January the 18th, 2021 - The Croatian Government has taken steps to determine the largest amount of state aid which can be paid out to individual companies located/headquartered in the earthquake-stricken areas of central Croatia, more specifically Sisak-Moslavina County.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, with two decisions, the Croatian Government recently took the first steps towards the preparation of a long-term reconstruction of the earthquake-affected areas of Sisak-Moslavina County. At the suggestion of the Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property, Darko Horvat, the renovation of buildings in these areas will be included in the law on reconstruction of Zagreb. As for the second part, which regards the re-design, preservation and restoration of economic life, which should go hand in hand with reconstruction of properties, will be in the hands of a special working group which will develop programmes for the social and economic revitalisation of the quake-affected areas.

The aforementioned working group is headed by Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds, Natasa Tramisak, and the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Tomislav Coric. This government team will work to unite all competent departments from the Croatian Government, as well as all other actors, including the likes of the Croatian Employers' Association.

Minister Coric believes that the documentation that the working group will produce will provide a vision for the continued development of the area, which is necessary after the first measures that seek to lend a hand to those business owners who have suffered the most damage behgin. The priority of all of the measures, he says, will be to create a basis for people to stay in the affected area. Since the working group is yet to be formed, it is only known that the revitalisation programme will determine specific measures and projects, as well as who will be responsible for their implementation, and who will determine the method of financing all of the reconstruction measures.

The deadline for drafting this comprehensive reconstruction concept isn't actually stated in the Croatian Government's decision, but it is obvious that it will take months for this work to be carried out. For now, the Ministry of Economy is coming out with two "fire-fighting" instruments that it can provide first-hand to affected entities, especially small ones, to cover the most necessary costs of repairing the damage and to continue operating.

The first measure with the implementation of which his Ministry will start in ten days is the publication of a call for the allocation of ten million kuna. These are grants that were provided, as confirmed by the Ministry, with a recent aid package for the affected area through the Environmental Protection Fund. It isn't really a large fund that would cover all of the needs of business owners who suffered damage, and Minister Coric estimates that this could cover the most necessary costs of repairing machinery and business premises as well as other necessary expenses of small business owners from Glina, Petrinja and Sisak.

According to him, several hundred such business owners can count on this assistance from the available fund, and the largest individual amount of assistance will be 30,000 kuna. The significant package of 1.5 billion kuna of non-refundable aid intended for the increase of production capacities, procurement of equipment and digitalisation has been being prepared for months and isn't actually directly related to the rehabilitation of earthquake-affected areas. However, Minister Coric has since announced that business owners from the Banovina area will be able to count on a kind of advantage, since they come from an area with ​​a lower development index, which will be "especially valued".

The conditions that interested business owners from the quake-stricken area need to meet and the programmes they can apply for, and the criteria for that programme that will be implemented through Hamag-Bicro, are all still being adjusted. The maximum amount that business owners, micro, small and medium, will be able to withdraw from this grant scheme under the project isn't yet known, but the assumption is that, judging by previous similar programmes, the range could be from 1 million to 15 million kuna.

According to the latest data, 750 craft (obrt) owners and 850 other companies have reported earthquake damage so far, and from yesterday's statements of the competent ministers, it is evident that it is still not possible to get to a definitive figure and add up the total damage caused by the devastating earthquake.

Therefore, the measures that will be comprehensive are yet to come to the table, and the ministers say that Sisak-Moslavina County has an important place. In the next phase, the preparation of a special tax model for the Banovina region has been announced, in order to encourage the maintenance and development of the economy in the area. The Croatian Government expects the maximum engagement of local companies, and the Minister of Economy has stated that when it comes to investments, "the readiness of a number of countries on a bilateral basis related to the recovery and reconstruction of infrastructure" in the affected area is present.

For more on the Petrinja earthquake, follow our dedicated section.

January the 18th, 2021 - The Dubrovnik City Walls were typically thronged with people during the hot summer months in good old pre-pandemic times. These imposing Medieval walls, some of the best preserved of their kind in the whole world, are among the southernmost Croatian city's top attractions for tourists, from Game of Thrones fans to history and architecture buffs and everyone in between. As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, however, there are more city employees walking them than there are visitors.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as stated, previous years, the mighty Dubrovnik City Walls broke record after record in terms of attendance, and the (often-complained-about) price of 200 kuna was formed in order to try to reduce crowds on the ancient walls which need special care in terms of their structure. There used to be up to 10,000 visitors a day walking them, taking panoramic photos of the stunning views of the Old Town and the Adriatic sea, but throughout the whole of 2020, there were not even 150,000 guests recorded.

Tremendous financial losses have also seen some reconstruction projects stopped in their tracks, according to a report from HRT.

''As for domestic tourists... if they send us an e-mail can get a ticket to walk the Dubrovnik City Walls for fifty kuna. This did stimulate people to go come and walk the walls, and the residents of Dubrovnik and the wider Dubrovnik-Neretva County have free admission,'' says Renata Andjus, president of the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities.

However, in spite of that, there are days when there are more city employees present on the walls than there are foreign or indeed local visitors. If we compare and recall, back in pre-pandemic 2019, the walls were visited by a mind-boggling 1,250,000 visitors. In the tumultuous year of 2020, a mere 10 percent of that turnover was realised.

Again due to unprecedented financial losses, the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities had to take out a loan. Their priority is to provide salaries for about seventy employees. At the same time, they reorganised their monument heritage restoration projects.

''It was done in a way that we simply stopped many projects because it became impossible. We've finished or are finishing the projects that were almost done anyway - Ston and Pridvorje,'' says Renata Andjus. Thanks to a donation of two million euros by Ivo Felner, the renovation of the Rector's Palace on the nearby Elaphite island of Lopud, which lies just northwest of Dubrovnik, is now nearing completion. Still, everyone is hoping for a better 2021.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

January the 18th, 2021 - The amount of Croatian companies actively seeking government aid in the form of numerous economic packages designed to retain jobs has doubled in the last two months alone. Despite a much better epidemiological picture in Croatia, with new cases of infection dropping dramatically, many Croatian companies are still struggling to stay afloat in what are very lean times indeed.

The winter months are usually more difficult for many, especially those who own businesses operating within the tourism sector, Croatia's strongest economic branch which simply cannot afford to be broken. However, with the coronavirus pandemic still raging, despite the advent of the vaccine, Croatian companies still need the government to step up.

As Marina Klepo/Novac writes, as government ministers continue to come up with and pass new economic measures to try to preserve jobs, extend those measures, expand coverage and devise new rules for applying for them, many Croatian employers continue to complain that their payouts are arriving late.

Those who are particularly dissatisfied are those operating in the heavily-hit hospitality and catering industry, who aren't currently allowed to even work, yet their bills keep on arriving. They have been pointing out that they haven't yet received their government grants for the month of November 2020.

Claims for the reimbursement of fixed operating costs are still being submitted, and the state should then reimburse those who apply successfully for that measure within 60 days. The Croatian Government institutions, on the other hand, claim that all grants for October have now been paid out, that possible arrears for November will be paid by the end of this week. They also claim that grants for December will be paid in January.

According to the Croatian Employment Service (CES), the number of Croatian companies seeking support back in October and November increased significantly compared to what the situation looked like during the summer months, in fact, it has more than doubled.

However, the real jump will only be shown by the data for December 2020 and January 2021. Back in October last year, 25,670 Croatian companies sought state support, about ten thousand more than in September, in November that number reached almost 32 thousand, and a total of 120,273 people were employed. A record number of Croatian companies in need of state assistance was seen way back in April, with as many as 100,864 seeking it, with a total of 594,444 employees.

By the end of November, a massive 7.6 billion kuna had been paid out to Croatian companies in the form of government grants. While the negative impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has hit business owners working in tourism and hospitality the hardest, the latest Fina analysis shows that there are also sectors that are actually coping well with this crisis.

With a minimal risk of "default status", 1251 Croatian companies continue to successfully operate, with 1085 of them not applying for government assistance measures even once.

The assessment of their credit rating is calculated on the basis of submitted annual financial reports, data on the state of any blockages placed on them by the state and the status of bankruptcy, pre-bankruptcy and liquidation.

In the group of the most stable Croatian companies, most of them, more precisely 263 of them, are those who operate in the manufacturing industry, a sector that has been exposed to great market pressures for years now. This sector is followed by trade with 259 Croatian companies, enterprises working in professional, scientific and technical activities (133), then construction (87), water supply and wastewater disposal (63), and transport and storage (58).

When it comes to the size of a company, the analysis shows that the group of the most stable enterprises includes 715 medium-sized Croatian companies, 183 large ones, 181 micro-enterprises and six who are technically defined as small.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

January the 18th, 2021 - The Croatian demographic picture has sadly been deteriorating for many years, with Eastern Croatian areas such as Slavonia seeing people leave en masse in search of better futures in European countries like the UK, Ireland and Germany. Since Croatia joined the EU back in July 2013, this trend has unfortunately only increased as borders were suddenly opened and the need for work permits generally ceased. The Istrian city of Porec, however, recorded an increase even during the tremendously difficult year of 2020. Porec newborns increased by eight percent.

As Morski writes, in what was a deeply challenging pandemic-dominated 2020, this beautiful Istrian city distributed 155 grants for Porec newborns, as much as eight percent more than in the previous year, for which 232,500 kuna was paid from the city budget, equalling 1,500 kuna per Porec newborn.

Although the official data on the exact number of Porec newborns from back in 2019 isn't yet known, the data on paid benefits shows that 12 more children were born last year in that city than were born in the year before, which is a very good indicator. It's worth mentioning that not only is the growing number of Porec newborns encouraging, but the influx of people moving from elsewhere to Porec is also excellent.

The above means that the need for the placement of children in the city's kindergartens is growing day by day, so the opening of new such institutions and the employment of new people is very well accepted.

The construction of the third kindergarten and nursery in the past three years alone in Porec is now underway, and after the opening of new primary schools in Zbandaj and Finida, the former school building in Veli Maj was converted into a new nursery, while European Union (EU) funds were used for the building of the former community centre and nursery in Dracevac.

Regional kindergartens in Varvari and Baderna were constructed back in earlier years, and this future practice in Zbandaj once again continues the good practice of opening preschools in smaller places near the homes of young families, which is very well accepted by both users and those from the education and child care profession. The kindergarten in Zbandaj will be the regional department of the "Radost/Joy" kindergarten from Porec, and it will be able to accept a total of 64 children from early to preschool age.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, 17 January, 2021 - Members of the European Parliament will vote next week on the reconstruction of earthquake-hit Croatia and call on the Commission to define, in cooperation with European and Croatian institutions, how to quickly distribute the necessary financial and other aid for a swift recovery of the areas affected.

At a plenary on Thursday, the European Parliament will also debate and vote on a resolution on alleviating the aftermath of the two quakes that struck Croatia last year - the one on 22 March in Zagreb and parts of Krapina-Zagorje County which damaged over 26,000 buildings, and the one on 29 December which devastated Petrinja, Sisak, Glina, Hrvatska Kostajnica, Majske Poljane and other villages, killing seven, injuring 26 and demolishing over 30,000 buildings.

Croatian MEPs from all parliamentary groups took part in drafting the resolution.

The draft resolution calls on the Commission to define, in cooperation with European and Croatian institutions, how to quickly distribute the necessary financial and other aid for a swift recovery of the areas affected.

The Commission is also called upon, in approving financial aid, to take account of the fact that Croatia is also dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and a series of aftershocks.

Croatia is called upon to prioritise in its recovery and resilience plan, a key document for drawing funds from the Next Generation EU instrument, the reconstruction of houses and buildings, seeing to it that they are earthquake-resistant

The Croatian authorities are called upon to closely supervise post-earthquake reconstruction so that the highest seismic standards are ensured for all buildings and infrastructure.

The draft resolution says the reconstruction and construction process should be carried out as quickly as possible, transparently and under expert supervision, and that it should take account of the demographic aspect so that the area affected could have development prospects.

The document recommends paying special attention to building the infrastructure that was missing even before the earthquake and to making sure that all the basic needs are met and services provided in every part of the area affected.

The Commission is called upon to extend the 18-month deadline for utilising funds from the European Solidarity Fund in the event of a devastating earthquake.

The draft resolution praises the efforts of the rescue forces, Civil Protection, the Croatian army, volunteers, civil society organisations, international organisations as well as the local, regional and national authorities in saving lives and alleviating the effects of the tremor.

The text also recommends giving priority in COVID-19 vaccination to the quake-hit area and encourages the government to carry out its announcement that it will direct a significant number of doses to Sisak-Moslavina County.

ZAGREB, 17 January, 2021 - The state will fully finance the reconstruction or construction of buildings in assisted areas affected by the earthquake, Construction Minister Darko Horvat said on Sunday, adding that whether citizens would cover 20% of the costs would depend on their income threshold.

Horvat told the press a bill on post-quake reconstruction said that Sisak-Moslavina County would co-finance 20% of those costs. If the county will not be able to pay that amount, the state will do so, he added.

As for buildings and houses that have been demolished and will not be reconstructed, the state will fully finance the construction of new ones, he said.

On Thursday, the government sent to parliament a bill of amendments to the law on the reconstruction of buildings in the City of Zagreb and Krapina-Zagorje and Zagreb counties damaged in a March 2020 earthquake, proposing that the law also apply to Sisak-Moslavina and Karlovac counties, which were struck by a devastating quake in December.

Under the bill, those counties will set aside 20% in their budgets for reconstruction, as will property owners. In assisted areas where a state of disaster was declared, the entire cost will be covered by the state, in line with a special regulation.

A property owner is exempt from covering 20% of the reconstruction costs if their household income in the previous and the current year does not exceed the non-taxable income amount, if they had no other assets on 22 March 2020 whose value exceeded HRK 200,000, and if they receive welfare benefits.

Horvat said the bill was clear and that it included the income threshold, so pensioners and people out of work need not fear.

He said that in assisted areas where a state of disaster was declared, the government would fully cover the construction of new homes.

Everything in the bill also applies to the City of Sisak, Horvat said, commenting on Mayor Kristina Ikić Baniček's statement yesterday that "Sisak will be reconstructed under the same model as Zagreb" which, she added, her city could not afford.

Horvat said that under the bill, Sisak would not have to pay anything for the reconstruction, adding that 80% of the reconstruction amount had already been ensured without the city paying anything.

He said the residents of Sisak who had a second or third property outside the city "whose value exceeds certain amounts" would have to pay for 20% of any reconstruction costs.

"The government has not nor will it leave anyone in the lurch," Horvat said, adding that the state would fully cover a replacement home for all people whose homes have been demolished and which will not be livable.

ZAGREB, 17 January, 2021 - The basic criterion for Croatian consumers when choosing food is price, followed by safety, while origin is in the 6th place, the Smarter consulting company said on Tuesday in a statement on the survey of European consumers' attitudes published in December 2020 by the European Commission.

The survey has shown that for 54% of Croatian respondents price was the most important criterion when choosing food, and Croatia is one of 17 European countries whose consumers consider this factor one of the three most important.

The origin of food ranked sixth among the ten criteria for choosing food as every third respondent in Croatia (32%) opted for it.

Croatian food processing companies must realise that regardless of food quality, it has to be produced at competitive prices, at least as long as price is the primary factor for the Croatian consumer when choosing food, Smarter said in an analysis of the survey results.

Food safety another important criterion for Croatian consumers

Food safety is the second most important criterion for Croatian consumers (50%), which shows consumers' awareness of the importance of that component but can also be a consequence of frequent cases of food not meeting safety standards on the Croatian market, Smarter said.

Food taste was ranked third by Croatian consumers, with only 37% of respondents using that criterion as the main one when choosing food, and it is followed by the expiry date (35%).

This criterion, Smarter said, also places Croatia among four European countries with the highest percentage of consumers considering it one of the most important criteria. These are mostly countries that joined the EU later (Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania), and more than a third of respondents in those countries underscored the importance of that criterion when choosing food.

The nutritional composition of food is the fifth most important criterion for Croatian consumers when choosing food (34%), and according to Smarter, that piece of information could be important to domestic food producers.

Despite the prevalent opinion that the origin of food is important to domestic consumers, according to the survey, it is the 6th criterion out of ten when buying food in Croatia, Smarter said.

They think that such a result (32%) can be disappointing, especially when compared to Slovenia or Denmark, where choosing a domestic product is the most important criterion for 57% and 43% of consumers respectively.

The survey of European consumers' attitudes was conducted in August and September 2020 with the aim of determining consumers' attitudes towards and expectations of long-term sustainability of food production in the EU.

In Croatia, the survey was conducted on a sample of 1,019 respondents, using the "face to face" interview method.

Asked about the main elements affecting their decision to buy food, European consumers cited food taste as their first criterion, food safety was ranked second and the cost of food (price) was ranked above the sustainability of its production.

January 17, 2021 - Croatia tops Angola in the second match of Group C at the World Handball Championship in Egypt. 

The Croatia handball team met Angola in the 2nd match of Group C in Borg El Arab, Egypt. 

Croatia had a more than shaky start against Japan in the first match on Friday, collecting just one point from a 29:29 draw a few seconds before the end. If Croatia wants to be a realistic prospect for a medal, they can no longer make a mistake in the group stage to ensure they can transfer enough points to the second round.

Before the match against Angola, it was announced that Lino Cervar could no longer count on Luka Cindric, whose injury only worsened after playing against Japan. One of the best Croatian players left the national team camp for Barcelona where he will receive treatment. Cervar called up Janko Kevic in his place. 

Before Sunday, Croatia had never played Angola, which lost to Qatar 30:25 in the first match of the tournament. 

Angola v. Croatia Recap

Angola opened the game with a goal in the first attack for 1:0. Horvat equalized for Croatia from 7-meters - 1:1. Horvat missed Croatia's next chance 7-meter shot in the 4th minute.

Strlek scored for 2:2 in the 5th minute. Croatia took the lead in the 6th minute for the first time at 3:2. 

Angola was leading by 2 goals in the 14th minute (5:4), but Mamic came back for Croatia with a goal in the 15th (5:4). 

Cupic scored from 7 meters, closing Angola's lead to one goal in the 18th minute (6:5).

A very quick turnaround with two goals in the 19th minute gave Croatia the lead - 6:7. 

Mamic scored for Croatia's very first +2 lead in the 21st minute - 6:8. 

It was 9:9 with four minutes to go in the first half - and 10:10 with three to go. 

The first half ended with Croatia up by one goal - 11:12. 

Brozovic scored for Croatia to open the first half and keep Croatia up by one - 12:13.

Cupic scored from 7 meters to put Croatia up by two in the 33rd minute - 12:14.

Croatia was up three goals for the first time of the match in the 38th minute, and up by four one minute later - 13:17.

Cupic scored from 7 meters to give Croatia the biggest lead yet - 13:18 in the 40th minute.  

Maric scored for 15:19 Croatia in the 43rd minute, and Mamic scored for 16:20 in the 44th! 

Cupic scored his 6th goal of the match in the 46th minute for 16:21 Croatia. 

Martinovic scored two minutes later for 16:22 - Croatia's biggest lead yet. Martinovic scored from 7 meters moments later to increase Croatia's lead yet again - 16:23. 

Thanks to another Martinovic goal, it was 17:24, and Jaganjac scored for 17:25 with five minutes to go. 

In the final minute, Croatia was up by 7 goals - 20:27. Mandic scored the final goal of the match for a final score of 20:28 for Croatia!  

Croatia's goalkeeper Pesic was named the player of the match. 

Recall, three teams from the group advance to the second round. Croatia's Group C intersects with group D, which includes Denmark, Argentina, Congo, and Bahrain.

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