ZAGREB, June 18, 2020 - The government on Thursday adopted a conclusion that expresses its readiness to join in the process of issuing state guarantees the Brodotrogir Cruise, Uljanik Brodogradnja 1856 and MKM Yachts shipyards.

"The signal we are sending today is our determination for Croatia's shipbuilding to continue functioning (...) and that we wish to continue supporting shipbuilding on healthy foundations," Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said.

Economy Minister Darko Horvat recalled that the ministry had received a request from Brodotrogir Cruise for a state guarantee to ensure advance payments for two passenger polar cruise ships for two American clients.

The total value of each ship is €39 million, and the clients will make an advance payment of 80% or €31.2 million for each ship, on the condition that the shipyard obtains a bank guarantee for the buyer.

"The shipyard has requested state guarantees in the amount of €24.96 million for each ship, which is 80% of the total advance payment and 64% of the sales price," Horvat explained.

The ministry also received a request from the Uljanik dock for a loan in the amount of €4.33 million to launch production. The loan would be secured with a state guarantee earmarked exclusively to launch production at the newly-founded company at the dock.

The Rijeka-based MKM Yachts dock too submitted a request for a state guarantee for a loan of just over €100 million for the construction of a ship for a client from Malta. The guarantee would cover 80% of the loan or €80.13 million.

These guarantees will be activated in phases so that the amount the government will guarantee cannot exceed 64% of exposure by the end of 2021, after which the state's exposure should decrease to a maximum of 48%, Horvat explained.

"With this conclusion, the government provides full support to the shipbuilding industry in Croatia with the aim of continuing production and retaining Croatia's reputation on the shipbuilding market. This conclusion obliges the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Craftsto launch proceedings, in cooperation with the Finance Ministry, to issue the requested state guarantees," Horvat concluded.

ZAGREB, June 18, 2020 - The SSSH union federation on Thursday called on political parties to clearly articulate during the election campaign how they intended to ensure a social recovery, generate wage increases and improve living standards and how they would make good on their promises if they came to power.

More secure jobs, a higher minimum wage, a fair tax policy, strengthening public health and administration are some of the issues the unions want to hear during electioneering, SSSH leaders told a press conference.

"These are the demands we will put before the future government in order to change the direction in which the country is going. There can be no economic recovery without a social recovery," SSSH leader Mladen Novosel said.

Novosel added that the unions would not allow whoever came to power to let the workers down after the election.

He underscored that the future government should immediately establish a tripartite social dialogue on public policies and treat both social partners equally.

SSSH executive secretary for social dialogue and public policy Ana Milicevic Pezelj said that the coronavirus crisis had shown that the current social-economic situation was untenable and Croatia now had an opportunity for a fresh start.

The crisis has also shown that Croatia has to revive its industry and food production which it too easily gave up under pressure from various lobbyists, she noted.

Milicevic Pezelj said that it was necessary, as soon as possible, to establish a fund for a just transition, advance the education system, and ensure access to life-long learning.

ZAGREB, June 18, 2020 - Homeland Movement leader Miroslav Skoro said on Thursday it was not fair to twist his statements and take them out of context, referring to reactions to his statement that if a raped woman gets pregnant, she should agree with her family what to do.

"I know very well what I said. I'm a pro-lifer, I believe that life begins with conception and that it should be protected until natural death. It's not fair or right to twist someone's statements, take them out of context, and I don't think it's right to build an election campaign on someone's suffering," Skoro told reporters during a visit to a trade fair in Sesvete, Zagreb's eastern suburb.

He said it was quite normal for anyone, especially victims of violence, to seek advice from their family. "I didn't say that it should be a legal solution. I think that's natural, and will continue to advocate for human life to be protected from birth to natural death."

Skoro said that such accusations were laid at his door because there was nothing else he or the election candidates of the Homeland Movement could be reproached for.

June 18, 2020 - At today's government session, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic recommended that citizens not travel outside Croatia.

"It is important that our citizens do not travel abroad, especially to these surrounding countries if it is not necessary, and on their return, they should act responsibly. As for the Headquarters, it is monitoring and analyzing the situation," Bozinovic said on Index.hr.

"Responsible behavior is a condition for keeping the favorable epidemiological situation in Croatia under control, which is a precondition for the smooth functioning of the economy," Bozinovic added.

Recall, at a government session in progress, it was announced that 11 new cases had been confirmed in the last 24 hours.

Four new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Zagreb since yesterday. All four new cases are related to the Hrvoje Požar Institute.

In addition, two more cases were confirmed in Istria, both of which are from Pula.

Three more have been confirmed in Split-Dalmatia County - two people from Split and one from Solin.

We do not yet know where the remaining two cases are from.

The Headquarters will publish the latest data on the situation in Croatia at 2 pm.

ZAGREB, June 18, 2020 - Science and Education Minister Blazenka Divjak said on Thursday she was appalled by the statements by Homeland Movement leader Miroslav Skoro and Bridge's election candidate Nino Raspudic about abortion.

"I am appalled by the recent discussions and statements by Mr. Skoro and Mr. Raspudic. Quite clearly, this is the sadistic humiliation of women and their rights and the unacceptable exploitation of painful personal traumas for political purposes," Divjak said in a Facebook post.

She commented on Skoro's statement made during an election debate with the secretary-general of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Gordan Jandrokovic, that "if a woman becomes pregnant after being raped, she should agree with her family what to do next."

"How dare they even think that as men they can tell women how they should feel or think or whose opinion they should ask for in any situation that concerns their lives," the minister said, adding that these are not messages that should be addressed to young people in 2020.

"Croatia, as I see it, is open, sympathetic and tolerant and not one where questions are raised about whether women can make rational decisions," she wrote.

ZAGREB, June 18, 2020 - Axel Eiser, a former executive at Volkswagen and Audi, was arrested at the Kastel-Dragonja border crossing with Slovenia last week and placed in investigative custody in Pula, the Vecernji List newspaper reported on Thursday.

Eiser, former head of engine development at one of the world's biggest automobile companies, is wanted by the United States in connection with 2015's emissions test scam known as Dieselgate.

An investigation found that Volkswagen had programmed diesel engines to activate their emissions controls during emissions testing, tricking inspectors into thinking that they complied with emissions rules. The cars actually emitted far more pollution while on the road.

As a result, Volkswagen has paid $33 billion in fines. So far only a small number of executives have been arrested, while others have evaded justice for now because Germany does not extradite its own citizens.

Explaining the extradition procedure, Kresimir Devcic, investigating judge at Zagreb County Court, said that Eiser can appeal the detention order. After that the United States will be asked to provide all relevant documents within 40 days, together with an extradition request. The court then rules on the request and the ruling is subject to an appeal, after which the justice minister decides on extradition.

Devcic said that a problem could arise if Germany also asked for the extradition of its citizen, in which case Croatia would find itself "between a rock and a hard place" and the decision would again have to be made by the justice minister.

"The Justice Ministry has not yet received the extradition request, and when we receive one, it will be decided by the court first, so we should wait and see what it will decide. This will be followed by the appeal process and the entire legal procedure, so that for now it is too soon to comment on this case," Justice Minister Drazen Bosnjakovic said on Wednesday.

It could take months before this case is decided and until then one of the most powerful people of Volkswagen and Audi will stay in jail in Pula, Vecernji List said.

As Novac writes on the 17th of June, 2020, energy efficiency is high on the priority list of Hotel Medena d.d., a Trogir hotel, which has been readily confirmed by the project entitled ''Hotel Medena - New Energy'' with a total value of 34,912,938.26 kuna, which is co-financed from the European Regional Development Fund in the amount of HRK 11,170,747.45 million in grants.

This enormous sum of money was awarded to this particular Trogir hotel within a tender called ''Increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources in the service sector''.

''Constant care for the environment, increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources is one of the fundamental components of sustainable development and an important factor in the hotel industry. For this reason, we're extremely pleased to have implemented the project ''Hotel Medena - New Energy'', which will contribute to the realisation of energy savings by increasing the efficiency of energy use and will achieve significant savings in our business. All this together goes in favour of the promotion of the sustainable development of tourism in its wider environment, but also the promotion of the hotel itself,'' they said from this Trogir hotel.

The project was co-financed by the European Union (EU) under the Competitiveness and Cohesion Operational Programme, from the European Regional Development Fund, and the implementation of the project began way back in January 2014 and will last until the end of June 2021.

This project directly solves the problem of energy inefficiency by creating conditions for eliminating energy losses through the renewal of the envelope of the energy cost unit, the replacement of indoor and outdoor lighting with more energy efficient types, the installation of solar collectors and the reconstruction of the boiler room to switch to an air-to-water heat pump.

According to their calculations, this move will reduce CO2 by as much as 62 percent.

For more, follow our lifestyle page. If you're interested in both official and unofficial ways in which Croatia works to protect its environment, follow Total Eco Croatia.

As Morski writes on the 17th of June, 2020, on Thursday, June the 1th, the Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, will participate in the signing of two extremely important contracts worth a massive 554 million kuna in total, which are co-financed by European Union (EU) grants, and which are extremely important for the development of the busy Rijeka Port.

These are contracts for the execution of works on the DC403 state road from the Škurinje junction to Rijeka Port and contracts for the execution of the works on deepening the seabed at the Jadranska vrata (Adriatic gate) terminal.

The first contract will be signed by the President of the Management Board of Croatian roads (Hrvatske ceste), as a representative of the investor, together with the selected Association of Bidders consisting of the companies Kolektor CPG, GP Krk and Euro-asfalt. The value of this contract stands at 456.36 million kuna in total.

The DC403 state road, which will run from the Škurinje junction on the Rijeka bypass to the new container terminal along the coast to Rijeka Port is 2977 metres long, with 380 metres of access roads accompanying it. On that road lie the Podmurvice tunnel (1.2 kilometres long), the Piopi viaduct (316 metres long), the Mlaka viaduct (144 metres long) and the underpass, which is 56 metres in length.

After the signing of this contract, the ceremony will continue with the signing of the contract for the works within a project entitled "The improvement of infrastructure of Rijeka Port - the deepening of the southern connection AGCT (POR2CORE-AGCT Dredging)", which is also co-financed through European Union funds. This contract, worth a total of 97.7 million kuna, will be signed by the Rijeka Port Authority's director and a member of the Management Board of NUOVA CO.ED.MAR S.r.l.

For more on infrastructure projects across the Republic of Croatia, as well as the use of EU funds, follow our business page.