ZAGREB, 6 April 2022 - Croatia on Wednesday received two reasoned opinions as part of the April package of EU law infringements, which the European Commission publishes once a month.

Together with Spain and Luxembourg, Croatia has been given a reasoned opinion for failing to ensure complete transposition into national legislation of the Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings.

The directive introduces new elements to strengthen the existing framework, such as minimum requirements regarding the energy properties of new buildings, electromobility and charging stations, as well as new rules on heating and air conditioning system inspections.

The directive is aimed at modernising the construction sector in terms of technological improvements, and increasing the low rates of reconstruction of buildings to improve the energy efficiency of the EU housing stock.

The revised provisions should have been transposed into national legislation by 10 March 2020. In May 2020 all three member states received a formal warning over failure to transpose the directive.

After reviewing national measures, the EC considers that the transposition of the directive into national law in Croatia, Spain and Luxembourg has not been completed and is now sending them a reasoned opinion.

The countries have two months to respond and if the EC does not receive a satisfactory response, it can decide to refer their cases to the Court of the EU.

The second reasoned opinion, which Croatia received along with eight other member states, refers to the Open Data Directive.

The EC wants the nine member states to provide information on how EU rules on open data and the re-use of public sector information from the Open Data Directive have been transposed into national law.

The deadline for this expired on 17 July 2021 and the member states concerned have not stated all national measures despite formal warnings sent on 30 September 2021.

The directive, adopted on 20 June 2019, aims to use the advantages of using open data and help enable the re-use of the public sector's huge and valuable base of data resources.

This will reduce obstacles to the entry of small and medium companies into the market because costs of data re-use will be reduced, more data will be made available and new business opportunities will be created owing to the exchange of data through the Application Programming Interface.

The directive encourages the development of innovative solutions such as mobility applications, it increases transparency by enabling access to publicly funded research data and supports new technologies, including artificial intelligence. If it does not receive a satisfactory response in two months' time, the EC may decide to refer the case to the EU Court.

The EC, as the guardian of the Treaties, launches EU law infringement procedures based on its own investigations or acting on citizens', companies' or other stakeholders' complaints.

Most of the cases are resolved before they are referred to the Court of the EU.

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ZAGREB, 3 March 2022 - The value of construction work done in Croatia in 2021 by companies with more than 20 employees increased by 13.8% from 2020, while the value of new orders was 21.1% higher, the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) said on Thursday.

The value of construction work was HRK 30.3 billion, of which 21.7 billion accounted for work done by own workers and 8.5 billion for work carried out by subcontractors. The value of new orders was HRK 25.9 billion.

By type of construction performed by own workers, 28.6% of work-related to non-residential buildings, 34.6% to transport infrastructures, such as roads and bridges, 17.8% to pipelines and 16.1% to residential buildings.

In the last quarter of 2021, the value of construction work totaled HRK 8 billion, increasing by 8.2% from the same period of 2020, while the value of new orders rose by 23.9% to HRK 6.6 billion.

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ZAGREB, 26 Aug 2021 - The volume of construction work carried out in Croatia in June 2021 rose 11.3% compared with June 2020, and it went up 2.1% as against May 2021, according to data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) on Thursday.

June was the 13th consecutive month to see the rise in the volume of construction work on an annual level.

Year on year, the volume of construction work to buildings increased by 11.6% and the volume of construction work to other structures grew by 10.8%.

Month on month, the volume of construction work to buildings rose by 3.4%, while the volume of construction work to other structures increased by two percent.

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ZAGREB, 21 July, 2021 - The volume of construction work carried out in Croatia in May 2021 rose 15.9% compared with May 2020, and it fell by 0.1% compared with April 2021, according to data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) on Wednesday.

May was the 12th consecutive month to see the rise in the volume of construction work on an annual level.

Year on year, the volume of construction work to buildings increased by 18% and the volume of construction work to other structures grew by 13%. Month on month, the volume of construction work to buildings fell by 0.3%, while the volume of construction work to other structures decreased by 0.9%.

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June the 14th, 2021 - The Croatian construction industry is hungry for workers in spite of the ongoing coronavirus crisis which has thrown a proverbial spanner in the works of almost every segment of the economy and as such jobs. The sector is even keeping its eyes on foreign workers as the need is now so great.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, from the beginning of this year to June the 11th, 2,434 employers submitted 14,437 applications to the CES for positions in the Croatian construction industry, for which a labour market test doesn't need to be conducted.

Most of them were submitted on the lookout for masons, building workers, carpenters, civil engineering workers, facade workers, reinforcement workers, installers of building elements, ceramic tile installers and even house painters. A positive opinion of the CES was issued for 9541 of them, on the basis of which the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) can issue a work permit for a foreign worker from a third (non-EEA) country.

The Croatian construction sector, which is growing from the current 100,000 workers in legal entities, is ''hungry'' for, apparently, foreign labor. After the Croatian Law on Foreigners, commonly referred to as the Aliens Act, prescribed a new employment model for third-country nationals, employers must first contact the CES to conduct a labour market test (by first seeking that labour on the Croatian market), with exceptions such as the extension of residence permits and work for the same employer and the same third-country national, as well as in the case of missing occupations on the CES public list.

In cases when this test is conducted, the Regional Office, ie the CES office, conducts the mediation procedure if there are persons in the Croatian unemployment register who meet the requirements of the employer and are obliged to inform the employer of that no later than fifteen days from the date of the employer's request.

If the market test has shown that there are no persons already registered who meet the requirements, the employer can then apply for a residence and work permit (the result of which is decided on by the Ministry of Interior), within 90 days of receiving such a response from the CES.

When applying to MUP for those residence and work permits, the would-be employer must enclose evidence of the third country employee successfully meeting all of the requirements required by the CES market test - their level of education, their work experience, and all of the other conditions specified in order for an approval.

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ZAGREB, 26 May, 2021 - The volume of construction work in March 2021 was 16% higher than in March 2020, while compared to the previous month, it dropped by 0.4%, show preliminary data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

March was the tenth consecutive month with a year-on-year increase in the volume of construction work.

The volume of construction work on buildings in March this year was 16.5% up from March 2020 while the volume of work on other structures rose 15.3%.

Compared to February 2021, construction work on buildings in March was up 0.5% and on other structures it was 3.9% higher.

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ZAGREB, Sept 15, 2020  - Croatia and Malta are the two EU countries that saw the weakest growth of hourly labor costs in the second quarter of this year, many times lower than the EU average, which was supported by a strong increase in wage costs, shows a report from the EU's statistical office Eurostat.

In the EU27, working day-adjusted hourly labor costs grew by 4.1% in Q2 compared to the same period of last year. In Q4 2019, they grew by 3.9%.

In the euro area, hourly labor costs in Q2 grew by 4.2%, after a 3.7% increase in the previous three months.

Wage costs in both the EU and the euro area grew more strongly than in Q1 despite measures introduced to contain the coronavirus. In the EU they grew by 5.3%, after a 4.1% increase in Q1, while in the euro area they rose by 5.2%, after a 3.9% increase in Q1.

In both the EU and the euro area, the increase in hourly wage costs indicates that the decrease in the number of hours worked, due to the COVID-19 crisis, was not fully compensated by a matching decrease in wages, says Eurostat.

This increase in hourly wage costs was partly compensated by the moderate increase in the non-wage component, due to tax reliefs and subsidies introduced by EU governments to support enterprises affected by the crisis.

Hourly labor costs in the EU grew the most in the services sector, by 4.3%, followed by industry and construction, where they grew by 3.9% and 2.3% respectively.

In the euro area, the services sector saw the strongest increase in total labor costs, of 4.4%, followed by industry, with an increase of 3.8%, and construction, with a 2.8% increase.

Labor costs grow least in Malta, Croatia

Of the EU countries for which data was available, Romania saw the strongest increase in hourly labor costs in Q2, of 16.1%, almost twice as high as in Q1.

Croatia and Malta saw the weakest growth in hourly labor costs, of 0.7% and 0.8% respectively. In Q1 hourly labor costs in Croatia grew by 0.6%.

Wage costs in Croatia grew by 1.5% n the period from April to June, almost the same rate as in Q1. The cost of contributions dropped by 3.9%, after a 4.2% decline in Q1.

The largest drop in hourly labor costs in the EU in Q2 was reported by Cyprus, of 8.6%, followed by Ireland, with a drop of 3.3%.

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ZAGREB, August 27, 2020 - In June 2020, after three months of decline, the volume of construction work in Croatia grew by 8.5% on the year, according to the preliminary data of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) released on Thursday.

The increase in the volume of construction work is the result of economic lockdown measures being lifted.

The measures were put in place on March 19 to curb the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic and immediately caused the first decline in the volume of construction work since February 2018. The decline continued in April and May.

After a substantial increase at the start of the year (by 8% in January and by 11.9% in February), there was a decline in the volume of construction work by 0.9% on the year in March, by 4.7% in April and by 2.2% in May.

In June 2020 works on buildings went up by 9% compared to June 2019, while civil engineering works grew by 8%, according to the working-day adjusted data. Civil engineering works include the construction of roads, railways, pipelines, bridges etc.

The volume of construction work rose by 10.5% on the month, with the works on buildings increasing by 12.2% and engineering works by 6.6%.

The volume of construction work saw a mild growth of 0.3% in Q2 compared to the same period last year.

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The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has seen economic difficulties ensue, with imports and exports being heavily affected in some sectors, much like disruption we're seeing in the transport and travel industry. Peljesac Bridge, a strategic project for Croatia and among the most significant since the nation gained its independence back in the 1990s, isn't immune to the complications the epidemic has caused.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 25th of May, 2020, at Peljesac Bridge's construction site down in Dalmatia, the first element of the span structure was lifted by a crane and placed on the bridge's S5 pillar. On the other pillars, elements of the bridge's steel structure have now been placed, which will act as a support for the installation of the elements of the span structure, 29 elements of which are already on the construction site of the long awaited bridge.

The ''base segment'' of the pavement structure of the future Peljesac Bridge from the shore might seem small at first sight, but it is actually ten metres long and 23.5 metres wide. Despite weighing an enormous 250 tonnes, a one thousand-tonne crane lifted it to a 40-metre-high pillar in a matter of mere minutes.

The first two base segments of the pavement structure have now been placed on the third pillar from the end. The next base segments will be placed on two central pillars. Since there is a navigable corridor between them, they are 55 metres high, and the supporting scaffolding that will temporarily keep the structures standing at that height is increasing in size every day, according to a report from HRT.

The bridge itself should be completed by July the 31st next year, but given the issues that have arisen as a result of the coronavirus epidemic, factories in China have not been in operation for some time. Therefore, this deadline being extended by several months remains a possibility.

For more information on Peljesac Bridge and other construction projects in Croatia, follow our lifestyle section.

As Morski writes on the 14th of May, 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic which has paralysed a significant part of economic activities across not only Croatia but the world, work on infrastructure projects on the islands of Zadar County is progressing according to plan.

On that occasion, Zadar County Prefect Bozidar Longin, accompanied by his associates, visited the construction sites of port infrastructure projects on the islands of Pasman and Ugljan - the new ferry port in Tkon, the rehabilitation of the waterfront in Mrljane, a fishing port in Vela Lamjana and the re-doing of the promenade and the Artina beach in Kali.

The Zadar County Port Authority is building a new ferry port in Tkon, which carries a total value of 45 million kuna. The third phase of construction, which is now underway, is worth about 30 million kuna alone, and this is the first port infrastructure project in the Republic of Croatia to be financed from European Union funds through the Competitiveness and Cohesion operational programme.

''The new ferry port will mark a significant step forward in the quality of transport for all residents and guests of the island of Pasman. The works should be completed by the end of 2021, with summer breaks included, and it is very important that there are no interruptions during the coronavirus crisis. Everything has been being carried out in full compliance with all of the prescribed epidemiological measures,'' said Prefect Bozidar Longin.

''This is one of the key development projects for the entire island of Pasman. With the new ferry port, we'll significantly raise the standard of the service provided, which will certainly be an additional contribution to the quality of life of the island population and the development of tourism,'' added the mayor of Tkon, Goran Muscet, who praised the level of cooperation with the Zadar County Port Authority and the contractors engaged in the work.

''In the new Tkon ferry port, a loading and unloading area and a boarding station will be built, a plateau of the pier that enables the loading and unloading of vehicles, an underwater culvert for sea water circulation between the outer and inner waters and a plateau for the boarding area and the car park,'' added Davor Skibola, the director of ZLU Zadar which, in addition to the works taking place in Tkon, is also implementing a European Union project to upgrade the port of Sali in the amount of 56.8 million kuna.

On the island of Pasman, the Zadar County Port Authority is also doing up the port of Mrljane, which is co-financed by the Municipality of Pasman and two national ministries - that of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, and the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds.

''The works started in 2019, and the total value is 4.2 million kuna. With great cooperation with Zadar County and the ministries of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, we're continuing this development cycle and creating new preconditions for the well-being of our residents,'' said Kresimir Cosic, Mayor of Pasman.

Bozidar Longin, accompanied by Kali's Marko Kolega, visited the works taking place at the fishing port in the bay of Vela Lamjana. It's worth noting that with the help of European Union and national funds, the fishing ports in oth Kali and Gazenica will be modernised and upgraded. The works in Kali have been going on for a little over a year now, and the public procurement procedure for the works in Gazenica is expected to be completed soon. Both projects are being implemented by the Zadar Port Authority, and are worth almost 60 million kuna.

''We're leading in the Adriatic sea in catching fish, but also in fish farming, and we bear the name of the Croatian county which fishes the most with very good reason. We want to take an additional step forward in improving the conditions for our fishermen, so we started building more modern infrastructure. With concrete examples, we're supporting the further development of fishing here, which has a long tradition in Zadar County, and is especially important to our islanders,'' emphasised the Zadar County prefect.

In addition to the fishing port, several other infrastructure projects are being implemented in Kali. Works on the promenade and Artina beach worth 2.7 million kuna are also in progress.

''With the project of the Artina promenade, we'll arrange a car park, a rest area for cyclists, and a promenade with a green belt and ecological lighting. This will be followed by the 'doing up' of the beach where we'll set up smart benches, playgrounds for children, and a ramp for the disabled. The works should be completed by July, and we're financing these works with our own funds and with the help of the Ministry of Regional Development, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, and Zadar County,'' said Marko Kolega, who announced that the construction of a roundabout in the area of Batalaza this autumn, which will be worth 3.9 million kuna.

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