October the 10th, 2022 - Inflation is showing little to no sign of easing its grip on society, and even the most basic of products are rising and rising. Croatian olive oil, one of the favourites of countless people and a frequent part of every dinner table, is also going to cost more than we've ever known it per litre.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, despite the unprecedented drought that the country experienced during this particularly harsh summer, Istrian olive growers have high expectations for their harvest and earnings. The Istrian olives are healthy, there is enough fruit, and the first drops of this year's Croatian olive oil indicate, as usual, a world-class product. That said, for a litre of extra virgin olive oil - you'll have to reach considerably deeper into your pocket and allocate a larger amount, as reported by HRT.

The first pickers entered the olive groves in the south of Istria recently and the fruits are being removed from the trees ready to be turned into Croatian olive oil, a much loved and heavily awarded product. The unprecedented drought this year failed to significantly reduce the crop, and the fruit was also finally aided by the recent rainfall. When it comes to the harvest, an average year is expected.

"We're harvesting with ten shakers, meaning we harvest around a tonne and a half of olives every day. When the machine harvest starts, then it goes up to four, five, and even six tonnes a day," said agronomist Armando Miljan.

In the plantations owned by the Chiavalon family, rosinjola is being harvested - an autochthonous variety of olive that has been the first to ripen in more recent years, but the harvest is uneven even there.

"It's good that some locations are already ripe and good for harvesting like this one, but some are completely green, because during the drought they were affected by a lack of water and were a little behind in the phenophase," said Sandi Chiavalon, a well-known Croatian olive grower from Vodnjan in Istria.

Oil mills have also opened their doors and people are busy bringing in the first olives for processing. "Last year there were few of them, there was nothing to speak of really. This summer has seen twice as much growth as last year", said Zlatko Ivancic, also from Vodnjan.

There will be enough Croatian olive oil, and its quality will be first-class, but it's going to come with a higher price. "These are some very aromatic oils. The polyphenols are high, which means that this is a healthy product," added Chiavalon. Due to the increase in energy prices and spiralling inflation which doesn't appear to be letting up, Croatian olive oil prices are, much like everything else, skyrocketing. "Now, one litre of bottled Croatian olive oil costs 180 kuna, so the maximum could be two hundred. I say that approximately, because we're never sure what tomorrow is going to bring, said Livio Belci, an olive grower from Vodnjan.

Despite the higher prices, the placement of premium olive oil should not be a problem. "Our production is around 30,000 litres of oil every year, which is an average, and everything is sold," said the director of Agroprodukt, Aleksandar Basic Palkovic.

Customers come from not only all over Croatia, but from all over Europe. However, the increase in the price of much-loved Croatian olive oil could be reflected in consumption by local people, who will need to think twice in many cases before making the purchase.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

October the 10th, 2022 - The up and coming Split Technology Park is just one part of a massive project in Croatia's second largest city.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the construction of the central building of the Split Technology Park (Split-Dracevac) will cost almost 165 million kuna, of which around 105 million kuna will be co-financed by grants from the European Development Fund within the Competitiveness and Cohesion Operational Programme 2014-2020.

Split Mayor Ivica Puljak explained the sequence of project's implementation, saying that the central building of the Split Technology Park is the first part of the project, followed by an even more ambitious second part, which will be realised in cooperation with private partners.

The Director of the Directorate for Regional Development in the Ministry of Regional Development and European Union (EU) Funds, Ivan Bota, pointed out that the central building of the Split Technology Park is a very good example of integrated investment, and it is the largest single project implemented by the City of Split in this financial perspective.

The net area which spans a massive ​​17.5 thousand square metres will accommodate 5.9 thousand square metres of office space, 460 square metres of co-working space, 697 square metres of incubation offices and 858 square metres of conference space in total. The work on the construction site in Dracevic is being carried out by the company Strabag, which has carried out multiple similar projects in Croatia and beyond.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

October 9, 2022 - Rotary Club from Split is organising a humanitarian event in cooperation with the Down-21 Syndrome Association. The goal is to finance the equipment for their Education Centre in Split.

RTL reports. "You must know that every year on average, 50 new babies with Down-21 syndrome are born in our country, fifty of our little angels. At this moment, according to statistical data, there are 1,876 people with Down-21 syndrome among us. You must also know that our "Downies" are pure goodness; they can and do learn, love having fun, and keep us warm with their souls. But they need our help. With this event, we want to acquire equipment for the implementation of educational, both individual and group activities. We are also planning to equip a sensory room for the youngest and a sports cabinet for all members. Doing this, we would create the Educational Down Centre Split 21", they announced and added that we can all help them.

One of the events was a showcase soccer match on Saturday, October 8, at 10 a.m., at the auxiliary field of HNK Hajduk. It was enjoyed in the warmest atmosphere, and a show was put on through a soccer "clash" of members of the Down-21 Syndrome Association, members of the Rotary Club Split Novi, and Hajduk's team "Special Power League," which is a sports leagues for children with developmental disabilities.

A week later, they are preparing a music sales program. It will be held on Sunday, October 16, starting at 10 a.m. on the Split Riva.

The highlight of this event, they say, will take place on Sunday, October 23, starting at 5:00 p.m. in the Lora House in Split, where a show by the famous illusionist Luka Vidović will take place, called "Magic show." The play is intended for the whole family and will delight both young and old. You can buy tickets at the price of HRK 60 here!

"Your participation in the mentioned activities and donations are helping to realize the dream; you are giving your incentive to improve their position in society. And that, you will agree, is the most important thing", they pointed out and published the information for donations.

You can pay donations to a special account opened for this campaign, "Equipping of the Down educational centre Split-21," until December 27, 2022:

Account holder: ROTARY KLUB SPLIT NOVI

Bank: OTP Banka d.d.

IBAN: HR5824070001500017679

SWIFT: OTPVHR2X

Payment description: "Donation"

Thanks in advance; from the bottom of our hearts,

RC Split Novi."

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.

October the 9th, 2022 - Ever been standing in line at MUP and wondering if maybe, just maybe there could be a better way of getting administrative tasks such as applying for a new Croatian driving license or passport done? Set up your digital identity and there is.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Ines Papes from AKD, the company which creates Croatian ID cards and the like, has talked more about the new way of doing things at the Velika Gorica police station. The brand new digital identity card project was presented at the Velika Gorica police station recently, and a kiosk has been set up on the station premises where people can activate their e-identity cards and request their own mobile digital identity to make getting administrative tasks done painlessly.

"The project was financed by European Union (EU) funds, and we'd like to invite people to come and activate their ID cards, and all those who haven't done so yet can do so at the police station. They'll need their ID card and PIN envelope. If they don't have their PIN envelope, they can get it free of charge at the counters of the police department. When using the console, which was set up by AKD, they can activate their ID cards, and once they activate them, they can also download the Certilia application for free on their ID cards, and that's where they'll get their mobile digital identity from," explained Ines Papes from AKD, as reported by Vecernji list.

"People are now being offered over a hundred services, on the e-Citizens (e-Gradjani) platform, they can now use the application to sign all their documents that they used to have to come and sign physically. Now they can do it quickly and easily using just their mobile phones," they stated from AKD.

"The most interesting thing about it all is that they only need to come to the counter once every five years, because that's when their identity card expires. They can send their application for their Croatian driving license or passport from their home and receive it at their home address," concluded Papes.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

October the 9th, 2022 - Ever thought about getting personalised Croatian license plates? HAK Revija breaks down the procedure and the associated costs depending on the vehicle in question.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the way Croatian license plates are meant to look here in Croatia isn't exactly some sort of huge question or enigma. Everyone knows what they look like, it seems at first they do, at least. However, there have actually been many disputes and controversies behind the scenes about precisely this matter, especially since the country joined the European Union back in July 2013.

Some had the need to "finish" their Croatian license plates boasting the then new EU labels, sticking small rectangular stickers on them with a blue background and the letters HR surrounded by stars.

What Croatian license plates need to actually look like for vehicles in this country is of course defined by regulation. The rulebook (pravlnik) on vehicle registration and licensing is very dry and clear, but if you do happen to be one of those individuals with a real license plate fetish of sorts, you might want to get yours personalised. For example, your child's date of birth and initials (ZG 1010 AG). Perhaps infatuation with a certain British secret agent requires the plate to have the markings ZG 007 JB. The owner of the vehicle can order their custom Croatian license plates with a predetermined registration number, provided that the requested registration number is of course available. Keep in mind that the registration number on custom-made license plates cannot contain the Croatian letters Č, Ć, Đ, Š and Ž. It's a problem if your initials have any of those letters.

Custom Croatian license plates - how much does it cost to make your wish come true nowadays? HAK Revija states that the price of license plates made individually with predetermined numerical and letter markings made to order amounts to:

1. License plates – a pair – 278.00 kuna.
2. A registration plate for a vehicle, including tractors and work machines, to which plates under serial number 1 of this item cannot be attached - one piece - 166.00 kuna
3. License plates for motorcycles and quadricycles - one piece - 166.00 kuna.

4. License plates for mopeds and light quadricycles - one piece - 166.00 kuna.
5. License plates - a replacement for a damaged one - one piece - 166.00 kuna.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

October the 9th, 2022 - Croatian hotels have the best reviews and ratings in the entire Mediterranean region, but there is one thing which could use some improvement...

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, Croatian hotels have the best guest ratings in the Mediterranean, but they haven't valorised them through their prices which remain lower than both in Italy and France, especially in the pre- and post-season.

In other words, claims that Croatia has become too expensive have little to no basis, especially in the five-star hotel segment. Admittedly, the country is still weak when it comes to the world of card payments, as was revealed by the leading analysts who gathered recently at a panel as part of this year's Days of Croatian Tourism event in Sibenik.

According to an analysis by Trust You based on guest ratings on all online platforms, Croatian hotels have higher guest ratings than hotels in France, Italy, Greece and Spain, and this country remains the most competitive in terms of friendly service, as stated by Larisa Dedus, the director of Trust You.

"Croatian hotels lead the way in high ratings when it comes to guest satisfaction. The top four categories that contribute to excellence and are mentioned the most in guest's texts are room categories, hotels in general, location and services. The guests give the highest marks to the friendliness of the staff, which contributes to the guest feeling good in Croatia," sais Dedus.

Sandra Jankovic from the Faculty of Tourism Management pointed out, however, that Croatian hotels didn't fully valorise these good ratings.

"Croatian hotels had the lowest room prices in the entire Mediterranean, and five-star hotels had lower prices than their competitors in both France and Italy, especially in the period before and after the height of the summer season, with room prices of less than 100 euros. However, in 2022, the average price per room increased by 25 percent. Despite higher costs and slightly lower utilisation, this season, five -star hotels managed to pick the cream of the crop, seeing them achieve an increase in gross operating profit,'' pointed out Jankovic.

When it comes to card payments, which is a proven generator of tourist spending, the Republic of Croatia is significantly below its competitors.

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

October the 9th, 2022 - Croatia, particularly down on the coast and in Dalmatia, is full of stray cats. For some, these furry residents of the streets are pests and an unfortunate number of these cats die premature and preventable deaths. For others, they're part of the charm. Makarska stray cats now have five little houses provided for them by the city administration to live and seek shelter in.

The Croatian cat problem is a pressing one. Many locals see them as pests, but visitors tend to feel the opposite, sometimes even adopting a stray kitten and taking them home with them. Thankfully, more and more awareness about the plight of these cats has come to light, and the level of empathy among locals has been on the increase, and Makarska stray cats now have their own carefully placed little houses to call their own.

As Morski writes, last week saw the marking of World Animal Protection Day, and in close cooperation with the Sapa od srca Association and the local communal company, the City of Makarska set up five little houses to act as shelters and homes for Makarska stray cats. A total of fifteen individual cats on Sv. Petra and in Vladimir Nazor Street will now have a safe shelter from the rain and cold in the coming autumn days, as well as from the scorching heat during the summer months.

With this, Makarska has become one of the first cities in all of the Republic of Croatia to take charge and proper care for feral and stray cats in this way, and the project will be continued and expanded if it is deemed necessary. In addition to this praiseworthy and selfless move, in order to reduce the uncontrolled reproduction of Makarska stray cats and prevent the development of diseases in both humans and these animals, the City of Makarska will continue with their planned sterilisation of local cats through a catch, spay and release programme.

The Makarska city budget provides funds for the sterilisation of 100 Makarska stray cats, and this is only a small part of the amount of cash that is now being aimed at properly caring for the welfare of the city's local animals.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

October 10, 2022 - Croatia will open the 2024 Euro qualifiers against Wales next year, as their schedule in group D is known. 

Croatia's road to the Euros in Germany will begin with a home match against Wales on March 25 next year. Three days later (March 28), Croatia will visit Turkey.

Given that Croatia is expected to play in the Nations League Final Four in June, they will continue the Euro qualifications in Germany with two matches in September, against Latvia (September 8) at home and Armenia (September 11) away.

In October, Croatia welcomes Turkey (October 12) and visits Wales (October 15). In November, they visit Latvia (November 18), and at the end of the qualification cycle, they welcome Armenia (November 21).

Euro 2024 qualification group D schedule

1st round (March 25, 2023, Saturday)

Armenia - Turkey (18:00)

Croatia - Wales (20:45)

2nd round (March 28, 2023, Tuesday)

Turkey - Croatia (20:45)

Wales - Latvia (20:45)

3rd round (June 16, 2023, Friday)

Latvia - Turkey (20:45)

Wales - Armenia (20:45)

4th round (June 19, 2023, Monday)

Armenia - Latvia (18:00)

Turkey - Wales (20:45)

5th round (September 8, 2023, Friday)

Croatia - Latvia (20:45)

Turkey - Armenia (20:45)

5th round (September 11, 2023, Monday)

Armenia - Croatia (18:00)

Latvia - Wales (20:45)

7th round (October 12, 2023, Thursday)

Croatia - Turkey (20:45)

Latvia - Armenia (20:45)

8th round (October 15, 2023, Sunday)

Turkey - Latvia (20:45)

Wales - Croatia (20:45)

Round 9 (November 18, 2023, Saturday)

Armenia - Wales (15:00)

Latvia - Croatia (18:00)

10th round (21 November 2023, Tuesday)

Croatia - Armenia (20:45)

Wales - Turkey (20:45)

53 national teams will participate in the qualifiers and try to grab 23 spots for the Euro. Germany, as the organizer of the final tournament, automatically qualified and therefore does not participate in the draw. Due to the suspension, Russia will not participate in the qualifiers either.

Due to political reasons, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Belarus and Ukraine, Gibraltar and Spain, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo and Serbia could not be included in the same group.

Until now, Croatia has played in six European competitions. The 2000 European Championship in Belgium and the Netherlands was the only one they missed. Croatia played in the quarter-finals twice (England 1996, Austria and Switzerland 2008), reached the round of 16 twice (Euro 2020, France 2016), and finished the competition in the group twice (Portugal 2004, Poland, and Ukraine 2012). 

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.