February the 3rd, 2021 - German tourists have always been great lovers of Croatia, arriving year after year in their droves, and then 2020 came. Is Croatia back on the German radar for summer 2021?

As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, last year, 41 percent of Germans didn't travel anywhere on their summer holidays due to fear and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and their final decision on travel in 2021 will be strongly influenced by the process of population vaccination.

''The results of research by one of the world's largest online agencies eDreams Odigeo shows that 46 percent of Germans consider vaccination a necessary condition for travel outside Germany,'' revealed Nera Milicic, head of the Croatian Tourist Board in Munich in her market review based on available analyses.

According to a Booking.com analysis, 56 percent of travellers will be more careful when travelling in 2021, but will continue to travel, while 38 percent of German tourists will have stricter criteria when choosing accommodation, taking special care of their health, hygiene, cleanliness and safety. More than half of the respondents will prefer to choose accommodation and a destination with clearly indicated security measures as vaccination is rolled out and the pandemic hopefully draws to a close.

The general travel trends in 2021 according to Booking.com's analysis have an emphasis placed on independent, luxury and shorter trips, culinary delights and regional food, as well as holidays with family and friends. 60 percent of survey participants for the summer of 2021 wish for a "relaxing holiday and the enjoyment of local gastronomic specialties."

The world's largest search engine for holiday homes, HomeToGo, also conducted a survey covering 16 million users. The survey found that 70 percent of those respondents will travel this year, 71 percent will travel by car, and 61 percent prefer a holiday home hidden away somewhere in nature. According to FeWo-Direct, demand for holiday homes away from cities rose 650 percent in the second half of 2020.

In addition, the German Tourism Association, DRV, presented a new trend of "home offices in a sunny location", the so-called Bleisure Work - Business and Pleasure Work. Respondents already exploring such opportunities are mostly men aged 19 to 39 in middle and senior management positions.

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February the 3rd, 2021 - Croatian epidemiologist Branko Kolaric has sought to explain why Croatia has been experiencing a downward trend in terms of the coronavirus infection rate over recent weeks despite having fairly loose epidemiological measures when compared to some other countries in the EU. Slovenia, with far harsher measures, isn't experiencing Croatia's good trends.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, recently in Croatia, the share of those infected among those who were tested was only 5 percent, and the number of newly infected people fell below 100 for the first time since September 2020.

As for global and European trends, it's difficult to find a pattern that would show why the number of infected people is growing in some countries despite the measures, and at the same time in others with less stringent measures, such as those in Croatia, the infection rate is falling. It's true to say that Croatia is far from 50 infected people per 100,000 inhabitants, which is the limit that indicates the containment of the epidemic, but we have managed to reach 216, even though we were at more than 1200 not so long ago.

The numbers say, for example, the number of people infected with coronavirus in one day in the United States halved from early to late January from 201,420 down to 107,816 on the last day of January. The decline in the number of infected people is also being recorded, for example, in Germany with 10,620 recorded on the first Sunday in January and 8425 on the last. The numbers are similar in Austria, with 1466 and 1198, but it should be emphasised that the decline isn't drastic despite the employment of some very restrictive measures that include curfews, reports Jutarnji list.

An enigma for many...

Here in Croatia, too, the number of people infected with the novel coronavirus was halved during the month of January, so all those who think that the measures should be relaxed are in ''euphoria'' because we've had only 216 infected people per 100,000 inhabitants over the last two weeks. An additional enigma for many is Slovenia which still has 885 infected people per 100,000 inhabitants in 14 days and at the same time has very strict measures. Currently, the worst situations in the EU can be found in Portugal, Spain and France, where the number of infected people has doubled compared to the beginning of last month.

“There are several aspects that affect the numbers in this epidemic. For example, it can be the moment of the introduction of measures, the number of infected when those measures are introduced as well as the number of ''pockets'' of communities or closed subpopulations in which the epidemic persists,'' explained Croatian epidemiologist Branko Kolaric, a member of the Government Scientific Council for COVID-19.

"For example, when the epidemic is more widespread, ie when there are a lot of infected people at one time, then you don't have to wait as long to see results when you bring in measures. When the epidemic spreads as it did in our country a few months ago, resuling in 1,200 infected people per 100,000 people, then the results of the measures introduced can be seen much faster and more clearly. After six weeks of having these measures, we've significantly reduced the number of infected people in Croatia. But on the other hand, Germany has measures like ours and already had at 200 infected people in 100,000 inhabiants, and when the numbers started to rise to 300, they tightened them up even more.

In short, the measures give a more visible and faster effect when the infection rate is high. If we wanted to get down to 50 infected people per 100,000 inhabitants, we'd have to have much more rigorous measures, and the results would take more time to arrive. In that case, schools wouldn't be open, and a curfew would be likely, but the question is whether we'd eventually reach that goal,'' added Croatian epidemiologist Branko Kolaric when discussing the complexity of the implementation of epidemiological goals.

The peak of the epidemic's wave

He emphasised that, when it comes to the EU, the biggest enigma for him is neighbouring Slovenia, where the epidemiological measures have been in force for much longer than they have here in Croatia, and there are no results.

"It's difficult to understand why the number of infected is falling so slowly and why there is such a difference between Croatia and Slovenia. It's possible, for example, that there is more illegal socialising, ie that the measures aren't actually being implemented in the manner they're prescribed. In any case, in the case of the coronavirus, the natural course of the virus should probably not be neglected, so one wave passes and infects a certain circle of people and so on and so on, it does that in cycles.

In addition, there are specifics of individual countries, so this also affects the implementation of any measures. But, in any case, the fact remains that this disease is mostly transmitted by droplets, so socialising is the place where it occurs the most often and is the most possible. If there is less socialising, there's less coronavirus,'' concluded epidemiologist Branko Kolaric.

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February the 3rd, 2021 - Radimir Cacic has stated that the ever louder desire to remove the need for membership fees paid to the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) are irresponsible, claiming that HGK needs reforms, but that it shouldn't be dismantled. Many who pay their fees would strongly disagree.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, after a recent coalition meeting, Varazdin County Prefect Radimir Cacic gave a short statement to the media, more precisely to N1.

"My position is that everyone had a chance - MOST, SDP, HSLS and HNS. Everyone has had the opportunity from 1991 until today,'' said Prefect Radimir Cacic after a coalition meeting when asked by a journalist to comment on the proposal to abolish what many consider to be a banal and pointless membership fee to the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

He then added: ''Everything they wanted to do... they did. What we've now heard from the gentlemen of MOST consists of one terrible amount of effort made to change one article in the 1991 law that says the Chamber should be abolished. Once you stop funding it, and keep everything else that the law proposes obligations, public authorities… At that moment you can say that the chamber doesn't exist,'' said Radimir Cacic in his usual style of speech.

He then expressed his opinion on the proposal: ''Unserious, irresponsible, dangerous, populist. This is something that I personally, neither we as Reformists, have ever been able to, nor will we ever support,'' he said.

He also noted that the Croatian Chamber of Commerce should be reformed, but not abolished entirely. "The chamber needs to be redefined, it needs to be sent out onto the market to a large extent, but it also needs to recognise its public powers. No to populism, yes to reforms. The chamber isn't good enough, not even close to good enough, but on the other hand, it doesn't occur to us to support the destruction of one of the institutions that is important for the Croatian economy and society,'' he concluded.

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February the 3rd, 2021 - Is former government minister Martina Dalic set to take the late Marin Pucar's place at the head of the much loved Croatian brand Podravka? It might well happen, as has been alleged from several well informed sources.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the pension funds and the Croatian Government have reached an alleged agreement that former Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalic, who was previously deeply embroiled in the bizarre and seemingly endless Agrokor saga, will take over the management of the Croatian company Podravka.

Vecernji list was the publication to initially find out this information from informed sources.

The decision should be made at the meeting of Podravka's Supervisory Board which is currently scheduled for Wednesday. Should it be true, former minister Martina Dalic will come to the post at Podravka with the strong support of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who apparently didn't remain indebted to her in any sense at all after Martina Dalic resigned due to criticism of the non-transparency of the decisions surrounding the often murky restructuring of the former Agrokor.

The race for the new head of Podravka is starting, here are the main candidates

The appointment will last for one year, for the duration of the term of office of the existing members of Podravka's Management Board, and a confirmation of the full five-year term should follow in February 2022. After the tragic and premature death of Marin Pucar following a battle with an illness, the fund industry proposed their financier Davor Dok as a ''natural'' successor, the local authorities had their favourites, but according to sources, it seems Martina Dalic is set to take Podravka's proverbial throne.

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February 2, 2021 – The gym owner who opened his doors yesterday in Zagreb's Trešnjevka, despite the Civil Protection Headquarters' ban, has been released from custody.

Andrija Klarić, the 51-year-old gym owner, who was handed over to the custody supervisor yesterday on suspicion of having committed the criminal offense of spreading and transmitting a contagious disease, was released from custody today.

'What I did was right'

Recall, Andrija Klarić opened his gym in Trešnjevka in Zagreb yesterday morning, thus violating the current ban on the work of gyms and sports centers set by the Civil Protection Headquarters. Article 180 of the Criminal Code stipulates that a person could be punished by up to two years in prison for such an act.

However, as Index reports, the prosecution did not ask for pre-trial detention, so he was released. Klarić stated that the prosecution had no evidence against him, that he was not a spreader of the infection, and that double standards applied in Croatia because some could work while others are forbidden the constitutional right to work.

He even called on Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to resign and call elections because he believes that the government is not coping well with the coronavirus crisis. Also, he invited citizens to gather tomorrow for a protest on Ban Jelačić Square at 10 am and "oppose the deprivation of civil liberties."

"I knew that what I was doing was right. I know we're not spreaders of the virus. They don't have any evidence. Of the total number infected by November 1, 181 are from 'gyms,' which is less than 0.5 percent. They can't declare gyms dangerous places," said Klarić.

Spas and shopping malls still operating

He compared the example of gyms with spas and shopping malls that are opened.

Klarić claims that everyone in the gym adhered to epidemiological measures and that everyone who came to exercise had already gotten over the coronavirus. The police officers, the state inspectorate, and the state attorney, he says, were fair and kind. They were even "embarrassed that they had to do it."

"The police officers were phenomenal. At the end of the investigation, the gentleman said – a hero, not a criminal," Klarič said after his release from custody. He says that he would repeat the same thing in the same circumstances and does not think he did anything wrong.

"He who is ready to give freedom for security. did not deserve either. When injustice becomes the law, then resistance becomes an obligation," Klarić stressed, adding that everything possible should be done to prevent those who do wrong.

'Small step for Andrija, significant for Croatia'

His lawyer Gordan Marović also gave a statement to the media.

"He will be released. The State Attorney's Office of the Republic of Croatia (DORH) did not request pre-trial detention for him," Marović said.

"He understands this as a fight not only for his justice but also a fight for everyone. He believes that there were a lot of people not fighting for their own rights," Marović said about Klarić, adding that he feels injustice.

"The right to work is a matter of personal freedoms and human rights. The constitution guarantees the right before the law, and we see that not everyone is equal before the law because some can work, others cannot," he added.

When asked why Klarić did it, given the penalties and given that he did it himself, Marović paraphrased Neil Armstrong: "This is a small step for Andrija, but a big one for Croatia. Someone has finally put his personal interests ahead of society's interests."

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February 2, 2021 - 17-year-old Croatian skiing sensation Zrinka Ljutić delighted the ski world once again!

HRT reports that the young Croatian skier Zrinka Ljutić achieved her second career victory in the Europa Cup! After celebrating in the slalom held in Zell am See, Austria, at the end of January, she also won the giant slalom run at the Slovenian ski resort Krvavec on Tuesday.

After the first run, the young Croatian skiing sensation was second behind the Norwegian skier Kaja Norbye, but only by about five-hundredths of a second.

Ljutić won with a great performance in the second run with a result of 2:04.28. Only one-hundredth of a second behind was Norwegian skier Marta Monsen, while Norbye came in third, 36 hundredths of a second behind Monsen.

Croatian skier Andrea Komšić took 44th place.

This was the second victory in the Europa Cup for the 17-year-old from Zagreb and the second in a row after she was the best in the slalom in Zell am See on January 26.

In the overall Europa Cup standings, Ljutić broke into second place with 370 points, 102 less than the leading Slovenian skier Andreja Slokar. In third is Italian Lara Della Mea with 341 points.

Maryna Gasienica-Daniel from Poland leads the giant slalom standings with 200 points, while Ljutić is in sixth place with 137 points.

Another giant slalom for the Europa Cup will be held on Krvavec on Wednesday.

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

ZAGREB, 2 February, 2021 - The Franak association of former CHF loan holders said on Tuesday it was not clear what the government had given the banks to get them to withdraw from the arbitration cases before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) concerning the conversion of Swiss franc-denominated loans into euro loans.

Marić told a press conference on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached with six banks that had sued Croatia before the ICSID in Washington over the conversion of CHF loans. He said that in this way the possible payment of HRK 2.5 billion from the state budget was avoided.

The banks took legal action against Croatia to seek compensation for the costs of the conversion, which was carried out based on a 2015 law.

Franak said it was shocking that the announcement was made at a time when the Constitutional Court was deciding on lawsuits brought by banks against a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the finding that the CHF currency clause in loan agreements concluded between 2004 and 2008 was null and void.

"The unfair banks, which consciously and deliberately cheated 125,000 Croatian families, do not deserve any concessions. Besides, the EU Court has clearly and unequivocally ruled in the Achmea case that arbitration proceedings between EU member states are unlawful and prohibited," the association said, adding that despite these facts the banks, which owe citizens HRK 20 billion, had been given or would be given certain concessions.

Franak said that the Constitutional Court would rule on the banks' lawsuits on Wednesday, adding that if the lawsuits were thrown out, there would be no further obstacles for former CHF loan holders to seek compensation from the banks based on private lawsuits.

For more on this story and the rest of the business news in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN business section. 

ZAGREB, 2 February, 2021 - The GONG NGO warned on Tuesday the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), the Council of Europe anti-corruption body, that Croatia's Conflicts of Interest Prevention Commission must not be destroyed.

GONG underscored that the Commission could be left without key tools unless the provision on breach of ethical principles and rules of conduct is more precisely defined.

The NGO thinks that the Commission has been under attack from the ruling majority for a long time and that the ruling of the High Administrative Court of Croatia could leave the Commission without its key tools, such as the power to decide on breaches of the code of conduct.

GONG is worried that the Commission's work as an important anti-corruption body will be virtually euthanased if the new law does not adopt GRECO's recommendations, which would impose sanctions for the violation of those principles. GRECO thinks that regulating breach of the code of conduct is a key provision of the Act on Preventing the Conflict of Interest.

They recalled that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković started criticising the work of Commission chair Nataša Novaković after she started looking into his role in the Agrokor case and investing the travel of members of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) to Helsinki by government's plane.

GONG underscored that the Commission's powers had been downsized after a decision of the Constitutional Court in July 2019, when former HDZ president Tomislav Karamarko filed a lawsuit.

Now a decision of the Commission has been quashed as the High Administrative Court concluded, in the case of Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, that the Commission misinterpreted its powers. This decision is a precedent also because the High Administrative Court has so far ruled just the opposite -- that the Commission has the right to admonish officials for violating the code of conduct, GONG warned.

High Administrative Court has recently quashed a 2017 decision by the Conflict of Interest Commission which fined Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić after his defence attorney paid bail with his own money and Bandić was also fined for receiving donations by citizens after the 2009 presidential election. The commission fined Bandić with the maximum fine of HRK 40,000 for the bail paid by the lawyer and for donations received after the presidential election campaign was over.

The High Administrative Court among other things concluded that the commission had erred in concluding that the donations paid after the election were an (inadmissible) gift, and explained that the money concerned was used to settle subsequent costs for electioneering.

As far as Hanžeković's money is concerned, the court ruled that all citizens are equal before the law and that restricting an official "to receive bail money from anyone in a criminal proceedings represents unallowable restriction of their right to a defence." 

Media outlets claim that the court's decision will have a drastic impact on the commission's powers.