As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes on the 13th of July, 2020, given the scale of the economic crisis caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the huge damage caused, especially to tourism, with estimates of falling revenues of up to 80 percent, Maistra says that it is difficult to say anything definite about the outcome of this tourist season. Despite that, the Zagreb Sheraton Hotel is opening its doors...

After almost four long months of forced break from operations due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the workers of the Zagreb Sheraton Hotel started preparations to reopen at the end of July. As has since been learned in Maistra, which includes the hotel company HUP Zagreb and Sheraton, the opening will most likely be only temporary, in order to host a group from the United States.

''Back at the end of May, we opened all of our camps in Istria, and during June, the Rovinj hotels Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, Lone, Eden, Amarin, Istria were opened, and on Friday, the Monte Mulini hotel started operating again.

The Westin and International hotels are currently open in Zagreb, while the opening of the remaining part of our Zagreb portfolio will depend on the demand for that. The Zagreb Sheraton Hotel will be temporarily opened to accommodate guests from the United States. In the destinations of Vrsar and Dubrovnik, we've also started with the gradual opening of hotels and facilities,'' they explained from the aforementioned hotel company.

Croatian tourism is an incredibly important part of the domestic economy, making up 20 percent of the country's GDP and generating enormous profits throughout summer. The previous record summers Croatia experienced merely by lying on its laurels seem a distant memory when compared to the current virus-dominated situation.

"Reservations for July, August and September are encouraging so far, but it all depends on the epidemiological situation in the countries that are our main emitting markets, the border crossing regime, the recovery of airlines, which is especially important for bringing guests to the south of Croatia,'' they stated from Maistra.

For more on travel during the coronavirus era, follow our dedicated section.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of July, 2020, Minister Bozinovic, the head of the National Civil Protection Directorate, explained how whether people are wearing protective masks indoors, which is mandatory in stores from today onward, will be monitored and controlled.

Minister Bozinovic said that we are facing a new dynamic of the spread of the new coronavirus on a global level. Here in Croatia, as he said, local measures will be applied and local hotspots will be extinguished, but there will also be measures that will be applied at the national level, such as the introduction of wearing masks in restaurants, shops and when using public transport.

"In autumn, we could face more proliferation and more severe symptoms, so now we need to acquire the habits we will need for when autumn comes," he said, noting that this is why they have resumed press conferences, which also serve as a means of educating the general public.

"Our basic approach is to inform the public. There's not much point in issuing penalties, but we'll also have certain sanctions if a measure is not accepted. Hopefully that won’t happen. Large centres have security guards where it is not a problem to just refuse entry to a person who isn't wearing a mask, in small shops, the staff aren't allowed to serve someone if they aren't wearing a mask. There aren't so many police or inspections that they can control everything… We'd like to appeal to everyone to call 112 or the police if there needs to be an intervention,'' he said.

He stated again clearly that if faced with issues, shop employees and those working for hospitality facilities are free to call the police (112) to come and deal with difficult people.

Minister Bozinovic also stated that everyone's goal is to accept the ''new normal'' for what it is at the moment and that wearing masks indoors should simply become a practice. "They've been shown to be effective," he added. From day to day, he said, they will repeat everything they consider important to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. He added that they're continuing to make sure that the tourist season is as good and safe as possible under these unprecedented circumstances.

For more on coronavirus in Croatia, follow our dedicated section.

If things go according to the plans and wishes of the Government, Croatia should replace the national currency with the euro about a year and a half before its 30th birthday, but as Poslovni Dnevnik/Jadranka Dozan writes on the 13th of July, 2020, there are numerous obstacles to overcome on the path to the Eurozone...

On Friday, Croatia got the green light Brussels for the entry of Croatia (and Bulgaria) into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II), and we learned that the central parity between the euro and the kuna with which to enter the Eurozone's proverbial ''lobby'' was set at 7.5345 kuna for one euro, which was the state of the exchange rate on Friday.

At least two years should be spent in the Eurozone's waiting room, which would mean the introduction of a common European currency at the earliest in early 2023. How likely this actually is for Croatia is quite another story.

"Joining the ERM II doesn't mean that the process of adopting the euro is now on autopilot, because both Croatia and Bulgaria are still facing important challenges and will hardly meet all the convergence criteria anytime soon," said ING analysts.

In short, while the Croatian authorities calculate that we are currently on the way to meeting the necessary criteria, the bank's economists predict the introduction of the euro for Croatia (as well as for the Bulgarians) "well after January the 1st, 2023."

In the case of Croatia, they see the challenges primarily in the sphere of the sustainability of public finances (public debt, deficit), and for Bulgaria, the main thorn in the side of that country is its institutional framework and the rule of law.

A ticket to ERM II was actually expected as the Croatian Government managed to comply with the reform points promised in last year's action plan, and the banks have also passed a comprehensive ECB assessment. However, the news received a lot of attention and positive comments, including the reaction of the market through the decline in yields on Croatian government debt - it fell to about 1.1 percent in a ten-year period.

By joining the exchange rate mechanism, which is accompanied by the establishment of very, very close cooperation with the European Central Bank, Croatia will be able to count on more generous ECB support than the recently agreed two billion euro heavy package as an additional source of foreign exchange liquidity.

At the same time, after Brexit and with the current frictions over the adoption of the EU Economic Recovery Plan, this is a welcome message that there is still an appetite among some nations for greater integration within the Union for the bloc itself after all.

Of the EU countries that have not yet adopted the euro, most of them don't yet show any intention of doing so.

The advantages of Croatia's entry into the Eurozone are considered to outweigh the disadvantages. Thus, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) points out that the introduction of the euro should facilitate the business of entrepreneurs with more ease.

In addition to the elimination of currency risk and exchange costs, as well as the potential growth of the credit rating and lower financing costs, they also emphasised the advantages of additional financing that Eurozone members have in the current coronavirus crisis.

Entrepreneurs who advocate Croatian Eurozone membership see this as a better chance to implement the reforms that are desperately needed in Croatia, but unfortunately only get done when the country is under significant external pressure.

In addition to the Maastricht criteria, part of the set of measures that Croatia has undertaken to implement within the ERM II application includes administrative, ie the parafiscal relief of the economy and residents, as well as measures related to improving bankruptcy legislation and management in state-owned enterprises.

When it comes to those against the introduction of the euro, the arguments are mainly buffered up by claims that Croatia isn't yet economically ready for this step. People, on the other hand, are most afraid of the potential for rising prices.

They cite examples from other countries that suggest that prices should not increase significantly, and in most countries there has been some increase in wages at the same time to make up for it.

Given the weak industry and large imports, the average price level of consumer goods and services in Croatia is still higher than in some Eurozone countries. Finance Minister Zdravko Maric emphasised that the tax policy is still in our hands, and this also has an impact on prices and the control of them.

For more on Croatia's path to the Eurozone, follow our politics section.

ZAGREB, July 13, 2020 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic on Monday denied media allegations that the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) had received donations from companies that were granted government subsidies during the coronavirus epidemic.

"That information is not true. The donations concerned were paid no later than March 12 before any lockdown measures were introduced or any government subsidies were issued to bail out the economy. We did not receive any donations after March 12, or we received some but that money of about HRK 70,000 was paid back to the state budget," Jandrokovic said ahead of a meeting of the HDZ presidency.

He added that "those donations were paid before the COVID situation even emerged," adding that at that time no one could have to know what was to happen later.

HDZ's presidency and national council on Monday appointed Krunoslav Katicic as the party's new secretary-general, replacing Jandrokovic who will be reappointed parliament speaker based on an earlier agreement in the party.

Jandrokovic said: "Now, I will dedicate myself 100 percent to the position of parliament speaker," expressing satisfaction with the opportunity to be in that position for a second term.

"It was demanding and challenging to conduct both the duties of parliament speaker and secretary-general of HDZ. I look proudly at the past four years and wish my successor good luck," said Jandrokovic.

New parliament to be inaugurated on 22 July

He announced that the new parliament should be convened on July 22 if there are no complaints related to the July 5 parliamentary election in the town of Rasa which was repeated on Sunday. Parliament is expected to sit in Parliament House taking account of epidemiological measures.

ZAGREB, July 13, 2020 - Turkey is an important partner with which it is necessary to talk so as to turn around the negative trend in its relations with the EU, Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said on Monday.

Grlic Radman participated at the first physical meeting of EU foreign ministers since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

The main topic was a comprehensive and strategic discussion of the complex relations between the EU and Turkey whose activities in the eastern Mediterranean are causing concern.

There was also talk of Turkey's intention to reconvert Hagia Sophia back to a mosque after the Turkish high court stripped the Byzantine site of its museum status.

"EU member countries strongly advocate that Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan change that decision. We hope that that will happen," Grlic Radman said.

He added that Turkey is a candidate country for NATO membership with which is it necessary to hold dialogue, however, it is also necessary to warn it of its violation of an embargo on arms to Libya and some other situations that deteriorate our relations.

"Dialogue is necessary so that this negative trend can be turned around and become positive and constructive because Turkey is an important partner and geopolitical fact," the minister said.

Grlic Radman said that he asked the foreign affairs council to discuss the Western Balkans at the first available opportunity.

"Croatia does not want for all of that be over with the Zagreb summit and that it be brought down to just the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. We as the direct neighbour to those countries, want other topics to be on the agenda of the Council of the EU. That contributes to a better understanding in member countries of the processes that are developing in the Western Balkans when it comes to the issues of democracy, media freedom, combatting corruption and the rule of law. It is certainly good to have permanent dialogue," said Grlic Radman.

ZAGREB, July 13, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros on Monday announced a lower cost of COVID-19 testing for people who wish to be tested on their own accord, adding that tests like PCR have a price because they provide quality while other tests are being developed for the general population.

Tests are free of charge when they are taken by suspected cases at the recommendation of professional medical staff due to medical indications.

"It is understandable that someone may wish to be tested for personal reasons, for example, to be certain and safe for their household. We will make that possible soon at many different prices than they were initially," Beros told a press conference, adding that more information in that regard could be expected by Wednesday or Thursday.

Forming prices involves the use of chemicals, reagents, human effort, and everything that is needed for test-taking.

Bozinovic: If a measure does not adhere to penalties will be applied

Asked how it will be possible to control whether masks are being worn, the head of the country's COVID response team, Davor Bozinovic said that some measures will be applied locally while others will apply to the entire country.

"We are taking into account that autumn could be when we are faced with greater challenges considering the spread of the coronavirus and perhaps even harsher symptoms. That is why we need to utilize this period to acquire habits that will be essential when the autumn comes," he said adding that these press conferences were aimed at educating the public.

"The basic approach is to inform the public. Penalties are not the point so much however we will have them and apply certain penalties if measures are not adopted but we hope it won't come to that," he added.

53 new COVID-19 cases in Croatia
In the past 24 hours, 53 new cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Croatia and currently, there are 1,145 active cases in the country without any new deaths, the National Civil Protection Authority informed on Monday.

There are currently 1,145 active cases, while 1,620 have fully recovered to date.

ZAGREB, July 13, 2020 - The results of the graduation exams which secondary school leavers took recently are better than the results of those exams last year, the head of the National Centre for the External Evaluation of Education (NCVVO), said on Monday.

The 11th season of exit exams for secondary school leavers in Croatia lasted from 8 June to 2 July, with some 31,000 students from more than 360 schools sitting for the exams in the circumstances marked by the COVID-19 epidemic and consequences of the 22 March earthquake that hit Zagreb and its environs.

The NCVVO head, Ivana Katavic, who presented the results today, said that there were 105 tests completed with a 100% score in this generation.

Also, four exam takers solved two of their tests completely accurately.

Katavic said that more and more secondary school-leavers were showing interest in STEM areas from year to year.

Students are supposed to pass the school-leaving exams in the Croatian language, Mathematics and a foreign language in order to be awarded a graduation certificate. There are compulsory and elective subjects at the state graduation exam and they are equal for all students and are taken at the same time. The compulsory state graduation exams can be taken at two levels: the higher level (A) and the basic level (B).

The total number of students who failed to pass some of those compulsory tests fell by 60% this year in comparison to last year when more than 1,000 students failed.

ZAGREB, July 13, 2020 - Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union leader (HDZ) Andrej Plenkovic said on Monday that the new government would be somewhat smaller than the previous one and its members will be known on Thursday.

"The government will be somewhat smaller than it was. It will be functional, some of the current members in government will remain, others will be in the Sabor. Some new people will join," Plenkovic said ahead of the meeting of the party's presidency and national council after official complete results of the July 5 parliamentary election that HDZ won were made public today.

He confirmed that the environment and energy sector may be merged with some other ministry. He underlined that talks are still underway in that regard however the issue of climate change will not be neglected and will become the number one issue in the context of economic recovery.

"There will be fewer ministries but that does not mean that public servants will lose their jobs. This is a different type of message of a fewer number of ministries and fewer members of the government," said Plenkovic.

He added that he had expected the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) to nominate Boris Milosevic as the deputy prime minister for social activities and human rights.

 "That proposal was agreed to with me and I expected it to be Milosevic. We know each other. He is a lawyer and I think that he can contribute to this new position, which we discussed last week," the prime minister added.