October 5, 2022 - Unbreakable - that is the subheading of the Entrepreneurial Mindset conference, which will be held on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, in Zagreb's Lauba.

As Poduzetnik writes, at a moment when the world is afraid of the scale of the new crisis, the conference that gathers the most successful Croatian entrepreneurs every year, brings to the stage those behind whom there is an indestructible spirit, a spirit that bravely fights against the obstacles that open up on its entrepreneurial path. They are entrepreneurs who invested enormous energy in achieving their goal and who transferred their passion for what they do to others - members of their families, employees and society.

Among them are certainly Miljenko Borščak and Stiven Toš (Bomark Pak), who received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 award in Croatia, and Nikola Anđelković (Anđelković AI), who received the award in Serbia two years earlier. 

The list of speakers about the strong and unstoppable development in the Croatian ICT sector includes Ph.D. Stjepan Orešković (M+ Group), Nikola Kapraljević (Infinum), Zlatko Hrkać (Sofascore) and Jakov and Juraj Urbanke (HSM).

I can, I want, I know - this is the topic of the conversation that Ana Radišić will lead with Dajana Mrčela (Director of Saponia Management) and Maja Šuput Tatarinov, a singer and presenter, who achieved extremely successful marketing cooperation with Saponia and Kandit.

Lada Tedeschi Fiorio (Atlantic Grupa) will look at female leadership, serial entrepreneur Jako Andabak will reveal his entrepreneurial secrets and challenges in a conversation with Božo Skoko, and Davor Tremac (Fonoa) will explore the topic of how to live locally and work globally.

On behalf of the hosts, Ognjen Bagatin (Media platform Poduzetnik) and Berislav Horvat (EY Croatia) will give opening speeches, and Petar Pavić (Star Digital Group) will close the conference.

"We believe that the participants of the conference will inspire many with their stories! We are talking about people who did not sit idly by even when things were most difficult for them. They knew that no one would serve them anything on a platter. They got up from the floor after multiple falls. We want Croatian entrepreneurs to inspire the rest of our society. They are innovators, visionaries and leaders! We need exactly such people in the times that are knocking on our door." Ognjen Bagatin, owner of the Poduzetnik media platform.

Get your tickets for the conference Entrepreneurial Mindset: UNBREAKABLE here.

The conference is organized by the media platform Poduzetnik in cooperation with Algebra and program partner EY Croatia.

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

August 9, 2022 - This year will mark the tenth edition of Web Summer Camp, a high-profile event that gathers developers and web experts for a few days of learning, sharing experiences, as well as fun under the sun, and networking.

As Poslovni reports, Netgen, a local IT company, which has been organizing Web Summer Camp since 2012, which in recent years has been profiled as an event that gathers around two hundred developers and web experts on the Croatian coast, announced the tenth-anniversary edition of the conference, this year with a slightly different concept.

“In addition to the full-day workshops planned for the first day, which our participants already know and expect, the second day is reserved for interesting lectures and accompanying discussions”, explains Ivo Lukač, Netgen's co-founder and director, adding that this year it is possible to choose to buy a ticket either for the entire Web Summer Camp or just for one day – the conference part that takes place on Friday, September 2.

On the first day, the workshops will be held in six tracks: UX, Javascript, PHP, Symfony, DevOps, and Tech forum, and the participants include Valeria Adani, Flaminia del Conte, Gerard Sans, Princiya Sequeira, Derrick Rethans, Marco Pivetta, Andreas Hucks, Neal Brooks, Matt Thorpe, Luka Kladarić, Vanja Bertalan, Cristoffer Crusell, Ondřej Polesný, and Janus Boye.

The conference part of the second day will be divided into 2 tracks - Web and Developer. Harry Roberts, Ramona Schwering, Stephen K. Meya, Rowan Merewood, and Nehha Sharma have been announced for the Developer track, while the Web track will host Andy Clarke, Simon Jones, Sam Dutton, Ante Stjepanović, Magdalena Sekulić Ljubić, and Mili Ponce.

After all-day workshops and lectures held by leading experts from companies such as Google, Infobip, Hrvatski Telekom, and Oracle, coming from various parts of the world, the participants of previous conferences most often emphasize the acquisition of new knowledge and direct networking and exchange of experience with colleagues as the main benefits. For this very reason, the conference will exclusively be held live, without live stream options.

This year's platinum sponsor of the conference is Lendable, an online platform for personal finance from Great Britain, founded in 2014, which is aimed at introducing and enabling fast, simple, and practical personal finance in the digital age.

Last year's edition was rated 8.7/10 by all attendees, and 84 percent of attendees stated that the conference provided them with the knowledge that they can apply in their daily work, with 86 percent stating that they intended to return to the next edition.

Web Summer Camp is also different in that an additional Companions track is organized for accompanying participants, during which a tourist tour of the destination or some similar entertainment program is usually prepared for the participants' partners or spouses, who are not interested in attending the workshops. The last day is usually reserved for an excursion for all participants, which this year, depending on favourable weather conditions, will be held in the vicinity of Šibenik.

Paul Boag, one of the world's leading authorities in the field of user experience, conversion optimization, and digital marketing, commented on last year's edition of the conference:

“If you are thinking of coming to any conference, you can hardly find a better one than this one. Great weather, great location, you can bring the family, relax while learning new things, and enjoy it like you're on holiday. There is something unique about this conference!”

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

May 29, 2022 - On Statehood Day and the 30th anniversary of Croatia's international diplomatic recognition, numerous events are being held in the country. A conference entitled "Heritage of Generations: 30 Years of International Diplomatic Recognition of the Republic of Croatia" will be held in Zagreb.

Three panels will be held at the conference "Heritage of Generations: 30 Years of International Diplomatic Recognition of the Republic of Croatia", reports HRT News. Distinguished guests will discuss current topics related to the international position of the country on the occasion of Statehood Day.

The first panel runs from 10:30 am and is called "Witnesses of the Time: Brave Generation". Dr. Mate Granić, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, is taking part in it along with Academician Davorin Rudolf, member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, prof. dr. sc., Jurgen Chrobog, German lawyer and diplomat, and Associate Professor dr. sc. Ante Nazor, director of the Croatian Homeland War Memorial and Documentation Center. The moderator of the panel is Dr. sc. Gordan Grlić Radman, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia.

The second panel "Croatia for three decades: Generation of transformation" lasts from 12:10 to 13:40 and will be broadcasted on HRT4. Participants include mr. sc. Zdravka Bušić, Member of the Croatian Parliament; Peter Galbraith, US Ambassador to Croatia from 1993 to 1998; mr. sc. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the fourth President of the Republic of Croatia, Ivana Maletić, a member of the European Court of Auditors, and Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission, will deliver a video message. The moderator is Vladimir Drobnjak, special advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia.

The third panel "Croatia Today: Generation for the Future" lasts from 14:40 to 16:10 pm. Participating are Gracija Filipović, actress in the Cannes-awarded Croatian film Murina; Albert Gajšak, Circuitmess doo; dr. sc. David Matthew Smith, director of the Ruđer Bošković Institute; Dejan Nemčić, professor and Tin Srbić, gymnast. The moderator is Zrinka Grancarić, an HRT journalist.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 27 May 2022 - Graševina, that is Welschriesling, a white wine grape variety,  is the most important and most prevalent wine variety in Croatia with great export potential but a lot of effort is needed for this wine to become known outside Croatia, it was heard at an international conference - GO - Graševina Osijek.

The conference was organised by the Croatian Agriculture and Food Agency (HAPIH), Osijek-Baranja County Tourist Board and the Graševina Croatica Association as part of the Wine Tour Across Borders project that is co-financed through the Hungary-Croatia EU Programme.

HAPIH Director Darja Sokolić said that in 2020 37,000 tonnes of Graševina grapes were produced, or 44% of Croatia's total grape production, producing 255,000 hectolitres of Graševina wine which is almost 40% of all the wine produced in Croatia.

More than 40% of the wine placed on the Croatian market is Graševina which comes in all wine categories -- table wine, quality wine, quality wine, classy wine and even a sparkling, Sokolić said, adding that she sees great potential in that wine variety.

President of Graševina Croatica Josip Pavić believes that in reference to laboratory and organoleptic evaluation, Slavonia and the Danube region produce the best quality wines but they have a lower sales price and low market potential.

Hence, he said, it is necessary to promote Graševina through wine and gastronomic tourism and a wine development strategy that will enable significant investment.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 9 May 2022 - Thirteen member states, including Croatia, do not support a proposal to change the European Union treaties, which is one of the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe supported by French President Emmanuel Macron and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The 13 states are Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden.

They say in a non-paper that although they do not rule out any option at this stage, they do not support rash attempts to initiate changes to the treaties, which they say would carry a serious risk of diverting political energy from the important tasks of finding solutions to questions to which citizens expect answers and from the geopolitical challenges Europe is facing.

The 13 member states feel that the EU can successfully manage crises as part of the current treaties, as proven by the fight against COVID-19 and the response to the Russian aggression on Ukraine.

The EU acted fast, finding and applying common and effective solutions. We already have a Europe which functions, we should not rush into institutional reforms to achieve results, the non-paper says.

It criticises the European Parliament, without mentioning it explicitly, for instrumentalising the Conference on the Future of Europe for its institutional interests.

The ideas which citizens put forward at the Conference should speak for themselves and deserve due attention, the non-paper says, adding that they should not be instrumentalised for special institutional interests.

For more, check out our politics section.

April 12, 2022 - With just under a month to go until the innovative Work. Place. Culture. remote work conference in Dubrovnik, TCN continues its look at the list of high-class international speakers who will be sharing their wisdom in the Pearl of the Adriatic. Up next, we talk with Sarah Hawley, who recently founded Growmotely, the world's first remote work marketplace, placing professionals into long-term and full-time positions at companies they love.

A busy season for Croatia's digital nomad story is about to begin. Last year's highlights included the introduction of the digital nomad permit on January 1, 2021, and destinations such as Zagreb and Dubrovnik attracted global interest with award-winning events such as Zagreb Digital Nomad Week and Dubrovnik Nomads-in-Residence project.

Both Zagreb and Dubrovnik will continue their push to position themselves in the market in 2022, with Zagreb Digital Nomad Week 2022 set to take place in June, and a news conference before that in Dubrovnik, as previously reported on TCN: Work. Place. Culture.

Work.Place.Culture is the conference which brings work from anywhere to absolutely everywhere. Join remote professionals and destinations from around the world as they inspire a global workforce that has greater location flexibility than ever before, and the destinations which are reinventing to support them through policy, infrastructure, and community.

Additionally, as part of the Work.Place.Culture Conference, the Dubrovnik Tourist Board is launching its official workation program pilot, in conjunction with Saltwater and Sun Gardens Dubrovnik. The winning team will enjoy a 1-week stay (between 1 and 9 May 2022) at the 5 Star Sun Gardens Dubrovnik and have the chance to partake in a specialty workshop – strategy planning, team building, wellbeing, and leadership are among the options available. The all-star team will also present at the Work. Place. Culture. Conference on 5-7 May 2022. Applications are open until this Friday, April 15! Click HERE to apply.

Total Croatia News continues to present the elite lineup for the Work. Place. Culture., this time with Sarah Hawley. Sarah launched the Growmotely platform during the pandemic, with the goal of connecting professionals with their dream jobs at companies they love, and to date, Growmotely has already placed 100 professionals in remote jobs that will help them find the balance they seek between travel and professional development. Sarah will be one of the ambassadors at the Work.Place.Culture Conference and she will share all of her wisdom regarding the evolution of work culture with the attendees.

Just reading the About Us page on your personal website put a smile on my face. You clearly are in a great personal space at the moment. Tell us about that and the journey to get there.

Ah thank you! I do have a wonderful life (filled with all the usual ups and downs related to being human!) and I'd say I've very intentionally created it. In 2014, I decided to turn all my businesses remote and move to the USA from Australia. I spent most years pre-pandemic traveling for 8+ months, and built a large global community. During the pandemic I met my now husband, and had a baby (along with launching Growmotely!) so there were lots of very shiny silver linings for me during this time.

Your new project is called Growmotely, which launched about a year ago. Introduce it and tell us how it is going.

Growmotely is the world's first remote work marketplace, placing professionals into long term and full-time positions at companies they love. We firmly rooted in culture-matching and helping candidate and companies find alignment and culture fit. We're a community co-creating the future of work together, and it's an incredible, passion-fueled journey. We're currently crowdfunding, which is also very exciting to be providing deeper ways for our community to be a part of building this together, investment starts at just $150.

Interestingly, you say that you have moved away from traditional advertising in favour of community generated PR, an interesting move. How is that working?

So well! It took us just three months to be growing organically at the same rate as we were previously having to pay for growth. We feel really proud of our conviction in making a tough decision, and staying true to our values and integrity. Our community is our top priority, and growing from such a strong core of committed professionals is incredibly rewarding.

The concept of work is clearly changing rapidly. What advice do you have for people who are interested in exploring more, but are a little afraid to take the leap?

In this case, I promise you... the grass IS greener on the other side! While it may seem scary at first to step into the new world of work, you won't look back. The freedom to build your lifestyle exactly how you'd like it, to have the freedom to move around and travel, and to work with a globally diverse group of people everyday is worth overcoming any lingering fears!

How many job placements have you achieved so far at Growmotely, and do you have a favourite story?

To date we've placed almost 100 professionals (not including our own team) into meaningful, remote work at companies they love. Just last week two sisters from Nigeria were placed into (different) companies in the same week! Seeing two women, sisters, who were committed to creating a better life for themselves, go on that journey together and support each other was really powerful, and the fact the both received offers within a matter of days felt like divine timing.   

One of your aims is to visit every country in the world. How is that going, and is Croatia already on the list?

I've already visited Croatia, yes! However VERY excited to return. I'm at around 60 right now, and the past couple of years definitely slowed my pace. I also have a one year old now, so it might continue to evolve at a slower pace, however life is long and I'm excited to continue on this adventure.

And so to the Dubrovnik Work. Place. Culture. conference. Why does it appeal to you, what will you be speaking about, and what do you hope to get from your time in Dubrovnik?

I'm excited Croatia understands the importance of the shifts work has made, and are making such a beautiful effort and intention to welcome people in and open up this conversation for a more integrated work and life experience. I'll be sharing my own experiences, specifically how remote work opened up for me a path into conscious leadership. I'll share with our attendees how work culture is evolving, and how to step into a more conscious leadership space, turning our organizations into vehicles for transformational healing, growth and evolution for the people we work with.

You obviously follow global trends in remote work. How do you assess Croatia's efforts so far, and what does it need to do to move things forward?

Croatia seems truly invested in welcoming nomads and building a thriving hotspot for global workers to come and experience Croatian life. I'm excited to watch how this evolves. From our perspective, work is being uncoupled from nation-state, and in effect becoming more simplified. It's my hope we can move toward a much simpler regulatory environment for both workers, and small businesses, allowing individuals to personally arrange their own taxes and companies to simply engage people without having so much local legislation to comply with.

Sarah's new book Conscious Leadership is available now. You can listen it FREE on Audible.

If you have not yet registered your team to participate in a luxury workation in Dubrovnik, you can do so through this LINK. Applications are until this Friday the 15th!

You can download the full programme of the Work.Place.Culture Conference in Dubrovnik here.

Work. Place. Culture. is a collaboration between the City of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads and TCN, with support from the Digital Nomad Association Croatia and Dubrovacka Bastina. Zagreb Digital Nomad Week is a partnership between Zagreb Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads, and TCN. 

To learn more about magnificent Dubrovnik, check out the Total Croatia Dubrovnik in a Page guide, in partnership with Sun Gardens Dubrovnik.  

For more news and features on digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

April 11, 2022 – To celebrate International Roma Day (April 8), a two-day conference is being held in Zagreb with the main focus on the ties between India and the Roma. 

As Večernji List writes, the two-day conference in Zagreb was organized by the Croatian Romani Union Kali Sara, with the support of the government and in partnership with the Faculty of Philosophy, the University of Zagreb, the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences, and the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies to celebrate the International Roma Day, which has been marked on April 8 since 1971.

Strengthening ties between the Roma community and India to improve the position of Roma in the world is the main topic of the conference titled "Roma as the Indian Diaspora - Unbreakable Ties", where Prime Minister Andrej Plenković pointed out that all its participants share the same values ​​– equality and respect for minorities. The two-day conference in Zagreb was organized by the Croatian Romani Union Kali Sara, with the support of the government and in partnership with the Faculty of Philosophy, the University of Zagreb, the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences, and the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies to celebrate the International Roma Day, which has been marked on April 8 since 1971.

It aims to send a message and an invitation to India to recognize the Roma as its national minority.

Addressing the participants – representatives of the Roma population from 17 countries and representatives of Croatian political, scientific, and cultural life – Prime Minister Plenković pointed out that all share the same values ​​– equality, respect for national minorities, and joint efforts so that not only Roma but all other national minorities in Croatia feel good, equal, and free to exercise their rights. He pointed out that in the two mandates of his government, through the National Plan for Roma Inclusion and the accompanying action plan, budget funds have doubled since 2016 and amount to slightly less than 50 million kuna. The Roma Educational and Cultural Center in Zagreb was opened and the Roma Memorial Center Uštica was built as a reminder of the greatest crime against the Roma people, the genocide committed by the Nazi and Ustasha regimes (samudaripen) during World War II.

Plenković: History cannot be changed, but crimes should be reminded and condemned

It is estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 Roma were killed in concentration camps in Europe during this "darkest period of world history". "Unfortunately, we cannot change history, but we sincerely regret these terrible events, and we should keep reminding of these acts and condemn them unconditionally", said the prime minister. The government, he added, gives great importance to the history of the Roma, their identity and culture, while also confronting the darker sides of our common history. It is thus important that today's conference reminds us of what remembrance means – that it does not mean living in the past, but rather "tearing past experiences away from oblivion and making them a pledge of a better future". "Remembrance that does not turn into malice is healing. Such remembrance includes the present and has a clear view of the future; it is purified and nurtured through upbringing, family, and the education system," he said.

The importance of education for better integration of Roma into society

The Prime Minister also pointed out the importance of education, i.e. keeping the youngest in the education system to better integrate Roma into Croatian society. "When we succeed in that goal, then we have solved many long-term problems faced by the Roma national minority," he said.

In the context of the topic of the conference, the Prime Minister reminded us that the connections between Croatia and India, and Roma and Croatia have lasted for centuries – from the first historical evidence of Roma in Croatia in Dubrovnik in the 14th century, over Dubrovnik and other Croatian sailors in India, Burgenland Croat Filip Vesdin and his Sanskrit grammar at the end of the 18th century, and Count Ljudevit Drašković, the first Croatian romologist.

He also mentioned the 150-year-long Sanskrit university course in Zagreb, the Indology course in Zagreb which has existed for 60 years, as well as the Romology course at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb.

Kajtazi: Satisfactory cooperation with the government  -Member of Parliament for the Roma national minority Veljko Kajtazi expressed satisfaction with the cooperation with the Croatian government, saying that no government has done so much for the position of Roma in society. In Croatia, Roma are no longer “special cases”, specific policies have been introduced to improve their position through regular activities of line ministries and work is being done to equalize their living conditions with other citizens because it is important to erase the still huge differences that cause all the ugly events”.

The participants were also greeted by the Indian Ambassador Raj Kumar Srivastava, the President of the International Roma Union Normunds Rudevičs, the Slovak Member of the European Parliament (EPP) Peter Pollak, the Rector of the University of Zagreb Damir Boras, the President of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts Velimir Neidhardt, as well as the President of the Croatian Roma Association Kali Sara Suzana Krčmar.

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

ZAGREB, 15 March 2022 - Consumers should invest in the financial products and services they understand, and to do that, one should study them well - this was one of the messages of the conference "Consumer in the Digital Finance World", held in Zagreb on Tuesday.

The conference was organised on the occasion of World Consumer Rights Day by the ministries of economy and finance, the Croatian National Bank (HNB) and the HANFA regulatory agency for the supervision of financial services.

HANFA Steering Board vice-president Ilijana Jeleč said that digitalisation provided a number of opportunities for consumers as well as pitfalls.

Access to financial services is simpler but there is a large amount of information which is not easy to absorb and consumers are not always willing to sufficiently study the services they buy, she said, noting that this was especially problematic when purchasing financial services and products.

Since those services and products usually imply long-term investments, it is very important to study them before buying them, she said, mentioning also investment fraud on social networks and offers for investments in cryptocurrencies.

Jeleč said that HANFA had warned on a number of occasions that such investments were not regulated and were very speculative, advising consumers to avoid highly risky, speculative products and invest in what they understand.

Underlining the importance of consumer education, she said HANFA was investing significant effort in that regard, was cooperating with schools and universities on youth education and had launched a portal called "Novac za sutra" to inform citizens about financial services and improve their financial literacy.

Minister underlines importance of consumer protection associations

Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić pointed to the 2021-2024 National Programme for Consumer Protection and the new law on consumer protection, to go into force on 28 May, as documents addressing problems faced by consumers living in the digital society.

He said the ministry's services last year answered more than 6,000 phone calls by consumers and replied to more than 3,000 queries.

He underlined the important role of consumer protection associations, notably in the context of the coming introduction of the euro, set for 1 January 2023, noting that the ministry had granted HRK 350,000 to strengthen their institutional capacity.

Consumer protection central principle of euro introduction bill

The State Secretary at the Finance Ministry, Stjepan Čuraj, commenting on the euro introduction bill, noted that the principle of consumer protection and the ban on unjustified price increases had central place in the bill.

Speaking of financial literacy, Čuraj said that according to an OECD survey from 2019, financial literacy in Croatia had increased mildly compared to 2015, when a survey on that topic was carried out by the HNB and HANFA.

The average grade for the financial literacy of consumers in the OECD survey was 12.3 out of 21 points or 59%, while in the 2015 survey it was 56%. However, despite the improvement, the lack of financial competence and skills was the biggest among young people aged 18-29, Čuraj said.

HNB official: Elderly most evident victims of digital revolution

Data by the European Commission show that in the first week of the coronavirus pandemic the use of digital applications in banking grew by 72%.

Commenting on this, HNB vice governor Bojan Fras said that it was interesting that those figures did not change more significantly after the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions.

The digital revolution suits equally banks and their clients, Fras said, but noted that elderly citizens were the most evident victims of the digital revolution, being unwilling to use not only online banking services but also ATMs and bank cards.

Speaking of consumer complaints, Fras said that the HNB in 2021 received and processed 906 complaints and that none referred to digital banking services.

ZAGREB, 12 March 2022 - Western Balkan citizens have been participating in the Conference on the Future of Europe on Friday and Saturday, and European Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica said on Saturday that neither Europe nor the Conference could be complete without them.

The Executive Board of the Conference decided that during the Conference member states should work with Western Balkan countries, whose citizens could leave their proposals on a digital platform. Also, six Western Balkan countries were invited to participate in plenaries.

This was done, Šuica told Hina, because "Europe is not complete without the Western Balkans."

North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina responded to the invitation, she said, adding that their contribution is important, although less than that of the other countries "since their citizens could not participate in panels."

EU with Ukraine

Ukrainian citizens took part in a plenary in Strasbourg whereby, Šuica said, the EU wanted to send a strong message to Ukraine.

"The set of sanctions we adopted is unprecedented. Today there will be a fourth set, which means that the EU is doing everything within our remit and possibilities."

However, this is not just the about the EU because cooperation with the US, Japan, Canada and Australia is also important, Šuica said, adding that the EU and those partners are "aligning sanctions for Russia, which is the aggressor in Ukraine."

"We are also sending a message of solidarity and we are sure that Ukraine is part of the European Union, but reforms can't take place during a war. It would be illusory at this moment to say that they will become a member state, but we are sure that they belong to this part of the world, we are sure that they share our values."

Šuica went on to say that the Conference on the Future of Europe would end on 9 May, after which the proposals that have been made will be incorporated into clusters and submitted to the relevant institutions.

She said this was the first time that the Commission, the Council and the Parliament "are working together on such a big project with which we want to change the functioning of the EU for the better."

She said the Conference would continue in some form and that her proposal was to leave at least the digital platform as a permanent instrument.

For more on politics, visit TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 22 Feb 2022 - A conference was held in Zagreb on Tuesday to discuss the use of contemporary technology to improve road safety, including the intelligent vehicle speed control system.

Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković said that traffic safety is a key imperative in project planning, particularly in road traffic, where there are still too many casualties.

Electronic road tolls, safety at black spots

"Through activities of the ministry we have put emphasis on the safety aspects of all our projects," Butković said at the conference.

Through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan the government has secured funds for a electronic road toll system so that drivers will no longer have to stop at toll stations, he said.

Butković announced a project worth HRK 69 million, which is being implemented by the Hrvatske Ceste road management company in cooperation with the Interior Ministry, to improve safety on the state roads, in particular at 32 black spots where accidents are frequent.

Also being implemented is a HRK 118 million project to develop an intelligent traffic system. Under the project, the entire IT equipment for traffic management will be upgraded, and a national access point has been established in Karlovac to providing traffic information in real time.

Police Chief Nikola Milina said that responsibility in road traffic no longer lies with road users but with the creators and managers of the traffic system.

The use of state-of-the-art technology is an important factor in road safety and one of the better examples is fixed speed meters, Milina said.

Croatia currently has 300 fixed speed meters and plans to install more.

Avenoso: Speed meter system to decrease road fatalities by 20%

The Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council, Antonio Avenoso, presented the Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) system for vehicle speed control.

The system reads road signs and helps drivers control the speed of their vehicle. Drivers can turn it off, but the system will continue to warn them if they are over the speed limit.

ISA is expected to reduce road fatalities by 20 per cent, increase interest in walking and cycling, reduce noise pollution and result in ewer speeding fines.