ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - The Administrative Court in Rijeka issued a non-final verdict and rejected the claim of the Green Action and Green Istria associations, which sought to revoke the environmental permit for the coal-fired Plomin 1 thermal power plant issued by the Economy and Sustainable Development Ministry.

As the court reported, when announcing the verdict, which can be appealed against to the High Administrative Court, it was said that the administrative dispute did not decide whether the planned operation of Plomin 1 was inconsistent with the strategies and plans of the HEP power company and the Croatian government.

According to the explanation, those issues are not subject to consideration when determining the conditions for issuing an environmental permit. The court determined that the decision was made in accordance with the relevant regulations on the issuance of environmental permits for existing plants. It also established that the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development correctly and fully established the decisive facts in the administrative procedure, with valid application of substantive law.

Bernard Ivčić of the Green Action said on Friday that the associations would, after receiving the explanation of the verdict, consider the possibilities and probably file an appeal.

ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - Economic losses in the EU due to climate change extremes amount to €12 billion annually and energy efficiency can help adjust to climate change and create jobs, not lose them, President Zoran Milanović said on Friday after meeting with representatives of Croatia's regional energy agencies.

The meeting was held at the Bračak Energy Centre in Zabok on the occasion of World Energy Efficiency Day, observed on 5 March to raise awareness of the need to reduce energy consumption and sustainable energy use, the president's office said in a press release.

In the past 13 years, together with counties, towns and municipalities, Croatia's regional energy agencies have been implementing sustainable energy use projects. Investment in clean energy exceeds HRK 1 billion.

They successfully participate in many EU projects for the energy-efficient renovation of public infrastructure, developing new business models and financial instruments, which makes them Croatia's energy transition pioneers, it was said at the meeting.

President Milanović said there was no successful adjustment to climate change without energy efficiency and that the climate crisis was potentially the biggest global crisis of the future.

"The experience in achieving renewable and efficient energy and climate protection in Croatia, which regional energy agencies already have, is a good example to all in Croatia at local as well as national level that we can and must do even better when it comes to energy efficiency. Our children must go to better schools, the buildings we live in should be both safe and energy-efficient, our cities deserve to become smart in terms of energy," he said after the meeting.

"The economic losses in the EU due to weather and climate extremes already amount to €12 billion annually. Energy efficiency is what can help us to adjust to climate change, not to lose jobs but create them, raising the standard of living of us all," he added.

Croatia has five regional energy agencies which employ 70 experts while the EU has 350, some of which have been active more than 40 years.

There are four million green jobs in the EU today, including 1.4 million in the production of energy from renewables and over 900,000 in energy efficiency activities, said Julije Domac, the president's energy and climate advisor.

"That's what we should focus on. Croatia has the know-how, as evidenced by the fact that Croatian energy agencies regularly coordinate European development projects, provide services to the European Commission and are active across the European Union. Today it's important that each of us know that energy efficiency means better for them, for Croatia, and then for Earth," he added.

March 5, 2021 - Terra Park Phalaris and Terra Park SpiritoS are two new mobile home camps that will open soon near Novalja on the island of Pag.

Jutarnji List reports that luxury hotels in nature are one way to describe mobile homes, an increasingly popular tourist trend in Croatia and the world. This is a market that McKinsey & Company estimates will be worth $157 billion by 2023, mostly thanks to the new concept and design.

Namely, twenty years ago, mobile homes were most associated with small, not very well-equipped apartments without bathrooms, which were slightly better than campers. However, thanks to the development of technology and the general popularization of glamping, today they have reached the level of luxury with which they match top apartments and hotel rooms, offering closer contact with nature and a much more pronounced sense of privacy than classic forms of accommodation.

That this is a trend that will greatly affect the Adriatic's tourist image in the future is shown by Terra Park Phalaris and Terra Park SpiritoS, new mobile home camps near Novalja on the island of Pag. These projects will open their doors to guests this season, after four years of preparation, confirmed Zvonimir Tudorović, a member of the Terra Park d.o.o. Management Board.

Terra Park

"In preparation for the 2021 season, the camp will additionally adapt to new trends in the modern tourist market by investing in the development of new forms of accommodation units and upgrading common facilities for guests. Our concept is to combine the indigenous natural environment with the requirements of the modern guest and connect it all into a unique holiday experience in this location," said Tudorović.

The Terra Park Phalaris camp is adorned with a long tradition of campers, but this year part of the plots will be reserved for 67 mobile homes of different sizes and equipment levels produced by Adria. These will be one of the largest and best-equipped homes currently available on the market. Namely, these mobile home plots have an average area of about 200 square meters, of which 30 percent have their own heated pools, and it is almost twice the standard prescribed by the tourist authorities for the camping industry. All homes are, at the same time, set level with the ground, and the spacious terraces are paved with natural stone and covered with bio-climate pergolas.

Terra Park

Similar standards will be applied in another facility within Terra Park d.o.o, the Terra Park SpiritoS camp.

In addition to the spaciousness, the greatest emphasis in the camps will be on sustainable development and symbiosis with nature. There will be no asphalted surfaces in the complexes, and a large bio-purifier will be installed, which will, among other things, be used to irrigate indigenous horticulture. 

"We are especially proud of the materials to decorate terraces, trails, signs, and other elements in the camps for which naturally degradable materials were used. Disposable plastic or other types of artificial materials will not be used. Also, the use of organic cosmetics in mobile homes should be highlighted, as well as the great emphasis we place on cooperation with the local community, such as the 80/80 concept, which means that 80 percent of groceries consumed during camp holidays are within a radius of 80 kilometers," Tudorović points out.

Terra Park Phalaris allows you to buy and rent mobile homes, offered at 59,900, 76,000, and 95,500 euros, depending on the size and level of equipment. It is important to emphasize that homeowners can rent their homes with Terra Park's help, which provides real estate management services for them. The concept is quite simple - the owner uses the home for their own needs whenever they want, and the rest of the time, Terra Park increases the value of the home by placing it on the tourist market. According to Terra Park, the expected return on investment is 5 to 7.5 years.

"The profitability of such an investment is long-term, no instant return can be expected, but we believe that, after the return on investment, repaid houses will remain available to owners for at least half of the total life of the house," explains Tudorović and adds that in the pre-sale process they sold more than 30 percent of the homes, before their installation in the camp.

In addition to modern design, return on investment, and connection with nature, several other factors contribute to the popularity of mobile homes. The first is related to the current pandemic situation. Namely, Tudorović believes that a significant part of the current hotel guests will reorient themselves to stay in mobile homes. The main reasons, he says, are to avoid mass contact with other guests in common indoor spaces, especially at the reception and in the hotel restaurant. On the other hand, there are demographic trends in the main markets. Due to the aging population, guests from the camps are increasingly focused on staying in the homes because they have all the comforts of home and do not have to drive with their own campers to the destination. On the other hand, the diverse offer of mobile homes (especially those with their own pool) has brought back young families with children to camps. One example is the Tomići family, who bought a mobile home in Terra Park Phalaris.

Terra Park

"As a child, I almost always stayed with my parents in campers. It was a great time with lots of families and kids, but in controlled conditions with no roads and no traffic. I continued to maintain that tradition later, but in 2012 we had twins and went to a mobile home on Pag for the first time. It was a great choice because we had a lot more intimacy than in an apartment. If we had been in the apartment, someone might have been bothered by the children crying, but we had our peace in our small home," Marin Tomić remembers.

For the next eight years after that, they spent their summers only in mobile homes, always in a different location. Namely, due to the nature of their work, they did not know when they would go on annual leave, so they would go at the last minute and asked for free reservations in the camps. That is why they started looking for a camp where they could buy their own mobile home, but they could not find a camp without flaws. Either it was too big, didn’t have clean papers, or wasn’t accessible to children. As this is a large investment, they wanted to make sure that the purchase would pay off. They came across Terra Park last summer.

"My wife and I made sure to check each step a few times so that our investment didn't fail. Twice we were one step closer to concluding the deal, but then a problem would arise that would cause us to give up the purchase. But then we found Terra Park, and it turned out to be a firm with a head and a tail. In just a few words, we concluded that they know how to handle their business, so we decided to buy a mobile home from them," says Tomić and points out that now he and his family will be able to sit in the car carefree on Friday after work and go to their mobile home for the weekend.

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March 5, 2021 - Croatia handball gathers in Zagreb on Sunday ahead of the Olympic Qualifying tournament in Montpellier, France, held from March 12 to 14, 2021. The two best teams from each group will secure a spot in Tokyo. 

Gol.hr reports that the Croatia men's handball team will gather in Zagreb on Sunday, March 7, and begin preparations for the Olympic qualifying tournament in Montpellier from March 12 to 14, 2021.

Croatia is in a group with France, Portugal, and Tunisia, and the two best national teams from the group will compete at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The national team will stay and train in Zagreb until Thursday, March 11, when they will travel to Montpellier.

The World Handball Federation announced that the capital of Montenegro - Podgorica, will host the qualification tournament number 1, which was to be held in Trondheim, Norway.

Namely, since Norway has stringent epidemiological measures, they had to cancel hosting the Olympic qualifying tournament, in which Norway, Brazil, Chile, and South Korea were to participate.

The third tournament is played in Berlin (Germany, Sweden, Slovenia, and Algeria).

Croatia's new coach Hrvoje Horvat called for all the best that Croatian handball currently has, except for the injured Luka Stepančić and pivot Marin Šipić.

List of Croatia national handball team members:

1. MARIN ŠEGO – MONTPELLIER HB
2. IVAN PEŠIĆ – HC MEŠKOV BREST
3. MATE ŠUNJIĆ – US IVRY HANDBALL
4. IVAN ČUPIĆ – RK VARDAR 1961
5. ZLATKO HORVAT – RK METALURG SKOPJE
6. MANUEL ŠTRLEK – TELEKOM VESZPREM HC
7. DAVID MANDIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
8. ŽELJKO MUSA – SC MAGDEBURG
9. MARINO MARIĆ – MT MELSUNGEN
10. ILIJA BROZOVIĆ – TSV HANNOVER -BURGDORF
11. KREŠIMIR KOZINA – FRISCH AUP GOPPINGEN
12. LUKA CINDRIĆ – BARCELONA
13. DOMAGOJ DUVNJAK – THW KIEL
14. IGOR KARAČIĆ – HC LOMZA VIVA KIELCE
15. MARKO MAMIĆ – SCDHFK LEIPZIG
16. HALIL JAGANJAC – RK NEXE
17. IVAN MARTINOVIĆ – HC HANNOVER -BURGDORF
18. DOMAGOJ PAVLOVIĆ – MT MELSUNGEN
19. LUKA ŠEBETIĆ – TREMBLAY EN FRANCE HANDBALL
20. ŠIME IVIĆ – HC ERLANGEN
21. MATEJ HRSTIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB

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March 5, 2021 - Split tourist guides received a great boost ahead of the upcoming tourist season: Marianne Morić became a certified tourist guide in as many as five languages ​​- Croatian, German, Spanish, English French. But she isn't just multilingual. 

Slobodna Dalmacija writes that what makes this story special is that Marianne is also blind and a longtime member of the County Association of the Blind in Split.

"Of course, we are proud of our Marianne! As far as I know, there was not a single blind tourist guide in the whole of Croatia. I can already see how tourists will ask her to take them around the city," said Ivan Tokić, the president of this association. Educating a blind person is quite expensive, but the association was lucky that Tonči Baće Martinić, a Croatian emigrant living in the United States, donated towards Marianne's education. Funds were also procured for other members, especially the youngest ones.

Tonči lived in Split but moved to California for work 45 years ago. Nonetheless, he remained very attached to his roots. He spent his working life as a mechanic, and as an altruist, he helped others when possible in various ways. He was amazed at how Americans help institutions that take care of people in need, which encouraged him to focus his efforts on someone in need. He chose Split and the Association of the Blind, led by his family Ivan Tokić. And that is how this beautiful story developed, resulting in Marianne's diploma. The Association is immensely grateful.

"I'm happy to have this opportunity. I have long wanted to become a tour guide, and my family pushed me to finish it, especially my mom. I graduated in Zadar in Spanish and French, for which I have fond memories. I also want to learn Portuguese, renew Italian, and I would like to be an interpreter, although it is challenging to get into the industry. As I work in the Split Tourist Board, I can speak in foreign languages, which makes me very happy.

And Split, I know it very well, especially the city center, Diocletian's Palace, and all the streets in the center. I have been putting together stories in my head for a long time, reading them, and I would really like to provide a different view of the city. I believe people will find it interesting.

I plan to get a guide dog for the blind through the association "Silver," but I have been waiting for the right moment," says Marianne, who will give tours to anyone who wants them, regardless of whether they are blind or not.

The 26-year-old is quite independent in moving around the city even though she's had low vision since birth. She moves without a cane, but a guide dog will come to her as great support. She was born by chance in Frankfurt am Main but spent her childhood in Split, where she graduated from the School of Tourism and Hospitality. She said that she did not have problems with textbooks because she used the eyesight she had and was not among those visually impaired children who struggled every school year to get their school books in Braille.

The books arrive, but often only in the second half of the year. Therefore, the association bought a Braille printer through donations to provide children with school materials and made life easier for the parents of blind students as they had to prepare the material themselves.

As she likes long walks, Marianne goes to work on foot because she lives not far from the city center. Obstacles are created only by the lack of sound at traffic lights. She could use the bus, but they are not adapted for visually impaired people either.

"I don't usually ride buses, but sometimes it would be good, especially if the weather is bad. It would be good if they announced which lines were arriving at each station. I've gotten on the wrong bus because of this, more often than not. 

But I have to admit that people’s consciousness has changed after all. Things are moving forward, society is becoming more aware of everyone's needs, and I am optimistic in any case," she said.

Despite the infrastructural obstacles in the city, she does not give up. Through the Split County Association of the Blind, a lot is being done and discussed to improve the quality of life for visually impaired people, procuring literature in Braille, hand-held magnifying glasses for reading, working on training members to be competitive in the labor market. That is how the idea of further education came to Marianne, and her long-held wish was fulfilled.

"I sincerely hope that the upcoming tourist season will be good, so I will be able to start guiding. I will take my friends from the association on the first guided tour. I'm really looking forward to it!" she concluded. 

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ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - Parliament on Friday elected by secret ballot seven members of the Croatian Radio-Television (HRT) Programming Council.

They are Nikola Baketa (99 votes), Vlaho Bogišić (101), Đemal Bratić (89), Ivica Lučić (89), Zorislav Lukić (83), Robert Markt (85) and Ozana Ramljak (92).

They were on a list of ten candidates recommended by the parliamentary information and media committee.

Which two will have a shortened term will be decided by the Programming Council, the committee decided. The committee's public call for applications stated that five Progamming Council members would be appointed to a term of four years and two until 12 July 2023.

ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - Opposition MPs on Friday protested by turning away from members of majority lawmakers after the parliament rejected a motion put forward by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to have sexual harassment prosecuted ex officio instead of after it is reported, the deadline for it being three months. 

After the parliament rejected the SDP's amendments to the Penal Code, with 74 votes against, 51 in favour and two abstentions, opposition MPs stood up and turned their backs on the section of the parliament chamber where members of the parliamentary majority sit.

Before the vote, opposition MPs Sabina Glasovac (SDP), Marijana Puljak (Centar), Sandra Benčić (We Can!), Marija Selak Raspudić (Bridge) and Ružica Vukovac (Homeland Movement) called once again on the parliamentary majority not to "turn their backs on the victims" and to endorse the amendments for the sake of protection of victims of sexual violence.

"The statute of limitations on sexual violence will expire if female students, workers, housewives, all women who suffer sexual violence, fail to report it within three months," said Glasovac.

Puljak said that the parliamentary debate had shown that all 151 deputies were agreed that the victims should be helped, asking what was the harm of amending the law now.

Benčić said that the parliamentary majority's argument that work was underway on a new, more comprehensive law did not hold water.

"The procedure will last for the most part of the year and meanwhile the statute of limitations will expire on all cases of sexual violence about which we have been hearing in recent months," she warned.

"As far as the victims are concerned, it would be better to adopt the amendments now than later," said Selak Raspudić.

This is about whether we will support the victims or the abusers, said Vukovac.

HDZ MP Marija Jelkovac said that the HDZ was not against the goal of the SDP's motion but rather did not want to change the Penal Code twice in a short period of time.

Work on amending the Penal Code is under way and the amendments will cover all demands set by the SDP as well as other changes related to improving the protection of women against sexual harassment, Jelkovac said.

The parliament unanimously adopted, with 114 votes for, a conclusion by party groups making up the parliamentary majority entrusting the government with submitting to the parliament, no later than May 31, amendments to the Penal Code that will be in line with EU regulations and ensure stronger protection of victims of sexual harassment, by introducing ex-officio prosecution of such crimes.

Bošnjaković reassures opposition MPs that SDP Proposal will be added to amendments

HDZ lawmaker and former justice minister Dražen Bošnjaković said on Friday afternoon that the SDP-sponsored motion would be incorporated later, explaining that the relevant law is organic and it is not advisable to change it too frequently.

He also underscored the fact that the cabinet of Prime Minister Andrej had introduced harsher  penalties for sexual offences.

He also reassured the Opposition that he statute of limitations would not expire, as claimed by some opposition MPs.

The parliament did not support the Bridge party's proposal to abolish the mandatory membership fee in the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts.

March 5, 2021 – As of March 7, 2021, four Croatian counties – Istria, Krapina-Zagorje, Požega-Slavonia, and Bjelovar-Bilogora – won't be on the German list of risky areas anymore.

As reported by Romeo Draghicchio, the Croatian National Tourist Board director in Germany, the German Robert Koch Institute of Health removed four Croatian counties from the list of risk areas. Counties that, according to German estimates, are no longer risky are: Istria County, Krapina-Zagorje County, Požega-Slavonia County, and Bjelovar-Bilogora County.

Accordingly, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs also lifted the negative warning for travel to these counties. This means that when returning to Germany from the mentioned four Croatian counties, a negative PCR test does not have to be presented and no quarantine is required.

The said decision shall enter into force on March 7, 2021.

The news is also listed on the Croatian Interior Ministry's (MUP) website.

"According to the notification from the Robert Koch Institute and the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, dated March 7, 2021, the following counties are not on the list of risky areas: Istria, Požega-Slavonia, Bjelovar-Bilogora, and Krapina-Zagorje. A warning has been issued for other counties and the City of Zagreb, asking citizens not to travel if it is not necessary," reads the notice on the MUP's website.

In these four Croatian counties, a small number of people infected with coronavirus were recorded today. Krapina-Zagorje County has seven new infections today, Požega-Slavonia County six, and in Istria and Bjelovar-Bilogora County, only one case of coronavirus infection has been recorded.

The Istria County Civil Protection Headquarters continues to call for caution and responsibility in order to maintain a favorable epidemiological situation in that Croatian county.

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