Hvar and Jelsa Primary School Students Design New Calendar
December 22, 2021 - For several years now, the Hvar Tourist Board has been preparing wall calendars, which are recognized as tourist souvenir that wants to have more and more domestic and foreign guests. This year, Hvar and Jelsa primary school students were selected as the artists.
Every year, over 1,500 calendars are distributed, which are the work of Hvar artists. For this year, students from the Hvar Primary School and the Jelsa Primary School - Sveta Nedjelja Regional School were selected as artists from the Hvar Tourist Board, reports HrTurizam.hr.
The Tourist Board of the City of Hvar would like to thank all the Hvar and Jelsa Primary school students and teachers of the Elementary School Hvar with the principal Mrs. Nada Jeličić, as well as the students of the Sveta Nedjelja Regional School with their teacher Mrs. Katija Balić, who made a great contribution to the creation of calendars with their paintings. Many thanks also go to Ivan Zaninović - Grande Design, who managed to combine all the paintings into a beautiful whole, and the town of Hvar.
“This year the idea was to create something special, so we chose students from the Hvar Elementary School and the Jelsa Elementary School - Sveta Nedjelja Regional School as artists. Through children's imagination and their view of the town of Hvar and Holy Sunday, a "top work of art" was created that will decorate a large number of walls in 2022 after the first reactions of Hvar residents, says Petar Razović, director of the Hvar Tourist Board.
Nada Jeličić, director of Hvar Elementary School, said she was especially pleased with another successful collaboration between the Hvar Tourist Board and Hvar Elementary School, where they want to include all students in the tourist promotion of Hvar, and show how the youngest Hvar residents see the beauties of their city.
The Tourist Board of the town of Hvar ends this year's promotion of the destination and the tourist year by making a calendar, which was certainly one of the "special" and we can say successful because a total of 70% of tourist traffic from 2019, ie. 116,000 arrivals and 520,000 overnight stays were realized in the area of the town of Hvar.
For all who want to enjoy the work of the youngest Hvar artists, the calendar is available in the office of the Tourist Board of the town of Hvar, and is also available in digital form here.
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Minister: MOST Exerting Unnecessary Pressure, Only Number of Signatures Counts
ZAGREB, 22 December, 2021 - Justice Minister Ivan Malenica on Wednesday called out the MOST party for "exerting unnecessary pressure" and said the only question was whether it had collected enough signatures for a referendum.
Speaking to the press, he said a number of constitutional law experts had said a number of times that the referendum petition with a constitutional and a legislative part was pointless and that "it certainly won't be conducive to improving the situation."
The opposition MOST objects to the national COVID-19 crisis management team and wants citizens to answer two questions - if the constitution should establish that a pandemic is a state of affairs in which decisions should be made in parliament by a two-thirds majority, and if COVID certificates should be revoked.
"It should be said clearly that the crisis management team has been adopting decisions based on the law," Malenica said, adding that the Constitutional Court yesterday confirmed it.
The court found that the pandemic protocols are legitimate, rejecting motions to assess the constitutionality of the crisis management team's powers, the COVID certificate mandate, and the testing mandate for healthcare and social welfare staff.
As for MOST's petition, Malenica said "we don't know how many signatures they have, whether they have enough or not."
He expects the party to state the number and deliver the signatures to parliament in the shortest time possible. After that, he said, parliament will authorise the government or another body to determine if enough signatures were collected.
As for the possible establishment of an independent body to count the signatures, Malenica said he would not prejudge any action until the signatures were delivered to parliament.
He would also not prejudge the Constitutional Court's decision on the COVID certificate mandate in the whole public sector.
52 Thematic Hiking Trails in Split-Dalmatia County Were Presented
December 22, 2021 - Today, the Tourist Board of the Split-Dalmatia County (TZSD) presented 52 thematic hiking trails of the Split-Dalmatia County in the length of 327 kilometers on the coast, islands, and Zagora.
The 52 thematic hiking trails, which are a new tourist product, represent a step towards active tourism and new tourist content in the wake of the world's search for tourists for a longer stay in the open air with a thoughtful story and original offer, reports HrTurizam.hr. In order for guests to see exactly before they arrive in Central Dalmatia how they can actively relax and walk through attractive landscapes, all 52 thematic hiking trails are processed and presented in digital form and Google Street View with a picture of each of them, and through two brochures - thematic trails islands and other thematic trails of coastal Central Dalmatia.
"Local tourist boards have proposed trails that carry a story or interesting, so the trails are named. Our goal is to disperse tourist traffic throughout the year and in all parts of our county because Central Dalmatia has all the prerequisites for this. These thematic trails are additional content, especially for Google Street View, which is the first time in this way implemented in this tourist product. travel agencies the opportunity to stories of thematic paths formed in their creative tourism products, and TZ county will all follow active marketing in the international market in the coming months," said is Joško Stella, director of TZSD County.
By the way, all 52 thematic hiking trails are set on GoogleMaps as StartPoint, each is recorded as GoogleStreetView with Google's location. This information was put on the Strava application, which is the world's most used application for walkers, and on Alltrails, which is used by everyone who is engaged in active holidays.
Everything is also on TripAdvisor, and on the new website of the County Tourist Board, there will be descriptions, pictures, and links so that everyone can follow their every step on their mobile phone along the thematic path.
By the way, Split-Dalmatia County is the first region in Europe to introduce Google Sea view through a Google map, which will enable its users to view the complete sea route along the coast of this county.
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GRECO: Croatia Not Implemented 17 Anti-Corruption Recommendations Satisfactorily
ZAGREB, 22 December, 2021 - Croatia has implemented satisfactorily or dealt with in a satisfactory manner none of the seventeen recommendations contained in the Fifth Round Evaluation Report, the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), which is the Council of Europe anti-corruption body, stated on Wednesday.
According to GRECO's latest statement concerning Croatia, of those 17 recommendations, eight recommendations have been partly implemented and nine have not been implemented.
Those recommendations were outlined in the Fifth Round Evaluation Report, adopted on December 2019 and made public in March 2020.
The Fifth Round Evaluation Report focused on top executive authorities and law enforcement agencies.
GRECO urges Croatia to step up efforts in prevention of corruption and in promotion of the integrity of persons with top executive functions (PTEFs).
Draft Law on Conflict of Interest Prevention appears to go in the right direction
GRECO also notes that "the draft Law on Conflict of Interest Prevention appears to go in the right direction in order to remedy a number of recommendations."
"However, this draft Law was only recently submitted to Parliament for adoption. It foresees new mechanisms to increase the integrity of PTEFs, notably a mechanism for disclosing conflicts of interest, the annual reporting of assets and the provision of a cooling off period," reads the statement.
The law "needs to be assessed in detail, once it has been adopted. Similarly, measures to increase the capacity of the Commission for the Resolution of Conflicts of Interest are noted and will be further assessed."
"Concerning law enforcement agencies, it is to be welcomed that measures necessary for abandoning the practice of fines being paid in cash directly to police officers are underway and the launch of a corresponding pilot project in the traffic police are steps in the right direction."
The inclusion of integrity as a mandatory subject in the initial and in-service training for police officers is also progress in the right direction, says GRECO.
It adds that "a revised code of ethics for the police, which should serve as the basis for police training throughout, is yet to be adopted, a comprehensive risk assessment of corruption prone areas in the police - on which the future code is to be premised, is to be carried out and possibilities to further improve appointment and promotion processes within the police, with a view to improving the objectivity and transparency of decisions, are to be further explored."
Croatia Logs 4,226 New Coronavirus Cases, 36 Deaths
ZAGREB, 22 December, 2021 - In the past 24 hours Croatia has registered 4,226 new coronavirus cases and another 36 infected people died as a consequence of this infectious disease, the national COVID response team reported on Wednesday.
There are currently 21,740 active cases in Croatia including 2,066 hospitalised COVID patients, with 266 of them placed on ventilators.
Since 25 February 2020 when the first case of the infection with the novel virus was registered in Croatia, there have been 682,759 cases of the contagion registered and 12,126 infected people have died while a total of 648,893 have recovered including 1,927 in the past 24 hours.
Currently, 19,790 people are self-isolating.
A total of 3,669,665 tests have been conducted in Croatia since the outbreak of the pandemic, including 12,132 in the past 24 hours.
As of Tuesday, a total of 4,597,346 doses of vaccines had been administered with 55.37% of the population having received at least one dose or 65.66% of the total population.
A total of 2,246,948 people have received at least one dose of a vaccine and 2,104,673 are fully vaccinated, making up 61.98% of the adult population.
Croatian Foreign Minister to Visit Russia in Mid-January
ZAGREB, 22 December, 2021 - Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman will pay a visit to Russia in mid-January, the Večernji List (VL) daily reported on Wednesday.
Grlić Radman's host, Minister Sergey Lavrov, visited Zagreb a year ago, and this was the first visit by a Russian foreign minister to Croatia in the past 16 years, the daily newspaper recalls.
In addition to political topics on the agenda of the Lavrov-Grlić Radman talks in Moscow, economic matters will also be discussed with Croatian company executives doing business in the Russian Federation.
Grlić Radman's visit is taking place against a backdrop of growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine as well as between Moscow and the European Union. Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenković visited Ukraine on 8 and 9 December.
Plenković's visit to Kiev has not triggered any reactions in Moscow. Croatia advocates the position on Ukraine's territorial integrity, and this is also the stance kept by the European Union, the daily newspaper added.
The newspaper's commentator Sandra Veljković writes that Croatia and Russia share a similar position on Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly when it comes to adhering to the Dayton Peace Accords.
Croatia to Grant €27,000 to Returning Expats under €133m Scheme
ZAGREB, 22 December, 2021 - Croatian ex-pats who return and start their own business in Croatia can count on a grant of HRK 50,000 (€6,700) for the return plus HRK 150,000 (€20,000) as self-employment subsidy, the Jutarnji List daily wrote on Wednesday.
Owners who relocate their business to less-developed areas will be entitled to HRK 25,000 (€3,400).
€133m scheme for expats' return and redistribution of businesses across Croatia
This is an entirely new scheme dubbed "I choose Croatia" that the government is introducing as part of its active employment measures and the scheme will be outlined at the cabinet meeting on Thursday, and should be adopted by the Croatian Employment Service next week.
To this end, the scheme, worth a billion kuna has been prepared, according to the daily newspaper report.
The Ministry of Labour is sending a message that it wants to ensure a qualified labour force throughout Croatia by encouraging expats to return from the EU as well as motivating economic migration to lesser developed areas in the country.
In an effort to motivate young people to return to Croatia from Ireland for example, the government has increased the subsidy for self-employment in green and digital industries to HRK 150,000 for a period of two years. This, in particular, refers to the manufacturing industry, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector, environment protection activities, landscaping and construction.
Another measure is directed towards including young people in the labour market through internships in the workplace in green and digital industries. That measure foresees a monthly allowance that would amount to HRK 50,000 a year for employers who hire young interns with secondary-school qualifications and up to HRK 60,000 for recruits with tertiary qualifications.
The third measure is intended for the employment of disadvantaged groups such as the disabled by co-financing the cost of their employment in jobs in green and digital industries. Recipient employers will receive up to HRK 45,000 a year if they employ disadvantaged groups and up to HRK 70,000 for employing someone with a disability, the daily wrote.
(€1 = HRK 7.5)
Parliament Speaker for Determining Exact Number of Signatures for Bridge Petition
ZAGREB, 22 December, 2021 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Tuesday that it was important to determine the exact number of signatures collected by MOST for its petition for a referendum against COVID certificates so as to avoid polemics, suspicions and accusations.
Croatia now needs peace and not conflicts, Jandroković said during the commercial NOVA TV broadcaster's prime time news programme on Tuesday evening.
"It is of extreme importance to make sure that the counting of the signatures be transparent," said the Sabor Speaker.
He is also for authorising an autonomous body or agency to monitor the counting of the signatures.
The engagement of an independent body will be for the purpose of dispelling any suspicions whether that opposition party had collected the required number of signatures or if it failed in it initiative.
Jandroković noted that Croatia was the only country in the world in which signatures had been collected for the petition for a referendum against COVID certificates.
Asked by the anchorman whether MOST was prepared to call on citizens to take to the streets to protest in the event that this party failed to collect the signatures, Jandroković said that the question should be referred to MOST representatives.
As for the divisions in the society concerning the pandemic protocols, Jandroković said that such divisions could be seen in Europe and the whole world.
"There are some people who believe and think that getting vaccinated is not O.K. I disagree with that and I think that vaccines are an achievement of civilisation."
Constitutional Court's ruling on COVID-19 pandemic protocols as expected
Commenting on the Constitutional Court's ruling that pandemic protocols implemented in Croatia to curb the spread of coronavrus are legitimate, Jandroković said that the ruling was as expected and it confirmed that digital COVID passes had been introduced in compliance with law and the Constitution.
This is proof that the parliament has done its job in compliance with law and that we were right when we followed Article 16 of the Constitution in making concerning decisions, the parliament chief added.
Commenting on President Milanović's behaviour and accusations he levelled against the government and the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Jandroković said that Milanović is trying to undermine all good results of the government.
This year has been burdened by the corona crisis and the consequences of the devastating earthquakes, as well as growing populism and demagoguery around the world. Croatia has managed to have the most successful tourist season, the construction of Pelješac Bridge was completed, we are about to enter the Schengen area and the euro area. The government is doing a serious job, while the president is trying to undermine the government's good efforts, said Jandroković.
Croatia Marks 31st Anniversary of Promulgation of Christmas Constitution
ZAGREB, 22 December, 2021 - Thirty-one years ago the Republic of Croatia got its first Constitution, which was adopted on 21 December and was officially promulgated on the day after that, that is on 22 January 1990, and became known as the Christmas Constitution since its promulgation happened a few days before Christmas.
The decision to promulgate the Constitution was passed at a plenary session of the first Croatian parliament (Hrvatski Sabor) on 22 December 1990. At the time the legislature consisted of the three chambers: a social and political council, the council of associated labour, and the council of municipalities.
That was the first democratic Croatian Constitution which paved the way for Croatia's efforts to sever all state and legal ties with the former the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, (SFRY) and to establish an independent and sovereign state.
The Christmas Constitution defines Croatia as a single and indivisible democratic and social state with a modern political system.
In July 1990, the presidency of the Republic of Croatia decided to propose drawing up a new Constitution which would reflect the will of the people expressed in the first democratic elections.
The guidelines for the new Constitution were proposed by President Franjo Tuđman, the then first parliament speaker Žarko Domljan said addressing the Sabor on 21 December ahead of the adoption of the document.
The task force working on drawing up the Constitution consisted of 229 people from all walks of life and 152 of them were actively involved in preparing the Constitution, President Tuđman said in his speech on the occasion of the promulgation of the Constitution on 22 December 1990.
"Krk Draft"
Last year, addressing a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the Christmas Constitution, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković recalled that the broader public is not aware that the blueprint of the first Croatian Constitution is known as the "Krk Draft" since it had intensively been prepared on the island of Krk during August 1990.
That blueprint was drawn up by a team of parliamentary experts with Vladimir Seks at the helm. Apart from Šeks, also experts Smiljko Sokol, Krunislav Olujić and Ljubomir Valković were engaged in that job.
Based on the information we have now, more than 70% of the Krk Draft was incorporated into the final version of the Christmas Constitution, said Jandroković last year.
Croatian President says Montenegro Deserves its Place in EU
ZAGREB, 22 December, 2021 - Addressing a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the National Community of Montenegrins in Croatia in Zagreb on Tuesday, President Zoran Milanović said that Montenegro deserved to be part of the European Union.
During the ceremony, held under the auspices of President Milanović and Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović who also attended the event in Zagreb, the Croatian head of state highlighted the European identity and values characteristic of the Montenegrins. Milanović praised them for being distinguished by that "unique and ineradicable" identity.
Croatia strongly supports Montenegro on its journey to the membership of the European Union and would like that the country could complete that journey as soon as possible, he stressed.
"You can count on my support and on the support of the Croatian government for that process to be completed as soon as possible. Your country deserves its membership, it has made huge progress n the last 20 years," said the Croatian president.
"Montenegro deserves its place in the European Union. Montenegro is a member of NATO and it is good that it is is so."
There are some attempts to depreciate and undermine that recently. I do not want that a delicate situation may endanger the stability of Montenegro, Milanović said adding that dialogue and talks should be conducted between the Montenegrins and members of the Montenegro society that believe that their prospects are northeast, thus alluding to local Serbs in that country.
Milanović said that he was happy with the presence of Montenegrins in the Croatian society.
It is a special community, those people are part of our space and of our cities, Milanović said praising the contribution of ethnic Montenegrins to the Croatian society, culture, economy, the business sector and arts.
Preserve your culture and identity, it is part of Europe and part of the eastern Christian heritage, it is part of the Orthodox denomination, it is modern and secular. All that is the present-day European Montenegro, said the Croatian president.
President Đukanović spoke about the role of Montenegrins in Croatia and thanked Zagreb for support and assistance during Montenegro's journey towards NATO and towards the membership of the European Union.
He highlighted the role of the National Community of Montenegrins in Croatia as a bridge between the two nations.
Đukanović commented on the contribution of the associations of ethnic Croats in Montenegro to efforts to develop good neighbourly relations after "unfortunate developments in the early 1990s."
The chairman of the Croatian Council for Ethnic Minorities, Aleksandar Tolnauer, said that over that last 30 years, the National Community of Montenegrins in Croatia had made a great contribution to efforts to overcome the repercussions of the war in the 1990s and to promote the reputation of the ethnic Montenegrin community.
