinović said that the purpose of decisions like this was to protect the health of the most vulnerable people, adding that the decisions by the national COVID-19 response team were in line with the constitution and law.

"Mandatory testing of staff before coming to work was in place before. Drawing a parallel between COVID certificates and mandatory vaccination is completely wrong and untrue," Božinović said, adding that the Constitutional Court had confirmed the constitutionality and legality of decisions made by the national coronavirus response team before and "that is what is going to be this time as well."

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ZAGREB, 3 Oct, 2021 - One of Croatia's leading IT companies, Infinum, continues to expand into new markets and is opening an office in Podgorica, expecting a 25% growth this year, Infinum chief operating officer Nikola Kapraljević told Hina.

"2020 was marked by global chaos caused by coronavirus, but despite the difficulties, people found a way forward and technology played a key role, so we also spent much of the year developing new processes, tools and systems. We continued to cooperate with most clients, and our teams have the opportunity to work on interesting and innovative solutions in health care, education, renewable energy, finance, and even music," said Kapraljević.

Revenue growth of over 20% in 2020, 2021

In 2020, he said, they generated about HRK 100 million in revenue, which was 22% more than in 2019, and they expect continued growth in 2021.

"We want Infinum to continue the growth trend with an additional 25%. When we add our two sister companies, Porsche Digital Croatia and Productive, we expect that the joint revenue in 2021 will amount to HRK 150 to 160 million," Kapraljević said.

Stressing that such results and success were achieved because of the employees, he said they currently employed over 350 people, and in 2021 alone more than 70 new employees joined Infinum, which he hopes would increase to 100 by the end of the year.

Kapraljević said that in addition to the offices in Croatia (in Zagreb and Varaždin), Slovenia and New York, they have a good team in Montenegro with 15 people, and they are currently working on designing a bigger office in Podgorica, since they see great potential in that market.

In addition to Montenegro, they are actively working on developing the brand in Western Europe and expanding in the UK market, and "are keeping an eye on various development centres across Europe, where we plan to establish Infinum as a quality partner for the development of digital products".

Since exactly a year ago, in September 2020, Infinum formed a partnership with Porsche and opened a new company, Porsche Digital Croatia, Kapraljević said that the companies were celebrating the company's first birthday in the best possible way -- the company is growing and developing rapidly and well, constantly employing talented people and working on interesting projects with currently nearly 50 employees.

"We are working on products that enhance the experience of Porsche customers and those that help to optimise... Porsche's manufacturing process," he said.

Kapraljević also said that the company was currently developing a mobile application for functionality control and car surveillance, as well as a platform for short-term and long-term Porsche rental.

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October 3, 2021 - Briton Stephen Williams, a member of the Bahrain Victorious team, is the winner of the 2021 CRO Race which ended on Sunday.

In the last, sixth stage on the roads of Zagreb County and the capital, from Samobor to Zagreb (157.5 kilometers), Williams took second place behind the Dutchman Tim van Dijke (Jumbo-Visma) and thus defended the leader's red shirt in the overall standings, which he took over with a stage victory in Opatija on Saturday, reports HRT.

Up to six kilometers before the finish, Williams could ride comfortably in the main group, but after entering the last lap in the center of Zagreb, Van Dijke and Norwegian Markus Hoelgaard, second and third in the overall standings, had attacked, so Williams had to react. 

The leading trio in the overall standings took the first three positions in the last stage, and in the final sprint in front of the Croatian National Theater, Van Dijke was faster than Williams, while Hoelgaard finished third with five seconds ahead of the peloton led by Australian Kaden Groves (Team Bikeexchange).

Williams eventually reached the biggest victory of his career, having won only one weaker stage race in France so far (Ronde de l'Isard 2018), with a 13-second lead over second-placed Van Dijke and 17 seconds ahead of third-placed Hoelgaard.

Apart from the stage victory in Zagreb and the second place in the overall standings, Van Dijke is also the winner of the competition for the best young cyclists and won the white T-shirt.

The blue T-shirt intended for the best sprinter was worn by the Dutchman Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma), while the green T-shirt for the best climber was won by the British Simon Yates (Team Bikeexchange).

Bravo for another world-class cycling event!

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ZAGREB, 3 Oct, 2021 - An agreement on cooperation in drafting and implementing the Vinkovci urban development strategy for the financial period 2021-2027, worth at least €25 million, was signed in this eastern city earlier this week by the mayors of Vinkovci, Otok and nine adjacent municipalities.

Besides Vinkovci, as the centre of the urban area, and the city of Otok, the agreement was signed by the municipalities of Andrijaševci, Ivankovo, Jarmina, Nijemci, Nuštar, Privlaka, Stari Jankovci, Stari Mikanovci and Vođinci.

This agreement has opened up new opportunities for the city of Vinkovci and the entire urban area, said Vinkovci Mayor Ivan Bosančić, underscoring that this was an opportunity to give fresh impetus to the development of the urban area using the mechanisms and funds of the European Union.

"Through the ITU mechanism, local government units connect and work together, and we have many links. From the economy and culture to education, there is almost no area in which we are not connected," he said.

According to Bosančić, the signatories of the agreement will have about €25 million at their disposal for projects important for the development of the area, and the focus will be on projects in the field of education and economy.

Otok Mayor Josip Šarić said the city authorities were interested in investments in projects for the reconstruction and construction of unclassified roads.

"This is a great opportunity to use EU funds for projects we consider most necessary," the mayor of Otok said.

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ZAGREB, 3 Oct, 2021 - Additional minority elections are being held in Croatia on Sunday, with 131,000 voters electing 90 members of local councils and regional assemblies, and in Pazin, the administrative seat of Istria County, an early election is being held for the 13-seat city council.

The additional elections are held in 16 counties and the City of Zagreb, at 565 polling stations, and most of them are in Sisak-Moslavina County (84) and Vukovar-Srijem County (69), while there is only one in Split-Dalmatia County.

There are 490 candidates on 108 slates running in the elections.

The additional elections are held because the regular local elections held in May failed to secure sufficient representation of six ethnic minorities in some local councils and regional assemblies, as well as representation of the Croat communities in the eastern municipalities of Borovo, Trpinja and Jagodnjak. One Croat is to be elected to the council of each of these municipalities.

Croats on SDSS slate In Borovo

In Trpinja, two independent slates, with Krunoslav Bručić and Ruža Tanacković as lead candidates, are running for the council seat, in Jagodnjak, only the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) has submitted its slate, while in Borovo only the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) is running in the election, with all four candidates on its slate being ethnic Croats.

In Jagodnjak, the SDSS is also running in the election for a councillor from the Roma minority, with four Roma candidates on its slate.

In these three municipalities, 871 ethnic Croats have a right to vote in the additional elections. Only voters who are registered as members of a national minority can vote in the additional minority elections, and they must reside in the area of the unit for which the elections have been called.

The State Election Commission (DIP) will publish the first provisional results on its website at 9 am on Monday, 4 October.

Pazin holding early election for city council

On Sunday, Pazin is holding an early election for its 13-seat city council, and about 7,300 voters can cast their ballots at 16 polling stations.

The early election has been called because after the regular local elections in May, none of the five parties that entered the city council, including the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS), which has been in power for years, secured the necessary majority. Of the 13 councillors, six were from the IDS, four from the We Can! political platform, one from the Social Democratic Party (SDP), one from the HDZ and one was independent. The council was not formed within the statutory deadline even after three attempts, so the government has called an early election.

Candidates of five slates are running for a seat in the city council -- the slates of the HDZ, the SDP, the We Can! political platform, the IDS/HSU/HNS coalition and an independent slate of a group of voters led by Željko Mrak.

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ZAGREB, 3 Oct, 2021 - Croatia has registered 944 new coronavirus cases and 14 COVID-19-related deaths over the past 24 hours,, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Sunday.

The number of active cases stands at 9,069.

There are 779 infected persons receiving hospital treatment, and 95 of them are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 408,699 people have been registered as having contracted the novel coronavirus, and 8,678 of them have died, while 390,952 have recovered, including 1,082 in the last 24 hours. Currently, there are 20,198 people in self-isolation.

To date, 2,852,044 people have been tested, 9,005 of whom over the past 24 hours.

As at 2 October, 3,447,108 vaccine doses have been administered, with 45.08% of the total population, or 54,07% of the adult population, having been vaccinated. 1,829,251 people have received at least one dose and of them 1,714,992 have been fully vaccinated, which is 50.78% of the adult population.

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October 3, 2021 - A new month, a new Zagreb Digital Nomad Ambassador: meet Andrae Smith from South Africa, who will be resident for the month of October. 

The focus on developing the digital nomad story in Zagreb continues. After the success of the inaugural Zagreb Digital Nomad Week in June, the Zagreb Digital Nomad Ambassador project has been running since July 1, with the Croatian capital hosting one eexperienced digital nomad a month at Doma Zagreb Aparthotel to work with the city in increasing awareness of Zagreb as a quality destination for remote workers. 

The tenure of September's dynamic ambassador, Israeli Nimrod Dean Kuchel, came to an end with his final event on October 1. Dean hosted a Zagreb Meet-Up and Pitch night at Canopy by Hilton, with various speakers sharing travel and digital nomad experiences.   

Before leaving the following morning, Dean shared his thoughts on a month in Zagreb in the interview above. 

Among the 50 locals, expats and nomads who attended the event was Andrae Smith, who had just landed from flights from her native South Africa. 

Andrae is the Zagreb Digital Nomad Ambassador for October, and she and Dean had a good conversation and handover over a drink or three at Canopy, as well as breakfast the following morning. Andrae started her own company, Work Wanderers, which runs co-living and co-working retreats for digital nomads in locations around the world, including Bali, Cape Town and Portugal. 

And maybe now Croatia... Croatia has been on Andrae's radar for some time - here is her application video for the ambassador programme. 

She is enjoying her first few days in the city, and will be working with the programme organisers - Zagreb Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads, and TCN, to get the most out of her month in Zagreb, with various events with the digital nomad community planned.  

We caught up wth Andrae for a quick introductory interview at the Canopy by Hilton event - see above. 

If you would like to connect with Andrae during her month in Zagreb, you can find her on LinkedIn.

For the latest news and features about digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

October the 3rd, 2021 - The largest continental Croatian tourism project which would come to be in Bjelovar and bring endless benefits to it, is stuck in an uncertain race.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, the Thermal Riviera with Olympic, outdoor and indoor pools and a water park, relying on sustainable energy sources and geothermal sources, is a large sports and tourism project from Bjelovar worth 250 million kuna in a high stage of completion, and is one of the projects that already fully meet the principles. funding criteria from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO).

However, to make sure that their project, which should give economic impetus to the whole region, can count on this unique opportunity, Bjelovar is eagerly awaiting detailed criteria for funding from the aforementioned NPOO.

This joins the rest of the tourism sector, which is concerned that the criteria will not be known in time, and there will be little time left to implement tenders and contract projects, all of which need to be done in 2022.

If we don't hurry up, the Croatian tourism sector could be left without a good part of the total of 2.2 billion euros that could be obtained through this EU programme by 2026, the sector has been warning recently.

When it comes to such large thermal riviera projects, which have a slow return on investment but strong potential for development, European Union sources are almost the only solution, as neighbouring and nearby countries such as Austria, Slovenia and Hungary have been convinced of.

On Wednesday, Bjelovar Mayor Dario Hrebak talked to government representatives about the future of this, the largest Croatian continental tourism project, and the criteria for obtaining money from the NPOO, during their visit at a session of the Bjelovar City Council on the occasion of Bjelovar City Day. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic stated that the spa project is especially important.

“The project related to geothermal sources for tourism, which you're applying for in the context of financing the development of tourism from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, is especially important. The message you sent us that the project is ready, I think we must adequately note and take into account,'' said the Prime Minister.

However, it has been unofficially learned that the problem could be the size of the project itself, which is also one of the criteria that should be defined by the end of the second quarter of next year at the very latest. Whether smaller projects will be financed is reportedly a criterion that still applies, although Minister of Tourism and Sport Nikolina Brnjac recently said that large projects will be used to drive the development of the local economy.

In principle, it has been defined that in addition to the two basic criteria in tourism, sustainability and digitalisation, projects in a high stage of completion are also required, but this should also define whether it is at the  building permit stage, or at some earlier stage of completion.

"Our project has been completed, we expect to obtain our building permit in a month and a half, we've resolved the land, energy, environmental study. We've built a well for the swimming pools, another one is being built with a water temperature of 70 degrees Celsius that can be used for heating, and we have a perfect location near the new motorway. In cooperation with leading consultants, we have a feasibility study that showed that this project is very necessary and unique,'' said Mayor Hrebak.

Namely, the project of the Bjelovar spa, which initially came with a mere third of the cost of this big project, and was planned to be financed by the City, was expanded encouraged by the announcements of the NPOO programme, and after the need for the Olympic pool was expressed by Croatian water polo and swimming federations, it gained even more significance, because nothing like that existd at all in that part of Croatia.

For more information on continental Croatian tourism projects, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.