ZAGREB, May 14, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ president Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that parliament would be dissolved on May 18 and that he had informed President Zoran Milanovic, who can call a parliamentary election for June 21 or 28 or July 5 or 12.

"After the cabinet meeting and the meeting of the parliamentary majority, I can inform the Croatian public that all components of the parliamentary majority have decided to propose to parliament to dissolve on Monday, May 18," Plenkovic told the press after a meeting of the ruling coalition.

He said the reason for this decision was that over the past three years his cabinet had achieved all the key ambitions it had set itself.

Plenkovic said the government had shown in recent months how to cope with the coronavirus pandemic crisis with its measures to retain jobs and help the economy, and that given the economic challenges before Croatia in the future, the term of the next parliament and government should focus on the country's economic recovery.

Plenkovic said the timing of the election was appropriate.

"The epidemiological situation in Croatia is such that we practically have less than ten (daily new) infections and, with all citizens behaving very responsibly, we will have the opportunity to organise the election within the constitutional deadline, which leaves the president of the republic the possibility to call it for June 21, June 28, July 5 or July 12."

The prime minister said he had informed the president about everything and that it was now up to Milanovic to decide in line with the law.

Under his constitutional powers, the president calls a parliamentary election after parliament is dissolved. Under the law on the election of members of parliament, the election must be held within 30 days of parliament's dissolution at the earliest or 60 at the latest.

Election day is a non-working day and the president also convenes the inaugural session of the new parliament.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 14th of May, 2020, right up until the beginning of March this year, it seemed that Croatia could safely expect yet another excellent tourist season. The market for renting Croatian luxury villas with swimming pools was booming, putting everyone into a false sense of security before the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe.

The market for the renting out of Croatian luxury villas has been growing unstoppably in recent years due to better and better tourist seasons with the rolling around of each and every summer. The beginning of 2020 also promised the continuation of this positive, encouraging and directly upward trend, but with the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic, everything simply came to a halt. Tportal talked about this topic with Daniel Prebeg, the owner and director of Klick and Book platform. Prebeg rents about 200 Croatian villas, and they're mostly located in Istria.

''There were so many bookings that I was expecting another record year. In the first two months of 2020 alone I made half my earnings from all of last year, and then the pandemic broke out. Over the past two months, I have received only two inquiries, and otherwise there'd usually be hundreds of them. We have a prime time for reservations after Easter and for last minutes, when we earn the most,'' Prebeg told tportal.

His clientele is mostly made up of wealthy guests from Germany and Austria, for whom it's not a problem at all to set aside anything from 500 to as much as 4000 euros per week for a stay in Croatian luxury villas in the interior of Istria or in the vicinity of Croatia's southernmost city and longstanding tourist Mecca - Dubrovnik.

Thanks to decent early bookings, all of his villas currently have reservations. Of that, about 30 percent of arrivals were postponed to later dates or to next year.

''I crossed May and June off because no one will come then. As long as the rule is in force that a German or an Austrian must spend fourteen days in self-isolation after returning from abroad, no one will bother travelling. Now we're all waiting for an official decision to open the borders back up again in Europe. If that happens, I'll fill the villas. There will be no problems then, but if July fails, we're going to have a fight on our hands for survival,'' Prebeg warned.

''In Istria, but also in Dalmatia, we could have a boom if the borders are opened. Croatia is a car destination. Many airlines have failed. It's unsafe for people to fly to Greece or Turkey, for example. And that's why we will be the first choice for many for this summer,'' Prebeg concluded optimistically.

For more on Croatian luxury villas, follow our travel page.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 14th of May, 2020, Beiersdorf, the company which stands behind the wildly popular Nivea brand, has generously donated a massive 340,000.00 kuna to support three organisations in Croatia and neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina: namely the Croatian Institute of Public Health, the Croatian Red Cross and UNICEF BiH, as part of its emergency assistance programme during the coronavirus crisis.

This support to humanitarian organisations is part of the international care programme "Care Beyond Skin" by which the Beiersdorf Group wants to take a step beyond its core business - which is unique skin care - and achieve the maximum contribution to the well-being of people, society and the environment, especially in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Branko Kotarac, General Manager of Beiersdorf Croatia stated that the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has endangered our health in a very short period of time and brought our social life to a state of dormancy that almost none of us could have possibly imagined.

''Beiersdorf Croatia wants to provide support through donations to organisations in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina that provide assistance to people during these difficult times, such as the Croatian Institute of Public Health, the Croatian Red Cross and UNICEF BiH.

The Croatian Institute of Public Health - The epidemiologists belonging to the leading public health institution in Croatia and the immediate region are visiting people affected by the new coronavirus, conducting tests and sharing current data and advice related to the safety and protection of the general population. With a generous monetary donation in the amount of 111,300.00 kuna, Beiersdorf Croatia will provide support for the provision of all types of medical equipment - protective suits, goggles, masks, antiseptics and for assistance in the supply of food for people working in the field.

The Croatian Red Cross - During the coronavirus crisis, the Croatian Red Cross has been in charge of organising assistance to the elderly and infirm, people with coronavirus who are being treated at home, people in self-isolation who have no one else to help them, and other socially vulnerable citizens. Beiersdorf Croatia will provide a financial donation in the amount of 111,300.00 kuna to support the Croatian Red Cross wherever its assistance is needed.

UNICEF ​​Bosnia and Herzegovina - Since coronavirus treatment tends to require timely and sometimes intensive care, Beiersdorf Croatia will make a monetary donation in the amount of 29,400 BAM to help UNICEF ​​BiH in the procurement of medical and protective equipment to help those who have become unwell.

The Beiersdorf International Assistance Programme

In late March, Beiersdorf AG announced its international assistance programme: the group intends to provide a grant of 50 million euros to support crisis management, especially in epicentres and regions with less developed public health systems and infrastructure. Beiersdorf will thus work with international organisations and local authorities to ensure maximum support for people in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

Make sure to follow our dedicated section for all you need to know about coronavirus in relation to Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 14th of May, 2020, and as we reported recently, the appearance of Croatian ID cards is set to alter - on the front it will contain the two-letter insignia of the Republic of Croatia (RH), printed in negative in a blue rectangle surrounded by twelve yellow stars, which will symbolise the EU. Interior Minister Bozinovic revealed more details on the matter.

In the future, Croatian ID cards will have a special chip that will contain biometric identifiers of the ID card holder, ie a display of the ID card holder's face and two fingerprints in interoperable digital formats.

This has been proposed by the Croatian Government in the amendments to the Law on Identity Cards (EU), which it sent to urgent parliamentary procedure from Thursday's session, based on the Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on strengthening the security of identity cards of citizens of the Union and their family members' residence documents which prescribe the right to free movement.

The regulation came into force on August the 1st last year, and will be directly applicable in all EU member states from August the 2nd, 2021, according to Minister Bozinovic.

In accordance with the provisions of the Decree, the draft law also changed the age limit for the issuing of permanent identity cards, and raised it from the age of 65 to the age of 70.

For citizens up to the age of 70, ID cards will be issued with a validity period of five years, as is the case now, Minister Bozinovic said.

The proposed amendments also stipulate the obligation to withdraw identity cards issued without a validity period that don't meet the minimum security standards defined by the new EU regulation.

It is prescribed that such identity cards cease to be valid upon their expiration or on the aforementioned date in August, whichever occurs first.

As stated, this law is scheduled to take effect on August the 2nd, 2021.

It hasn't been confirmed, but we will make sure to ask, if this will also apply to the ID cards owned by British citizens who are legal residents of Croatia and who become so before the end of the UK's transition period, which is set to occur on the 31st od December, 2020, should an extension not be sought. 

It is important to note that British citizens who are legal residents before the end of December this year will have their rights protected in full regardless of the outcome of the negotiations (deal or no deal), and will be covered either be the Withdrawal Agreement in the case of a deal, and by a special Croatian law which will come into force in the case of a no deal Brexit.

As such, it is expected that resident Brits will also need to alter their residence permits, be they temporary or permanent residents, which also serve in Croatia as valid ID cards. As soon as we get an official response to that question, we will update this article.

For more, follow our lifestyle page.

May 14, 2020 - MIVA Wine Gallery in Zagreb is organizing an online whiskey workshop on Thursday, May 14, at 8 pm. The Moët Hennessy brand ambassador will take you through the world of whiskey drinks, more precisely the world of Glenmorangie and Ardbeg flavors! 

On Saturday, May 16, the world celebrates World Whiskey Day. The Miva Wine Gallery traditionally holds online workshops and tastings on Thursdays, and this time we will once again hang out with the Moët Hennessy brand ambassador, Mr. Ted Lelekas. The great connoisseur Ted Lelekas is in charge of education and guided tastings of the entire Moët Hennessy Group portfolio in more than 15 countries. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Federation of Journalists in the World of Wine and Spirits. He regularly has the role of a judge in many prestigious international competitions in the world of wine and spirits.

The event will focus on Highland Distillery Glenmorangie, a whiskey brand that has the giraffe as a symbol and recognises the serious threat this animal faces in the wild. Few are aware of the threat it faces in the wild. Numbers have fallen by 30% in 30 years, with some types of giraffes now critically endangered. With the giraffe’s decline going largely unnoticed, a BBC/PBS documentary on the work of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) and its partners, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, has warned of a “silent extinction”.

Known as the Distillers of Tain, they’ve been honing their craft for more than 175 years in Scotland’s tallest stills, and produce a light and fruity spirit, ripe for experimentation. Glenmorangie’s demonstrates its commitment to the endangered animal that is their symbol by forging a global conservation partnership to help safeguard its future. Launched in January 2020, Glenmorangie’s partnership with RZSS and GCF will run until the end of 2022. By supporting the work of its partners, Glenmorangie will focus on the threatened Nubian (formerly known as Rothschild’s) giraffe. Once widespread across East Africa, just 3,000 of these giraffes survive in the wild, with more than 50% of these in Uganda. The largest population lives in the country’s Murchison Falls National Park. Glenmorangie’s support is twofold.

It will support the work of GCF in the following areas with investment for expert staff, vets and equipment, so they can protect giraffes from habitat loss and poaching (illegal hunting); reintroduce giraffes back into their natural range in Uganda, focusing on areas where the Nubian giraffe has become locally extinct; tag giraffes with GPS satellite tracking devices so that their populations can be effectively monitored, and their movements better understood; train and build the capacity of African conservationists in giraffe conservation and management. Glenmorangie will also support the conservation work of RZSS so that it can: Open a specially-designed giraffe habitat at Edinburgh Zoo in the summer of 2020 and aid GCF’s conservation work with genetic research into new giraffe populations. Genetic research is vital for reintroduction programmes, helping to avoid inbreeding, and Edinburgh Zoo has one of the world’s only zoo-based genetics laboratories.

Thomas Moradpour, President and Chief Executive of The Glenmorangie Company, said: "For 175 years, we have created whisky, in stills as high as an adult giraffe, the tallest in Scotland. Over time, this majestic animal has become a beloved symbol of our brand. It seems only right that we should channel our passion for this animal into our new global conservation partnership with GCF and RZSS. Together, we will work to protect giraffes in the wild and shine a light on their predicament before it’s too late.

About Glenmorangie’s stills: 

Glenmorangie distills its Highland single malt whisky in its copper stills, the tallest in Scotland, which are around the same height as an adult male giraffe. These stills take Glenmorangie’s whisky on a longer excursion, resulting in a lighter spirit with more ‘space’ for taste and aroma. Glenmorangie’s giraffe symbol can be seen in many places around the Highland Distillery – eagle-eyed visitors may even spot it in a stained glass window in the majestic still house.

About the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland 

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) is a wildlife conservation charity (SC004064) and owns Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park. Founded in 1909, the Society’s purpose is to connect people with nature and safeguard species from extinction. For further information about RZSS conservation projects in Scotland and around the world, please visit rzss.org.uk

When purchasing any Glenmorangie or Ardbeg item via the MIVA webshop or MIVA wine shops, you are entitled to participate in this whiskey online workshop.

* You will receive the ZOOM link of the workshop by e-mail after purchasing the Glenmorangie or Ardbeg item.
* The workshop will be conducted in English.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 14, 2020 — The coronavirus doesn’t cause death and disease wherever it goes. For some creatures, it’s been a savior. Just ask Lika’s sheep, and their worried shepherds.

If you do not know Tomo Matanić’s phone number, just stop by his gate in Mušaluk not far from Gospić and yell: “Hosts!” He will materialize with a quick step and show you the arch in which you will bypass his shepherd dogs. There are five of them, according to Jutarnji List’s Marija Pušića. 

The boss claims his dogs are dangerous, but only one of them disinterestedly poked his head out of the shade of an old acacia.

A dozen domestic cats hang around the houses, one, the owner's pet, is a tricolor, he says. The others are stalk mice, as well as sausages and bacon from the table.

Matanić is a civil servant who lives in an apartment in Gospić, but for almost three decades he has been renting an agricultural farm on which he breeds “Lika pramenka,” an autochthonous sheep breed from the area. He has about a hundred heads.

The dangerous coronavirus can hardly find its way to his farm, but it will still have very significant consequences in the stables. While in the rest of the world the virus sows disease and even death, here it sows life. 

Due to the coronavirus, Matanić will increase his breeding herd by about fifty head next year. These are lambs that now have no buyers because there is no tourism to go to the Adriatic; no weddings; no birthdays and baptisms are celebrated with a small roast. He doesn't know what will happen next.

Matanić has already reconciled that he will leave the female lambs, and he hopes that everything will get better, to get rid of the male ones, because where will he go in the fall with 50 young rams? 

It is estimated that tens of thousands of lambs will remain unsold in Lika due to the coronavirus situation. 

“The number is constantly around a hundred sheep,” Matanić said. “So far, my market has been Plitvice, where we marketed through our Association of Sheep Breeders Lika. The rest is local for weddings and baptisms. We leave ten percent for the rejuvenation of the herd, but because of the virus, it will be 50 percent, which means that all the female lambs will remain. 

“I went to get rid of the males first,” he added. “I managed a little bit, but it’s all pathetic and sad. I listen to winemakers when they complain that they have wine left. The wine will not spoil, but to us when the male lamb grows to large, we have little use for it.”

If he doesn’t sell the rams now for the skewer, he will try to sell them in the fall for meat. Matanić believes he will have top quality meat, even though the animals will be ten months old. 

The most important thing, he says, is to survive, and everything else will somehow sort itself out.

Matanić maintains his flock demands a top-quality price. The level of his care for the lambs? He plays the sheep music in the barn while they are feeding. To relax them.

Dr. Tomislav Rukavina, a veterinarian and director of the Veterinary Clinic Gospić says that there is no household in Lika that does not have at least a few sheep.

Technically speaking, “Lika lamb” is a product obtained by this special species of sheep bred in the geographical area of ​​Lika. It’s an EU-protected product, but that doesn’t make it any easier to sell. The glut on the market will be hard to move on.

“Who will eat it all, I don't know,” Rukavina said. “My advice to breeders is to adapt, to overhaul the herd, to leave as many female lambs as possible, in the fall to get rid of old sheep, and to sell the males.”

Breeders were told to sell to overstock buyers, who offered well under the value they were used to. 

The lambs must grow in the Lika-Senj County and part of Zadar, in the Gračac area. As for the lamb’s meat, it ripens much later. The flavor and aroma is hard to describe — unique, the shepherds claim.

“How do you describe the smell of a banana?” Rukavina said.

More importantly — how do you persuade a flooded market to buy more lamb?

May the 14th, 2020 - You might have read numerous articles (and we've published some ourselves) about Croatian Post and its new facilities and steps forward in doing business. Modernisation appears to be a company goal and with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continuing to create uncertain situations and delays across not only Croatia but the whole world, the decision to further modernise business operations can only be praised. 

With all of the progress Croatian Post has made, the endless emails and posts from people who have never received their mail, who received it bashed in, broken and in a poor condition, and those who simply watched postmen not even bother to ring on their doorbells and instead just wander off, leaving a note pretending he tried haven't lessened. One does need to ask the question of just why it is such an issue to do what should be a very simple job - deliver mail to people who ordered items.

Coronavirus can only be blamed for so much, but this issue with Croatian Post and the Magical Missing Mail (not quite a Harry Potter book title, but close enough), has been going on for donkey's years.

As stated, many, if not all of us, have heard the stories about postcards and letters taking half a century to arrive to their destinations, but this occurred mostly in the times when mail travelled slowly, with horses and carriages, slow trains and planes that could only travel for a short range carrying them.

Above all, this occurred way back in those now distant-feeling times when there was no internet.

In the meanwhile, man has invented tracking so anybody who owns a mobile phone can follow and be totally updated on the journey of the parcel they are eagerly waiting for and have paid in full for.

This doesn't seem to be quite the case with Croatian Post however. Here is a case that took place in Zagreb about two weeks ago, when we sent an enquiry to the official e-mail address of Croatian Post, to which there has been no reaction or answer to this very moment.

Our reader who inspired us for this article was expecting two deliveries, one in a bigger envelope, and a mere 6,00 kg parcel, respectively.

In his words, he was sitting on his balcony and saw the postman entering and leaving the building. Some hours later, he found the notice of undelivered parcel in his mailbox. Obviously left by the mailman who, obviously, did not even bother to ring the doorbell. Not without justified irritation, he contacted the post office.

He was told that - first and foremost, he was obviously either not at home (!) or did not answer the door. When he told the Croatian Post ''customer service'' helper that he had seen the postman with his own eyes, and that sitting on the terrace clearly means that he was at home and fully conscious, he was informed that in these times of the coronavirus pandemic, the postmen are entitled to their own discretion of choosing where to deliver or not.

Apparently Croatian Post deems it fit to instil the power of epidemiologists into their employees. It is really not a statement, but rather an insult to common sense.

The very next day there was another notice of undelivered parcel in this man's mailbox.

Good news, it means that his other order has arrived, for him an important one. Yet, how is it that he did not hear the door bell once again? He, who has spent almost two months in voluntary self-isolation, leaving just occasionally to get some food from the shop across the street. Then it dawned on him: he was fully asleep as one without commitments can be at 07:30 in the morning, when he thought he had heard his doorbell ring for less than half a second. Sleepily realising that it was only 07:30, he thought he either hallucinated or somebody had pressed the bell by mistake. After a minute, his phone rang. As it was from a ‘No ID caller’, he did not bother to answer.

Another phone call to the post office was then on the cards, he is offered a repeated delivery that should occur within two working days. Six days pass by. Nothing. Another call to Croatian Post is made.

''Yes, the parcel is ready for pick up at the post office.''

''How about the repeated delivery that I was provided with?''

''Sorry, Sir, I cannot help you because I can't see it from my computer.''

''But your colleague made the request, can’t you track it down?''

''Sorry, Sir, I don't know from which office it was sent.''

''Is there a phone number of that particular post office?''

''I'm afraid not, Sir.''

More calls take place in the following days, each of them as useless and as much of a waste of time as the last, more windmills, more ''I'm sorry, Sir’'. Hopeless.

Running the risk of the expiration of that delivery, he went to the designated post office to pick the parcel up in person. It meant driving, looking for somewhere to park, queueing for 45 minutes and - to be told he had to pay 24,00 kuna for storage for a parcel for which the delivery fee been paid, for the false confirmation that it would be delivered after two more working days, after a number of calls and, finally, after personal physical engagement with a Croatian Post employee who had all the warmth of an arctic breeze.

After having paid (again) for this complete and utter lack of professionalism and even basic service, the box was damaged, had holes in, and was in a poor condition.

Again, the delivery to the address was paid for by the sender. The service was not done. And then you have to pay for the storage because Croatian Post just decides not to deliver it, And if they do, it will occur at 07:30 in the morning. Followed by calls from private numbers.

The motivation to follow this case came not only from the fact that our reader who asked for help is a serious, trustworthy person, but because it fits in well among the numerous complaints of people whose parcels were lost or never delivered by Croatian Post. Furthermore, as we at TCN attempted to make contact with Croatian Post ourselves to shed some light on this matter, we were ignored.

For more, follow our lifestyle page.