June 8, 2020 — Ancient underwater vessels and sites recently unearthed off the coast of Pag could become another draw for travelers.

Firefighters taking scuba diving lessons chanced upon the remains of a ship and cargo dating back to Roman antiquity in the seabed not far from Novalja on the island of Pag.

It’s the latest in a seemingly endless train of underwater discoveries, and some see an opportunity for a niche form of tourism.

The group stumbled upon the 2,000-plus-year-old remains accidentally. Local divers reportedly spent years ignoring the pile, which appeared to be random detritus at the bottom of the sea.

The firefighters of JVP Čakovec and Vedran Dorušić, a diver and underwater archaeologist who actually recognized the pile of tile-like squares for what it actually is: building materials dating back to the Roman era. 

The sunken ship’s cargo appears to be roof covering — the ancient equivalent of terracotta tiles or shingles. 

Dorušić assumes that it was a smaller ship up to 15 meters, taking its cargo to a construction site needing a roof. Given that the site is on the stormy side of the island, there are few guesses as to why it sank.

Every year, as part of their annual training program, the employees of JVP Čakovec come to dive in Stara Novalja on Pag, choosing the Letavica archeological site. After their morning briefing on archeological finds and norms, the group discovered a kitchen utensil, which unveiled clues of a ship’s orientation and bearing.

The firefighters then came back with photos of a heap of what appeared to be fresh construction waste on the seabed. Dorušić scanned the photos and saw similarities to a shipwreck on the island of Molat. A check with colleagues confirmed his suspicions.

He called the Conservation Office in Gospić, which is in charge of Novalja. They were not aware of this site. No one ever reported it to them.

Dorušić turned his class of diving firefighters into ad hoc archeologists.

“We did everything that can be done non-invasively on the site, but we must not touch it without permission,” he said, adding it is archaeologists’ and conservators’ turn to take over and protect the site.

“What I see in this is the tourist potential,” Dorušić told Zadarski List, claiming it could help address the dearth of tourists caused by the coronavirus and poor planning.

“They have been working for years to change the image of the party destination and want to switch to family tourism,” he added. “Now is the opportunity to use this to develop family tourism.”

It may also help bypass a quirk in archeological norms which bans continued dives around newly-discovered sites.

“It is terrible for us divers who report such findings because our effort and work is ‘rewarded’ with a ban,” Dorušić said. 

The University of Zadar has started a project of technical protection of the site with cameras. As for the age of the ship, he explains that it is an ancient ship, but he cannot say the exact century, although he told us that Novalja was very developed in the 1st and 2nd centuries. Archeologists typically find seals on the materials found at underwater sites, which help date them.

“It is interesting that in Zadar we have the Zadar Archaeological Museum, which is the only museum with an underwater department, the University of Zadar which is extremely active in underwater archeology and the International Center for Underwater Archeology which is connected with various foreign institutions,” Dorušić concluded. 

All this creates a potential hub for underwater exploration and tourism, the diver concluded.

ZAGREB, June 8, 2020 - According to available information, Canada seems to be the only country where it won't be possible to organise voting for the Croatian parliamentary election set for July 5, the State Electoral Commission (DIP) confirmed to Hina on Monday.

The Croatian Embassy in Canada on Sunday informed that because of the coronavirus pandemic it will not be possible to hold the parliamentary election in that country on July 4 and 5.

Whether any other of the 50 or so countries that have confirmed that the election can be held, will cancel the organisation of voting of eligible Croatian voters on their territory cannot be said with any reliability before June 20.

"By 20 June DIP will have collected all the necessary permits via the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in order to hold the election and based on that, it will adopt a resolution to define polling stations in diplomatic-consular offices in those countries that have approved the election and then the necessary election material will be forwarded," DIP said when asked about the final list of countries where the election will be held.

680 Croatian voters in Canada exercised their right to vote in the 2016 election

At the last parliamentary election in 2016, 680 people with Croatian citizenship in Canada exercised their right to vote.

The electoral roll has 8,199 Croatian citizens residing in Canada registered with the right to vote, and of the 682 went to the polls for the previous parliamentary elections for Croatia's legislature.

Asked what if some other countries take the same steps as Canada and whether that will impact the validity of the election, DIP said that it is a body the conducts the election and it does not decide on the date of the election nor can it influence countries to approve the election being held in their country.

The validity of elections is supervised by the Constitutional Court, DIP recalled.

ZAGREB, June 8, 2020 - The Ministry of Agriculture has informed that the call for applications for assistance for small dairy farms as a temporary measure due to difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been closed as the foreseen amount of HRK 2.5 million earmarked for that measure has been expended.

The ministry said on its web site that as of June 5 no more applications will be received for this temporary measure that was introduced to relieve the impact of the novel coronavirus on small dairy farmers.

The measure has been implemented since April 2 by withdrawing dairy products from the market and buying them up from farmers and distributing these products free of charge to those in need. The measure related to small dairy farms that in 2019 had bought and processed less than 14 million litres of milk in that year.

The financial aid was used by eight small dairy farms and to date, a total of 175,987 kilograms of products had been bought up for an amount of HRK 2.5 million, which was equal to the original amount foreseen for this measure.

The distribution of milk and dairy products is still continuing and to date, 143,789 kilograms of products have been distributed to 59 registered intermediaries that donate food to food pantries, soup kitchens as well as give donated food to those in need, the ministry informed.

ZAGREB, June 8, 2020 - Last year was one of the best years for investment funds with the value of their assets exceeding HRK 26 billion and this year despite the obvious fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. the sector has been significantly maturing, it was said at the Top of the Funds award ceremony on Monday.

President of the association of companies for the management of investment funds within the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, (HGK) Hrvoje Krstulovic underlined that 2019 was one of the best years for investment funds and capital market with Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) funds increasing by 18.5% to HRK 22.5 billion and a jump in alternative investment funds of 14.5%  to HRK 4.2 billion.

Those two figures, combined together, give the number of HRK 26.8 billion which is almost equal to the value of assets at the end of 2007, said Krstulovic.

Despite the crisis in 2020, 95% of physical entities retained their investments in funds, he explained and the decrease that has been recorded mostly relates to institutional investors, he said.

He underlined that a significant maturity has occurred in the entire sector from clients, to sales processes and on to regulators.

The strongest effect of the coronavirus epidemic was recorded in March when the value of assets of investment funds fell by 30% however in April an increase of 1.4% was recorded and the total value of UCITS funds at the end of April amounted to HRK 15.9 billion.

Top of the Funds awards in five categories

The Top of the Funds awards for the best management of investment funds in 2019 was conferred to Intercapital Bond for the best equity open-end investment fund (UCITS) while the best mixed open-end investment fund award went to Allianz Portfolio. The best open-ended investment fund was awarded to PBZ Equity while the particular open-ended investment fund award went to Intercapital Income Plus.

There are currently 23 companies managing investment funds in Croatia.

ZAGREB, June 8, 2020 - The European Commission on Monday approved under EU State aid rules, a Croatian scheme that grants reductions to energy-intensive companies on a surcharge to finance support for renewable electricity production. 

Croatian support for renewable energy is at present financed through contributions from electricity consumers, based on their consumption.

The scheme, which will apply until 31 December 2021 and will have a provisional annual budget of €10 million, will benefit companies active in Croatia in sectors that are particularly energy-intensive (hence with higher electricity consumption) and more exposed to international trade, says the European Union on its web site.

"The beneficiaries will obtain a reduction of up to a maximum of 80% of their contribution to the financing of support to renewable energy.

"Croatia also submitted an adjustment plan to align with State aid rules the level of reductions from which a number of eligible and non-eligible companies have benefitted since 2013. The Commission assessed the measure and the adjustment plan under EU State aid rules, in particular, the Guidelines on State Aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020.

"The Guidelines authorise reductions – up to a certain level – in contributions levied on energy-intensive companies active in certain sectors and exposed to international trade, in order to ensure their global competitiveness.

"The Commission found that the compensation will only be granted to energy-intensive companies exposed to international trade, in line with the requirements of the Guidelines. Furthermore, the measure will promote the EU energy and climate goals and ensure the global competitiveness of energy-intensive users and industries, without unduly distorting competition. On this basis, the Commission concluded that the measure and the adjustment plan are in line with EU State aid rules."

ZAGREB, June 8, 2020 - Social Democratic Party president Davor Bernardic on Monday accused Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic of pursuing a policy which betrayed national interests because Hungarian PM Viktor Orban was laying claims on Rijeka and that in return, Plenkovic was delivering Croatian oil.

"Orban is Plenkovic's friend. He claims parts of Croatian territory and as a reward, Plenkovic delivers Croatian oil to Budapest," he said in response to questions from the press, calling this a "policy of betraying Croatia's national interests."

As for the announcement from Canada that Croatian citizens there would not be able to vote in Croatia's parliamentary election because of COVID-19, Bernardic said the key task of the government and the state was to make sure that every Croatian citizen could go to their polling station anywhere in the world.

That was one of the reasons why the SDP asked the COVID-19 crisis management team to ensure that citizens can vote, notably in care homes, he said.

Asked if he would sign a green-left coalition petition for the president to convene an extraordinary parliamentary session after the election so as to have a law on the post-earthquake reconstruction of Zagreb passed, Bernardic said that the SDP-led Restart Coalition, after winning the election, would pass that law at parliament's first session.

Our experts from various fields are working on that bill and our goal is that citizens return to their homes as soon as possible, that we activate the construction sector and stop the real estate brokerage currently going on in Zagreb because people have moved out and their properties have been devalued, Bernardic said.

Commenting on a public opinion poll according to which 42% of citizens would not go to the polls, he urged citizens to vote and "say no to the thieving government" because, he said, it concerned every citizen what Croatia would look like and if it would be free of corruption.

ZAGREB, June 8, 2020 - The Constitutional Court is dissatisfied that the coming parliamentary election will again be held without the constituencies having been changed, which the court requested ten years ago, Jutarnji List daily said on Monday.

The election will be legal but the question is to what extent will it be legitimate because the difference in the number of voters per constituency remains much higher than the envisaged five percent. For example, 14 MPs will be elected by 329,000 voters in the fourth constituency, by 344,000 in the first, by 422,000 in the ninth, and by 400,000 in the tenth.

Constitutional Court president Miroslav Separovic recalled in the paper that the court sent a report to parliament in 2010 on instances that were not in line with the constitution and the law, and that parliament did nothing about it.

"The report isn't legally binding but has importance because the authority of the Constitutional Court stands behind it," he was quoted as saying.

In the unanimously adopted report, the court warned the legislature that the number of voters per constituency was not in line with the law. Under the law, the difference in the number must not exceed five percent. In reality, however, the differences were up to 25%, making the weight of a vote in one constituency bigger than in another.

The court warned on that occasion that that could bring into question the legality of the next election and that the deadline by which parliament should pass a new law on constituencies was 11 March 2011.

Ten years have gone by and nothing has happened and Separovic believes this is a case of obvious disrespect of the Constitutional Court by every parliament since 2010.

June 8, 2020 - What suffered most in Split-Dalmatia County during COVID-19? The head of the County Tax Administration spoke how much was spent, and how much activities lost during the corona period. 

On March 19, the coronavirus pandemic put the key in the lock for all activities and craftspeople, except those necessary for the normal functioning of life, such as food stores, gas stations, pharmacies and the like.

However, Slobodna Dalmacija asked Ivica Kusić, the head of the Tax Administration in Split-Dalmatia County, how much we actually spent and which activities lost the most in that period.

"In the first five months of this year, Split-Dalmatia County generated a turnover of around 4.6 billion kuna, while in the same period last year it generated around five billion kuna, which means that a decline of about nine percent was recorded," explains Kusić.

When we analyze these data by activities, the largest loss in the first five months was realized in arts, entertainment and recreation, where compared to the first five months last year, a decline of 66 percent was recorded.

A drop in turnover of over 60 percent was also recorded in administrative and support service activities (64 percent) and professional, scientific and technical activities (62 percent). At the county level, the turnover amounted to HRK 757 million in April. For comparison, 1.1 billion kuna was realized in April last year, so that a drop of about 31 percent was recorded.

When we look at the activities, the biggest decline in April this year compared to last year was in the activities of providing accommodation and food preparation and serving. Last year, the turnover in April amounted to around HRK 159.9 million, and this year to HRK 3.2 million, which is a drop of around 98 percent! A large decrease compared to last year is also in education, where in April 2019, HRK 2.7 million was realized, and in 2020, HRK 116,023, or 96 percent less.

Administrative and ancillary service activities last year generated a turnover of around HRK 31 million, and this year HRK 1.5 million. Arts, entertainment and recreation recorded a decline of about 90 percent, and other service activities about 87 percent. In transport and storage in April this year, compared to last year, turnover fell by about 77 percent, and in construction by about 49 percent.

At the county level in May, the largest loss of turnover compared to the same month last year was recorded in administrative and service activities. Last year, HRK 43.8 million was realized, and this year HRK 4.3 million, which is a drop of about 91 percent.

This is followed by arts, entertainment and recreation activities where the drop in traffic is about 85 percent. Last year, they earned around HRK 5 million in May, and this year a little more than HRK 750,000.
The activities of providing accommodation and food preparation and serving earned HRK 268.8 million in May last year, and HRK 45 million in the same month this year, which is a drop of 83 percent.

Transport and storage activities in May this year compared to the same month last year, recorded a decline of about 78 percent. That is, last year they generated revenues of HRK 41 million in that month, and now HRK 9 million.

"Data for May show us that the level of consumption or turnover is rising slightly after the restrictive measures related to the coronavirus pandemic were lifted. In the cumulative view from January to May, we can link good results to the very good first three months of 2020. With the complete relaxation of measures, the realized turnover in all activities will grow," concludes Kusić.

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