January the 7th, 2022 - Croatian post (Hrvatska posta) has been in the news on and off for very positive reasons and because of the innovation it has introduced over recent months. This brand new Croatian post service isn't common even in far more developed European countries.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, instead of sending certain types of mail to people's home addresses, senders can now send registered items via digital channels for the first time thanks to yet another brand new and modern Croatian post service.

This is the new eDelivery project successfully implemented by Croatian Post, the Ministry of Justice and Administration and the IT company Sedam IT. The project developed and implemented a solution for the delivery of electronic documents to individuals and legal entities, which is in line with the eIDAS regulation of the European Union (EU).

"Croatian Post is continuing with its digital transformation. This project is a novelty that is not so well represented in the EU, which places us at the very top of the EU countries that are certified for this type of service. This is a fully certified, secure channel. The registered shipment that we have today in physical form is moving towards a more secure digital environment, which upon receipt is confirmed by a digital signature,'' explained Ivan Culo, President of the Management Board of Croatian Post.

Sedam IT was responsible for the development and design of the software and other key software components of this new Croatian Post service, and they created a communication channel that enabled the connection of Croatian Post's IT system and the Ministry of Justice and Administration through which electronic documents are transferred, all according to stringent EU standards.

The total value of the eDelivery project stands at 310,000 euros, and 75 percent of the amount was co-financed by various grants from the Connecting Europe Facility.

For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

January the 7th, 2022 - Mandatory Croatian pension funds had some excellent results in 2021, some of their very best since back in 2014. More than 2.1 million members of mandatory Croatian pension funds can be satisfied with last year’s increase in their savings.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Tomislav Pili writes, that said, this year is set to bring with it some brand new challenges due to the expected increase in interest rates, which could negatively affect yields in the short term. In this context, the question of new types of pension fund investments, such as real estate investments, also arises. According to Hrportfoli, the index of the most numerous category B, in which 1.9 million members are saving for their eventual retirement, grew by as much as 7.33 percent last year.

Statistics from the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (Hanfa) show that last year's result ranked third in terms of performance since back in 2014. Higher yields were achieved only in 2014, when MIREX B increased by 11.4 percent, and in pre-pandemic 2019, when growth of 9 percent was achieved.

In category B, two Croatian pension funds achieved a better result than the benchmark, Erste Plavi (10.15 percent) and PBZ/Croatia osiguranje (9.21 percent). AZ and Raiffeisen achieved a very similar result of 6.15 and 6.22 percent yield growth, respectively.

Double-digit results have also been recorded by Croatian pension funds in category A, which is more exposed to equities. MIREX jumped 13.4 percent in that category in 2021, and as in category B, Erste Plavi and PBZ/Croatia osiguranje were better than the index with growth between 14.6 and 16.1 percent. AZ and Raiffeisen saw growth of 10.6 to 11.4 percent.

Only 60,000 members of the most conservative category C, which is exposed exclusively to bonds, can be relatively dissatisfied. In that category, MIREX increased by a symbolic 0.4 percent. In this category, Raiffeisen, Erste Plavi and AZ achieved growth of between 0.4 and 0.7 percent, and the average didn't look ideal for PBZ/CO, which achieved a negative result of -0.1 percent.

Much more important is the fact that the big decline in the capital market in 2020, which was strongly felt by Croatian pension funds, remained just a single ugly episode despite the worries of the time.

''MIREX's, of all of the fund categories, recovered during 2020. After the shocks in the financial markets in the first half of 2020, MIREX's grew strongly again in the second half of 2020, and they even all ended up in a small plus. Last year, on the other hand, brought extremely strong growth for the MIREX A and B categories, while for C funds that invest almost exclusively in bonds, 2021 was a year of stagnation,'' they commented from Hanfa.

It's difficult to say whether such impressive results will be repeated this year, especially since global financial markets are facing an increase in interest rates, announced by the US Federal Reserve, and the Bank of England has already begun the process.

That is just one of the challenges that Croatian pension funds and their respective managers will face this year. Dijana Bojceta Markoja, head of the Association of Pension Fund Management Societies and Pension Insurance Companies (UMFO), commented that thanks to the still present incentives through fiscal and monetary instruments, the world's largest economies (USA, EU, China) recorded significant growth in 2021, that is, recovery from the year of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, 2020.

Due to the effects of this public health and economic crisis, the growth of all major global economies is expected to continue throughout 2022, albeit at slightly lower rates than in 2021. Problems in supply chains, which are expected to extend into 2022, as well as restrictions on chip production, negatively affect the global production and delivery of goods, while the global demand for goods has increased significantly. In addition to pro-cyclical monetary and fiscal policies, demand is being significantly affected by the accumulated savings of individuals based on the lack of demand back during the pandemic-dominated period,'' said Bojceta Markoja.

Pressures placed on wage growth...

According to Bojceta Markoja, the pressures on inflation growth, noticeable in the past few months in various developed economies, could continue into 2022.

Rising energy prices (oil, gas, electricity) and raw materials, which have an impact on producer prices (PPIs have reached double-digit levels) could further affect consumer price growth for end users in 2022. The impact on price growth in 2022 may also result from the growth of prices of agricultural products that have been negatively affected by weather conditions in countries that are large producers of certain crops, she believes.

The UMFO also believes that, thanks to very timely and rapidly-implemented Croatian Government incentives aimed at keeping unemployment rates low, it is possible that pressure on wage growth will be visible in the coming period.

“Labour shortages, even in lower-paid industries, could lead to a spiral of wage growth (especially in industries that don't actually have direct competitive pressure from the market) that would spill over into further price increases.

The expected growth of the Croatian economy of 6.8 percent in 2021 and 4.4 percent in 2022 (taking into account CNB forecasts from back in July 2021) would, due to the very good tourist season in 2021 and increased foreign and domestic demand this and next year, could even be surpassed.

The further development of the coronavirus pandemic will continue to have a great impact on the Croatian economy, especially the tourism sector in 2022. Calming the pandemic and exceeding the tourism results from 2019 would in any case have a positive impact on the entire economy, as it would on Croatian pension funds. What will happen to the portfolios of Croatian pension funds this year and what impact the announcement of raising interest rates will have on investment decisions remains to be seen, according to Hanfa.

"Rising interest rates in the short term could have a negative impact on pension fund returns, but in the medium and long term it would have a visibly positive impact. Therefore, it is the responsibility of fund managers to make future investment decisions carefully and responsibly, and Hanfa will, as usual, ensure that their investments comply with all legal restrictions. When looking at current portfolios of Croatian pension funds in relation to legal constraints, fund managers have ample room for future portfolio allocation in any direction they deem it best to go,'' the financial regulator said.

For more, check out our business section.

January the 7th, 2022 - The Zagreb company Delt Papir is well known here in Croatia, and it seems that they're branching out, aiming not just at Europe, but at far more distant markets such as that of Japan.

As Novac/Jutarnji/Vedran Marjanovic writes, formerly known for its technological innovations and breakthroughs in the production of paper hygiene products and sanitary equipment, the Zagreb company Delt papir has made another noteworthy business step these days by founding a company in no less than Japan.

This is the company Tubeless Japan, with which the Zagreb company Delt Papir, as its director Krunoslav Kisak explained, will try to penetrate one of the strongest and richest markets in the entire world.

''Tubeless is a brand of Delt papir with which we're present in 27 countries across Europe and the Middle East through our distributors. The opening of the company in Japan is a big step forward for our company in terms of the further internationalisation of the Tubeless brand,'' said Kisak. Alen Krajacic is a member of the Management Board and co-owner of Delt Papir alongside Kisak, and the company has been operating since back in 2003.

The most logical reaction to the aforementioned business step for the Zagreb company Delt Papir would be that this is the first company founded by Croatian businessmen in one of the world's leading economic powers and one of the strongest and richest, and many would also add the most closed off markets in the world.

''According to our Ambassador to Japan Drazen Hrastic, during his tenure in the past six years, no Croatian company has opened a branch in Japan,'' revealed Kisak, confirming the assessment at least for the latest period of Croatian-Japanese economic relations.

According to the CBS, Croatia exports goods worth 334 million kuna a year to Japan, with food products such as tuna, wine, cheese and olive oil having the largest share. Japan is not even among the 25 most important export markets for Croatian companies, and given this data, Delt Papir's decision to enter the Japanese market only gains more weight.

''Japan's market is quite literally enormous in terms of its users, as it is a country with 126 million inhabitants, but also as the world's third largest economy. This market is ready for Croatian IoT innovation which increases and facilitates the insight into the consumption of paper towels, toilet paper, soap and other consumables and provides a level of control over it, all through our software that is unique,'' Kisak explained when discussing the motives Delt Papir has which made them create Tubeless Japan.

The Tubeless brand includes, among other things, toilet paper with a specific packaging without a cardboard tube, soap holders and disinfectants. For the further development of this brand, the Zagreb company Delt Papir was also provided with co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund through support totalling 7.8 million kuna.

''Over on the Japanese market, we expect accelerated sales growth, which we believe we'll successfully be able to monitor given the investment in the new production capacities of Tubeless products over the last 12 months, worth almost 23 million kuna. In Japan, the hygiene of everything in general, including in toilets, is at an unimaginably high level, so we're convinced that Tubeless, along with the IoT solution, is perfect for the Japanese market,'' said Kisak.

Asked whether the Zagreb company Delt Papir could count on the help of the Croatian Embassy in Tokyo when it arrived on the Japanese market, Kisak said that it provided an introductory presentation of Tubeless products and networking.

''We started thinking about starting the company Tubeless Japan back in 2019 with our colleague Edward Vondra, who has been living in Japan since 2014,'' Kisak noted.  Referring to the regulatory conditions in Japan when it comes to opening a company, Kisak explained that starting a company isn't much more complex than the procedure to do the same here in Croatia.

''The most time was spent adjusting to Japanese laws and getting multiple translations of documents with certain specifics that each country has when opening a new company. The biggest specificity is that everything that is done in Japan must be perfect. Perfect in design, functionality and innovation. We believe that Tubeless is just such a brand,'' concluded the director of the Zagreb company Delt Papir, which employs about 70 people in its plants and business offices in Jankomir, and ended the last business year with annual revenue of 134 million kuna in 2020 and a profit of ten million kuna.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.

January 6th, 2022 - Croatian entrepreneur Stevica Kuharski created a unique app that converts the HTML of any given website into a music file. Ever wanted to know how your favourite website would sound as a melody? Probably not, but now that we’re here, let’s find out! 

We weren’t expecting to ever think about websites in terms of melodies and harmonies, but there’s a first time for everything. 

Giving us one of those ‘now I’ve seen everything’ moments, Index.hr picked up a story about a peculiar app created by Croatian entrepreneur Stevica Kuharski. 

His website HTML 2 Music does, well, exactly that - converts the HTML of any given website into a music file. 

‘I was playing my guitar, thinking about patterns, scales, harmonies and then it struck me! Decent UI should be structured, harmonic and follow certain UX patterns, right? Well, then it should sound melodic if converted to music, right? That sounds about right to me’, says Kuharski in the introduction on his site. 

It’s fairly straightforward to use; follow this link to open HTML 2 Music and paste the link to any other website into the URL field (it defaults to Google), including http:// or https://. Hit the download button to load the HTML, then the play button to hear what your website of choice sounds like as a melody. 

You can create new harmonies by changing the key or switching to a different play type and structure depth level. TCN, for example, sounds a bit jarring in the hard rock mode and repetitive if you switch to the piano play type, but is so good in the ‘good night sleep’ mode that I let it play in the background and forgot it was on for a while. 

Some have called HTML 2 Music the most useless website in existence, but if you ask me, that’s a bit simplistic; after all, it’s entertaining, and everyone’s sure to at least give it a try. As far as inventions go, this one proves that things can definitely be utterly pointless and brilliant at the same time. 

January 6, 2022 – Oscar-nominated film director and writer, the legendary Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich, has died aged 82. Conceived in Zagreb, he grew up in New York where he had an illustrious five-decade career that included hit movies like The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon and She's Funny That Way.

Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco in 2008, by Eliaws

Although he was conceived in Zagreb, it was perhaps natural that Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich should Americanise his name. His parents left the Croatian capital before their son was even born. Peter would grow up in New York, where he absorbed the culture and climate of the world-famous metropolis. In particular, he fell in love with its cinema.

As a young man, Bogdanovich was obsessed with movies. Early on, he scored a job as a film critic which allowed him to immerse himself in the world of movies. Within this era, he struck up a lifelong friendship with Orson Welles. Bogdanovich famously regarded Welles' Citizen Kane as the peak of cinema. Also at this time, Bogdanovich was given his first break as a film director by famous producer Roger Corman.

Orson Welles (left) and Peter Bogdanovich (right)

The 1960s saw a revolution in the world of American cinema. Tired old formats such as historical epics and musicals were being swept aside. In their place arrived films by a fresh crop of restless, modern directors. For the most part, they were influenced by the much more radical and real European new wave cinema. Their films appealed to young audiences with gritty realism, unflinching violence and extreme flights of fancy.

Among these new American filmmakers you can find the now-classic names of Martin Scorcese, Woody Allen, Robert Altman, John Boorman, David Lynch, Terrence Malick, Francis Ford Coppola, Sam Peckinpah, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, John Carpenter, Brian De Palma and Stanley Kubrick. Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich was definitely among them.

He started his career as a director by making a documentary about John Ford, the pre-eminent director of western movies. It is to Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich's enduring credit that this documentary remains one of the greatest examinations of Ford and his work.

Classics of legendary filmmaker, Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich

The Last Picture Show, with Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd

From there, Bogdanovich jumped to making his first proper film, 'The Last Picture Show'. Featuring Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd and Cloris Leachmant, it was released in 1971. Universally acclaimed, the coming-of-age drama is as classic as Americana comes. It features a fine Hank Williams soundtrack and was the first lead-starring role of future great Bridges. This one film alone ensured Bogdanovich's name would forever be associated with cinema's exciting, new American movement.

Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal starred in Bogdanovich's second film, the romantic comedy 'What's Up, Doc?' He reunited with Ryan O'Neal in 1973 for the film 'Paper Moon'. O'Neal’s daughter, Tatum, won an Oscar for best supporting actress with this film. After several immediate hits, Bogdanovich felt he could afford to be choosey about his next projects. He turned down The Godfather, The Exorcist and Chinatown.

Set shot from classic 1985 emotional drama Mask, with Cher (centre) and Bogdanovich (right)

His later films included the classic emotional drama 'Mask', starring Cher, and 'The Cat’s Meow', starring Kirsten Dunst. A legend among the next generation of filmmakers, Bogdanovich appeared as an actor in cameo roles for cult director Quentin Tarantino and in The Sopranos series.

Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich plays Dr. Elliot Kupferberg in Episode 4, Season 3 of The Sopranos

In 2010, he joined the faculty of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and in 2014 made his last feature film, the comedy 'She’s Funny That Way' starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. In 2018, he released his final film, a documentary about Buster Keaton - 'The Great Buster: A Celebration'.

Peter Bogdanovich is survived by his two children Antonia and Alexandra (Sashy), his sister Anna Bogdanovich and three grandchildren.

To read more about Croatian filmmaking and movies, look here

ZAGREB, 6 Jan 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday commented on the procurement of Bradley US fighting vehicles, saying there had been dilemmas within the army's General Staff and the Defence Ministry, which was why he requested detailed reports from them.

Speaking to the press, Plenković said he had "initiated (a) detailed verification of what we can get, how much it costs, what the Croatian Army needs."

He said the procurement was a detailed process that began in 2017 and thereby Croatia was reinforcing its defence cooperation with the United States as well as its own army and contribution to NATO. Croatia is also strengthening its economy since part of the job will go to the Đuro Đaković company, he added.

Commenting on President Zoran Milanović's pressure to procure the Bradleys, the prime minister said, "Pressuring the government, which was the one to embark on this process, is a little ridiculous."

Plenković said he initiated a verification process over the past six weeks and that the General Staff and the Defence Ministry were consolidating their stand.

He said more consultations would be held. "We'll decide as we planned, but fully conscious that we have the key elements on the viability of that process."

Plenković said that as he understood it, the stand of the General Staff and the Defence Ministry was to procure the A2 ODS version of the Bradleys. This version is on the table, but together with the weaponry and everything which makes the vehicles good and useful, he added.

Commenting on today's record-high number of daily coronavirus cases in Croatia, Plenković said the fourth wave of the pandemic, dominated by the Delta variant, had merged with the wave in which Omicron is dominant. He said the number was as expected and reiterated that protection from the virus lay in vaccination and individual responsibility.

Asked if hospitality establishments would be required to close earlier, he said the national COVID-19 crisis management team had not yet considered that option.

Commenting on the opposition's collecting signatures for a vote of no confidence in Construction Minister Darko Horvat, Plenković said it would not pass. "We will reject this (initiative) too. The parliamentary majority is strong."

The prime minister also commented on the latest developments concerning Serbian tennis player Novak Đoković, who was denied entry to Australia, saying that everyone should comply with COVID regulations.

A journalist noted that Croatia changed the definition of close contact after Plenković met with Đoković after the 2020 Adria Tour in Zadar. After the tournament, Đoković tested positive for the virus.

Plenković said that story and the one regarding a religious procession on Hvar island, also from 2020, were "the stupidest and rudest theses in the media sphere when it comes to what is called, deliberately and in a politically orchestrated way, the inconsistency of the (COVID crisis management team)."

The prime minister also commented on the search for Matej Periš, a 27-year-old Croatian who went missing in Belgrade on 31 December, saying he was communicating with the relevant ministries on a daily basis and that they were communicating with the Serbian authorities.

"I have the impression we still don't have the whole picture," he said, adding that as prime minister he was interested in "getting the full story."

For more, check out our dedicated politics section.

January 6, 2022 - The institution of world music journalism, New Musical Express (NME), began 2022 with a selection of the 20 most anticipated festivals of the year, and in the impressive company of the largest and most famous music festivals in the world such as Glastonbury and Coachella, the Croatian INmusic Festival holds its place.

Since its first release in 2006, the INmusic Festival has hosted over 430 bands from 37 countries and given the domestic audience more than 500 concert performances, many of which were premieres in Croatia. In 14 previous editions of the INmusic festival, we had the opportunity to enjoy the top performances of the world's greatest music artists such as Kings Of Leon, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Arctic Monkeys, The Cure, Florence + The Machine, Arcade Fire, PJ Harvey, Queens Of The Stone Age, Jamiroquai, New Order, Pixies, The Prodigy, The Black Keys, and more hundreds of others.

The long-awaited jubilee 15th Edition of the INmusic Festival in Croatia premieres performances by The Killers with the always eager return of local and international audience favorites Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and performances by some of today's most attractive bands: Deftones, Kasabian, Royal Blood, IDLES, White Lies, Fontaines DC, The Comet is Coming and many others.

INmusic Festival/Facebook

As reported by Večernji List, this recognition for the INmusic Festival sounds even greater considering that it ranks among the world's largest festivals after two years of a pandemic. These festivals received millions of grants from their countries, enjoy great support from communities, and have an average organizational budget that is 15 to 75 times higher than the organizational budget of the INmusic Festival.

INmusic Festival is additionally distinguished by having the best price for a festival ticket, which is adjusted to the purchasing power of the Croatian audience, as pointed out by many other European and world media from year to year, most recently by the largest Scottish daily The Scotsman, which in its travel recommendation highlights the INmusic Festival as the most favorable in Europe. The festival has already been praised by the world media with descriptions of INmusic festivals as ‘Woodstock for the 21st Century’ (Huffington Post) or ‘Europe’s Best Kept Festival Secrets’ (NME).

The quality and attractiveness of the INmusic Festival have been recognized by numerous international audiences, so a record number of festival tourists is expected for the 15th edition of INmusic, which is estimated to generate at least HRK 50 million during their stay in Zagreb and Croatia.

Despite its international reputation and impressive cultural and tourism results, the INmusic Festival has been warning since its launch in 2006 of unfair and inadequate treatment, and even for many years completely non-existent support from local governments and relevant ministries. In the international competition with festivals recognized as central cultural and tourism events in their countries and local communities that provide them with generous financial and logistical support, independent festivals such as INmusic not owned by corporations and venture capital funds, without long-term and stable support from local and national bodies are not sustainable.

INmusic Festival hopes that after being ranked by NME among the 20 most anticipated music festivals in 2022, another recognition in a series of major international awards, it will finally bring the deserved attention and support of the City of Zagreb and ministries so that Zagreb, and thus Croatia, remain as a relevant point on the festival map of Europe, meeting their cultural needs in order to improve the quality of life of the citizens of Zagreb and Croatia.

The 15th anniversary edition of the INmusic Festival will take place after a two-year break caused by the coronavirus pandemic at the well-known location of the Jarun Islands in Zagreb for the first time in four festival days, from 20 to 23 June 2022, accompanied by a seven-day festival camp which brings together visitors from over 50 countries around the world. The long-awaited 15th INmusic Festival will feature The Killers, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Deftones, Kasabian, Royal Blood, IDLES, White Lies, Fontaines DC, Gogol Bordello, Amadou & Mariam, Sleaford Mods, The Comet Is Coming, Tamikrest, Hinds, Dry Cleaning and many others.

Four-day festival tickets for the 15th INmusic Festival at the price of 599 kuna are available through their official website and already purchased three-day tickets for the 15th INmusic Festival remain valid for four full festival days on the new dates of its 2022 edition.

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

ZAGREB, 6 Jan 2022 - President Zoran Milanović said on Thursday that Defence Minister Mario Banožić should "stop lying" and commented on yesterday's online meeting with United States representatives on the possibility of equipping the Croatian Army with Bradley fighting vehicles.

Milanović said in a press release the meeting was convened by Banožić in order for Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to obtain detailed technical information from US representatives on the Bradleys "so that he could make a decision."

He noted that Plenković did not participate in the meeting due to other commitments, as Milanović said Banožić told the Americans.

He said the meeting was convened because of Plenković's ignorance, negligence, and lack of interest in the important job of equipping the army with fighting vehicles.

Milanović said Banožić's presentation at the meeting "embarrassed Croatia and its Armed Forces, portraying them as a flippant and irresponsible partner."

Speaking in a Croatian Television program later, after the meeting, Banožić said that Croatia was offered an M2A2 ODS version of the Bradley vehicle, which had not been requested.

Milanović said that was not true and that the Defence Ministry had requested an offer for that version, as confirmed by a ministry memo to the US Embassy of 8 April 2021.

"Minister, stop lying, stop deluding the public, stop embarrassing Croatia, and stop damaging the Croatian Armed Forces," the president said.

For more, check out our dedicated politics section.