ZSE Indices Edge Up
ZAGREB, 22 July 2021 - The main Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices rose on Thursday, the Crobex by 0.36% to 1,925 points and the Crobex10 by 0.31% to 1,189 points.
Turnover at the close of the trading session was HRK 4.8 million, about 1.1 million higher than on Wednesday.
The only stock to pass the turnover mark of one million kuna was that of the Podravka food company, turning over HRK 1.43 million. Its price remained stable at HRK 584 per share.
A total of 33 stocks were traded today, with 15 of them registering price increases, 8 recording price decreases, and 10 remaining stables in price.
(€1 = HRK 7.510327)
Ćorić: Common Day of Rest is Needed More Than Ever
ZAGREB, 22 July 2021 - Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić said on Thursday that the focus of amendments to the Commerce Act would-be workers and their families, noting that in the present time of growing alienation a common day of rest was needed more than ever.
Ćorić was speaking at a round table on non-working Sundays, held at the Croatian Catholic University. Participants agreed that a non-working Sunday was a "civilizational issue" that should be regulated by law, adding that it would not affect retail shops' sales, while some called for a further reduction of the 16 working Sundays annually as proposed by the government.
Ćorić said that the government would develop a new legal framework to regulate Sunday work in dialogue with the Church, universities, trade unions, and employers, making it a day for workers, their families, and friends.
Croatia is part of the western civilization, fostering the Christian tradition of keeping Sundays free of work, and these principles are embedded in European social values and constitute the social teaching of the Catholic Church, he said.
Ćorić said that people have the need and right to work, but they are increasingly becoming slaves to work. He cited the results of a survey showing that more than half of the respondents think that working on Sundays is a dysfunctional social phenomenon, while as many as two-thirds prefer jobs with non-working Sundays at the expense of lower pay.
This indicates that we are still a society that appreciates humane values, care for people and their families and that it has given the government the mandate to protect human dignity and social justice, the minister said.
MP Marijana Petir rejected claims by retail chains that their turnover is highest on Sundays and that they will make losses. Citing data from the Tax Authority, she said that the highest retail sales are generated on Fridays and that retail chains see the highest turnover on Saturdays.
Many studies have confirmed that Sunday work adversely affects workers' health, causing emotional exhaustion and continued stress, Petir said. As a minor exception, she said that farmers should be allowed to sell their products at markets and fairs on Sundays.
The chairman of the supervisory board of the KTC family-owned supermarket chain, Ivica Katavić, said that family shops should not be open on Sundays either, not even in the tourism sector. In 2018, his company decided not to work on holidays so that people can be with their families, and last year it decided to stay closed on Sundays. There were fears of what would happen with their revenues, but it turned out that their revenues were four percent higher in 2020 than in 2019.
The leader of the Croatian Independent Trade Unions, Krešimir Sever, noted that Switzerland, whose tourism revenue is three times as high as Croatia's, closes its shops at weekends.
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Istria County Head Welcomes Tighter COVID Restrictions
ZAGREB, 22 July 2021 - Istria County prefect Boris Miletić on Thursday welcomed tighter COVID restrictions along the coastline because of the spread of the Delta variant, saying it was in everyone's interest to keep the tourist numbers recorded to date as long as possible.
Speaking to the press in Pula, he said arrivals and overnights in the first seven months of this year were at 60% of those in the corresponding period in 2019, a record year for tourism.
"2020 can't be a reference point of comparison as it would turn out that we were 200% better. In July alone, in the first 20 days, we recorded 90% of the arrivals and overnights recorded (at the same time) in 2019."
More tourists than the domestic population in Istria
Miletić said 236,000 tourists were currently staying in Istria, which has a population of 209,000, adding that 38% were staying in private accommodation, 38% in campsites, and 24% in hotels.
"In any case, we have to be maximally responsible because tourists don't want big parties and big gatherings, but to spend their annual vacation normally," he said, adding that he hoped responsibility would be evident at all levels so that this tourist year could be much better than the last.
Miletić said big gatherings were not necessary, except for various festivals like the ongoing Pula Film Festival. He added that big outdoor gatherings were a problem because it was difficult to control that many people and impossible to ban someone from coming.
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Butković: Pelješac Bridge To Be Connected With Last Segment Next Week
ZAGREB, 22 July (2021) - Sea, Transport, and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butković said on Thursday the Pelješac Bridge would be connected with the last steel construction segment next week.
"We are connecting the Pelješac Bridge with the last segment of the steel construction. It will be a big event. It will happen on 28 July," he told the press in Omiš.
After that, the bridge will be completed with access roads, which should be built by the beginning of next year, Butković said.
"All of it will be put into operation early in June next year."
He said the bridge and the access roads would be "the project of all projects."
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Construction of €11.6m Harbor in Omiš to Start in Mid-September
ZAGREB, 22 July (Hina) - The construction of a town harbor in Omiš, east of Split, will begin in mid-September, and the implementation of this HRK 87 million project will take three and a half years.
The document signing ceremony for the launch of the project was held in Omiš on Thursday.
In attendance was Sea and Transport Minister Oleg Butković, who said that 85% of the costs of the project would be covered by funds from the European Union.
HINA/Mario Strmotić
The project includes building a primary breakwater and a new promenade, and a new traffic solution.
Currently, about HRK 2 billion is being invested in the projects concerning seaport infrastructure along the coast, a record high investment in this segment in the last 100 years, the minister said.
He commented on efforts to ensure a smooth traffic flow from Solin via Split to Omiš, a route that experiences traffic congestion in the summer, saying that this would also be one of the main Croatian projects in the new EU financial perspective.
The head of the Split-Dalmatia County Port Authority, Domagoj Maroević, said that the new project would provide Omiš with an additional 8,000 square meters of seafront plus 70 berths, as well as space for boats owned by locals.
Mayor Ivo Tomasović said this was a historic day for Omiš, stressing that the new harbor will also enable a connection between Omiš and the nearby islands.
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ECDC: Croatian Coast Still Orange
ZAGREB, 22 July 2021 - The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Thursday published a new map showing the COVID-19 situation in Europe, according to which Croatia's Adriatic region remains orange, while continental Croatia is in the green zone.
The ECDC publishes an epidemiological map for Europe every week based on the 14-day incidence rate and the test positivity rate.
The new map shows that the whole of Italy is no longer in the green and that three of its regions are in orange.
France has mostly turned orange, with only two of its central regions remaining green. Smaller parts of Sweden and Finland are also orange, as is most of Denmark.
The majority of Greece is orange and a part of it is red. Portugal is also red. Spain is dark red and red, and Cyprus is dark red. Ireland, Luxembourg, and parts of Denmark and the Netherlands have also gone red.
For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centers across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.
Croatia’s Coronavirus Update: 179 New Cases, One Death, 98 Recoveries
ZAGREB, 22 July, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, of 3,929 tests performed for coronavirus, 4.5%, that is 179, have turned out to be positive, Croatia's national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.
Currently, there are 918 active cases, of whom 124 are hospitalised patients, including 14 placed on ventilators. Also, 3,186 people are self-isolating.
In the last 24 hours, there has been one more COVID-related death, bringing the death toll to 8,245.
Since the first registered case of the infection with this novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, as many as 2.231 million persons have been tested and 362,129 people have caught the virus. Of them, 352,966 have recovered to date, including 98 recoveries in the last 24 hours.
Vaccine roll-out developments
Croatia has to date administered nearly three million vaccine doses. Thus, 1.604 million people have received at least one dose of vaccines against COVID-19 and 1,401,029 have fully been vaccinated (1,360,822 have been double-jabbed plus 40,207 who have received the single-dose Jannsen vaccine), and this makes up 41.614% of the adult population.
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PM: Marked Rise in New COVID Cases, Restrictions to Be Introduced in Adriatic Region
ZAGREB, 22 July 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that after a period of decrease and stagnation, the past week saw a marked increase in the number of new cases of the coronavirus infection, and he called for caution, adding that additional restrictions are being introduced in the Adriatic region.
The largest number of cases were registered in four Dalmatian counties which are all tourist destinations, so the national COVID-19 crisis management team will introduce additional epidemiological measures in that area to limit the possibility of the infection spreading, to control events with a greater number of participants, to avoid risks and to make tourist season possible, Plenković announced at his cabinet's session.
He added that the government took into account the health aspect, but also the tourist, economic, financial, and social aspects.
As for vaccination, he said that as of yesterday Croatia passed the number of 1.6 million people vaccinated with the first dose against coronavirus.
"That's very good, we're getting closer to the number of 48% of the vaccinated adult population. I still call on everyone, especially those in two minds or in fear, to get informed, to have confidence in the profession, medicine, all those who want to protect as many citizens as possible, and to decide to get vaccinated themselves," the prime minister said.
94% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients not vaccinated against this infection
He said that there was "an abundance" of vaccines and recalled last week's decision to enable all Croatian citizens without mandatory health insurance and Croatia from all over the world, as well as all other foreign nationals, to get vaccinated, so, for instance, someone from Mostar going on holiday to Makarska can get vaccinated for free there.
"I would like us to contribute to the protection against COVID beyond our borders also in that way because this is a global game, and with our action, we want to make that contribution," Plenković said, inviting people to use this opportunity.
He also underlined that 94% of hospitalized COVID patients had not been fully inoculated against that infection.
Ministers: Numbers growing, a new package of measures to be introduced
Health Minister Vili Beroš said at the government session that the number of COVID cases was unfortunately rising and that the epidemiological situation in some counties called for caution, while Interior Minister Davor Božinović announced the introduction of a new set of measures.
In the two-week period from 5 to 18 July, Zadar, Split-Dalmatia, Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties and the City of Zagreb registered the largest number of new cases, Beroš said.
"The numbers are unfortunately still growing, the increase in positive cases over the past seven days is 46.1%, the situation in some counties calls for caution, so it requires increased monitoring and caution," said Beroš, warning of the easy spread of the new variant of the virus and of several smaller hotspots.
He said the situation in hospitals was generally favorable, with the exception of some hospitals in Dalmatia, which are recording a slight increase in the number of hospitalized patients. There are currently 122 patients in hospitals, 13 of whom are on ventilators, he said, reiterating that 94% of hospitalized patients have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.
A total of 2.9 million doses have been administered, and the minister announced pharmacies would join the vaccination process and issue COVID certificates.
On the 514th day since the outbreak of coronavirus in Croatia, 179 new cases have been registered, the percentage of positive tests over the past 24 hours is 4.56%, and Croatia's 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 inhabitants is 35.9, the health minister said.
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An Additional €1m for Businesses in Quake-hit Sisak-Moslavina County
ZAGREB, 22 July 2021 - The government on Thursday decided to set aside an additional 7.6 million kuna for grants to micro and small businesses in Sisak-Moslavina County to help them to cope with the consequences of the 29 December devastating earthquake.
Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić recalled that on 29 January the government had decided to allocate ten million kunas for the support provided to the quake-affected businesses.
He said that as many as 872 applications had been sent since then and of them, more than 600 were eligible for funding.
The ministry established that the initial amount of the money would not suffice and therefore the allocation for grants for this purpose was today raised by an additional million euros.
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Government Endorses Draft Bill on Adult Education
ZAGREB, 22 July 2021 - The government on Thursday adopted the draft bill on adult education which will introduce significant changes in the adult education system, especially in terms of harmonizing education programs with the needs of the labor market and the quality of implementation of education programs.
Adult education in Croatia should be regulated in accordance with recent strategic documents adopted at the level of the European Union which underscore a significant role of the adult education system in the process of recovery and of the green and digital transition.
Key changes introduced by the new law include the recognition of non-formal and informal acquisition of knowledge and skills, financing lifelong learning through the Croatian Qualifications Framework Act with the aim of raising the quality and relevance of education programs, said Science and Education Minister Radovan Fuchs.
HRK 300 million to be made available for the education of 30,000 adults by 2026
A total of HRK 300 million has been earmarked for the education of 30,000 adults by 2026. The intention is to reach the EU average by 2030 because we are now at 3.5% in adult education, while the EU average is 10.8%.
Changes to the law are needed to better respond to the needs of the labor market and to help citizens gain a better social status through adult education, Fuchs said.
Also, the inclusion of low-skilled adults in lifelong learning is envisaged, as is the introduction of a system for ensuring the quality of adult education institutions.
(€1= HRK 7.5)
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