News

June the 10th, 2022 - 50,000 more people have been registered by the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute since last year, as a marked employment increase following the pandemic and as we head towards the summer season bumps numbers up. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Jadranka Dozan writes, under the influence of increased seasonal employment which is very common in this country at this time of year, the total number of insured persons at the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute continued to grow throughout the month of May. According to preliminary data from the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO), their number increased by about 23,000…

June the 10th, 2022 - New Croatian oil reserves have been discovered, and exploitation is set to begin shortly. As the country attempts to gain energy independence, this is no small piece of news. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Marijan Krpan, President of the Management Board of the Hydrocarbons Agency, spoke about the situation on the oil market (which includes its derivatives) for HTV. He said that there had been no disturbances in the fuel supply, and enumerated the discoveries of new Croatian oil reserves. He also touched on distributor reactions: "People's reactions are in regard to high prices, we can talk…

ZAGREB, 9 June 2022 - Minister of Regional Development and European Union Funds Nataša Tramišak on Thursday awarded 15 contracts at the Split-Dalmatia County offices from the Island Development Programme for financing small capital infrastructure projects. The Ministry implements the program once a year, and its goal is to enable island communities to implement small capital infrastructure projects in an attempt to systematically reduce regional development inequalities and differences in Croatia. This year, a total of 56 projects were selected. Along with the 15 projects in Split-Dalmatia County another 41 projects were selected for Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Lika-Senj, Zadar, Šibenik-Knin, and Dubrovnik-Neretva counties. "These funds are for investments in the…

ZAGREB, 9 June 2022 - Five close associates of late Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic were sentenced on Thursday to between 7 and 14 months in prison in the graft case dubbed Agram, while the principal defendant, businessman Petar Pripuz was acquitted of all charges. The former chief of staff of Bandic's office, Miro Laco, was given the highest sentence of 14 months for illegal employment and use of official cars. Former director of the city's ZET public transport company, Ivan Tolić, was sentenced to nine months. Former director of the Čistoća waste collection company, Miljenko Benko, was sentenced to eight months, while long-time…

ZAGREB, 9 June 2022 - Representatives of the Social Democratic Party, Social Democrats, and the Green-Left Bloc on Thursday talked with the ruling HDZ's whip, and Arsen Bauk of the SDP is confident that both referendum changes and the right to abortion will end up in the Constitution "one way or another." Speaking after a meeting between HDZ representatives and left MPs on constitutional changes, Bauk said the changes pertaining to referenda would pass, while talks would continue on the other topics. He said that if their demand that a woman's right to choose to be raised to a constitutional level…

ZAGREB, 9 June 2022 - The Austrian hotel and tourism group Falkensteiner (FMTG) plans to invest around €300 million in Croatia in the next five years in destinations it already operates in, Zadar and Punat on the island of Krk, the group's co-owner and executive director, Otmar Michaeler, told reporters on Thursday. The meeting with the press was organized on the occasion of the group's 65th anniversary and Michaeler underscored that Croatia, where they have been operating in tourism since the early 2000s, is one of the most important countries for their growth out of a total of seven countries in which…

ZAGREB, 9 June 2022 - A government-sponsored model of family pensions, which will take effect on 1 January, brings three crucial changes: an increase in the factor for family pensions, eligibility to use a family pension alongside one's own pension, and a 3% increase in the lowest pension allowances. "We are sending a clear message that in the circumstances of overlapping energy and food crises and inflation pressure, the government's key priority is to provide social security to all citizens, notably senior citizens," Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said while presenting the new, combined model on Thursday. Draft amendments to pension insurance legislation put an…

ZAGREB, 9 June 2022 - In the last 24 hours, 332 coronavirus cases, out of 2,120 tests, and five related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Thursday. There are 2,068 active cases, including 175 hospitalized patients, eight of whom are on ventilators, while 979  are self-isolating. To date, Croatia has registered 1,139,034 coronavirus cases, the death toll stands at 16,012, and 68.76% of the adult population has completed vaccination. For everything you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

ZAGREB, 9 June 2022 - The Croatian Public Relations Association (HUOJ) has named Glina Deputy Mayor Branka Bakšić Mitić as the communicator of the year, while the public discourse of the country's leaders, President Zoran Milanović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, has earned them the title of anti-communicators of the year. Bakšić Mitić warned of the too slow process of post-earthquake reconstruction in the region of Banovina, expressing her gratitude for the award and saying she was happy that HUOJ had recognized her simple communication strategy - to tell the truth always and without fear. "It is a great responsibility to be the voice of all my fellow…

June 9, 2022 - A concert report on the 'Progledaj Srcem' spiritual concert held at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb last weekend.  Since late 2021, the date for the biggest spiritual-musical spectacle in Croatia and probably this part of Europe had been fixed. After the first concert in 2014 with about 2.000 visitors and up to 18.000 in the Zagreb Arena in 2019, thousands of people waited for June 4, 2022, to finally arrive – about 50.000 worshippers filled the Maksimir Stadium for the 6th 'Progledaj Srcem' (translation: “Look with the Heart”) concert. A concert that isn’t only one of the…