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December the 30th, 2021 - Is the Republic of Croatia experiencing more earthquakes and tremors than before? With the natural disaster which struck Petrinja on the 29th of December 2020 now one entire year behind us, seismologist Kresimir Kuk seeks to explain a few things about one of Mother Nature's most unpredictable and devastating events - earthquakes. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, one year and one day ago, the Central Croatian region of Banovina was hit by a devastating earthquake of magnitude 6.2 on the Richter scale with an epicentre located a mere 5 kilometres southwest of Petrinja. A year later…

December the 30th, 2021 - President Zoran Milanovic has never been shy in expressing his opinion and is very well known for speaking his mind. This has been the case when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic and the introduction of digital Croatian covid certificates as well. It seems now, however, that those digital Croatian covid certificates that Milanovic had been so vocal about until recently, are being checked for validity at Pantovcak. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, it should be noted that, as hinted at above, President Zoran Milanovic has repeatedly warned that his Office will not require anyone to present…

December the 30th, 2021 - Remember the talk around the Croatian national pension idea in which all individuals of the appropriate age would be paid out money from the state? It seems that none of that even touched the results the state had initially hoped for after just one year of it having been in force. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, in the very first year of the Croatian national pension's application, otherwise known as the national benefit for the elderly, failed quite catastrophically in resulting in what was expected by the government. This has been shown by the analysis of…

December the 30th, 2021 - One German financial expert has claimed that Eurozone entry for Croatia, which is due to take place quite soon, is still premature. Is the country ready for the changes? Apparently not, according to Otmar Issing. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, in addition to joining the Schengen area, Croatia's Eurozone entry has been cited as one of the main goals of Croatian foreign policy for years now. This goal should be achieved at the beginning of 2023, for which Croatia has the support of Brussels. That said, there are some economists such as former European Central Bank…

Croatians are passionate advocates of requesting time off work between public holidays and weekends, effectively creating additional mini vacations throughout the year. A look at the nation's obsession with long weekends, plus a list of all national holidays in Croatia in 2022 2021 was a rough year for Croatians. No, not just because of the pandemic and a whole slew of related (and unrelated) socio-economic issues. It was a depressing year because we were deprived of one of our favourite things in life: long weekends.  While it’s probably safe to say that everyone enjoys taking time off work, people in…

ZAGREB, 29 December, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday he understands the message from disgruntled residents of Petrinja, who booed him and threw a snowball at him on his arrival for a Mass for the victims of least year's earthquake.  "The situation caused by the earthquake has left a great many people in a dire situation, so it is normal that some people are dissatisfied and that they voice their opinion and protest with a boo and a snowball. That's all part of our job and I understand and respect this message. We heard it," the prime minister…

ZAGREB, 29 December, 2021 - Glina deputy mayor Branka Bakšić Mitić said on Wednesday in Majske Poljane, where President Zoran Milanović visited the six-member Bjelajac family, that nothing had been built following a devastating earthquake a year ago today, other than thanks to private donations. "But there too things get stuck because of the paperwork," said Bakšić Mitić, who was elected to the post of deputy mayor designated for ethnic Serb representatives. The Bjelajac family lives in two container offices, she said, adding that the paperwork for the construction of their new house had not arrived yet because of the construction ministry. The…

ZAGREB, 29 December, 2021 -  The head of the Split University Clinical Centre's infectious diseases department, Ivo Ivić, told the press on Wednesday that coronavirus numbers were still high in Split-Dalmatia County. The infectious diseases specialist said that he was afraid that new coronavirus numbers would continue rising and that the consequences of New Year's Eve parties and revellers' gatherings would be getting hooked up to mechanical ventilators and funerals. Over the last six weeks, the number of COVID patients being treated in the Split hospital was around 180, and we have now surpassed that number, he said. As many as 100 patients…

ZAGREB, 29 Dec 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Wednesday he would not allow inspectors to come to his office to check compliance with the COVID certificate mandate. "They can't come in. The army checks who enters and the army is not run by (Prime Minister Andrej) Plenković," he told the press in Glina, saying that the law on the certificates was unconstitutional. Commenting on referendums, the president said the number of signatures required to call a referendum should not be lowered as that would lead to direct democracy and turn into "a trampling of minorities." Milanović also called out Defence…

December 29, 2021 - Slovakia's Petra Vlhova won the World Cup slalom in Lienz, Austria, while Croatian Leona Popović placed 14th, equalling her best career result! Vlhova, who was the leader after the first run, reached her third slalom victory in four races this season ahead of Austrian Katharina Liensberger in second, and Swiss Michelle Gisin in third, reports Jutarnji List. This is the 23rd World Cup victory for Vlhova and 15th in the slalom. Popović, who was 28th after the first run, made excellent use of the early start in the second run and improved by 14 positions with the…