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 did not pass in parliament, there would be a referendum on it.

As for the part concerning referenda, most of it coincides with our proposals for changing the Constitution from 2013 and 2018, and potential differences are not such that we could say they pose a big problem, Bauk said.

We expressed our concern about the violation of certain rights and would like to raise them to a constitutional level, and the HDZ took note of it, he added.

Asked if making a women's right to choose the part of the Constitution would be a condition to endorse the HDZ's proposed referendum changes, Bauk said such things should be said at meetings, not via the media.

Social Democrats whip Ivana Posavec Krivec said there was nothing contentious in those changes and that their MPs would take part in the second round of talks in a few days' time.

The Social Democrats have no questions to raise concerning constitutional changes nor conditions, and will support embarking on those changes, she added.

HDZ whip Branko Bačić held separate meetings with the left and right opposition.

Stephen Bartulica of the Homeland Movement said it was necessary to redefine referendum regulations. The approach should be serious and the broadest consensus reached, he added.

The HDZ can count on our constructive approach, but we have not made the final decision, he said, adding that it should be made easier for citizens to organize if they wish to do so.

For more, check out our politics section.

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 it does business in Europe.

"After a couple of years, we are once again investing a lot in Croatia because we see the potential for our premium products, and in addition to increasing quality in all hotels from four to five stars, we are also focusing on luxury campsites and apartment resorts," said Michaeler.

Of the total amount to be invested, about €150 million is planned in Zadar in the next few years to increase the quality and product at Punta Skala, and to raise the Hotel Didaora to five stars. A big investment is also planned at Borik, where the group plans to build a green apartment resort, on which negotiations are currently being conducted with Zadar City authorities.

Plans for its second destination in Croatia, in Punat on the island of Krk, involve an investment of €65 million to turn the current car campsite into a five-star luxury campsite. It will have 250 lots, about 150 mobile homes and an abundance of sustainable and environmental offers. Work on that camp should begin in the autumn.

The Falkensteiner Michaeler Tourism Group has a total of 30 hotels in seven countries. The group experienced difficulties in business in June 2020 as a consequence of the COVID pandemic and shortage of guests. However, the company managed to bridge that year and in 2021, particularly during the summer, it generated good results in Croatia and is once again investing, with an emphasis on sustainability and digitalization.

For more, check out our business section.

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 emphasis on family pension beneficiaries who will be entitled to a more equitable pension calculation and be able to use a part of the family pension while receiving their own pension in the event of their spouse's death, said the premier.

The changes will cover nearly 300,000 pension recipients, and in 2023, more than 1.1 billion kuna will be earmarked for that purpose.

An increase in the pension factor for over 136,000 pension recipients will mean a 10% increase in the family pension, or an average HRK 250 per user, and HRK 365 million will be set aside for that in 2023, Plenković said.

Making it possible for pensioners to receive a part of the family pension alongside their personal pension will lead to an average increase of HRK 500 per month for over 155,000 family pension beneficiaries, and this measure will cost HRK 750 million in 2023.

Croatia has thus joined those EU countries where it is possible for pension beneficiaries to receive both family and personal pensions, said the premier.

As of 1 January 2023, the lowest pension allowances will increase by 1.5%, and as of 1 January 2025, they will rise by an additional 1.5%.

Thus in 2023, this increase will cover 287,000 beneficiaries of the lowest pensions, and HRK 100 million has been secured for that purpose, the PM said.

Plenković recalled that since the start of the first term of his government in October 2016, the average pension allowance has risen by 20.15%, and currently the average pension amounts to HRK 3,047.

The lowest pension has increased by 26.41% to HRK 2,008, said Plenković.

The increase is not only due to pension indexation but also due to a set of measures undertaken as part of the pension reform, he said.

Labour Minister Marin Piletić said that for a person to be entitled to the family pension, they must be above 65 and meet other necessary criteria.

It is proposed that the personal and the family pension combined cannot exceed HRK 5,850.

Upon indexation after the adoption of the necessary legislation, this threshold may rise slightly, to exceed HRK 6,000, Piletić said.

The minister said that beneficiaries who may be users of the combined family and personal pension will have to request the relevant authorities to make calculations and inform them which of the pension models is the best for them.

The parliamentary deputy of the Croatian Pensioners' Party (HSU), Silvano Hrelja, said that this combined model was the result of a lot of analysis and calculation, to take into account the state of family pensions.

I am not euphoric but I am satisfied, he said.

(€1 = HRK 7.520038) 

For more, check out our politics section.

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 citizens who are struggling on a daily basis with the consequences of the earthquake. Many good people are helping us to not give up," said Bakšić Mitić and expressed hope that in the future there would be more talk about new houses, jobs, happy families, and less about metal housing containers, non-existing reconstruction, and inactivity of the state.

This year's runner-ups were the Dean of the Electrical Engineering and Computing Faculty (FER), Gordan Gledec, and Rijeka Archbishop Coadjutor Mato Uzinić.

As a direct opposite, the "hard cohabitation" of the country's most senior officials, President Milanović and Prime Minister Plenković, was named anti-communication of the year.

HUOJ labeled it as unacceptable and irresponsible, involving the highest state institutions to the detriment of all citizens and the culture of public dialogue.

The runner-up was President Milanović himself, whose non-constructive style of communication, HUOJ says, undermines the culture of political and public dialogue.

Also rated poorly was communication by the competent institutions regarding the process of post-earthquake reconstruction in Banovina, and communication by the national COVID-19 response team.

For more, check out our politics section.

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 biggest in the Croatian history, but one that is already an important part of Croatia’s future. 

Over a thousand individuals took part in the organization of this incredible event and 200 volunteers helped to make it all run smoothly. With the start of an all-day program at 3 pm, which also served as a preparation for the Feast of Pentecost on June 5, one might even say that this year's 'Progledaj Srcem' has grown into a festival. Right before the musical part started, mindful messages were displayed on video walls, one of them “Fear not, we do not condemn, we are all friends here”. From 9 pm, 17 well-known names of Christian worship music in Croatia such as Alan Hržica, Amorose, Božja pobjeda, Božja Slava band, Emanuel, fra Ivan Matić, fra Marin Karačić, klapa 'Sveti Juraj' HRM, Rafael Dropulić Rafo, sestre Halužan, sestre Husar, sestre Palić, Toni Cetinski, Vanessa Mioč and Zbor Mihovil accompanied by an orchestra consisting of more than 20 instrumentalists gave the audience an outstanding performance. 

Thanks to the written verses of each song on video walls, the whole stadium was able to sing in unity together, all accompanied by dancing and praying. Moreover, while the priest put some of his spiritual thoughts into words, the Arka Korablja, a community of people with and without intellectual disabilities, presented those words in a little act, leaving numerous visitors with tears in their eyes. He concluded this message by saying that they aren’t children with special needs, but that it’s him, who’s a child with special needs - a child who needs to be loved and love others. 

By lighting up the Maksimir Stadium with their flashlights, the worshippers made this place shine like a real galaxy, while during the song “Blessing”, stunning fireworks brightened up Zagreb’s skyline.

This year’s 'Progledaj Srcem' was again filled with interactive moments of laughter and joy, tears and compassion, but most of all with love, peace, and gratitude. From performers to visitors, the majority cannot explain this incredible experience in words and are still processing the seen, heard, and felt. But one can be said for sure – it has been a unique opportunity for worshippers to show up, meet others, open their hearts, unite, pray and celebrate God together.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

June the 9th, 2022 - Croatian MEP Biljana Borzan has made the claim that the Croatian Government is actually lobbying against the reduction of harmful pesticides in the Belgian capital of Brussels, adding that she has been shocked by it.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian Government, more precisely the Ministry of Agriculture, is allegedly directly lobbying in Brussels for the European Union (EU) to abandon the binding goals of reducing the use of chemical pesticides in food production. This is part of a letter sent on March the 16th, 2022, to the European Council, which, among others, is apparently signed by the Croatian Government.

The letter is in the possession of Croatian MEP Biljana Borzan, who, as the Eurosocialist rapporteur for the ''Field to Table'' strategy, is committed to reducing the use of chemical pesticides.

"I'm shocked and angry, on whose behalf is the Croatian Government lobbying against pesticide reduction?! On behalf of the citizens of Croatia, who are probably satisfied that bees are dying out and that traces of pesticides are ubiquitous on our food? I'd like to call on the Minister to comment on this situation and explain to the public why it isn't in their interest for food to be sprayed less with chemicals!'' MEP Biljana Borzan demanded.

The letter, allegedly signed by the Republic of Croatia and eleven other EU member states, disagrees with the bloc's overall goal of halving the use of chemical pesticides by the year 2030 through the ''Field to Table'' strategy.

In particular, they oppose the new law on the sustainable use of pesticides, which the European Commission (EC) is due to present on June the 22nd, 2022, and which Croatian MEP Biljana Borzan recently warned was in question due to fierce lobbying.

"It turns out that the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture is lobbying against environmental goals in Brussels, and at the same time, in Croatia, they're making life difficult for organic food producers by reducing subsidies and employing absurd regulations. When did we as a state decide to head in that direction? When the Parliament debated this, did the citizens vote for it? I recently conducted a public opinion poll on this topic and as many as 91 percent of respondents said they support reducing the use of pesticides, which shows that citizens' awareness of their impact on health and the environment is high,'' concluded Borzan on the matter.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated politics section.

June the 9th, 2022 - Economy Minister Davor Filipovic was a recent guest on the 'A sada Vlada/and Now for the Government' radio show, where he discussed the situation with ongoing inflation and plans to try to mitigate the pressure on both people and the economy.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, new measures have come into force over the last few days, which should work to further stabilise the spiralling growth of fuel prices. Still, the question arises as to what can be expected in the weeks ahead, which Davor Filipovic touched on:

“We can know what will happen in the next two weeks. What will happen after that... I think, at least in these conditions of uncertainty, is impossible to predict. On Monday, we made decisions to reduce excise duties and trade margins. We've extended the period in which we calculate the prices of oil and oil derivatives, and this decree will remain force for the next thirty days,'' said the Minister, explaining the decisions recently made by the Croatian Government.

He added that it's yet to be seen what the situation will be on like on global oil markets, and that prices will be further formed accordingly.

"We went for a two-week interval to benefit our people and the economy. The price of fuel is now lower than it was for one entire week. If the prices of fuel on global markets do go down, then they'll go down in this country as well,'' Davor Filipovic pointed out, believing that, when all the circumstances are taken into account, people can be satisfied with what's been done so far.

"There will be no fuel shortages"

Speaking about the maneuver space of the Government, the Minister noted that there is space left in relation to excise duties, and that when it comes to petrol, it is about 36.37 lipa per litre at this moment in time.

"When we talk about diesel, then the space is a bit smaller, by about 16 or 17 lipa. In these extraordinary circumstances, all the options are on the table, we're analysing and monitoring what is happening on the market, so that we can respond adequately. We're going to do everything in our power to be shoulder to shoulder with people and with the economy," he said.

He also answered the question of whether there may be a shortage of fuel in Croatia:

“Our stocks are in accordance with the law, ninety days for oil and petroleum products. I dare say there will be no shortage. The reaction of distributors comes primarily because we've reduced the trade margin. For many years, they were delimited, and I'm of the opinion that in crisis situations, everyone must bear their part of the responsibility, including oil companies and distributors. Their reaction is such 'because we've cut their salaries' more than it being about a real danger of shortages,'' Davor Filipovic points out.

Asked whether additional aid packages will be provided for the most vulnerable among us, such as farmers and fishermen who are in a difficult situation due to the high price of blue diesel, the minister said:

"Since April the 1st, 2022, the Croatian Government has responded with a large package of measures amounting to five billion kuna. Were it not for the intervention of the Government, there would have been a larger increase in the price of electricity, and the same would've been true for gas. We're going to be monitoring the situation and making adequate and timely decisions, as we've done so far.''

"The plan is to double the capacity of LNG Terminal on Krk"

Minister Davor Filipovic also referred to the issue of Janaf and distribution, as well as the issue of LNG Terminal on the island of Krk.

"This new situation puts the Republic of Croatia in a position to become an energy hub and an important player when it comes to energy in this part of Europe. Janaf is in a situation where, with the existing capacities, we can satisfy, for example, all the needs of neighbouring Hungary. Janaf's capacity is 11.4 million tonnes, and Hungary needs 8.1 million.

Without any investment, we can supply oil to Hungary. With certain investments, Janaf can double those capacities. From that aspect, we're in a very good position. When we talk about the LNG Terminal on Krk, there is no European official, when I go to Brussels or somewhere else, who doesn't draw attention to the importance of it. It was a wise move by the government. The plan is to double the capacity of Krk's LNG Terminal to 6.1 billion cubic metres. In order to ensure the supply of Croatia, but also in order to be able to supply Slovenia. We're thinking about supplying gas to Bosnia and Herzegovina as well in the foreseeable future,'' he pointed out, adding that the whole situation makes Croatia a serious player on the new energy map of Europe.

A new package of sanctions against Russia is ready, and it regards a total ban on Russian oil imports. What is the situation here in Croatia?

"When it comes to oil, it's already being imported from other sources. Russian oil doesn't come to Croatia through Janaf. The focus is on the security of the energy supply in Croatia. Our underground gas storage will be replenished by November the 1st, 2022, to 90 percent capacity. HEP has been granted a state guarantee that it can take out a loan of 400 million euros, so that our hospitals and maternity hospitals can function smoothly,'' Filipovic assured.

Prices are rising day by day, and if this inflationary pressure continues, it will be harder and harder for the average person to get by.

"Inflation isn't only a problem being faced by Croatia but by the whole world. Prices are going up and everything should be done to mitigate these inflationary shocks on the economy,'' he pointed out, adding that they are looking for a way to help. He noted that it's true that the whole situation is slowing down growth projections, but that none of the world's experts believe that there will be a global recession.

"There will be cases where some countries will find themselves in such a situation, but not the global economy as a whole," he said.

Croatia's 2023 accession to the Eurozone will be extremely helpful

"Entry will make it easier for the country in any case, especially when it comes to crisis situations. There are going to be many advantages at our disposal when we enter the Eurozone. Currency risks will disappear, and conversion costs will also become a thing of the past. Numerous exporters welcome the decision, and tourists will benefit more. There will also be an increase in the country's credit rating, as announced by certain agencies,'' claimed Davor Filipovic, adding that the costs of introducing the euro in Croatia are minimal when compared to the longterm benefits.

"Very soon, we'll have a tender of two billion kuna, which will be aimed at micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. In order to use the money to increase competitiveness, to digitise processes, to use everything that can be used in the direction of the green transition," he said.

As for cutting parafiscal levies, Minister Davor Filipovic says they have already begun the process.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated politics section.