March the 30th, 2021 - The Sibenik company Cantabile is going from strength to strength despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis thanks to the Sibenik business zone - Podi.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, the Dalmatian city of Sibenik's Podi business zone, despite the coronavirus crisis, is doing well to manage to maintain the economic activity of its enterprises, and news of new investments is coming in almost on a monthly basis.

One of those enterprises is the Sibenik company Cantabile, which purchased 5,853 square metres of land within the business zone, with plans to build its new and unified plant for the production of confectionery products there.

As Ante Gulin, the owner and director of the Sibenik company Cantabile revealed, this company was established a decade ago and initially, through its exclusive catering brand Moderato Coffee & Cakes, was engaged in the production of sweets, but for the last four or five years their main sales channel has been HoReCa for clients from Istria to Dubrovnik, and recently they've been present here in Zagreb with their range.

"We realised that we needed to standardise our production because only that can guarantee quality and recognition out there on the market. We're currently present at three production sites in Sibenik, which we now want to combine with a new production facility into one.

If you work only for yourself, then we're talking about relatively small quantities, but when you add the exceptional seasonality that is a reality in Sibenik and along the entire Adriatic coast, then it's clear that you're in trouble with that attitude, both because of the quantities and because of the workforce as things run seasonally and you have to make great efforts to be able to get your hands on quality employees every year,'' said Gulin when discussing the reasons as to why this company decided to step out more strongly into the wholesale market.

Currently, 20 percent of the Sibenik company Cantabile's sales are accounted for by their own capacities, and 80 percent by HoReCa, with a tendency for further growth.

"We have a quality product based on quality, Croatian raw materials - lavender, cherries, olives, carob, etc, all of which the market recognises and seeks. Now, with a small capacity and dislocated production, we aren't able to complete the entire system of procurement and control of those local raw materials, but with this investment, we'll manage to achieve this,'' explained Gulin.

The new plant in Sibenik should be operational by the end of this year, and construction work in Podi is expected to begin soon. As the owner of the Sibenik company Cantabile explained, the value of the construction works stands at around five million kuna, and with the equipping of the plant with machines and equipment, this investment will rise to 12 to 14 million kuna.

The new plant should employ about 50 new people, but their specific number, which could be even higher, will still depend on the state of the market, the tourist season, and especially on the situation regarding the coronavirus crisis and the state of the economy and society as a whole.

The planned area of ​​the Sibenik business zone is 550 hectares, and so far 130 hectares have been built, while about 100 hectares are currently available for construction. There are currently about 50 enterprises operating within the zone, who employed 1,350 workers at the end of last year. This figure sadly at the beginning of 2021 due to the continuing pandemic.

However, as Jakov Terzanovic, the director of Podi pointed out, the number of employees from last year should soon return with new investments, and by the end of the year they will surpass those old numbers. There are currently 10 active contracts with various enterprises who will likely build their respective plants within this zone this year, and most of them will start doing business there too.

At the beginning of the year, it was announced that the plot of 70 thousand square metres was snapped up by the largest Croatian retailer of sanitary equipment, Feroterm, and the other, covering 11 thousand square metres, was purchased by SeaTech. Feroterm plans to build a large logistics centre for the whole of Dalmatia in Podi, and the German investor SeaTech would build a factory in Sibenik for the production of ship rescue and service equipment.

In addition to the Sibenik company Cantabile, the land in Podi has been bought by a company named Rock, which comes from the construction sector, and on a plot of 7977 square metres, it intends to build a hall for the production of building elements with storage and office space. Terzanovic also announced that a new tender for the sale of a plot of 5,682 square metres is currently being prepared.

For more on Croatian companies and doing business in Croatia, follow our business section. For current coronavirus information specific to Croatia, including border and travel rules, as well testing centres up and down the country, bookmark this page.

March the 30th, 2021 - When it comes to Croatia's beautiful islands, things tend to look more idyllic than they are. With islander complaints rife and comparisons between the mainland almost constant, the Croatian island energy transition process is an important topic.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ivan Tominac writes, the initial phase of the EU Island Clean Energy Secretariat has proved successful. A number of new energy projects and activities have been launched, in which the Croatian association Pokret otoka (Island movement) has also been active. Given the effectiveness of this kind of network, the European Commission (EC) has launched the second phase of the work of the Secretariat for Clean Energy of the EU islands.

They continue to cooperate with Pokret otoka as a regional partner that will represent and support the Croatian island energy transition over the next two years. For the aforementioned phase, in the spring of 2021, a call for projects will be announced for which the island's stakeholders will apply with their various project proposals, and the added value they will receive will come in the form of professional technical assistance.

Workshops have been announced that aim to engage island communities to act at the local level and take on a coordinating role in numerous Croatian island energy transition projects. Among other things, the Islands Think Tank will gather from all levels of government - a group whose task is to discuss both the legal and regulatory barriers to the transition to clean energy on the islands.

Support in this work consists of finding sources of funding and shaping future projects, and for those islands that are only at the very beginning in terms of wider community engagement, professional support is available for community building and defining different transition strategies.

Valid and timely support has proven to be the path to self-sustainability of island communities, and Pokret otoka has always believed in this. It is an association that brings together all lovers of islands and all of the country's many islands, with the desire to achieve the necessary social change.

Changes at all levels

It is indisputable that the aforementioned association is doing an excellent job in terms of this desire, as evidenced by the cooperation with the Secretariat for Clean Energy of the European Islands. The collaboration they have started over the past two years has triggered a number of activities and positive changes on several islands. The focus was primarily placed on developing strategies for the Croatian island energy transition, and it was in this manner that they bravely stepped out onto the path to a more sustainable and green future in general. Their praiseworthy example alone encouraged many other people to think more deeply about further development.

"By working together, we launched projects on Korcula, Hvar, Brac and the Cres-Lošinj archipelago and we encouraged cooperation at all levels of the government. It's especially important for us that we're able to connect and strengthen local stakeholders and initiate changes from the bottom up,'' said the president of Pokret otoka, Maja Jurisic.

Continued positive changes seem to be happening along that route, but support has always been and will remain a much-needed ingredient. Owing to that, back in February this year, they signed a new two-year contract with the Secretariat for Islands established at the European Commission at the initiative of Croatian MEP Tonino Picula.

“The goal of this cooperation is to continue the started activities and realise the goals from the strategies, as well as to encourage other island communities on their paths to clean energy. Over the next couple of years, in cooperation with our partners from Europe, training sessions will be organised, professional and technical support will be provided to transition teams located on the islands, we'll take part in mapping legislative frameworks and in the proposal of measures to encourage energy project development and the Green Plan policy.

We're witnessing big changes at all levels, including a shift towards green policies and concrete sustainable development. Therefore, we believe that the community of islanders and island stakeholders, who will be involved in this Croatian island energy transition, will be further increased and strengthened, and that we'll all learn and develop together with other islands and islanders across Europe,'' added Jurisic.

Bringing change isn't always an easy task, however, as they pointed out from Pokret otoka, the perspective needs to be changed in order to achieve those much needed alterations. Therefore, when asked about obstacles, they say they prefer to call them challenges.

If we go back in time, few people took the Croatian island energy transition and the path towards more sustainable development seriously, these topics were spoken of by a few politicians only, and the whole transition was carried on the backs of green activists for many years. At this point, this is no longer the case, and issues surrounding the green transition have become part of our daily lives.

“The biggest challenges are always people and the inevitable change of habits that we all have to implement in our lives and thus indirectly in the communities in which we live. Additionally, one of the biggest challenges was to articulate the needs and attitudes of the islanders and to understand the proper functioning of various systems and ways of making strategies, plans, programmes and decisions that directly affect the lives of islanders.

I often say when we're asked what the role of Pokret otoka is that we're actually translators of the island needs into the language of state bodies and vice versa. Real knowledge of the community requires coexistence and understanding of the specifics that aren't lacking on the islands,'' she added.

Of course, another challenge is tourism, too. Seasonality and excessive oscillations of people on the islands affect the overall transition and implementation of the strategy, as do a lack of professional staff and long-term development planning.

However, despite all of the above, Pokret otoka refuses to give up. Instead, it establishes regular and constructive communication with public authorities, participates in working groups for the development of strategies and plans for the country's islands and establishes strategic partnerships with organisations that have relevant experts on the topics they deal with.

Rome wasn't built in a day...

"I think the Croatian island energy transition we're working on will take time. In order not to lose motivation, it's important to set goals on an annual and even monthly basis. Then the ultimate goal seems much more achievable to you because ultimately, the goal stops mattering, but the path we're walking along does,'' said Jurisic.

For all current information about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel and border rules, as well as testing centres across the country, bookmark this page.

March the 30th, 2021 - Croatia Airlines mask rules change slightly as the situation with international travel continues to be plagued by problems.

The vaccine may finally be here, but with the rollout being slow and problematic across Europe (with the exception of the United Kingdom), the coronavirus crisis is still continuing to cause tremendous issues for the airline/travel industry. Croatia Airlines, which has faced issues since long before the pandemic struck, isn't immune to these problems but has managed to keep its head above water.

Croatia Airlines mask rules have changed as the situation continues to unfold, both in terms of the spread of the virus itself and in terms of the various lockdown measures different European countries are introducing. 

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatia Airlines has announced that as of Tuesday, March the 30th, 2021, only protective medical/surgical masks are allowed on all their flights, meaning that ordinary cotton masks are no longer enough to be accepted for boarding.

''Acceptable face coverings are medical (surgical) face masks and masks with filters (FFP2, N95 or KN95 without valves) - they stated from the Croatian national carrier, before urging passengers to please pay the proper attention to this and other measures for flights as the responsibility to do so lies solely with them.

From March the 30th, 2021, the use of protective medical/surgical masks only are allowed on all Croatia Airlines flights, read a post by Croatia Airlines on Monday the 29th of March 2021.

- On all Croatia Airlines flights, wearing a mask over the nose and mouth is mandatory.

- Visors and scarves are not allowed as a replacement for face covers on our flights.

- Children under the age of six are not required to wear face masks.

- If for health reasons you cannot wear a face mask, you must have a medical certificate as well as a negative test for COVID-19.

- Bring your own ballpoint pen to fill out the forms or to pre-fill the form needed to enter your destination.

For all current information on coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel and border rules, as well as testing centres up and down the country, make sure to bookmark this page.

March 30, 2021 - A Croatia qualifying squad unlike ever before will face Malta in Rijeka on Tuesday night after Zlatko Dalić announced he would rest some players who started against both Slovenia and Cyprus.

Sportske Novosti writes that for the first time in Croatia's 27 years of participation in tournament qualifications, the coach will not send a team on the pitch he thinks is best but will consciously sub and offer rest to certain players.

Livaković, Vrsaljko, Barišić, Modrić, Brozović, Lovren, and Perišić will not start today's match. Most of them will sit in the stands with the option for someone to enter the game later.

So far, we have only seen this in friendly matches and big competitions, as a "Reserve Croatia" never went for qualifying points. 

Playing qualifiers with a team that you know is not the best is consciously taking a risk, but it is no less of a risk than sending the same footballers on the pitch for the third time in such a short period, increasing the risk of injury.

Throughout history, Croatia had played only three games with the B team when points were shared in the final tournaments. They have recorded two victories. After winning two rounds at Euro 1996 in England, Croatia lost to Portugal 0:3, at Euro 2008 they defeated Poland 1:0, and at the last World Cup, Croatia beat Iceland 2:1. The team was partially revised in 2016 in the match against Spain in Bordeaux; however, Luka Modrić and Mario Mandžukić were injured. Modrić, however, would have played if it was a key game, but Ante Čačić logically saved him. In the end, Croatia won 2:1.

Zlatko Dalić is not a gambler. He proved how important Modrić is to him in Russia, and in that match against Iceland in Rostov, he sent ten new players on the pitch and captain Luka to lead them. 

However, the coach is aware of how much energy the players are spending in the hardest season ever. At the same time, HNS is exposed to the clubs' demands not to use them to the end. According to Real or Inter, there is no obligation unless such a promise is given to someone under pressure. Still, according to the players, there is because the ultimate goal is the optimal solution for everyone. Thus, Dalić announced that Modrić & Co. would not play tonight. In the middle of the pitch, Milan Badelj will get a chance, which will be his first minute of the current cycle.

"We must not underestimate them; they led against Slovakia 2:0. As for the lineup, we will rest some players. Luka Modrić will be on the bench to start; we will see what will happen with Ivan Perišić and Marcelo Brozović. We consider including players who had fewer minutes, but not because we underestimated the opponent, but because we think fresh players should start.

We will start with Juranović and Melnjak, Vrsaljko and Barišić have run out. It will be two new players on the backs. We let Kramarić go home for treatment because he twisted his ankle in the match against Cyprus. Budimir will be up top. We still have to see in what condition Lovren, Vida, Uremović, and Ćaleta-Car are in to find the best solution there. Whoever plays will have to give their best because we are not full of confidence and security.

We expect a higher quality and better flowing game, and we want to bring the game to an end with as little stress and nervousness as possible," concluded Dalić.

Croatia and Malta meet tonight at Rujevica Stadium in Rijeka from 8:45 pm. 

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

March 30, 2021 - Nine earthquakes in the Adriatic Sea were recorded in the last 56 hours, felt by citizens from Split to Sinj. 

24 Sata reports that on Monday, March 30, shortly after 10 pm, residents in the wider Split area felt the ground shake. Rattled citizens reported that they felt an earthquake in Split, Kaštela, Glavice, and Sinj

The EMSC reported that the earthquake was 3.1-magnitude on the Richter scale and that the epicenter was 52 kilometers from Vela Luka. And just before it there was a 2.9-magnitude earthquake with an epicenter 30 kilometers from Komiža on Vis.

"There was a rumble, it shook briefly but strongly," said one witness. "It rumbled for 6-7 seconds and shook briefly," said another. "I was really scared, it shook good," read another. Split singer Marijan Ban even took to Twitter to confirm that he felt the quake, too.

The first report of the earthquake arrived at 10:20 pm from Kaštel Sućurac. It was the ninth earthquake in the Adriatic Sea in the last 56 hours, the EMSC reported.

A bit later, seismologists from the Seismological Service announced that at 22:17 they recorded an earthquake with an epicenter 3 km south-southeast of Maovici near Vrlika, meaning that the Split area was shaken by three earthquakes just a few minutes apart!

Over the last few days, several slightly stronger earthquakes have been recorded in the Adriatic Sea, in the waters nea Split. The strongest so far was 5.5-magnitude on the Richter scale.

None of these earthquakes have been strong enough to cause any damage.

The EMSC was established in 1975 on the European Seismological Commission's recommendation, given that the Euro-Mediterranean region showed potentially dangerous seismic activity. It is headquartered in Bruyères le Châtel, a municipality on the southern outskirts of Paris, and is a non-profit NGO.

EMSC uses a unique earthquake detection system thanks to the collaborative work from eyewitnesses and data collection from seismic institutes provided by 85 institutes as members from 56 different countries, thus giving users real-time earthquake information for seismic events. 

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

March 30, 2021 - The latest flight news for Croatia as Ryanair flights to Zagreb are finally here! 

The Irish low-cost carrier will hold a press conference on Tuesday, March 30, at 11:30 at which the Ryanair President of the Management Board and the Zagreb International Airport President of the Management Board will address the media.

After Zagreb Airport has been in deficit for years in terms of low-cost carriers and routes, Ryanair is finally coming to Zagreb!

According to Croatian Aviation, there will be 12 Ryanair flights to Zagreb from eight countries. Thus, the Croatian metropolis will be connected with Paris, Brussels, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Karlsruhe, Memmingen, Milan, Rome, Podgorica, Oslo, Gothenburg, and London.

Already this autumn, Ryanair will perform as many as 36 weekly flights from Zagreb Airport to the following destinations:

Brussels Charleroi, from June 2, 3 times a week,

Dortmund, from September 3, 2 times a week,

Frankfurt-Hahn, from September 3, 3 times a week,

Gothenburg, from September 3, 3 times a week,

Karlsruhe, from September 2, 2 times a week,

London, from September 1, daily,

Memmingen, from September 3, 2 times a week,

Milan, from July 1, 4 times a week,

Paris, from September 2, 2 times a week,

Podgorica, from September 4, 2 times a week,

Rome, from September 3, 3 times a week,

Torp Sandefjord, from September 1, 2 times a week.

The company has more than 430 B737-800 aircraft in the fleet, with a capacity of 189 seats. The average age of Ryanair aircraft is only 8 years.

Ryanair has been operating in Croatia since 2006. By June 2019, the company had transported 4 million passengers to and from Croatia.

Unofficial reports on Monday claimed that Ryanair would open a base in Zagreb in October and launch a series of lines.

The arrival of Ryanair in Zagreb has been rumored for months, and the airline's representatives have been to Zagreb several times to agree on the details of a new project - a project that will finally give Zagreb a number of routes and enable affordable travel to and from the Croatian capital.

In February, we wrote about the Zagreb Airport incentive program, which decided to attract new carriers to Zagreb. Given the conditions, it was clear that the airport was targeting a low-cost carrier and the announcement of the press conference confirmed that they had been successful in doing so!

An hour after the press conference in Zagreb, Ryanair will hold a conference in Zadar as well.

More info soon!

For the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia, CLICK HERE.

March 30, 2021 - It will be Marin Čilić against Andrey Rublev in the Miami Open round of 16, while Croatian doubles team Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić have reached the quarters! 

Marin Čilić advanced to the round of 16 at the ATP Masters tournament in Miami with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Italian Lorenzo Musetti. It took Marin only 76 minutes of play.

Čilićwas dominant against 19-year-old Musetti, who is 94th in the ATP rankings and the youngest player in the company of the ATP's top 100.

Marin won the first set thanks to a tiebreak at 3-2 and went ahead in the second set after 4-4. The Medjugorje native was in a good mood for the game, recording 9 aces and a first-serve percentage of only 51 percent, while he saved both of his opponent's breaks. 

This was the first duel between Čilić and Musetti. 

In the round of 16, Čilić will play against the 8th-best tennis player in the world, Russian Andrei Rublev, who defeated Hungarian Martin Fuscovisco in the round of 32. 

Čilić never recorded particularly good results in Miami and went the furthest in 2013 - to the quarterfinals.

This was Čilić's fifth win in 2021, and for the first time, he has linked three Tour victories since the Australian Open last year. 

Direktno.hr reports that the most successful doubles team in 2021, Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić advanced to the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 series tournament in Miami, where they defeated Americans Taylor Fritz and John Isner 6:4, 6:4 in the round of 16 duel. 

This is the seventh tournament for Mektić and Pavić this season, and they have reached at least the quarterfinals for the seventh time. In 25 matches played, they achieved 22 victories, suffered only three defeats, and won three titles (Antalya, Melbourne, Rotterdam), with one lost final (Dubai) to Colombians Cabal and Farah.

Ivan Dodig and Slovak Filip Polašek defeated them in the semifinals of the Australian Open, and the French team Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin defeated them in the quarterfinals of the Doha tournament, which is the only loss for the Croatian Davis Cup team in the quarterfinals of 2021.

To advance to the semifinals, Mektić and Pavić will have to beat Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic and Pakistani Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Ivan Dodig and Filip Polašek will fight for the semifinals against Austrian Oliver Marach and Australian Luke Saville.

Source: HTS

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

March 29, 2021 - M+ Group (Meritus ulaganja d.d.) is the Challenger Provider of the Year by the Global Sourcing Alliance (GSA).

The Croatian BPTO company thus stood by the side of other laureates; successful international companies winning technology awards (NNT), automation (Royal Mail Group), excellence (Bank of Ireland), and digitization (Volkswagen Group UK). Prizes were awarded at the global virtual ceremony.

"The recognition given to us by the leading association of the industry is further proof of our successful business strategy, in which we focused on providing services to global clients based in the most developed countries of Europe and North America. This award will encourage us to be even more committed to the market struggle and further transformation and introduction of an increasing number of state-of-the-art technologies in business," said Tomislav Glavaš, Member of the Management Board Chief Executive Officer of M+ Group.

Tomislav Glavaš, Member of the Management Board Chief Executive Officer of M+ Group.

"The award ceremony was an amazing celebration of the industry's transformative response to the challenges pandemics and the great work accomplished through partnerships around the world! It is justified and they should all feel proud, of their organizations and the industry as a whole," said Kerry Hallard, CEO of Global Sourcing Alliance.

Croatian fast-growing BPTO (Business Process and Information Technology Outsourcing - externalization of business processes and information technologies) company M+ Group is also the largest independent BPTO services provider in Southeast Europe and Asia Minor. M+ Group has headquarters in Zagreb and operates in nine countries. In addition to Croatia, there are also Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The business operates on markets of the European Union and North America. In the last four and a half years, the M+ Group has realized 15 acquisitions and provides a diversified portfolio of clients consisting of leading telecoms, financial, technological, and e-commerce companies and companies in the consumer goods sector.

GSA is a business association and a professional body of the global procurement industry. The founder is Global Sourcing Standards, the first global portfolio of best practice methodologies and accreditation programs supported by customers and suppliers in procurement.

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