ZAGREB, 25 February, 2021 - The hospitality and tourism guild in the Croatian Chamber of Crafts and Trades (HOK) on Thursday welcomed the announcement that bars with terraces will be allowed to reopen, but recommended a series of bailout measures because due to weather conditions, only some establishments will be able to work.

The guild recommended that permits to serve outdoors be extended and for outdoor serving areas to temporarily be expanded where possible.

The guild also asked that the due deadline for VAT be extended to two months for the period that epidemiological measures that restrict business are in force.

Another recommendation is that raw material in hospitality be exempt of VAT due to special circumstances in order to enable cash flow as well as abolishing monthly advance payments on income and profit tax until 31 December 2021. Those tax exemptions would ensure that certain funds remain available to cover current business expenses and ensure liquidity.

They also called for a one-off allowance for the hospitality sector. HOK recommended that the hospitality sector be approved a grant of 3% of their gross 2019 turnover in order to be able to procure basic provisions and prepare for reopening.

The guild advocates that current liabilities be rescheduled by arranging with commercial banks that all of their financial liabilities (principal, interest) on all types of loans be deferred until 2022 or for an additional 12 months after a consensus is reached.

The president of HOK's guild Joso Smolić underscored that bar owners primarily expect the continuation of existing economic measures - jobkeeping measures and allowances for fixed costs while the coronavirus crisis lasts.

ZAGREB, Dec 14, 2020 -The government on Monday approved state aid for the national flag carrier, Croatia Airlines amounting to HRK 600 million, HRK 350 million of which refers to investing fresh capital in the company and HRK 250 million as an equity loan.

The decision was made in line with the European Commission's temporary framework allowing member states to provide additional support to the business sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, CA has been given support in an effort to resolve the its liquidity problems and to boost its capital.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butkovic said that the pandemic has had and still has a destructive impact on the global airline industry which is faced with the most difficult crisis ever.

Croatia Airlines is not an exception, said Butkovic, explaining that other airlines have recorded a decrease in traffic of 65% to 90% compared to 2019.

The national flag carrier has a strategic role in Croatia's transport infrastructure which was evident in these times of crisis.

The government's decision resolves the company's urgent problems, adding that money for this was ensured in this year's budget revision.

Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said that this model of injecting fresh capital and providing an equity loan will financially stabilise the CA airline.

The government authorised Minister Butkovic to increase the airline's stock capital at a meeting of the shareholders' general assembly.

An extraordinary general assembly was convened today for shareholders to decide on increasing the company's stock capital by HRK 350 million by issuing shares and that the state would participate in that. That would increase the airline's equity from HRK 277.88 million to HRK 627.88 million by releasing 35 million new ordinary shares at a nominal price of HRK 10.

The equity loan of HRK 250 million should stabilise the airline's business operations and prevent negative consequences to the population and economy, which will be felt directly by the airline and tourism sectors and indirectly by other economic branches, the government said.

(€1 = HRK 7.542016