News

21 February, 2022 - Left-liberal opposition MPs on Monday called for a snap election, announcing that they would sign a motion for parliament's dissolution following Minister Darko Horvat's arrest and an investigation into Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milošević. The left-liberal opposition assessed Prime Minister Plenković's statement on Saturday, after Horvat was arrested on suspicion of illegally awarding HRK 2.6 million in grants, as scandalous and unprecedented pressure on the judiciary. Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Plenković called out the State Attorney's Office (DORH) to explain its action regarding Horvat to the public, saying that it was disproportionate and that the…

February 21st, 2022 - The Gorski Kotar town lost the bid to host the snowboarding event as all attempts of communication with the organisers fell through on both sides Delnice, the biggest town in the mountainous Gorski Kotar region, was being considered for the host of an international snowboarding championship scheduled for March 5th, 2022. The event was supposed to finally put the Delnice ski jumping ramps to good use, a facility that cost the County some 800,000 kuna when it was first built, only for it to never host any athletes or sporting events. Over time, the ramps became…

21 February, 2022 - SDSS president Milorad Pupovac said on Monday that Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milošević had tendered his resignation and that he felt an early election did not suit anyone, including the state, as it would mean another standstill in post-earthquake reconstruction and economic recovery. "We need a functional and serious government. That means doing all that is necessary for the government to move without deadweight," the Independent Democratic Serb Party leader said on N1 television. He said the ruling coalition would judge and evaluate the situation and the possibilities of effective government activity. Asked about the deadline by which a more definitive agreement was expected as to…

21 February, 2022 - Representatives of UNICEF and the Sisak-Moslavina County association of persons with disabilities presented the results of a support programme for disabled children in Petrinja on Monday. The earthquakes that struck the region in late December 2020 damaged the premises used by the association and called into question the provision of the necessary support for children and counselling for their families. Thanks to HRK 367,368 (nearly €50,000) in aid, about 100 children with disabilities will be able to continue using therapy services at the Little House, and the six professionals working with the children and their families will…

21 February, 2022 - Zagrebacka Banka (Zaba) generated a profit after tax of HRK 2.01 billion in 2021, up HRK 1.27 billion or 173.2 percent compared to 2020, according to the bank's financial statement released on Monday. At the same time, the bank's operating income amounted to HRK 4.41 billion, which is an increase of HRK 792 million or 21.9% on the year. Furthermore, the bank's unconsolidated and unaudited financial report notes that operating expenses amounted to HRK 1.57 billion, down HRK 17 million on the year, with cost-to-income ratio amounting to 35.7%. Deposits by clients, which constitute a primary source of financing, amounted to HRK 107.23…

21 February, 2022 - Over 310,000 vessels arrived in Croatian seaports in 2021, 25% more than in 2020, and there were 27.3 million passengers, up 45.4% on 2020 but down 23% on 2019, according to the national statistical office. The cargo turnover was 21.6 million tonnes, up 1.1% on 2020. Most of the passenger turnover was recorded from April through September and it was highest in August and September, in keeping with the peak tourist season. In Q4 2021, 60,000 vessels arrived in Croatian seaports (+9.5%) and there were 3.6 million passengers (+37%), while cargo fell 8.7% to 5.4 million tonnes. The cargo decrease…

21 February, 2022 - Croatia reported 1,107 new coronavirus cases on Monday, of the 1,908  tests taken in the past 24 hours, while another 54 people have died as a consequence of the disease, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said. Currently, there are 20,911 active cases in the country, including 1,698 hospitalised patients, 122 of whom are on ventilators, while 13,327 people are self-isolating. Since the outbreak of the pandemic in Croatia, a total of 1,041,524 people have become infected, of whom 14,869 have died, while 1,005,744 have recovered. As of 20 February, a total of 5,180,800 doses of a vaccine have been administered…

February 23, 2022 - It is almost 20 years since the founding of Croatia's leading (and independent) media, Index.hr. Founder and owner Matija Babic reflects on the journey.  Getting sued by the Croatian National Tourist Board, not once, but twice (and then finding out I was the only blogger/journalist they sued in the whole of 2020) has been a totally cool experience so far. And we still have about 20 years to go.  You can keep up with the very entertaining shenanigans on the TCN Diary of a Croatian Lawsuit feature. But it is the stuff that goes on behind…

February the 21st, 2022 - Despite the devastating effects of the global coronavirus pandemic on leisure, travel and tourism, we've managed to avoid a mass sale of hotels. The Croatian villa market is also blossoming. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, the popular Croatian online buying and selling portal, Njuskalo, has some interesting statistics for us. They show that the number of active accommodation ads across the country increased by 20% from 2019 to the end of 2021, with a total of 12,015 active ads published last year. Although in these two years there has been a slight increase in sales…

February 21, 2022 - Zagreb has been named the 4th child-friendly city in Europe this year according to a new study of 50 cities released by OVO Network.  The top child-friendly cities for holidays in Europe have been revealed by OVO Network data. The Croatian capital of Zagreb thus ranks fourth place overall for the best city breaks with kids in 2022, according to this new study of 50 cities released by OVO Network.  The data shows that Zagreb has some of the safest streets, cheapest transport, and the highest number of kid-friendly attractions in Europe.  There are 292 kid-friendly attractions per…