April the 17th, 2021 - Croatia Airlines has already been dealt a significant blow by Ryanair arriving in Zagreb, but will Croatia Airlines incentive payments, which it has been being paid since long before the coronavirus crisis also pose an issue for the Irish carrier? It seems it could indeed.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, although the EU Court of Justice recently approved the incentives given by Finland, Denmark and Sweden to their respective air operators, Ryanair said it would appeal the ruling because it runs counter to the principles of the European Union and the free market.

This largest European airline, which is based in Ireland and operates throughout Europe and carried 152 million passengers in pre-pandemic 2019, explained that the Finnish Government has approved a loan of 600 million euros to Finnair, and the overall incentives for this carrier since the beginning of the crisis have now reached a whopping 1.2 billion euros.

The Danish and Swedish governments have respectively given a loan guarantee to SAS of 132m euros, bringing the total aid paid out to the company to over 1.3 billion euros in the last year alone.

Although Ryanair doesn't specifically mention Croatia, the fact is that Croatia Airlines incentive payments stood at around 1 billion kuna over the last 1.5 years alone (around 132 million euros) through several models of assistance, and as the Irish carrier has ambitious plans in Croatia, especially in Zagreb, where one of its main competitors is CA. Owing to that, it is possible that soon there will be questions asked and issues raised.

According to Ryanair's calculations, EU countries have granted a total of 30 billion euros in incentives to their national operators during the coronavirus crisis - The Lufthansa Group received a total of 11 billion euros in this period, as did Air France and multiple others. There are also Norwegian with 800 million, LOT with 650 million and Condor and Air Europa with 600 million euros of state incentives each.

Ryanair pointed out that although the ongoing coronavirus crisis has damaged all airlines that contribute to the economies and connectivity of Finland, Denmark and Sweden, the governments of those countries have decided to support only their carriers. Ryanair asked EU judicial and regulatory bodies to review these incentives as early as back in mid-2020, and they're also announcing an appeal against yesterday’s European Court ruling.

"One of the EU's greatest achievements is the creation of a true single market for air transport. The European Commission's approvals for Finnish, Danish and Swedish state aid were contrary to the fundamental principles of EU law.

These judgments establish a process of liberalisation in air transport back 30 years, allowing Finland, Denmark and Sweden to give their national carriers an advantage over more efficient competitors, based solely on nationality. We'll now ask the Court of Justice to abolish these unfair subsidies in the interests of competition and consumers.

If Europe is to emerge from this crisis with a functioning single market, airlines must be allowed to compete on a level playing field. Undistorted competition can eradicate inefficiency and benefit consumers with low prices and choice,'' they stated from Ryanair, indicating that Croatia Airlines incentive payments could indeed pose a problem.

It's worth noting that this week Croatia Airlines also complained about the conditions and incentives that Ryanair received in its new base in Zagreb from the concessionaire of the Zagreb International Airport (MZLZ).

CA said that they, as the largest long-term user of Franjo Tudjman Airport's services with more than a 50 percent share of its annual passenger traffic, are asking the concessionaire at the MZLZ airport to harmonise the agreed conditions of airport services with better commercial conditions than those received by the new competitor in Zagreb, Ryanair.

For more on travel to Croatia, make sure to check out our dedicated section.

April the 17th, 2021 - The Rimac Campus project, which will work to further showcase what Croatia can offer to the automotive world through its most impressive entrepreneur, Mate Rimac, has taken another step towards fruition as the Sveta Nedelja Mayor, Dario Zurovec, signs on the dotted line.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, the signing of the appropriate contract for the future Rimac Campus in Sveta Nedelja between CEO and founder Mate Rimac and Sveta Nedelja Mayor Dario Zurovec will start the wheels turning on a very significant cooperation.

With their signatures on the contract, the Rimac Campus project will officially be off the ground and firmly on track for 2023. Their new headquarters, with a capacity of 2,500 employees and at location only sixteen kilometres away from Zagreb, will cover 200,000 square metres of land in total.

The planned investments in the Rimac Campus project have been announced in the amount of more than 200 million euros - in the form of the construction on the new location which is expected by the end of the year, and its completion is planned for 2023, while on the other hand the size and ambitions of the new Rimac Campus project are so large that according to general estimates, it is set to be among the largest of its kind in all of Europe in terms of its various industries.

However, given the company’s rapid growth, the location is designed so that it can expand over time while still blending in with its natural environment. In the long run, the new location will, as stated, accommodate over 2,500 employees, which exceeds the current number of employees by more than 100 percent, and is therefore going to be divided into two different areas.

The first is the company's headquarters building, where the main functions, management and research and development centres will be located, as well as the offices of Greyp, a company for the production of electric bicycles, which was also founded by Mate Rimac.

For more on Mate Rimac and other Croatian entrepreneurs, make sure to follow Made in Croatia.

ZAGREB, 16 April, 2021 - The main Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices weakened for the third consecutive day on Friday amid modest trading, the Crobex decreasing by 0.19% to 1,878 points and the Crobex10 by 0.28% to 1,176 points.

Both indices also ended in the red week-on-week -- the Crobex went down by 0.55% and the Crobex10 by 0.73%

Of the sectoral indices, the industrial index saw the biggest decline, of 0.5%, while the construction index was the only one to go up, by 1.53%.

Today's regular turnover was HRK 4.9 million, or HRK 600,000 less than on Thursday.

The stock the HT telecommunication company generated the highest turnover, of nearly HRK 1.6 million. Its price remained unchanged at HRK 191.5 per share.

A total of 39 stock traded today, with seven of them registering price increases, 19 recording price decreases and 13 remaining stable in price.

(€1 = HRK 7.567447)

For more about about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 16 April, 2021 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Peđa Grbin on Friday claimed that the Prime Minister and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) president Andrej Plenković was the "obstacle to all reforms and changes in Croatia."

"Dear Andrej, instead of getting riled up and complaining that the opposition doesn't understand anything, tell us why are you keeping the healthcare reform on the shelf," Grbin sent Plenković a message on his Facebook profile in reaction to the prime minister's claims that while the National Recovery and Resilience Plan was being presented in parliament the opposition showed "its "emptiness, hollowness, a lack of creativity, a lack of information and knowledge," and that Grbin's rating was poor and he was not the leader of the Opposition.

"Your minister, Beroš, yesterday while he wasn't aware that the cameras were recording, admitted what we all know: Andrej Plenković is the obstacle to all reforms and changes in Croatia and the main reason why this country can't move forward," added Grbin.

Grbin posted that  "Andrej Plenković, known as a procrastinator, is a man who is keeping the health reform on the shelf because of the local election while the system is losing dozens of millions of kuna each week and people cannot get medication."

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 16 April, 2021 - The Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) on Friday requested that trade and construction workers, as well as those working with infectious medical waste and at cemeteries, be placed on the vaccination priority list, since they are directly at risk from catching coronavirus.

Josip Zaher, the HGK vice president for commerce and financial institutions, pointed out that those employed in trade, especially those working in shops, were much more exposed to the possibility of getting infected with coronavirus, that is, the possibility of the infection potentially spreading is higher.

"The tourist season is coming, and retailers are very important in the overall tourist offer of a country, especially when we know that the percentage of the population vaccinated will be among the most important data for travellers when assessing a destination's safety," Zaher said.

He said that a total of 205,655 people were employed in trade in 2020, or 15.2% of all employees in legal entities. The largest number of employees was in retail trade, 115,352.

For more about vaccination in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 16 April, 2021 - The Croatian National Bank (HNB) generated a profit of nearly HRK 266 million in 2020, achieving a positive result for the second consecutive year, but the profit was almost three and a half times lower than in 2019, according to the central bank's audited financial statement released on its webpage.

For the sake of comparison, the HNB had posted a profit of just over HRK 927 million for 2019.

Of last year's profit, HRK 53.2 million was paid into the bank's general reserves and HRK 212.8 into the state budget, in accordance with the Act on the Croatian National Bank.

The financial statement also shows that the HNB last year generated HRKK 591.7 million in net interest income, which is nearly HRK 88 million or 17.4% more than in 2019.

At the same time, net fee and commission income was HRK 34.4 million, or 11% higher, while operating income was HRK 703.3 million, or 48% lower compared with 2019.

The HNB's operating expenses in 2020 reached HRK 419.5 million, or 6% more. In 2020, the HNB had an average of 690 employees, which is 19 more than in 2019, and total employee costs were HRK 203 million.

(€1 = HRK 7.567447)

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 16 April, 2021 - The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) on Friday presented the results of its latest survey showing that there are currently at least 924 lawsuits against the media and reporters in Croatia with plaintiffs seeking HRK 78.5 million in damages.

The real number of lawsuits may be even greater because the data collected refers to only 23 media outlets, HND president Hrvoje Zovko said at a news conference in Zagreb.

The HND says on its website that "same as last year, Hanza Media has the highest number of lawsuits, 479 of them, with the average indemnity demands of 13,333 euro per lawsuit. Styria follows them with 203 lawsuits – the amounts of indemnity requests made to them result to almost € 2.7 million. In active litigation, the amount of claims ranges from several thousand kunas to even more than one million kunas, while the longest active litigation is currently in its 12th year." 

The HND will continue to warn the local and international public about that problem, said Zovko and called on all reporters for solidarity in the fight against that kind of intimidation.

HND secretary-general Ema Tarabochia reported that in February last year there were 905 law actions against media outlets and journalists . Even though this year's number is insignificantly higher, it is particularly concerning that such a number of active cases exists in any case, she said.

"Out of the total number of 924 lawsuits, 892 refer to civil actions against publishers, their editors and journalists, for compensation of damages due to violations of honor and reputation based on published texts and articles, while the remaining number of 32 lawsuits refers to currently active criminal proceedings. Among prosecutors, apart from natural persons unknown to the general public, the most prominent are persons from public and political life, followed by legal entities, politicians in power, even judges themselves," says the HND on its website.

Three active disputes against HND

The HRT national broadcaster has a lawsuit against Zovko seeking compensation of HRK 250,000 and HRK 200,000 from HND. In that same legal action HRT is seeking HRK 50,000 in damages from HTV reporters Sanja Mikleušević Pavić.

As HND said, this is a unique case where a public media service is suing one of its own employees but also a reporters' professional association.

Government should conduct education to prevent lawsuits occurring

Laywer and member of the European Commission expert group for SLAPP suits, Vanja Jurić said today that the government should conduct education for politicians, lawyers and judges in preventing lawsuits against reporters and the media and to have them realise that they need to be prepared to accept criticism.

She in particular warned of the danger of the Strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP).

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

April 16, 2021 - Utility company Pesja in Omišalj operates fully transparently thanks to cooperation with the company Oraclum, owned by famous Croatian economist Vuk Vukovic.

Index.hr reports that from today, it will be possible to see all payments from the business account of KD Pesja d.o.o.

Pesja, founded by the Municipality of Omišalj, becomes the first utility company in Croatia that will provide citizens with insight into every transaction, i.e., payments to legal entities and individuals, providing citizens with their work and all data on how public money is spent. 

Pesja thus sets an example to other utility companies, but also to other institutions established by regional and local self-government units which, by introducing transparency, prevent corrupt actions and inefficient spending of public money.

Mirela Ahmetović, the mayor of Omišalj, says that she is proud that in the fight against corruption in Croatia, the utility company from her municipality is introducing full transparency.

"The municipality of Omišalj continues to introduce full transparency of public money and sets an example to all other local governments to act in the same way to be one step closer to combating corruption that eats away at Croatian society. We were the first municipality to show every penny of taxpayers' money completely and without hidden intentions. 

No matter how small the Municipality of Omišalj is in the eyes of the rest of the country, we have shown by our example that even the smallest can become an example to the biggest and that we do not give up on a better and fairer system that serves only those who pay - citizens.

We are proud to be the first in Croatia in the fight against corruption. Pesja is the first utility company in the Republic of Croatia to show all its costs fully. Also, we will introduce transparency in the Municipality of Omišalj Tourist Board and thus complete this story. We will show the citizens how the public money of all companies and organizations established by the Municipality of Omišalj is spent.

It is a way to fight corruption at all levels and a clear message to all residents of the municipality of Omišalj that their money is safe and that no one should betray their trust. I want the whole of Croatia, all local self-government units, and especially state administration bodies and public companies to take such a position. I am convinced that Croatia would become a happier and better country with this political decision," she said.

Goran Ivandić, director of KD Pesja, emphasizes the hope that their example will be followed by other companies, institutions, and other entities.

"By introducing a system for transparency in our utility company, all payments from our business account are visible. Considering that the largest part of the income comes from the provision of communal services that we contractually perform for the Municipality of Omišalj, we use the link on our website to transparently provide insight into taxpayers' spending money. Thus, Pesja became the first company to decide on this step of full transparency. Still, we hope that our example will be followed by other companies, institutions, and all other entities financed from the budget to increase their responsibility to citizens and reduce the possibility for corruption," Ivandic said.

Famous economist Vuk Vukovic praised the Municipality of Omišalj.

"Once again, the Municipality of Omišalj is in the right light because soon after full transparency of its own budget, it started to include all other legal entities under its jurisdiction. Thus, it was the turn of the utility company Pesja d.o.o., the first in Croatia to present absolutely all the costs of their expenses. It is important to note the importance of this move.

So far, we have had only a few examples of complete transparency of the budgets of cities and municipalities, and in some places, presentations of public procurement of public companies. Pesja is the first public company in Croatia to show those costs that do not pass public procurement, i.e., which are below the procurement threshold, as well as all salaries of employees who gave their GDPR consent, also in the desire for full transparency and who really do not have what to hide.

As with the Municipality itself, citizens will be able to view each cost, each contract, and all employees' salaries via a link on the website, which puts the business of this public company under the watchful eye of the public. Pesja and Omišalj are now becoming an example to the rest of Croatia of how to approach full transparency projects," Vukovic said.

To read more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.