ZAGREB, 19 Aug, 2021 - The latest report on the absorption of funding from the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) shows that since its EU entry in 2013 until 11 August 2021, Croatia absorbed HRK 43.15 million more from the EU budget than it paid into it, the Regional Development and EU Funds Ministry has said.

In the 2014-2020 period, Croatia had €10.7 billion from ESIF at its disposal, the ministry said in a statement on the report presented by Minister Nataša Tramišak and adopted at a closed-door government session on Thursday.

Until 11 August 2021, contracts were signed for projects worth €13.12 billion or 122.22% of the allocated amount.

Payments were made in the amount of €6.32 billion or 58.89% of the allocation and €5.27 billion was verified, or 49.13% of the allocation.

In the period from 2013 to 11 August 2021 the difference between EU funds paid into Croatia's budget and national funds paid into the EU budget amounted to HRK 43.15 billion (€5.75bn) in Croatia's favour, the Ministry said.

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August 19, 2021 - The Pelješac Salt Festival seeks to continue the success of the Wine Cellar Festival carried out between May and June, promoting through well-organized events the products and eno-gastronomic offers of the peninsula.

The 5th edition of the Pelješac Salt Festival starts on August 20 in Ston and this year it is spreading to the entire peninsula, reports Turističke Priče. Until September 20, from Ston, through Janjina to Orebić and Trpanj, visitors will enjoy tastings of local specialties and wines, exhibitions, concerts, workshops, and presentations in which Ston salt from the world's oldest saltworks is the main star.

Along with Solana Ston, about twenty restaurants, taverns, wineries, family farms have joined the program, so all the best that the south of Dalmatia has will be "served" at this attractive event with promotional prices. Top Pelješac wines are 20 percent cheaper, festival menus at prices, a visit to oyster farms with tasting on boats, all this awaits you in a new, richer version of the Festival. The program includes about forty restaurants, taverns, wineries, family farms, shellfish, and shipping companies from all over the peninsula.

In addition to the eno-gastronomic experience, an entertainment program is being prepared, and guests of Pelješac can participate in a special experience: salt harvest. Just as in the 14th century the saltworks in Ston was a strategic economic point of the Republic of Dubrovnik, so today it is the guardian of the tradition of this region, but also a trump card that with Pelješac wines, rich heritage, and top specialties, at the end of this great season, enriches offer of Pelješac and the whole region.

''After the extremely successful Pelješac Cellars Festival, where in May and June about fifty wineries, wine shops, hotels, restaurants, and taverns presented their offer, top wines, and specialties, everything is ready for another attractive event. Given the large number of guests staying on Pelješac, we expect even greater success and a great response, and we believe that the festival program will attract guests from neighboring destinations. Next summer will be even more exciting and fun because, in addition to the Pelješac Cellars Festival and the Salt Festival, three more festivals are being prepared'', says Fani Slade, director of the Ston Tourist Board.

For more on the tourist and eno-gastronomic offer of the highly renowned Pelješac peninsula, be sure to check out the Total Croatia guide.

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August 19, 2021 - Rijeka and PAOK drew in the first match of the UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs on Thursday in Thessaloniki. 

A hard-fought battle saw Rijeka draw against PAOK (1:1) in Thessaloniki in the first match of the Conference League play-offs.

Lepinjica scored for the Rijeka lead in the 33rd minute with a precise and powerful shot from more than 20 meters. PAOK, however, equalized thanks to a Galešić own goal in the fourth minute of added time, bringing the match to an even score. 

Rijeka was without several key players in this match, including Murić, Labrović, Drmić, Smolčić, and Selahi, who were injured. Stanić did not have the right to play either, because he has already played for Široki Brijeg in Europe this season. Stanić, however, can play for Rijeka in this season's Conference League only if they advance to the group stage of the competition. 

The exciting match saw a shocking ending. After PAOK created many opportunities, they only scored in the final minutes from a penalty (90+4), disappointing Rijeka who was on the verge of a great victory. Galešić sent the ball into his own net after a corner, which was also the last chance for the Greek club to equalize.

The return match at Rujevica Stadium in Rijeka will be played in seven days (August 26, when the Croatian club will look for a chance to play in Europe this autumn. If Rijeka fails to beat PAOK in front of their fans, they will thus fail to qualify for the group stage of the Conference League this season. 

Recall, the only other Croatian club with a chance to play in a European competition this autumn is Dinamo, who lost 3:0 to Sheriff on Tuesday. 

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ZAGREB, 19 Aug, 2021 - Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Ćorić told the press on Thursday that Croatia's economy would expand by more than five percent in 2021 on the back of excellent results in the tourist sector so far this year.

Considering the trends in the tourist season and results in July and in the first half of August, I can point out that we in the government expect that our forecasts of economic growth of more than five percent will turn out to be correct, he told reporters after the government's meeting.

If the positive trends in the tourist trade continue in the remainder of the season, the growth can be even higher, he said, adding that he is optimistic about that.

After a downturn of 8% in 2020, the Croatian economy is expected to rebound by 5.2% in 2021, according to the government's projections.

Ćorić added that the government had today decided to allocate HRK 30 million for the completion of an entrepreneurial centre in prefab containers in Petrinja.

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ZAGREB, 19 Aug, 2021 - Chief firefighting commander Slavko Tucaković informed the government on Thursday that in the first eight months of 2021, 2,389 fires had occurred in areas of combustible vegetation, or 8% less than the five-year average, however in the last eight weeks, the number of wildfires has risen by 25%.

The area covered by blazes in the first eight months has been 12,207 hectares, or 54% less than the five-year average.

However, extreme weather conditions have fuelled wildfires in the last eight weeks, and as a result the area consumed by those fires has increased by 385%.

The highest number of blazes in rural areas has been registered in Šibenik-Knin County, seven to date.

The biggest wildfire this years has been in the Split hinterland, when it burnt an area 1,643 hectares large near the village of Seget Gornji.

Lion's share of wildfires put out within four hours

Tucaković said that as many as 87% of wildfires in the Croatian coastal area had been extinguished within four hours, which could be interpreted as evidence of the good engagement of firefighting services.

Interior Minister Davor Božinović said that firefighters' interventions in the coastal and Karst regions lasted 2.23 hours on average this year, while in 2020 this average was 3.37 hours.

Croatia's firefighting planes have been deployed abroad to put out fires six times so far this year: once in Greece and once in Turkey and four times in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The allocated funds in the state budget for firefighting services stand at HRK 104 million (€14 million) and so far this year 62 million kuna (€8.3 million) has been disbursed, Defence Minister Mario Banožić said. 

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August 19, 2021 - Kamičak Music Evenings return to Sinj on August 21!

Thanks to the rich tangible and intangible cultural heritage and several diverse cultural events, Sinj and the Cetina region have long been engraved in golden letters on the tourist map of Croatia. Moreover, thanks to the pursuit of sustainable tourism, the coexistence of carefully designed activities that hosts and guests equally enjoy, events in the Alkar city always attract attention and larger more audiences, although this year in a somewhat reduced form due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Such events certainly include the Music Evenings at Kamičak Fortress. Namely, at Sinj's authentic and unique Kamičak fortress with a beautiful stage under the open sky, concerts of classical but also traditional and jazz music are organized. Such an approach popularizes these, perhaps somewhat neglected, musical expressions and where better than in Sinj, a city of rich musical tradition.

The Sinj Tourist Board, with the support of the Croatian Ministry of Culture, the City of Sinj, and the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, has been organizing successful and extremely well-attended concerts for several years. So far, Kamičak has welcome the Academic Accordion Orchestra "Ivan Goran Kovačić," Sara Renar, Jazz swing quintet "Repassage," Wind Quintet "Kalamos," the unique Samobor percussion ensemble "Sudar Percussion," ethno musician Dunja Knebl with the band Kololira and ethno, Nocturnal4 and Ratko Zjača, ZZ Quartet, Trio EX PONTO, and TRIO VENTUS.

This year boasts another extraordinary program because on August 21, 2021, starting at 9:30 pm and ending at 11:30 pm, young artists gathered in the Papandopulo Quartet will present the best of classical music to Sinj and its guests, and jazz music will be presented by the renowned duo Sara & Jappa Brodarić.

About the musicians:

Papandopulo Quartet - this "most important and rightfully the most exposed domestic chamber ensemble" consists of four Croatian saxophonists, Nikola Fabijanic - soprano saxophone, Gordan Tudor - alto saxophone, Goran Jurkovic - tenor saxophone, and Tomislav Zuzak - baritone. Their concerts are regularly accompanied by applause from the audience and praise from critics: "relaxation and confidence in performance, intonational precision, and richness of tonal creation, skill in various articulations, fantastic mobility and precision in both the highest and lowest registers, in a word, amazing technical skills, are the foundations on which the members of the Papandopulo Quartet build their musical expressiveness and expressiveness… That is why the Papandopulo Quartet can proudly and with dignity bear the name of one of the most versatile, most musical, and passionately dedicated to music greats of Croatian music history. " (Mirta Špoljarić, sbplus.hr, January 27, 2014)

They collaborate with many musicians, including the Zagreb Quartet, Zagreb Soloists, Zagreb Saxophone Quartet, Dragan Sremec, Ivan Batoš, Linda Mravunac-Fabijanić, and foreign eminent saxophonists such as Arno Bornkamp, ​​JeanDenis Michat, Jean-Yarstel Fourmeau quartet, and Mobilis quartet. The quartet attaches special importance to the promotion of contemporary music by Croatian and foreign authors, so they premiered, among others, compositions by Mirela Ivičević, Margareta Ferek Petrić, Ante Knešaurek, Fran Đurović, Julian Gamisch, Dubravko Palanović, Tena Ivana Borić, Krešimir Seletković Simon Vosecek, Zeljko Brkanovic, Davor Bobic, Tomislav Uhlik and Gordan Tudor.

In 2015, the quartet released their second record, Per Quattro, and in 2017 their third album Scherzo, both released by Croata Records. 2019 was one of the most successful years for the Papandopulo Quartet. In addition to a large number of concerts, in June of the same year, they won the "Diploma of Milko Trnina" for a particularly successful and notable artistic performance at the opening of the 6th edition of the festival "Showcase of Contemporary Sound."

Sara & Jappa are a family jazz duo consisting of Željko Brodarić Jappa and Sara Brodarić, father and daughter, whose performances are based on vocal and guitar interpretations of jazz classics of the last century, which were celebrated by Broadway and Hollywood musicals and popularized by Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, and other legendary performers.

Known for previous achievements in other music genres, Sara & Jappa began collaborating on a family jazz project in the summer of 2016, performing since then in front of full theaters and exclusive locations across the Croatian coast. So far, Jazz Winter Wonderland and My Jazzy Valentine have performed at the City Puppet Theater Split and the Croatian National Theater Split and the Marin Držić Theater in Dubrovnik, the Croatian National Theater Zadar, and the Hvar Historical Theater.

They gained a loyal audience with their summer cycle of concerts called "Jazz Summer Nights," performing at unique locations such as the Cedulin Palace in Zadar, Central Park Club in Hvar, the historic center of Trogir, as well as summer festivals and events such as the Festival Soli Ston 2018  and the astronomical-musical event "Konavle under the stars 2018" in Lovorno Polje.

In August 2018, Sara & Jappa crowned their summer tour in their hometown with an extremely successful "Split at Night Jazz" concert, which made the impressive Cellars of Diocletian's Palace the scenery for a sold-out summer jazz spectacle. This concert inspired them to organize the first edition of the Split at Night Jazz Festival at the same place exactly a year later, at the end of August 2019. The great performances, including the performance of the festival, hosts Sara and Jappa and the exceptional response of the audience, giving them the wind in their sails to organize a new edition of the jazz festival in Diocletian's Cellars this summer as well.

Sara & Jappa concluded 2019 by opening JazZima!, a jazz festival in Split's GKL, another sold-out "Jazz Winter Wonderland," followed in February 2020 by the equally successful fourth edition of their popular concert "My Jazzy Valentine." 

The concerts at Kamičak Fortress will take place with the implementation of the recommended measures of the Civil Protection Headquarters and the NZJZ. Admission is free, but due to the current pandemic situation, seating is limited to preserve all visitors' health.

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August 19, 2021 - In addition to Zagreb County, the single destination campaign "Around Zagreb" has been extended to Krapina-Zagorje County in order to promote the diverse tourist and cultural offer on the outskirts of the Croatian capital.

After an excellent joint partnership between the Zagreb Tourist Board and the Zagreb County Tourist Board on a unique destination campaign, "Near the city, close to the heart" / "Around Zagreb", Zagreb Tourist Board this year expanded the campaign to promote Zagorje, reports HrTurizam.

The promotional campaign of the Zagreb Tourist Board "Close to the city, close to the heart" was expanded through cooperation with the Krapina-Zagorje County Tourist Board (TZKZŽ) and thus, for the first time, jointly promote Zagreb and Zagorje through a unique destination campaign with a focus on staying outdoors, in greenery and nature, and additional emphasis placed on the eno-gastronomic offer and historical heritage. The director of TZGZ (Zagreb Tourist Board), Martina Bienenfeld, pointed out that the cooperation with TZKZŽ is a logical step in upgrading the campaign "Close to the city, close to the heart".

“We have created a new visual, promotional film, as well as websites where we offer various itineraries and ideas for excursions that naturally connect Zagreb and Zagorje. So you can go on the Gastronomic Roads of Zagreb and Zagorje, experience 3 days of fun and relaxation, or look at the proposals for a fun and active weekend in Zagreb and Zagorje. There is also a new section, ''Did you know...'' which reveals that more than 75% of Zagreb covers green areas and that at least one of the 45 city parks is located in each neighborhood, as well as other attractions”, states Bienenfeld.

The head of the Tourist Board of Krapina-Zagorje County, Sanja Škrinjar, is also extremely satisfied with the first such cooperation and pointed out that the overlaps of the most important emitting markets for both destinations are certainly the starting point for the realization of such cooperation. ''We believe that we complement each other extremely well in creating an even better and richer offer for all future guests of our destinations with a tendency to extend their stay in Zagreb and Zagorje, especially since Zagorje "leans" on Zagreb and is a very good road connection between the two most important tourist destinations in the continental part of Croatia'', pointed out Škrinjar.

"TZGZ is launching the campaign in the markets of Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Germany, northern Italy, Slovenia, and Serbia, and all materials and websites are linguistically adapted to the markets we are addressing. With such facilities, we extend the stay of guests in both destinations'', concludes Bienenfeld.

The website www.aroundzagreb.hr offers creative suggestions on what to see and do, and there is also a promotional film that shows the natural, eno-gastronomic, sports, and historical offers of Zagreb and Zagorje.

Video in English, but with subtitles in four foreign languages (Croatian, Slovenian, English, and German) can be viewed and shared HERE.

Visit Total Croatia if you want to learn more about what Zagreb and Zagorje have to offer you. Now available in your language!

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August 19, 2021 - The latest ECDC corona map shows that the Croatian Adriatic and Zagreb remain orange, while other Croatian counties have now moved to orange. 

On Thursday, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published a new map with the epidemiological situation in European regions. The Croatian coast remained in orange, as well as the City of Zagreb. However, Zagreb County, Krapina-Zagorje County, Koprivnica-Križevci County, Varaždin County, and Međimurje County are now orange reports Jutarnji List. 

Let us remind you, the government and HZJZ expected that Zagreb could turn red today.

Croatia's Mediterranean competitors in summer tourism generally have a worse epidemiological situation than the Croatian coast and remain mostly in red or dark red. Namely, Spain, Portugal, and Greece remain largely in the red. Western Europe is mostly red, central Europe is mostly orange, while the eastern part of the EU is largely green. Slavonia is completely green.

The ECDC Epidemiological Map for Europe is published each week based on the 14-day incidence and the share of positive tests in the total number tested.

The Croatian coast remained in orange on the latest map, which means that the incidence of confirmed COVID-19 cases is less than 50, but the share of positives is more than 4 percent, or the 14-day rate is between 75 and 200, and the share of positives among those tested is less than four percent.

Green on the ECDC map are regions where the 14-day COVID-19 infection rate per 100,000 inhabitants is less than 50, and the share of COVID-19 positives tested is less than four percent, or the 14-day incidence was less than 75 percent, and the share of positives was less than one percent.

Red means a 14-day incidence rate of 75-200, with a COVID-19 positive rate greater than 4 percent and a 14-day incidence rate of 200 to 500, and dark red encompasses areas where the 14-day rate is greater than 500.

ECDC assesses the COVID-19 risk by major statistical regions within the country (NUTS 2). NUTS 2 statistical regions must have a minimum population of 800 thousand and a maximum of three million. There are only four NUTS 2 regions in Croatia - Pannonian Croatia, Adriatic Croatia, Northern Croatia, and the City of Zagreb.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.