Supreme Court Vice President Marin Mrčela Pushes For Changing Model of Selecting Chief Justice
ZAGREB, 5 May, 2021 - Supreme Court Vice President Marin Mrčela told the national broadcaster (HTV) on Tuesday evening that the disputes in the election of that court's president could be avoided if the system of the selection is changed so that it is the judges themselves who elect their top-ranking colleague.
In this context he mentioned the model of the selection of the president of the Constitutional Court who is appointed by his/her colleagues.
Mrčela said that the current disputes about the future Supreme Court president are purely political.
He pushed for removing politics from the process of the appointment of the Supreme Court President and added that it would also be conducive to reducing the perception of the political influence on the judiciary.
In order to change the process of the selection of the Supreme Court President, it is necessary to amend the Constitution which, however, requires a political consensus, he admitted.
A total of five candidacies have been submitted for the new head of the Supreme Court.
Earlier on Tuesday, President Zoran Milanović said that law professor Zlata Đurđević was his candidate for the Supreme Court president and asked members of parliament to think carefully before they reject her because he would hang tough on this matter.
Mrčela said that the Supreme Court would also give its opinion on the candidates, however, this opinion was not binding, despite GRECO's recommendations that it should be treated as binding.
For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Travel Hungry Foreigners Go Crazy for Cheaper Ryanair Zagreb Flights
May the 5th, 2021 - The news of Ryanair Zagreb flights has been met with a cheer from travellers who will now no longer need to rely on the often unreasonably expensive Croatia Airlines flights to the Croatian capital, especially given the fact that British Airways still hasn't made its return between the European capitals of London and Zagreb.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, Zagreb has been on Ryanair's wish list for years now, and the new incentives of Zagreb International Airport for the arrival of new low-budget operators to the Croatian capital were an opportunity for this well-known and wildly popular Irish company to open a base in Zagreb, which we have reported on extensively.
"The first line starts operating in June, and the Zagreb base will be operational from September. We plan to base two aircraft, the A320 aircraft of our partner company Laude. We're extremely satisfied with the booking on all lines to and from Zagreb. What's interesting is that as much as 90 percent of these bookings are made by foreigners, with the top three countries being Belgium, Sweden and Italy. Only 10 percent of the total booking is made up of passengers from Croatia. In addition, 70 percent of the reserved tickets refer to a planned period of stay in Zagreb which is shorter than four days, which justifies our claim about Zagreb being a city break destination,'' they said from Ryanair.
They added that by the summer of 2022, they plan to have about 40 flights from Zagreb, and one of them could be to Dublin, which is a popular tourist and business centre for many Croats. Ryanair still plans to have a seasonal base in the Dalmatian city of Zadar, where it will now base two aircraft instead of the previous one plane, and open a number of new routes. Currently, the most significant bookings towards Zadar come from the markets of Poland, Sweden and Germany.
Seasonal routes to Pula, Split and Dubrovnik are set to continue, which means that the largest European airline will fly to five Croatian cities this summer season. Although in the previous period they flew to Rijeka and Osijek, so far they have no plans with these two destinations.
The Ryanair Zagreb flights have delighted many who want to see the capital's tourism picture changed and have much cheaper access to travel to other European cities without having to pay an extortionate amount for very little.
For more, follow our travel section.
Croatian Public's Opinion on Eurozone More Positive But Skepticism Remains
May the 5th, 2021 - The Croatian public has always had a very suspicious view of the entry of the country into the formerly deeply troubled Eurozone, but it seems that although it's only very slight, that opinion is beginning to alter. Skepticism, however, remains as strong as it was when the country's very EU referendum took place.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Jadranka Dozan writes, the positive image of the European Union (EU) held by the Croatian public today is slightly better than it was around half a year ago, according to the national report of the Standard Eurobarometer for Croatia, which was published recently by the European Commission (EC).
When compared to the previous Croatian public opinion poll on the EU, the positive perception of surveyed Croatian citizens increased by one percentage point (from 47 to 48 percent), while at the same time the negative perception decreased by two points, from 13 down to 11 percent.
According to the latest Eurobarometer results, Croatian respondents in the latest survey also showed slightly higher support for the country's planned entry into the Eurozone than they did half a year ago. However, although this support has increased by one percentage point, up to 48 percent, and the number of those who oppose Eurozone entry has decreased by the same amount, Croatia still deviates considerably from the EU average. In the rest of the bloc, the single currency is supported by as much as 70 percent of the population of its member states, or three percent more than was recorded just half a year ago.
As the European Commission points out, European respondents, as well as the Croatian public, are at the forefront of the EU's achievements in the free movement of people, goods and services within the territory of the bloc. They consider peace among the EU's member states to be the second most important plus, and solidarity among the EU member states is in the third place.
The aforementioned survey was commissioned by the European Commission's Directorate General for Communication, and the survey in Croatia, on a representative sample of 1,028 citizens over the age of fifteen through direct interviews with respondents in their own homes, was conducted by the Hendal agency from February the 15th to March the 7th this year. The Standard Eurobarometer survey is otherwise conducted twice a year, and of the 94 such surveys conducted so far, the most recent is the 33rd, which also covers Croatia.
For more, follow our politics section.
Nipro Takes Over Croatian Pharmaceutical Packaging Company Piramida
May the 5th, 2021 - The Japan-based company Nipro has taken over Piramida, a Croatian pharmaceutical packaging producer from Sesvete near the City of Zagreb.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, the Sesvete-based Piramida company, which is a Croatian pharmaceutical packaging producer, has enjoyed some excellent business results - growth of 15 to 20 percent per year.
These brilliant results have naturally attracted attention in the form of an April purchase/transaction which has now been completely carried out and turned into an ownership transformation. As a result of that, this leading Croatian pharmaceutical packaging manufacturer entered the composition of the Nipro Corporation, a global group with 70 years of tradition, based in Osaka, Japan.
The acquisition of Piramida, crucial for strengthening its position here on the European market in which Piramida has a prominent position as one of the top five manufacturers, was carried out by their European subsidiary - Nipro Pharma Packaging International NV. The current owner of Piramida - the regional private equity fund Blue Sea Capital, is thus successfully leaving the company's ownership.
A new development phase of the Piramida with global ambitions is expected under the leadership of a strong global corporation, while the fund itself is opening up a new opportunity for equity entry with its own capital into other stable and growing companies in Croatia's immediate region. The sale of Piramida to a top player such as the Nipro Corporation and whose shares are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange is also a strong confirmation and good reference for the fund’s operations.
The Japanese group generates about 4 billion US dollars in annual revenue, has more than 33,000 employees, and big business plans for the period up to 2030 with the goal of achieving total sales of 1 trillion JPY (equal to around 7.6 billion euros). Their recent investments in the United States and much closer to home in France are in the amount of 60 million dollars in the expansion of production capacities that will be in operation during the year 2024.
According to Stephan Arnold, the director of Nipro PharmaPackaging, the acquisition of Piramida strengthens the position of the world's leading supplier of primary glass packaging for the pharmaceutical industry. Such packaging, he argues, plays a crucial role in today’s challenging world, especially as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and increased vaccine production. By purchasing this Croatian pharmaceutical packaging company and its annual capacity of more than 0.5 billion glass containers, Nipro is now able to meet specific Central European market needs.
Blue Sea Capital introduced corporate governance and professional management to Piramida, helping this Croatian pharmaceutical packaging company to develop its customer portfolio. They invested in eight new production lines to modernise the company and develop the ampoule business, resulting in an increase in the number of employees by 35 percent, doubling production capacities and revenue, and ranking among the five largest manufacturers of glass ampoules for the pharmaceutical industry in all of Europe. The factory in Sesvete otherwise produces more than half a billion bottles per year.
Commenting on the successful sale of the company, Sasa Galic, a partner and director of Blue Sea Capital, pointed out that this confirms the success of their investment strategy of transforming regional, family, small and medium companies into small corporations with professional management and a strong influence on the local community.
For more, follow our dedicated business section.
557 Million Kuna Investment for Revitalisation of Senj Power Plant
May the 5th, 2021 - A new investment in Croatia totalling a massive 557 million kuna has been started on the path to fruition regarding the Senj power plant.
As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, HEP recently signed a valuable contract with a community of Croatian bidders involved with Koncar for the reconstruction of the Senj power plant (hydropower plant).
Recently in the City of Zagreb, Hrvatska elektroprivreda (HEP) signed an agreement on the replacement of the primary equipment of the Senj power plant with a community of Croatian companies led by Koncar-engineering for energy and transport and Koncar-generators and engines. The contract is worth as much as 330 million kuna and is part of the main project for the reconstruction of the Senj power plant worth 557 million kuna, which will increase the power plant by 20 MW.
Work on the Senj power plant will begin in 2022 and end in 2026. HEP expects that this large investment will increase the reliability and availability of the Senj power plant, extend the life of the power plant for the next fifty or so years and ultimately reduce the costs of maintaining and operating the plant in general.
Otherwise, the Senj power plant is located seven kilometres south of the town of Senj itself, not far from Sveti Juraj, and was initially put into operation back in 1965. The total available capacity of the power plant is 216 MW, and the average annual production stands at 970 GWh, which makes up about 20 percent of the production of hydropower plants in the Republic of Croatia, or 10 percent of HEP's total production.
In addition to electricity generation, the Senj power plant, as part of the Senj hydropower system, provides a secure water supply to part of the northern Littoral, including the islands of Rab and Pag. The reconstruction and revitalisation of the Senj power plant is being done as part of the cycle of the reconstruction, extension and revitalisation of HEP's hydropower plants, with a total value of 3.9 billion kuna, which began back in 2012 and includes 12 of the total of 26 hydropower plants owned by HEP.
For more, follow our business section.
Game of Thrones Prequel - House of the Dragon - to be Filmed in Croatia
May 5, 2021 - Game of Thrones is returning through a prequel series House of the Dragon which will feature locations in Croatia.
Game of Thrones is returning! After cancelling the plans to shoot a prequel series starring Naomi Watts in 2019, HBO seemed to be putting their incredibly popular franchise to bed. However, things changed at the end of April as the company confirmed the start of production for a different prequel series based on George R. R. Martin's book „Fire & Blood“. The book focuses mainly on the story of the Targaryen Family. The plot follows them up until the civil war known as the „Dance of the Dragons“, set 300 years before the events of HBO's Game of Thrones.
House of the Dragon will feature a fittingly solid cast. Paddy Considine of The Outsider and Peaky Blinders fame will play the role of King Viserys. Matt Smith (Doctor Who, The Crown) plays Prince Daemon Targaryen. Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel, Ready Player One) will fill the role of Alicent Hightower. Emma D’Arcy (Truth Seekers, Misbehaviour) will play Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. HBO will produce one season featuring ten episodes.
Positive Effects of Game of Thrones are still felt in Croatia
The. exciting news doesn't stop there. The British edition of GQ reports locations in Croatia and Morocco are going to be used for filming. Original series found numerous locations along the coast of Croatia perfect for depicting the fantasy world of Westeros. Croatian cities like Dubrovnik, Split, and Sibenik helped create a unique look and feel of some of the key places in the story. It is hard to find a Game of Thrones fan who doesn’t associate the city of King’s Landing with the medieval architecture of Dubrovnik’s historical centre. So, it will be very interesting to see which exact locations the production will choose and how they will shape the look of the new series.
Local tourism sectors in Dubrovnik and Split enjoyed quite a dramatic positive effect caused by the worldwide Game of Thrones craze. Themed filming locations tours are still some of the most requested by travellers to Dubrovnik. The show also created a ripple effect that saw these Croatian destinations become more recognised globally than ever before. Real effects are as significant as they are immeasurable. It stands to reason the news about the return of Croatian tourism’s favourite TV series is an exciting one.
With all said and done, it seems the fans of the original show have something to look forward to, as do local tourism boards in Croatia and Morocco. The rest of us are hoping the new series will live up to the reputation of its over-hyped big brother.
For more information about Game of Thrones filming locations, tours, and activities in Croatia be sure to visit this page on our newly launched Total Croatia portal.
For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Flights from Split Airport to 25 Destinations Across Next 20 Days!
May 5, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia announced flights from Split Airport to 24 destinations over the next 20 days!
Croatian Aviation reports that Split Airport has published a list of flights confirmed by airlines until May 24 this year. According to the announcements, in the next 20 days, Split will have regular flights to as many as 25 destinations.
Split Airport records an increasing number of re-established routes from weekend to weekend, and until May 24 this year, Split will have regular lines to as many as 25 destinations - 5 domestic and 20 international, which, given the epidemiological situation, passenger restrictions, and low demand, is really great news.
Croatia Airlines will have the largest number of destinations from Split, of which two are domestic and four international. Namely, until that date, Croatia Airlines will operate from Split to Zagreb, Osijek, Frankfurt, Rome, Munich, and Zurich. All routes are already in operation, except the Split - Zurich - Split line, where Croatia Airlines will make its first flight this season on Saturday, May 22.
The second airline in terms of the number of routes in the mentioned period is German Eurowings. The company already operates on two lines (Stuttgart and Düsseldorf), and from May 22, there will be three more in traffic - to Hamburg, Cologne, and Dortmund.
The third carrier is easyJet, which currently has three routes to Split (Basel, Berlin, and Geneva), and from May 22, this well-known low-cost airline will connect Split with London (Luton Airport).
In terms of the number of routes, the Croatian private airline, Trade Air, is in fourth place, connecting Split with Rijeka, Dubrovnik, and Pula, via Pula and Osijek throughout the year. The three mentioned lines will be in traffic twice a week, as is already usual.
In addition to these airlines, it should be noted that the Dutch KLM will continue to connect Split with Amsterdam, LOT with Warsaw, Austrian Airlines with Vienna, Lufthansa with Munich and Frankfurt, and Smartwings with Prague. All the mentioned lines are already in traffic. Vueling will also have another rotation on the route from Barcelona (May 8), and all other flights until the end of June have been canceled. Likely, Vueling will no longer offer direct flights on this route to Split in the summer of 2021.
The two companies will operate their first flights this season to Split. The Latvian national airline, Air Baltic, will introduce a route between Riga and Split on Monday, May 10. Flights are announced twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays.
Four days later, on May 14, the Dutch Transavia will resume traffic on the seasonal line between Paris (Orly Airport) and Split, which will be open twice a week, on Fridays and Sundays, until the last week of May.
This month (as in the entire summer season), Split Airport will be the busiest airport on the coast. From May 4 to 24, over 200 aircraft operations on scheduled flights were announced. In the summer season of 2019, it was the kind of traffic that Split had in one weekend in the peak season, but the good news is that the number of destinations connected to Split is growing already this month. We can expect the introduction of a larger number of lines as early as the beginning of June.
You can read more about Split Aiport HERE.
Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.
For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
ATP Challenger Zagreb Open, First Professional Tennis Tournament in Capital Since 2015
May 5, 2021 - The ATP Challenger Zagreb Open will be the first professional tennis tournament in the Croatian capital since 2015 and the last edition of Zagreb Indoors.
Gol.hr reports that the ATP Challenger Zagreb Open, a tennis tournament with a prize fund of 44,820 euros, to be held from May 9 to 15 at the Maksimir Tennis Center, was presented at the Sheraton Hotel in Zagreb on Tuesday.
It will be the first professional tennis tournament in the Croatian capital since 2015 and the last edition of Zagreb Indoors.
"Great love for tennis and enthusiasm and desire for men's professional tennis to return to the city of Zagreb led to this tournament. I think this is a great thing for our city and Croatia and that the tournament will become a traditional and recognizable Zagreb sports event. Our wish is to reach the ATP 250 tournament status, but we are going step by step," said the director of the Zagreb Open Goran Belošević when presenting the tournament.
The list of registered players is led by 29-year-old Argentine Federico Coria, currently the 92nd tennis player in the world, who is the younger brother of Guillermo Coria, once third in the ATP rankings who was a finalist at Roland Garros in 2004. Among the more famous names are 33-year-old Leonardo Mayer, who was the 21st tennis player in the world six years ago and played for the Argentine national team in 2016, which won the Davis Cup, 28-year-old Bosnian tennis player Damir Džumhur, who reached 23rd place in the individual ATP rankings in 2018, and Portuguese Joao Sousa, who reached 28th place in the world five years ago.
"The final list will be known only on Friday, but I can announce that it will be one of the strongest Challengers 80 this year," said Belošević.
The organizers have at their disposal three invitations for the main tournament and the same number for the qualifications, most of which should be given to Croatian tennis players. One of them is 24-year-old Nino Serdarušić from Zagreb.
"I am glad that we finally have a tournament of this type in the capital. I think this is a great opportunity for the development of all players and, of course, for the future of Zagreb and Croatian tennis. I hope that the Croatian Tennis Pro Tournaments series will become a tradition because it is something. It means a lot to us tennis players. I am looking forward to the start of the Zagreb tournament," said the Croatian Davis Cup national team member who reached the quarterfinals at last week's ATP Challenger in Rome in the same category as the Zagreb tournament. At the same time, he won two of the three previous Croatian Challengers, two in Split and Zadar.
The Zagreb Open is also part of the Croatian Tennis Pro Tournaments series under the Croatian Tennis Federation (HTS), as part of which ten professional tennis tournaments for tennis players will be held in nine Croatian cities this year.
"We tried to bring as many professional tournaments as possible to Croatia. The Istrian Riviera series is well-known, organized for the 49th year in a row this year, and the Challenger was organized in Zadar for the first time. Zagreb has always had a women's tennis tournament, and now is the time for the men's tournament to return after a few years," said the director of the Croatian Tennis Federation, Vlatko Jovanoski.
In addition to HTS, the Zagreb Open is supported by the City of Zagreb and the City Office for Sports and Youth.
"Tennis is a recognized sport in Zagreb, and I am glad that after Zagreb Indoors, another tournament is being held in our city. Sports events are an opportunity to send a positive message from Zagreb to Europe and the world, an invitation to tourists. No economic activity should also be neglected, which means a lot in these pandemic conditions," said the acting mayor of the City of Zagreb, Jelena Pavičić Vukičević.
Due to anti-epidemic measures, the tournament will be closed to the public, and matches will be available to watch via the streaming service on the official website of the ATP Tour (www.atptour.com) and the social networks of HTS.
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Vedran Corluka to Become Croatia National Team Assistant Coach!
May 5, 2021 - Croatian Football Federation president Davor Suker has confirmed for Russian media that Vedran Corluka will work alongside Zlatko Dalic as the Croatia national team assistant coach!
Sportske Novosti reports that Vedran Corluka is returning to the Croatia national team, confirmed the Croatian Football Federation president Davor Suker for the Russian Sport24 ru. The former Croatia national team player will replace Ivica Olic in the position of assistant coach in Zlatko Dalic's coaching staff.
"Vedran had a phenomenal career with the national team. That is why we decided he would be an assistant to Zlatko Dalic at the European Championships. It is our joint decision. I am very happy that Vedran will be with the team. I am sure that a person like him will unite the team and will help young players," Suker said.
Corluka has been in Russia since 2012, where he plays for Lokomotiv Moscow, and announced that he would say goodbye to that club at the end of the season. He did not say what he would do next, but joining the Croatia coaching staff suggests he has coaching ambitions. Is this the end of his playing career or will he continue to play after the Euros? We will probably get an answer soon. Corluka retired from the Croatia national team after the 2018 World Cup.
Recall, before Russia, Dalic brought on Ivica Olic as an assistant, mostly to be a link with the players he competed next to not long before. Dalic also wanted Darijo Srna to join his coaching staff.
Thus, the idea of Corluka joining the coaching staff is not so surprising. Olic took over CSKA Moscow in March, leaving Dalic with a hole to fill. We are still waiting for the coach to decide exactly who will make up his coaching staff at the Euros and whether there will be even more new names.
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Zagreb Stock Exchange Indices Close At Record High Since Late February 2020
ZAGREB, 4 May, 2021 - The Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices -- the Crobex and Crobex 10 -- on Tuesday increased 0.57% to 1,916 points and 0.35% to 1,191 points respectively, closing at a record high since the end of February 2020.
Broken down by sector, the transport index saw the biggest increase of 4.62%, whereas the industry index slid by 1.13%.
Today's regular turnover totalled HRK 8.75 million, 2.5 million less than on Monday.
In terms of the volume of trading, the Atlantska Plovidba shipping company was the top performer, with HRK 2.35 million. Its share price jumped 12% to HRK 280.
The HT telecom turned over HRK 1.33 million, with its share price falling 0.26% to HRK 193.
A total of 39 stocks traded today, with 20 of them registering price increases and 10 registering decreases, while nine remained stable in price.
(€1 = HRK 7.547556)
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