June 23, 2021 - TCN contributor Frank Games steps onto the soapbox about the Croatian Postal Service. 

I have been lucky enough to have been able to live in this beautiful country for the last couple of years and have sort of developed that same ‘shrug of the shoulders' that says ‘its Croatia’ that the local folk seems to say when things are not quite what you expect from the administration of the country. 

I also have a lot of time on my hands to think about the important things in our daily lives such as why there are no ‘cats eyes’ on the local roads near me, or why can banks charge you a fee for taking money out of your own account over the counter?

But my reason for stepping onto my soapbox today is about our postal service. I’m a little old-fashioned and like to still send and receive a handwritten letter from my family and friends in dear old blighty. I like nothing more than to tell them how hot it is in sunny Croatia or the fact that a beer is only a couple of quid. I like to sit at one of our numerous cafes write a few letters and watch the world pass me by. Each week I post them off and await a reply. When I first arrived in Croatia it seemed that letters were taking a couple of weeks to arrive either way, which seemed a bit extreme to me bearing in mind we are only a couple of hours away by plane, then, of course, Covid came along and understandably the post delays became longer and longer so much so that my fellow letter writers and I abandoned posting letters and used instead the new-fangled electronic mail thingy for most of last year.

As we started 2021 the postal services across the world appeared to have mostly got back on track in terms of deliveries etc, but maybe not quite in Croatia. I first noticed when I ordered a paperback book in November (it was a Christmas present to myself), with delivery expected in a couple of weeks. When nothing appeared I contacted the supplier who tracked the delivery and said it was in Zagreb, where it seems it still is several months later. 

I send regular letters over to the UK and a pal who I share correspondence with regularly always tells me when my posted letter arrives via email, and we noticed that a simple letter would arrive after a couple of weeks or in one case a letter posted on 5th February arrived after a letter posted on the 11th February. More recently my same pal sent me three letters from the UK posted on the 7th the 14th and 18th May; all three arrived on the same day (27th May). 

Now I’m not saying that the Croatian postal service has marked me out for any reason, if they have I don’t know why that would be, as I try to keep them profitable as much as I can, I am always nice to the counter staff, I accept having a silly Englishman bothering you at work several times a week will not give you much job satisfaction, I don’t complain (mainly because I don’t know who to complain to and Croatian friends tell me it is a waste of time anyway), but perhaps if nothing else the postal service could at times remember that it is a service that many of us still rely on for many reasons. For me just receiving a simple letter in good time would be enough to make me a happy man.       

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June 23, 2021 - Croatia and Spain will meet in the EURO 2020 round of 16! 

In the EURO 2020 round of 16, the Croatia national team will play against the second-placed team from Group E, which is Spain.

After beating Scotland and finishing second in the group, Croatia knew they would play the second-placed team of Group E in the round of 16 on Monday in Copenhagen. There was total chaos ahead of the final round and all four teams had a chance to be second. 

Spain outclassed Slovakia 5:0 and did their part, but Sweden went up 2:0 and held a solid first place in the group. 

But when we thought it was the end, Lewandowski scored for 1:2, and six minutes before the end, he scored again. It seemed then that Croatia would face second-placed Sweden.

However, in the 94th minute, Claesson scored for 3:2, and Sweden finished first in Group E. 

The Croatia and Spain match is scheduled for June 28 in Copenhagen at 18:00. 

More soon...

Source: Index.hr

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

ZAGREB, 23 June, 2021 - Despite the considerable setback dealt by the pandemic, Croatia has a rare opportunity in the next five years to restore its economy to health and to ramp up the public investments necessary for appreciably higher growth rates with the help of EU funds, an IMF mission says in a Concluding Statement.

"Following a painful contraction of 8 percent in 2020, the economy looks set for growth between 5 and 6 percent in 2021 driven by a rebound in the services sector and investment - provided the pandemic does not provide further unwelcome surprises," the mission says the statement published on Wednesday after visiting Croatia as part of regular consultations with member states.

"With sufficient luck regarding tourism outcomes, and a successful vaccination drive within the next months, growth could even exceed 6 percent this year. Assuming the pandemic fades by the end of this year, growth could remain high over the next few years, if the country makes full and timely use of the potentially sizable forthcoming inflow of EU funds," according to the statement.

"Since the first quarter, the recovery has picked up noticeably with areas like construction and manufacturing already reaching activity levels higher than in 2019. Overall, the number of registered unemployed persons has fallen by nearly 13 percent since a year ago. However, tourism and directly related sectors are yet to fully recover. This process is likely to take another year or two."

Swift measures by the authorities

"Between the pandemic and two large earthquakes, Croatia has been severely tested, and the country’s resilience has come through. The economic contraction in 2020 - painful as it has been -was not as severe as those experienced by many other economies with a strong tourism component. This is mainly due to the swift measures enacted by the authorities," the IMF staff said.

"Support measures must remain in place until the health of the population and the economy have been fully restored. As conditions improve, support measures need to rotate toward preparing the workforce for the post-pandemic world, and facilitating balance sheet repair of viable businesses. Thereafter, the challenge of once again reducing deficits and the public debt whilst shifting growth into a new high gear must be taken on. The generous funding from the EU represents a historic opportunity, to help meet these challenges successfully - an opportunity that must be fully utilized, in a timely fashion," the IMF mission said.

Not the right time to further cut taxes

Noting the government's support measures, the mission said, "Just as these support measures were essential during the worst of the crisis, they must now be better targeted to lagging sectors of the economy - and they must remain in place till the economy has more fully recovered."

"It is paramount that a vaccination drive be as successful and widespread as possible, that extra healthcare costs are fully met and arrears in the healthcare system are reduced to the maximum possible extent," according to the statement.

"Complementing the use of funds such as the European Social Fund, fiscal resources saved this year due to improving conditions can also be usefully redeployed to train more workers in sectors like greening and digitalization."

"In sum, in the view of IMF staff, the most important fiscal goal in 2021 is to focus on spending available resources wisely to restore the economy to health. If this is successfully accomplished this year, it will more firmly ground the efforts to reduce the deficit and debt over the next few years," said staff said in the Concluding Statement.

"Regarding revenues, the authorities need to conserve all available resources to meet any unexpected expenditures into 2022, and well beyond. This is one clear lesson from this completely unforeseen shock the world has suffered. We hold that this is not the right time for any further tax cuts or weakening of the tax base. Current conditions are still far too fragile for the country to afford them," they said. 

Recovery and Resilience Fund provides unique opportunity for economic development

They said that there were few doubts that a post-pandemic "will be more digitalized in the most basic aspects of our lives, and that it should be greener. In these two areas, Croatia has great strides to take, from which there will be a sizable return on investment, for decades to come."

The IMF reiterated that "our most important recommendation was to raise public investment, for the sake of future growth. Now, that conviction has only deepened, as it is important to acknowledge a singular aspect in which Croatia is actually better off than it was before the pandemic."

That is "the generous allocation of EU Funds, including from the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF). The RRF resources amount to 10.6 percent of GDP in grants to be utilized by 2026."

"These funds reflect a truly unique opportunity along the path of economic development, which many countries in the world are not fortunate enough to have. It is important for all stakeholders in Croatia to fully understand the significance of this opportunity. These funds are available, but they need to be absorbed efficiently, and in a timely manner. They must also be accompanied by needed reforms," the IMF said.

"Thanks to the influx of these EU funds beginning towards the end of this year, Croatia can significantly upgrade its public capital stock, decarbonize its economy, catch up with digitalization, and improve its maritime and rail transport systems. If the projected investments go according to plan, we currently assess that the funds from the RRF alone could add as much as 2.9 percentage points to real GDP over the next twenty years."

Opportunity to reduce income gap in relation to EU

"When the effects of the planned reforms, as well as the other EU structural funds are put together, Croatia now has its best chance since independence to significantly narrow the current 35% gap in per capita income with respect to the EU average," the mission said.

It added that "the prospect of living in a vibrant society with prosperity rapidly converging to EU levels could cause the young to fundamentally re-evaluate their future, thereby further stemming the tide of outward migration. That, in turn, would have the positive effect of reducing risks to the sustainability of the healthcare and pensions systems. It is very much possible now, and unlike ever before, to start a virtuous cycle - and to definitively escape past vicious circles."

The authorities have requested a Public Investment Management Assessment from the IMF, to take place in August 2021, the statement noted. "This assessment will help prepare an action plan to help make sure investment spending is effective, is sensitive to climate change related considerations and supports sustainable long-term growth."

The authorities’ National Recovery and Resilience Plan "has laid out major complementary reform commitments across five components: green and digital economy, public administration and judiciary, education, science and research, labor market and social protection, and healthcare. These are essential for the flexibility Croatia needs to operate its economy smoothly, once inside the eurozone."

Reforms needed for stronger public finance

Within the reform areas where the strength of public finances is the focus, IMF staff re-emphasizes the importance of support, from all stakeholders, for civil service and administrative reforms, "including a modernization of the public salary system, as well as improving the territorial organization of sub-national governments."

Support is also called for ending "stop-gap measures to take care of healthcare arrears, through an overhaul of its cost structure" and "exploring a more sustainable revenue base, to preserve healthcare quality standards."

The IMF also recommends the development and implementation of a full-fledged strategy for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), "including the separation of core from non-core businesses, and a strengthened oversight system for the former to ensure that they contribute their fair share to the budget by remaining financially durable after their public service obligations are met. The authorities’ commitments to sell some non-core SOEs over the next few years is a promising start." 

Also recommended is ensuring the long-term sustainability of the pension system, given population aging.

In addition to these areas, constantly improving the competitiveness of the Croatian economy through active dialogue with the private sector, remains essential.

"For the forthcoming increase in public investment to have maximum effect on the economy’s growth rate, it must be complemented by increases in private investment, as well. Reforms to the framework of debt restructuring, insolvency, and efforts to further improve predictability and efficiency in legal procedures remain central to unlocking more resources from investors, as it allows them to invest with greater confidence."

Banking system liquid and sufficiently capitalized

"Monetary policy remains highly expansionary, within the exchange rate anchor in place since 1993. This stance is appropriate given the need to nurse the economy fully back to health," the IMF staff said.

The recent pick-up in inflation is more likely than not to be transitory in nature, but should inflationary pressures prove more persistent than in the euro area, the central bank "may consider reducing excess liquidity in the banking system, while maintaining exchange rate stability."

"The banking system has remained liquid and is on average well capitalized," the mission said, adding that there was more than enough money to meet the demand for corporate loans.

Housing lending remains strong, while uninsured household cash loans have decreased, which the IMF said was positive.

Although the ratio of non-performing loans to total loans has remained stable, the so-called stage II loans, a forward-looking indicator of future asset quality problems, has risen - particularly for non-financial corporations. This development warrants continued close monitoring."

"The pandemic has not affected the upward trend in house prices in Zagreb and coastal areas. To the extent that housing purchases are not driven by excessive household borrowing, they do not constitute an immediate financial stability risk," the IMF said.

However, this also requires continued monitoring by the central bank, If circumstances require it, the central bank "might wish to consider putting in place more formal macro-prudential measures (than the current implicit debt-service-to-income ratio included in the Foreclosure Act)."

"Despite the considerable setback dealt by the pandemic, Croatia has a rare opportunity, over the next five years, to restore its people and economy to health. It can ramp up the public investments necessary for appreciably higher growth rates, with the help of EU funds. Such opportunities should not be taken for granted. The onus of efforts is not exclusively on the authorities. All stakeholders in society must offer them the support for vital reforms, while doing their parts to re-energize private investment, and innovation. Adopting the euro will help remove some existing economic frictions by removing exchange rate risk. Yet, reaping the full benefits of the currency union requires strong focus and preparation. A brighter future is very much within reach. The time to act is now," according to the Concluding Statement.

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 23 June, 2021 - The first meeting of a task force to prepare a new Labour Act was held on Wednesday and social partners said that it was conducted peacefully without any complex issues and that it is expected that the law, which will more clearly define "remote work," among other things, should go into force mid-next year.

After months of consultation, it has been decided that a new Labour Act will be prepared, one that is appropriate to contemporary circumstances, state-secretary in the Labour Ministry Dragan Jelić said.

The act needs to introduce novelties that emerged during the pandemic, such as remote work and working from home, said Jelić.

The task force consists of the government's social partners, employers and the unions, and it is expected that a first draft bill will be completed by the year's end.

As for remote work and work from home, the new law will define protection, obligations by employers and employees, and the necessity for mutual approval, said Jelić.

Remote work has to be based on mutual agreement

"The current Labour Act defines the possibility of remote work, many have used that. Some have signed an annex to their contract, some haven't. There were some disputes over the cost of working from home. However, I believe that we will resolve those matters in a satisfactory way," said Jelić.

President of the Independent Croatian Trade Unions Krešimir Sever expects answers to many issues to be reached through negotiation. "Today we did not discuss any of those issues, just the introduction to the Labour Act," said Sever.

The unions will demand that fixed-term contracts be reduced as one-quarter of Croatia's employees work that way. He added that the unions are categorically opposed to extending working life.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 23 June, 2021 - The main Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices went up on Wednesday, the Crobex by 0.37% to 1,988.49 points and the Crobex 10 by 0.05% to 1,220.39 points.

Regular turnover amounted to just HRK 3.3 million or about HRK 400,000 less than on Monday.

An additional HRK 29 million was generated in block trading with HT telecom's stock at HRK 185 per share.

The HT telecom's stock also generated the highest turnover, of HRK 687,400, in the regular session, closing at HRK 184 per share.

(€1 = HRK 7.493222)

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June 24, 2021 - There is a selection of universities in Croatia which offer English-taught programmes, whether they be undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees, or postgraduate studies. Some are Croatian institutions, while others are campuses of international universities based in Croatia. Their fees and entry requirements vary, but all of them would allow you to study in Croatia without having to learn a whole new language first. A look at the top English-speaking university courses in Croatia. 

The number of English-speaking study programmes in Croatia has been on the rise in recent years as Croatian universities explore new ways to stand out from their European competition and attract bright minds into their midst. With a history of distinguished professionals now working in renowned international organizations, Croatia has long ago proved that it offers the same quality of education as its international counterparts at only a fraction of the cost. 

University of Zagreb

The University of Zagreb celebrated its 350th anniversary in 2019. The oldest public university in the country, Zagreb Uni offers the largest number of English-taught courses, from undergraduate to doctoral degrees executed in coordination with the University of Padua and the University of Canterbury.

Zagreb is often referred to as a safe city tailored to the needs of its people, with its lush green parks, year-round festivals, exhibitions, and concerts, as well as rich student life and countless student discounts. Well connected to other European metropolises, Zagreb also presents a great base for affordable travel during the winter or summer break. To learn more about the process of enrolling into Zagreb Uni as an international student, start here. You can look through your potentials picks in the text below.

Undergraduate Study Programmes 

Bachelor Degree in Business - Faculty of Economics & Business

Undergraduate Degree in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology - Faculty of Engineering and Computing

Integrated Undergraduate and Graduate University Study Programmes

Veterinary Studies in English - Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Medical Studies in English - Medical School

Dental Medicine - School of Dental Medicine

Graduate University Study Programmes

Electrical Engineering and Information Technology - Electrical Power Engineering - Faculty of Engineering and Computing

Information and Communication Technology - Robotics - Faculty of Engineering and Computing

Computing - Data Science - Faculty of Engineering and Computing

Environment, Agriculture and Resource Management - Faculty of Agriculture

Marketing - Faculty of Economics & Busines

Management - Faculty of Economics & Business

Managerial Informatics - Faculty of Economics & Business

Trade - Faculty of Economics & Business

Doctoral Study Programmes

Biomedicine and Health Sciences – School of Medicine
Joint Doctoral Study Programme Human Rights, Society, and Multi-Level Governance – Faculty of Law (University of Zagreb), Università degli Studi di Padova (University of Padua), University of Canterbury, University of Western Sydney, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
Electrical Engineering and Computing – Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing
Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture, Aeronautical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering – Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture and Faculty of Metallurgy
Kinesiology – Faculty of Kinesiology

Postgraduate Specialist Study Programmes

University Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Specialist Study Programme in Diplomacy - University of Zagreb
Postgraduate Specialist Study Programme in MBA in Construction - University of Zagreb

Doctoral Study Programmes

Biomedicine and Health Sciences – School of Medicine
Joint Doctoral Study Programme Human Rights, Society, and Multi-Level Governance – Faculty of Law (University of Zagreb), Università degli Studi di Padova (University of Padua), University of Canterbury, University of Western Sydney, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
Electrical Engineering and Computing – Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing
Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture, Aeronautical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering – Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture and Faculty of Metallurgy
Kinesiology – Faculty of Kinesiology

University of Rijeka

Hailed as the EU’s “port of diversity” after its designation as European Capital of Culture in 2020, Rijeka is Croatian's third-largest city and thought to be #1 in terms of inclusion and tolerance.

The University of Rijeka introduced its English-language Biotechnology for the Life Sciences (Biotech4LS) Masters programme in 2020, with the capacity of 10 students, and received five times this many applicants from more than 10 countries in the first round of applications.

Specifically aimed at developing the skills students need to pursue a future career in research, whether at a University or in industry, Biotech4LS is one of only a handful of courses in the entire European Union to take this approach. As a result, this course will not only be training a new generation of dynamic young scientists but also highlighting Rijeka as an emerging centre for scientific research when (and if!) they decide to return to their home countries. Extensions

Private universities in Croatia

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

RIT is a private American university with campuses both in the country's capital city of Zagreb and the Pearl of the Adriatic, the famous Dubrovnik. This means that the general structure, courses offered, and teaching language is all that of an American university, but students get to benefit from living overseas (but possibly by the sea, if they so choose) while they study at a considerably lesser cost than in the U.S. The first university in the US to introduce the Information technology program in 1992, RIT offers three undergraduate programmes - Web and Mobile Computing, Business Administration and Hospitality and Tourism Management and two graduate programmes, Service Leadership and Innovation and Information Sciences and Technologies. 

Algebra

University College of Algebra has long established its position as an institution of higher learning aimed at building globally competitive careers in digital technologies. The largest Croatian private educational organization present in more than 20 cities across Croatia, you can find out more about Algebra's unique approach to recruiting new students at Croatia: Your Live and Learn Destination. Always following the latest trends, Algebra adopted the practice of organising annual winter and summer schools to give their potential students a taste of everything Algebra has to offer. In 2020, Algebra welcomed its first generation of graduate students who will attend lectures on digital marketing or software engineering in the English language.

For more on lifestyle in Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 23 June, 2021 - Documents that were confiscated from the Dubrovnik State Archives and were found in the Salzburg Diocese Archives were handed over on Wednesday in the presence of Croatia's Minister of Culture and Media Nina Obuljen Koržinek and Croatia's Ambassador to Austria Danijel Glunčić.

The operation ended successfully with the return of Croatia's cultural heritage, Minister Obuljen Koržinek said, noting this isn't the first or last time this has been done.

Ambassador Glunčić underscored that the Salzburg Diocese had full understanding that the medieval documents could not be considered to be part of Austria's or Salzburg's history.

The documents involved are two pontifical documents which the diocese was immediately prepared to return to Croatia, and this was also approved by Austria's state authorities, he said, adding that the documents will be placed in Dubrovnik's Archives.

Police working on issues related to cultural heritage

Police Director Nikola Milina said that the police were working on cultural heritage issues, adding that they have had good results so far.

A soon as the information was released, the Croatian police contacted the police in Austria and the documents were quickly identified which led to them being returned, he said.

Digitalisation to facilitate return of other missing documents

Director of Dubrovnik State Archives Nikolina Pozniak is convinced that digitisation will contribute to other documents that have gone missing from the archives and other institutions to be returned.

The head of the archive's collection, Zoran Perović, explained that the documents returned today are two pontifical bulls dated 1189 and 1252. The first notes that the Pope is deploying Archbishop Bernard to Dubrovnik while the other bull refers to the appointment of an archbishop to be a judge in a dispute between the Bar and Dubrovnik Archdioceses.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June 23, 2021 - Youth Work in Flux Conference held in Rijeka mid-June saw scholars, researchers, scientists, and professionals discuss and present their work in the domain of youth work.

With more and more concern invested in youth in Croatia (both academically and professionally), June 15-17 saw Rijeka as the host of the conference titled „Youth work in flux: an academic point of view on youth work training and education“.

The conference was organized by the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb and partners: University of Rijeka and Slovenian University of Ljubljana held as part of the Erasmus + project Supporting Evidence-based Education of Youth Workers.

„Our aim is to strengthen the epistemic community of scholars and researchers in the domain of youth work, while instigating an academic debate on existing knowledge in the domain, defining further topics that need to be explored, and investigating the possibilities of co-creating the knowledge with actors from the community“, said the official website of the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb as the page was inviting „all interested scholars, researchers, and doctoral students to submit their abstracts and contribute to shedding light on this proliferating topic“.

Among such researchers, Dr. Marko Mustapić and Dino Vukušić from the Ivo Pilar Social Research Institute stood out. The two researchers presented results of the research „Youth Activism and Sport: Legacy of Dražen Petrović and ‘heritage in the making’“. Their ethnographic research investigated „Mi smo Cibona“ (We Are Cibona) association, centered around Cibona, a famous Zagreb basketball club, and how the youth in that association respond to the famous Croatian sportsman Dražen Petrović – how they perceive, interpret, or reinterpret Petrović's material and symbolic heritage and how they feel about basketball club today and what is the future of the association's activism.

The research was done as part of a project called CHIEF - Cultural Heritage and Identities of European Future done in the Horizont2020 frame.

As Ivo Pilar Social Research Institute informs, CHIEF started on May 1, 2018, with a budget of 4,58 million euros. The concept was split into 10 working packages challenging both in theory and in practice, but with a goal to conduct field research on the population 14-25 years of age, to see what we can perceive about Europe's identity in the future as these new generations develop into social and political participants.

With such conferences and various projects that aim to empower youth to stay in Croatia, it is evident that the importance of youth is finally recognized in the country. But, will that be enough to engage politicians to offer more things for the youth and stop the exodus of young Croatians from the country is yet to be revealed by future events.

When it comes to youth, learn more about what Croatia can offer to kids and families on our TC page.

For more about science in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.