July the 2nd, 2021 - Despite the fact that vaccination is going well and both infection rates and deaths are dropping, new variants of the virus continue to emerge, which is totally normal, but for some the constant headlines are becoming too much. Unfortunately, numerous Croatian accommodation cancellations have begun ever since headlines about new variants and new waves have begun to dominate once again.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatian Immunologist Stipan Jonjic from the Medical Faculty in Rijeka warned that there is a great risk that the illusion of normalcy, the biology of the virus and our mistakes will lead us to a catastrophic situation with coronavirus again in autumn, much like 2020.

The decision on the application of EU digital green certificates came into force in all European Union countries yesterday, and Ivana Pavic Simetin, Deputy Director of the CNIPH, said that the digital certificate is a tool that will become easier to apply over time and that it will be easier to get it as time goes on.

''One of the most logical ways to continue our life today is with this digital confirmation, and it will be easier for us to get together and do everything we like to do, like we did before,'' Pavic Simetin said while on Croatian Radio recently.

"Nothing important has changed for us except vaccination, which for now seems to be the only successful way to fight this. Viruses do tend to mutate and improve, by the end of the summer we'll probably have a few new variations. Thankfully, a variant that is completely resistant to vaccination doesn't appear to have occurred so far,'' Jonjic assured.

“However, there may be a variant that is practically completely resistant to this vaccination and then we have to look for other options. Of course, other options are new types of vaccines, new variants of vaccines that target the so-called preserved part of the viral genome, or proteome, against which the virus can do nothing, because if that part mutates, then that virus is gone. And a lot of work is being done on that,'' said Jonjic.

"Until we have a completely covered as many people as possible with vaccination and until we have a cure for COVID-19, we're left with conservative measures that are unpopular, and these are actually precautions, targeted measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic," Jonjic said, adding that he wasn't feeling optimistic, even admitting that he was feeling pessimistic with regard to the vaccination rollout and what might await us this autumn.

"I'm simply scared about this, I don't see a way that optimism will help," he said bluntly, HRT reports.

Barbara Markovic, vice president of the Croatian Association of Family Accommodation, said that due to media reports that the Delta strain would arrive in Croatia, which it already has, many would-be tourists are cancelling their Croatian accommodation for this summer season.

Pavic Simetin said that it wasn't the statements about new waves and new variants that were important, but the statistics and data.

"This is all precise data and we have to present it as we have it. Sequencing is done for us by the European Centre for Disease Control,'' she added.

Markovic said the only strategy is to motivate people to get vaccinated, but by no means shorten the tourist season with any direct dates.

"Doing the latter is how we end up seeing Croatian accommodation reservations cancelled. It's one thing to sit in the office at a comfortable 24 degrees, it's one thing to work in the field at plus 40 with guests,'' said Markovic, adding that the situation on the field is very sensitive and that tourists are inquiring about all statements made.

Pavic Simetin called on people once again to get vaccinated, adding that it is important to vaccinate children with chronic diseases and those who have people with chronic diseases in their families during the summer, and that they will prepare organised vaccinations before the beginning of the school year for kids, which will be based on the premise of volunteering.

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

July the 2nd, 2021 - The first issuing of some Croatian bank bonds on the international capital market has proven successful, seeing the popular Erste Bank take another brave step forward at both the national and the EU level.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, these Croatian bank bonds were issued with an annual interest rate of 0.75 percent and a yield to maturity of 0.835 percent. With the realisation of this transaction, Erste Bank made an additional step forward and added its first international euro bond to its existing securities in circulation on the Croatian capital market. This made it the first bank in all of Croatia to successfully issue its own bonds on the international capital market.

The primary purpose of this Croatan bank bonds issue is to meet the regulatory requirement with which the bank must comply by the 1st of January 2024, and the first binding requirement in the transitional period must be met by the 1st of January 2022. This regards the so-called MREL requirement (Minimum regulatory capital requirement and eligible liabilities).

MREL is part of the European Union (EU) regulatory framework aimed at strengthening the financial system, with a focus on credit institutions, in order to increase resilience to shocks, unforeseen stress scenarios and prevent systemic risk. The funds raised by this Croatian bank bonds issue will be used for general financing purposes and to encourage green and sustainable investments, and will also contribute to the further diversification of funding sources.

The issue was intended for institutional investors in the international market, and in the final allocation the largest share was played by international financial institutions with a share of 39 percent, followed by investment funds with 32 percent, banks with 15 percent and pension funds and insurers with a 14 percent share. Over 70 institutional investors participated in the issue, with a very pronounced European geographical diversification (the UK and Ireland with 41 percent, Germany and Austria with 27 percent, CEE countries with 11 percent, France with 6 percent, and Switzerland, the Benelux countries and others with smaller percentages of shares).

The joint agents of the issue were BofA Securities Europe SA, Erste Group Bank AG, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg and Societe Generale.

"Erste Bank is the most active issuer of bonds among financial institutions in the Republic of Croatia, with this Croatian bank bonds issue being the sixth in a row, and also the first on the international capital market.

After we successfully realised the edition of the so-called senior preffered bonds in the amount of 45 million euros, which was the first such issue on the domestic capital market within the so-called MREL regulatory requirement, and with the successful issuance of an international euro bond, we're continuing on our planned path. In accordance with our financing strategy, we've further diversified the sources of funds by issuing bonds, and we'll use these collected funds for our core business, continuing to build a sustainable and successful business path for Erste Bank on the Croatian market,'' said Kresimir Baric, the CFO of Erste Bank.

For more, follow our business section.

July the 2nd, 2021 - The Croatian events industry has finally been given the green light to gradually return to some form of normal, following a horrendous period of uncertainty and depression as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but at what cost?

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, 100 people are allowed to be gathered together following yesterday's new changes, and even more people can come together if they have their digital certificates. This will finally facilitate the holding of various business and entertainment events, but provisions are in force that will significantly affect the financial structure of participants and organisers.

When it comes to the Croatian events industry, particularly business events, such as conferences and the like, it is still forbidden to set up sponsor stands, which is important for the income of the events. When it comes to ''fun'' events, clubbing will be a very expensive thing to engage in for guests this summer, because when entering each of these events they will need to prove that they have been vaccinated or pay for a fresh covid test each time.

As of July the 1st, the application of EU digital certificates for travel within the European Union also officially started, but the freedom of travel that these certificates were supposed to bring has already been called into question, as some countries have introduced quarantines due to the emergence of the Delta virus strain, rendering those apparently now somewhat empty promises void.

New rules

As is now known, new epidemiological measures to prevent the transmission of the novel coronavirus, which mostly concerns gatherings and public events, came into force in Croatia on the 1st of July, 2021. As of that date, a ban on holding all public events and gatherings attended by more than 100 people in one place is in force, unless it is a public event or gathering attended only by persons with an EU digital covid certificate and with permission from the powers that be.

Public events and gatherings and ceremonies of all kinds may last until midnight, unless it is a public event or gathering attended only by persons with a covid certificate. The rules on the sale of alcohol remains in force, and catering and hospitality facilities will only be allowed to serve guests if they're seated. Facilities registered as night clubs, night bars, disco bars and disco clubs from the category of bars are allowed to work and serve all guests without restrictions on working hours, but only in open spaces and provided that entry to their premises is allowed only to persons who present a covid certificate.

Conferences and congresses attended by up to 100 people may be held in compliance with all of the current anti-epidemic measures, but the suspension of fairs and other forms of economic and tourist events or events where products are sold, exhibited or displayed indoors remains in force. This is exactly the provision for which the Croatian events industry and various event organisers have been trying to get an exemption over recent days.

"It's good that we can finally work with more than 25 people, which was valid until July the 1st for our industry, while, let's say, cultural events had much more relaxed measures, although these are very similar forms of gatherings. A significant problem, however, is that we won't be allowed to have sponsor stands, which can easily be organised in compliance with all of the measures. We've warned the representatives of the Ministry of Tourism several times about this, and they're our address in communication with the National Civil Protection Headquarters, but so far we haven't received any response from the Ministry,'' revealed Jasmina Bilac, President of the Business Tourism Association at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK).

In the entertainment industry, more or less all guests will have to pay for covid tests, because many younger people still haven't managed to get vaccinated.

Boris Suljic, the owner of the clubs on Zrce beach, points out that Novalja has prepared for that, and organised a kiosk for rapid tests that will be carried out by the Medico health institution from Rijeka.

“Entry to clubs will be possible for those who have proof that they've been vaccinated, have a negative test or have proof of having recovered. We've prepared at Zrce with a kiosk for rapid tests for guests, and so we'll function like that in the next fifteen days. Namely, until then, these measures are valid, we don't know what will happen next, and this lack of certainty continues to be the biggest issue for us,'' stated Suljic.

At more or less 100 kuna for a rapid antigen test for each entrance to the club, 550 kuna for a PCR test and 650 kuna for a rapid PCR test, guests aren't going to be particularly happy with this summer's offer from the Croatian events industry, which has been among the worst affected.

For more, follow our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 1 July 2021 - The Croatian coat-of-arms, a geographical map of Croatia, the kuna coin, the Glagolitic script and an image of Dubrovnik are the five selected motifs for the national side of the euro coin put to public consultation on Thursday.

Citizens will be able to rate the five proposed motifs on the website euro.hr and add another, sixth motif of their choice.

Their suggestions will be used by the Croatian National Bank Currency Committee in making the final selection, the National Council for Euro Introduction said after its ninth meeting on Thursday.

The public consultation will last until 15 July.

For the latest news from Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated news page.

July the 2nd, 2021 - The Digital Menu Master F&B is something brand new here on the Croatian market, and intends to make life easier and more fulfiling for both the Croatian catering industry and guests.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes, representing a true novelty here on the Croatian market, the Digital Menu Master F&B application (Food and Beverage) promotes digitalisation in the HoReCa sector. The team behind this idea is successfully conquering foreign markets and working on new applications and ideas intended for caterers.

“Our job is digitisation in HoReCa channels, primarily the digital menu with which we started this whole story. Many years of work in the cruise industry offered me a broader picture of these well-established systems, where I noticed some advantages and disadvantages. Because of that, I came up with the idea to create a Digital Menu Master F&B application on tablets that will hide these shortcomings and make the application functional in practice,'' explained Pero Pehar, the founder of the Master F&B application.

It's an application with a number of advantages, from multilingualism, updating and maintaining the application for the translation of menus and entering and changing data as desired.

“The app is easy to get to grips with, and the Croatian catering industry will experience have big savings which isn't usually the case with the use of classic menus. We've created a system that helps guests order the desired item more easily, while getting all the necessary information in their own language. The owner of the establishment automatically has a happier guest and thus increases their revenue. Translations into all the languages ​​we do for the client and the fact that they no longer have to print menus are huge savings for companies,'' pointed out Pehar.

When they started developing the app, there were five people in the team, today they have 17 employees and almost every month they expand the team due to the increase in the volume of work. According to Pehar, clients recognised them as a quality and long-term solution, and soon after the launch of the application, they experienced an increase in the number of users. After their success on the market, this team is still going strong, announcing yet more new projects and ideas.

“Investments in the business are constant, and the last major one was the production of digital stand-alone outdoor racks that are resistant to shocks and water. The biggest investments are in expanding the team, equipment and developing new applications. More is coming soon, we're working on a couple of new applications that will take it all to another higher level,'' assured Pehar.

In addition to the Croatian catering industry, the Croatian market and regional markets, they also operate on other more distant foreign markets, and the number of clients and app downloads is growing. The list of restaurants that have digitalised their business thanks to this application is only growing, and it seems that it is likely to totally win over the Croatian catering industry who are very eager to attract guests and make savings, especially since the outbreak of the pandemic.

"We're a young company that is expanding and progressing quickly, but we want to dominate the scene here in Croatia first and then expand slowly in other countries. We've already become present in Germany, Austria, the UK, we've also come to an agreement for Dubai and the Scandinavian countries. We want to take safe steps and become recognisable for the unique service we provide. Our goal is to end this year with a presence in 1000 catering facilities. Several large companies have also shown interest in a partnership with us, and it's certain that we'll manage to reach an agreement and long-term cooperation by the end of the year with one of them,'' revealed Pehar.

For more, follow our business section.

July 2, 2021 - With the launch of United and Delta in Dubrovnik, the Adriatic pearl now has flights from New York through October. 

More good news arrives from the Croatian coast as two major US airlines have launched to Dubrovnik! Namely Untied Airlines officially began operations on Thursday, July 1,  from New York’s Newark Airport, connecting New York and Dubrovnik for the first time in 30 years, reports Ex Yu Aviation. The inaugural flight on the 214-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft had just two seats available in economy class as of Thursday morning, the aviation portal added. 

United will depart from New York on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and arrive in Dubrovnik the following day through until October 2. United has also timed its flights to ensure they connect to 65 cities in North America. 

Delta, on the other hand, will launch operations from JFK Airport today (July 2), running four times per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through October 3. Delta will operate this service using the 26-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have made great efforts to promote the city and to maintain the destination’s visibility with special emphasis on the US market. Our efforts have paid off. Seven weekly nonstop flights from the US are a huge success for Dubrovnik’s tourism. The American market is the second biggest in Dubrovnik, right after the UK. This year we expect excellent results from this extremely important market for us, and we hope to see continuous growth in the years ahead," said Dubrovnik Tourism Board director, Ana Hrnić.

“This service will significantly contribute to the return of our American guests to Dubrovnik and Croatia as a whole in these difficult times," the Dubrovnik Airport General Manager, Frano Luetić, added. 

Delta will offer 24,406 seats between New York and Dubrovnik this summer and United 22,684 seats. 

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

July 2, 2021 - It will be Marin Čilić against Daniil Medvedev, the 2nd-best tennis player in the world, in the third round of Wimbledon to be played on Saturday. 

The top-ranked Croatian tennis player Marin Čilić (ATP - 37) advanced to the third round of Wimbledon after defeating French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi (ATP - 119) on Thursday 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5 ) after three hours and three minutes of play.

In the third round, Čilić will play against the second-best tennis player in the world, Russian Daniil Medvedev, who defeated Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.

It will be their second duel, though the first was played two years ago in Washington when the Russian tennis player celebrated in two sets (6-4, 7-6).

By entering the third round, Marin achieved his best result at Wimbledon since 2017, when he came one step closer to the title, losing in the final to Roger Federer in three sets.

Čilić was a better opponent against Bonzi, leaving the Frenchman without a chance to break in three of the four sets. His only issue was serving in the second set when he allowed Bonzi to reach two consecutive breaks in the fourth and sixth games, but it did not last long.

The key to winning the first set was a break in the ninth game, after which he used the first set point. After losing the second set, Čilić recovered very quickly and, with one break, took the lead with 3-0 at the beginning of the third set. That was a sufficient advantage, as Bonzi did not get much of a chance. In the fourth set, Čilić missed two opportunities to break in the third game.

The decision to end or continue the match fell in a tie-break in which Čilić took a 5-1 lead, and Bonzi came close to 5-4 with three consecutive points. Čilić won the next point on the serve and reached two match points. He missed the first but turned the second into a win.

It was Čilić's 31st win at the All England Club, and for the eighth time in his career, he reached at least the third round at Wimbledon. He will now face Daniil Medvedev, who equaled his best Wimbledon result achieved in the last two editions of the third Grand Slam tournament of the season by entering the third round.

Source: HRT

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

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

July 2, 2021 - Dedication to researching and developing the field of social sciences sees the Ivo Pilar Social Research Institute expanding scientific cooperation once again after Željko Holjevac's visit to Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Ivo Pilar Social Research Institute, active as always, continues to expand its cooperation on scientifically explain social issues (symbolically noted as 2021 marks 30 years of the Institute).

As reported on their official website, Institute headmaster dr. Željko Holjevac visited Sarajevo, the capital city of the neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, from June 21-23.

The main story of that visit was a signed bilateral cooperation agreement between the Ivo Pilar Social Research Institute and the Sarajevo Catholic Faculty. The agreement was signed by Holjevac and Faculty dean dr. Darko Tomašević.

Additionally, Holjevac was at the reception with Vrhbosanski's vice bishop Vinko Puljić.

„They talked about possible shared projects that would be adjusted to the tradition, culture and developing needs of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina“, informed Ivo pilar social research Institute.

Croatian Cultural Society Napredak (progress) also met with Holjevac. Napredak soon celebrates 120 years of work and was founded at the start of the 20th century when the famous Croatian social scientist Pilar was active in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Napredak plans various manifestations for their big anniversary, and dr. Holjevac discussed the possible cooperation in organizing an international scientific symposium regarding the identity of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ivo Pilar Institute working in full speed

This sort of cooperation in regards to researching the Croatian diaspora in the neighboring country where the Croatian historical role and present is significant is nothing new for the Ivo Pilar Social research Institute.

As TCN reported earlier in May, the Institute, along with scientific partners, organized a conference “Identity of Boka Kotorska Croatians“, and the three-day event gathered crucial scientific institutes in Croatia to the town of Tivat in the Bay of Croatian Saints in Montenegro.

Scientists from the Institute were also active this year as they participated at European Conference For Social Work Research (ECSWR), International Society for Ethnology and Folklore (SIEF) Conference, and also by presenting a book on Croatian Mountain Rescue Service in Gospić, or by presenting book Cultural Identity of Vukovar – Contribution to Investigating Heritage and Successors“ – to list some of the activities TCN reported on throughout 2021.

As 2021 marks the 30th year anniversary of the Ivo Pilar Institute, apart from the aforementioned actions (to which we can include nurturing relations with scientific colleagues in Slovakia or opening a new research office on Vis Island), several more goals were envisioned by the end of the year: to publish the first edition of critical translation for the book „South Slavic (Yugoslav) Question“ by Ivo Pilar from 1918, and to make and publish Pilar's Kaleidoskop of Croatian society.

With the active academic dynamic demonstrated by the Institute, there is no doubt there is enough quality and capacity to achieve these goals. It is only a matter of time in such a busy and productive schedule.

Learn more about Croatian Diaspora on our TC page.

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