November the 20th, 2021 - The Pula administration is seeking the opinions of local residents on the management of this Istrian city's various beaches, with clear criteria and all information being made readily available to public set as the aim.

As Morski writes, a public consultation on the management of maritime assets for the year 2022 is underway in Pula, headed by the Pula administration. They explained from this Istrian city that before making decisions on the possible mere implementation of concessions in exchange for concession approvals, a detailed analysis of economic profitability and environmental impact will be performed. A very well-known city location will also be included in the concession.

''The decision to adopt a plan for granting concessions for the year 2022, which is also under public consultation, plans a concession for economic use of maritime assets - the construction and economic use of special purpose ports, including the Bunarina Pula nautical tourism port,'' the Pula administration confirmed for local portal Glas Istre (The Voice of Istria).

The local Pula government believes that concessions with clearer and much better criteria are a better and more transparent solution than concession approvals, with deadlines ranging from periods of seven to ten years.

Mayor Filip Zoricic said that the Pula administration will seek clear criteria for the employment plan, that it will respect and preserve the local environment and the overall Mediterranean spirit, provided that the beaches are also properly preserved. Soon, he says, all the details about concessions, areas and costs will be known, and all information will be publicly available and open for comments.

He also said that the system should be reset and placed on the right foundations, which will place special emphasis on preserving the local environment.

The public consultation on the management of Pula's beaches will be held until November the 28th, and the interested public can send their proposals to the following e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Interested parties can also find all accompanying documents and any additional information they might require on the city's website in the e-consultation section.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

November the 20th, 2021 - The former HSM Informatika has recently been present on the regional market under the name HSM following the transformation of its visual identity and business strategy. The Croatian informatics company HSM has also seen shifts in its market presence following these changes.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, the Croatian informatics company HSM is 100 percent domestically owned and has been present on the market for more than 30 years now. The company states that the Management Board decided to take this step after the company's management changed. Namely, HSM is a family company that is now run by the new Management Board under the leadership of Juraj and Jakov Urbanke and Jelena Jelinic Cvirn.

In addition to the change in visual identity, the Croatian informatics company HSM has gone through a change in business strategy that has greatly affected their current market presence and position. From a company that in previous years relied on a large part of its business on a partnership and distribution relationship with Adobe, HSM has made a significant shift in the way it does business and now primarily focuses on the implementation of solutions and consulting services related to the global CRM platform Salesforce.

Since the implementation of the Salesforce platform, HSM has already established cooperation with some of the largest companies active here on the Croatian market such as - Greyp, Nexe Group, ZSEM, Icertias, Matison and various Croatian media companies, all of which use their solutions to encourage and develop their business. In addition, during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, they used internal resources and developed their own Project management and HR application (app), which are being very successfully implemented by their business users and which were also developed on the aforementioned Salesforce platform.

Last year, which was extremely difficult for most economically, the Croatian informatics company HSM's revenues increased by as much as 57 percent when compared to 2018, while the current year of 2021 has already seen the company exceed the record year of 2020. Jakov Urbanke, the director of Business Solutions at HSM, says that they are recording growth not only in terms of revenue, but also in customer interest in their solutions, primarily in the field of CRM services.

"Our plans are really big. Although we're growing, we want to continue to be an affordable consultant for digital business solutions that help companies simplify business processes and improve their business and market position. Our goals and business focus are focused on expanding our business in Croatia's immediate region, but I also see potential in markets outside of the general Adriatic area. The new HSM is an agile company with great energy and quality consultants, and I believe that with this move we'll have success in both the European and global markets,'' said Urbanke.

Today, the Croatian informatics company HSM bases its business on solution implementation services on the Salesforce platform and via consulting services, but they still plan to strengthen their strong long-term regional presence and their position as a distributor for software and hardware solutions.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

November the 20th, 2021 - Young Croat Filip Koprcina runs a startup which has the primary aim of lessening the dire consequences of climate change, which is as much of a threat now as ever.

As Lucija Spiljak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Filip Koprcina has always been interested in renewable energy sources and environmental protection, and he decided to act strongly on this issue. This 25-year-old Croat runs a successful startup called Energy Shift, a platform that allows people to invest and co-own solar power plants. contribute to the environment and generate revenue. He wanted, as he says, to make a change here in Croatia and the European Union, and then on a global level.

“People have the opportunity to make a profit of 10-15 percent per year while reducing their CO2 emissions. We currently have more than 1000 European citizens who have expressed their interest in investing more than 15 million kuna into solar energy. I used European youth programmes and through Erasmus for young entrepreneurs I worked in Ukraine for three months with a company that installs solar panels. There I learned how the whole process of installing solar panels works, how to install panels and a few so-called ''tips & tricks'' of the energy business.  For the past 12 months, I've volunteered in Cyprus through the European Solidarity Force (ESF), with the aim of raising awareness of sustainable development goals,'' said Filip Koprcina, who is currently the EU Climate Pact Ambassador.

For his platform, Filip received the European Union Sustainable Energy Award for the democratisation of solar energy ownership, in the Youth Energy category.

''Back in May this year, we received an initial investment from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) through their Digital venture programme. We're currently negotiating with several international investors about the next round of financing. We want to open new markets and expand throughout Europe,'' revealed Filip Koprcina.

He says that many citizens can install solar panels on the roof of their house, but they can't be very competitive in terms of earnings due to the current Croatian laws and those beyond the country's borders. Despite those obstacles, this young man has a vision and an idea of ​​how to stimulate the Croatian economy and create new green jobs in Croatia through investments in renewable energy.

''The return on investment varies from country to country. It depends on the general price of electricity, the amount of sunshine that the country/location gets, but in general the return is between 15-25 percent. For example, in Croatia we have 220-250 sunny days, while in Cyprus there are typically 320-340 sunny days a year, while the price of electricity is twice as high as it is here in Croatia. At the moment, there's no discussion about the possibilities and cost-effectiveness of solar energy in the first place. Last year, Croatia imported 40 percent of the electricity we consumed, and only 1 percent of the energy we produce comes from solar power plants. We also import oil and coal and gas, which we need for the production of electricity, and we allocate over 12 billion kuna a year for that alone. Solar energy is also a fantastic investment in the long run because solar panels produce energy and have guarantees of 20-30 years, while many solar panels produce energy even after 40 years,'' Filipa Koprcina pointed out.

He also noted that Croatia hasn't invested significantly in energy projects in the last 30 years, and that HEP's profit goes to the state budget instead of, for example, to new investments and capacities.

"Croatia is an energy-dependent country. We import about 50 percent of our energy worth up to 12 billion kuna. Of that, we import 100 percent of our coal, 90 percent of our oil, 70 percent of our gas and about 40 percent of our electricity. Croatia has almost no industry, and, according to Worldometers, our share in global greenhouse gas emissions is 0.05 percent, while in the EU we have the 4th lowest carbon footprint of all member states.

During the COP in Glasgow, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic announced the cessation of coal energy production at the Plomin thermal power plants by 2033 at the latest, which will further reduce our CO2 emissions. Currently, 75 percent of the carbon emissions in the EU come from energy production and use, while the EU as a whole is dependent on energy imports, mostly oil and gas. The EU imports 73 percent of its oil and 15 percent of its gas, and the largest supplier of all is Russia, which can geopolitically influence EU policies.

That's why Croatia has started the LNG terminal project on Krk, and that's why the entire EU wants to become an energy-neutral bloc. One proposal I made as a member of the Technical Working Group at the UN High-Level Dialogue, and I'd now like to give it to the Croatian Government, is to abolish the tax on investments in renewable energy (VAT + customs duties on equipment imports). This would immediately reduce the investment costs of companies and individuals by 25-30 percent, and would increase the return on investment, thereby simply increasing investment in the energy sector,'' explained Filip Koprcina.

This energy-conscious entrepreneur wants Energy Shift to become the leading platform through which individuals invest in the world’s long-term renewable energy, to contribute to the energy transition. In addition, he has a great desire for his company to become a new Croatian ''unicorn''.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.

November 19, 2021 - Good news today as Croatia has moved up 3 spots in the latest FIFA ranking, and the Vatreni is now the 15th national team in the world. 

The Croatia national football team has advanced by three spots in the updated International Football Association (FIFA) ranking for November and is now the 15th national team in the world!

In the last qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Croatia beat Malta (7:1) and Russia (1:0) and earned enough points to overtake Colombia, Uruguay, and Sweden in the ranking. 

Belgium, Brazil, and France remain at the top, while Italy, which is now sixth, dropped two places.

Among the ten top teams in the world, England and Argentina moved up one place each and are now the 4th and 5th national teams in the world, respectively. Spain and Portugal retained their positions, while Denmark and the Netherlands advanced, finishing in the top ten.

Based on the calculation of November's FIFA rankings, Croatia would be placed in the second strongest group in the 2022 World Cup draw. 

Interestingly, Iran, led by Croatian coach Dragan Skočić, jumped to 21st place and is now two places ahead of Serbia. Since taking over the national team of Iran in February 2020, Skočić has remained undefeated. 

FIFA ranking:

1. (1.) Belgium 1828 points

2. (2.) Brazil 1826
3. (3.) France 1786
4. (5.) England 1756
5. (6.) Argentina 1751
6. (4.) Italy 1741
7. (7.) Spain 1705
8. (8.) Portugal 1660
9. (10.) Denmark 1655
10. (11.) The Netherlands 1654
...
15. (18.) CROATIA 1620

Source: Gol.hr and HNS

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

November 19, 2021 - The Meeting G2 business conference will be held for the 7th year in a row! This time, entitled MG2.7 - Time Lapse. 

The Association for Connecting Business in the Homeland and Diaspora - Meeting G2 - will be held for the seventh time. 

The Meeting G2 conference aims to network business people of Croatian origin from around the world, which is also an ongoing mission of the Association. They do not deviate this year, although still under challenging circumstances. This year's conference will present to the Croatian diaspora from all over the world what has been achieved so far, the successful examples of both domestic and returning entrepreneurs, messages from the diaspora, and announcements of new planned activities that the Association imagined being even more connected, relevant and accessible. Opportunities to connect even closer and more concretely.

This year, the MG2 conference will be held on November 27, 2021, from 3 to 5 pm, entitled "MG2.7 - TIME LAPSE", to enable all partners and friends in all parts of the world to follow live online and actively participate in discussions. Entrepreneurs of Croatian origin from Croatia and the world, dear friends, and panelists from previous years will share their success stories firsthand. Furthermore, participants will have the opportunity to hear what has changed in these six years and what should change from Croats on five continents.

The conference can be followed from the comfort of your home office/homes from all over the world in preparation for Advent and Christmas time ahead.

"We are building the MG2.7 conference based on the success of the past six years, during which we organized in the heart of the Croatian capital: 6 conferences and 43 panels with 236 panelists, presented 42 Croatian start-ups, gathered more than 1000 participants from 33 countries, of which more than 315 businesspeople from the diaspora, which we have connected in our homeland with almost 300 Croatian companies, the best domestic entrepreneurs, exporters, and innovators.

Our Association is continuously working to strengthen cooperation with Croatian chambers worldwide, which from year to year are becoming an increasingly important factor in helping our exporters in local markets. We are persistently building business relations and encouraging investments in Croatia, and so far, cooperation has been established between Croatia and 26 countries from five continents," said the Association. 

More information and this year's program can be found at meeting-g2.com and information about the first six meetings and the goals achieved.

ZAGREB, 19 Nov 2021 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Friday he would not resign over a European Court of Human Rights ruling in the death of six-year-old migrant Madine Hosseini, calling her death a tragedy.

Speaking to the press, he said "there are other legal remedies" and that "what and if something will be done" would be decided by Croatia's representative before the ECHR.

Asked which stand Croatia would take if the ruling became final, Božinović said it was a question for the future.

Stressing that every loss of life was tragic, especially a child's, he said Croatia was in a situation, through no fault of its own, in which many groups of people wanted to come to Europe.

For them to come, the EU should want to receive them, just as in the 2015 and 2016 migrant waves, but "European states are no longer willing to receive so many migrants from other countries, as that is a security, economic, social and political problem for them."

Croatia is in a situation in which it must prevent illegal entry or become a hotspot, Božinović added.

"We, and the EU, took the position that it's necessary to prevent illegal entry into Croatia and the EU and that those who believe that, under international law, they have the option to exercise asylum rights should apply for it. This means coming before institutions, in the specific case to a border crossing."

If "those people" came to an official border crossings, someone would certainly receive them, he added.

Migration issue should be solved systematically

"Receiving and talking with those people, that's international law. Instead, we are faced with illegal crossings by people who don't carry or don't have identity documents. Why? Because if they apply for international aid and protection in Croatia, and if they leave Croatia and move on, they can at any moment, and most often should be, returned to Croatia, but Croatia is not their goal."

Božinović said "those people avoid a procedure which would be both clear and transparent. They want to go further than Croatia and to succeed, they must avoid Croatian border controls, and we are constantly having this problem."

He added that the migration issue should be solved systematically. "On the one hand, Croatia should prevent illegal entry into its territory, and on the other, prevent... migration to other states."

"Some people don't even wait for their asylum application to be processed in Croatia but use smugglers to continue on to Europe. We are a state on the EU's external border. We are one of the smaller EU member states, yet we have the longest external land border in the EU," Božinović said.

Asked who would be held accountable for the death of Madine Hosseini, who was hit by a train on the Croatian-Serbian border, he said every action taken in Croatia had been in line with the law. "We'll know more once (our lawyers) we read the whole ruling," he added, stressing that Croatian police act "in a humane and humanitarian way."

Božinović went on to say that during his term over 400 smugglers of illegal migrants had been arrested, adding that Croatian police deal with it round the clock.

He said the police independently conducted 22 investigations into officers suspected of misconduct, and that the police reacted and penalised whenever there was proof.

Božinović said the police director sent instructions every week on how to treat vulnerable groups. "We know how many times Croatian police officers have rescued migrants from rivers, carried pregnant women to hospital. In situations when you have about 400 to 500 people who want to enter Croatia every day and the Croatian police, under the law, should stop them by acting in line with the law, we cannot and are not ruling out the possibility of incidents."

Everything in migrant girl's death will be investigated

Božinović said Madine Hosseini's death would be thoroughly investigated, as would a case of border police beating migrants.

He said some questions from the press implied "that someone would order that or want something like that to happen. Everyone in the whole system is doing their best in the conditions we are faced with for the law to be respected and for the police to do their obligation under the law, to prevent illegal entry."

Božinović said such cases were not pleasant and that the police had managed to reduce migrant pressure on borders by 40%.

"Some other routes through Europe have opened up, because Croatia is being increasingly avoided and because it's clear that Croatia protects its borders," he said, adding that the officers suspected of beating migrants have been fired and that disciplinary and other action has been taken against them.

Earlier today the Centre for Peace Studies and the Are You Syrious? NGO called for the resignations of Božinović, the police director and the border police commissioner over the ECHR ruling, which found that Croatia was responsible for European Convention on Human Rights violations in Madine Hosseini's death.

ZAGREB, 19 Nov 2021 - MEP Karlo Ressler (HDZ, EPP) on Friday told a press conference in Zagreb that Croatia will have a lot of benefit from the 2022 European budget, which was agreed by the European Commission and European Parliament on Monday.

The budget is the source of financing for all EU programmes in all member states and all European institutions and agencies.

"Croatia will benefit from practically all programmes," said Ressler, a member of the inner budget negotiating team for the 2022 budget

With regard to the commission's proposal in July, the budget has been increased by €480 million.

"In the end, we in the parliament can be satisfied with the agreement reached," said Ressler.

The priority of the 2022 European budget is to support the EU's recovery in the wake of the pandemic, he said.

The EP's priorities are recovery and competitiveness of SMEs with €613 million allocated for that purpose, followed by the Horizon Europe programme for science and innovation which has achieved a €100 million increase and is primarily focused on health and support to scientific systems, and finally the new EU4health programme which has been allocated €840 million.

The LIFE programme for climate action and environmental protection has achieved an increase of more than €50 million and one other traditional priority is the Erasmus+ programme for the young which has achieved a significant increase and has been allocated €3.4 billion, he said.

"A big increase has been foreseen for the fight against the global pandemic, of €125 million," said Ressler and recalled that the EU is the biggest exporter and donor of vaccines in the world.

Other funds are foreseen for humanitarian aid, primarily to manage the border between Belarus and Poland, and Belarus and Lithuania due to the emergency situation in those EU member states.

The biggest amendment is an increase of €200 million for humanitarian crises in the world and protecting the EU border due to the increased migrant pressure.

Ressler said that "Croatia will benefit from practically all the programmes," and added that in that context a record package for recovery has been achieved for Croatia amounting to €25 billion which will be allocated to "various groups in Croatian society from students, farmers, entrepreneurs, police and city and county and city authorities."

That is an attempt to raise Croatia's standard to be similar to the standard in the most developed countries in the European Union, the HDZ MEP said.

The Parliament is expected to vote on the budget agreement at a plenary session in Strasbourg next week.

ZAGREB, 19 Nov 2021 - The Centre for Peace Studies and Are You Syrious NGOs on Friday said that they would demand the resignation of Interior Minister Davor Božinović, Police Director Nikola Milina and others over the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) ruling in the case and death of six-year-old Madine Hussiny.

The ECHR reported on Thursday that the investigation into the death of a six-year-old Afghan child who was hit by a train had been ineffective and ruled that Croatia pay her family compensation of €40,000 and €16,700 in court costs.

"This is an embarrassment not just for the Interior Ministry (MUP) and police but for Croatia, for our citizens and in particular for the government. We expect Prime Minister Plenković to urgently replace those responsible for the death of a child on our border due to the conduct of institutions that we citizens finance," Sara Kekuš from CMS NGO said.

"Apart from the urgent identification and punishment of those directly involved, we call for the urgent replacement of Police Director Nikola Milina in the line of command and the head of the border police Zoran Ničeno," Kekuš underscored.

Due to political responsibility, the NGOs are also calling on the Prime Minister to dismiss Minister Božinoivć and state secretary Terezija Gras for their involvement in pressurising defenders of human rights and blocking international independent investigations.

The ECHR is the final instance for human rights protection and it said that the Hosseini family sought justice in Croatia and that it was rejected by Croatian institutions.

"Criminal charges were dismissed because the State Prosecutor's office placed its trust in the Interior Ministry instead of investigating the evidence and testimonies by the victims and witnesses. At the same time thermal-vision recordings that were key evidence that the police possessed, mysteriously went missing," said Kekuš.

She warned that the Constitutional Court recognised the violation of the right to asylum and exposure to the risk of torture and inhumane behaviour but it failed to identify the violations that were confirmed by yesterday's judgement.

"The court's (ECHR) ruling proves that the interior ministry lied when it claimed that the police did not cause Madine's death," added Kekuš.

She added that Minister Božinović and the ministry "tried to intimidate the NGOs members, claiming that they were assisting refugees to illegally cross the border."

At the same time, the interior ministry hampered access by Madine's family to their lawyer Sanja Bezbradica Jelavić.

Are You Syrious volunteers intimidated and prosecuted

Tajana Tadić from the Are You Syrious NGO underscored that this ruling must not remain only on Croatia compensating Madine's family with €40,000.

The ruling also noted that the NGO's volunteers had been intimidated and prosecuted because they tried to support the Hosseini family and other migrants.

"For the sake of the victims on our borders, for the people who died there, and for all the activists who are being intimidated so they stay silent, it is time for all those who enable that violence to continue and try to cover it up, to be brought to justice and that responsibility needs to be looked for at the very top of MUP," said Tadić.