ZAGREB, 18 July 2022 - The first group of 42 students from Petrinja Secondary School and the Sisak School of Economics, and three travelling companions left on Monday for a summer camp in Hungary.

The secondary school students will spend eight days on their summer holiday in Hungary.

This is a result of good cooperation between Sisak-Moslavina County and the Hungarian government, which made it possible for about a hundred secondary school students to attend a summer camp in two groups, on 18-25 July and on 25-31 July.

The students will be accommodated in a hotel with a swimming pool, near Lake Velence, and Hungarian hosts will provide them with a variety of cultural activities and entertainment. The programme includes a trip to Pécs, where they will visit the Croatian House and go sightseeing, a trip to Tihany, where they will visit the Benedictine monastery and the Visitors' Centre, and a trip to Székesfehérvár, where they will visit the Bory Castle, the St. Stephen Museum, and other sights.

The second group of students, who are to visit Hungary on 25-31 July, includes students from Sisak Technical School, Sisak Gymnasium, Sisak Industrial and Crafts School, Viktorovac Secondary School, Sisak Vocational School, Ivan Trnski Secondary School in Hrvatska Kostajnica and Topusko Secondary School.

Sisak-Moslavina County Prefect Ivan Celjak was pleased that secondary school students had the opportunity to go on a free summer holiday, just like primary school students who are currently on holiday in Split.

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May the 11th, 2022 - The Hungarian PM Viktor Orban is known for his rather unusual political sentiments, but this one probably takes the cake. He recently claimed that Croatia ''took Hungary's sea'', leaving it without ports. This was said in front of Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission's President.

As Morski writes, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban yesterday over Hungary's opposition to the European Union's joint embargo on Russian oil. Von der Leyen said after the meeting that progress had been made and that some issues with Orban had been clarified.

''We've made some progress, but there's still work to be done,'' she added, which actually means that no concrete agreement has yet been reached with Hungary, the leader of which is very reluctant to firmly join the EU on its stance against Russia.

As one European diplomat explained to France Presse, Hungary would need a new pipeline to secure its oil supply, connecting it to the Republic of Croatia, which has access to the sea. Therefore, it seeks guarantees that Zagreb will engage in the construction of this infrastructure, as well as guarantees of European Union funding to facilitate it financially.

''Those who have sea and ports are able to bring oil on tankers. If they hadn't taken it away from us (the sea), we would also have a port,'' Viktor Orban said in an interview with the Hungarian state radio last Friday, as reported by Politico, which explains that Orban was referring to the Dalmatian coast.

Hungary is otherwise the biggest opponent of the joint EU embargo on Russian oil, and Viktor Orban has been seen as a thorn in the side of many diplomats and politicians across the EU for some time now.

To briefly recall, all 27 EU member states must be unanimous in order for sanctions to be imposed against Russia. The sanctions proposal cites certain exceptions, but both Slovakia and Hungary consider them to be insufficient. Hungary is the country that strongly opposes the European embargo on Russian oil and has already asked for a five-year postponement.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday night that Hungary cannot accept the proposed package of European Union sanctions on Russia until its fears are resolved.

Earlier, Prime Minister Orban said that the European Commission's proposal would have the effect of an "atomic bomb for Hungary".

"It would destroy our stable energy supply," he added.

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4 April 2022 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović on Monday congratulated the election winners in Serbia and Hungary "despite deformations of democracy."

"That's the choice of their voters," he said.

Milanović said that in relations with other countries one should not "lecture" anyone on internal matters such as "what kind of school classes there will be in Warsaw and Budapest, or what they will teach their children."

"That's their business, that's right. We will break the EU up if we start acting like cosmopolitan moralists," he said.

Milanović said that the current situation was an opportunity for Serbia to finally take a side and decide if it belongs in the West.

"Serbia must decide where its place is. Serbia is a member of Partnership for Peace, not of the Warsaw Pact," he said, adding that Serbia held military exercises with the West and obtained military assistance from it while claims about its big friendship with Russia are "a collective delusion."

Ukraine is not quite democratic either

In his opening address at the Croatia-US Forum, taking place in Zagreb on Monday and Tuesday on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic relations, Milanović said that liberal democracies never go to war against one another.

The experience shows that truly liberal-democratic countries never go to war against one another, because they have predictable, boring and limiting decision-making systems, Milanović said.

Asked later about that statement in the context of the Ukraine war, Milanović said that "neither country (Ukraine and Russia) is quite democratic."

"Ukraine isn't quite democratic either. It did not start negotiations with the European Union to have some kind of status," Milanović said, adding that Ukraine could not be compared with Croatia and other EU countries.

ZAGREB, 11 March (2022) - Croatia will send up to 70 troops to Hungary as part of NATO's Enhanced Vigilance, parliament decided by majority vote on Friday.

One MP voted against and 118 for the decision to send troops to Hungary, where they can be deployed this year and the next, with the possibility of rotation.

The decision was tabled by the government whose representative, Defence Ministry state secretary Zdravko Jakop, told MPs that Russia's invasion of Ukraine represented one of the most serious threats to European security in decades.

"The attack on an independent, peace-loving, democratic state is a bitter reminder that freedom, peace, security and stability can't exist if we are not ready to defend them," he said.

Jakop said NATO enhanced its rapid response force in recent months, deploying additional forces on its eastern flank, reinforcing forces in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and organising new battle groups in Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania.

HRK 38 million has been set aside in the state budget to send Croatian troops to Hungary.

Currently, 181 Croatian troops are deployed in UN and NATO missions, the most, 141, in Kosovo.

Also today, parliament unanimously voted for the participation of five Croatian troops in the EU's Cyber Rapid Response Teams and Mutual Assistance in Cyber Security.

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September 17, 2021 - The DANUP-2-Gas Project, developing renewable energy opportunities for all Danube countries, is set to hold a stakeholder event on September 28 at the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Engineering and Computing (FER).

The beautiful Danube region in Slavonia, apart from boasting natural beauty, also has a lot of historical and archaeological significance. This is evident with the European Commission having recognised the ''Iron Age Danube Route'' earlier this year.

That being said, the Danube river also boasts a political and economic factors, the one that unites all the countries through which the Danube flows. One form of such international cooperation is the DANUP-2-GAS project.

''The Danube region holds huge potential for sustainable generation and the storage of renewable energy. However, to date, this region has remained highly dependent on energy imports, while energy efficiency, diversity and renewables share are low. In line with the EU climate targets for 2030 and the EUSDR PA2 goals, DanuP-2-Gas will advance transnational energy planning by promoting generation and storage strategies for renewables in the Danube region by coupling electric power and the gas sector,'' says the official website of Interreg Danube which is handling the project.

In an effort to achieve their goals, the DANUP-2-Gas project aims to bring together energy agencies, business actors, public authorities, and research institutions to join the cause.

The project started on the July 1 2020, and it will last until the end of 2022. So far, 24 institutions from Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, and of course Croatian partners have begun cooperating for DANUP-2-Gas, united by the geographical fact that the Danube connects them all. The Hrvoje Požar Energy Institute (EIHP), the International Centre for the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems, and the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) are the project's Croatian representatives. Check out the full list of partners in the project here.

As (EIHP) reported on its website, September 28 will be an important date for the DANUP-2-Gas project as FER will hold a stakeholder event from 09:30 to 12:30, the lectures held in English will explain the potential of the project, as well as the uses and benefits of renewable energy in the hope of encouraging more support.

The event is imagined as a hybrid event, being held partly online and partly in person, but as EIHP warns, there is a risk of the event ending up being held entirely online, depending on the epidemiological situation.

''Based on the platform developed during the DTP project ENERGY BARGE, it will incorporate all pre-existing tools and an atlas, mapping previously unexamined available biomass and energy infrastructure. Further, a pre-feasibility study utilising an optimisation tool for efficient hub design will identify suitable locations for sectors coupling hubs and a combination of two idle resources in the Danube region.

The unused organic residue (e.g., straw) will be processed to biochar for easy transport along the Danube river and as the basis for synthesis gas generation. Adding hydrogen produced from surplus renewable energy allows for the upgrading of this syngas to a renewable natural gas. This will enable the storage of surplus energy in the existing gas distribution grid, increasing energy security and efficiency. All of the resources required for this process are available in the Danube region and the ten partner countries,'' the Interreg Danube website stated, elaborating the positive changes it is attempting to achieve.

Learn more about Croatian inventions and discoveries from Tesla to Rimac on our dedicated TC page.

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ZAGREB, 24 June 2021 - Croatian Minister of Science and Technology Radovan Fuchs and Hungary's Minister for Human Resources Miklós Kásler on Thursday signed a program of cooperation in education and science for the period 2021 to 2025. 

"The document additionally testifies to the exceptionally good, friendly, harmonic relations between Croatia and Hungary. The centuries-long history of our two peoples comes to full expression in cooperation and friendly relations," said Minister Fuchs.

He underscored that the way the issue of the Hungarian minority in Croatia and the Croatian minority in Hungary, all the rights that national minorities enjoy, is definitely an example of how relations between minorities could be resolved in other EU countries.

"This program opens further possibilities for cooperation, additional elements that will improve what we have been trying to do this entire time, to preserve the cultural and national identity of our national minorities," Fuchs said.

The program adds a new element to that cooperation. Each country will send their teachers, not members of national minorities but native speakers, to improve and advance courses in their mother tongue. 

Fuchs thanked the Hungarian government for its aid to earthquake-struck areas in Croatia, particularly for the construction of a new elementary school in Petrinja.

Kásler: Both governments attach great importance to public education, the inclusion of minorities in education

Minister Kásler underscored that bother governments attach great importance to public education and the inclusion of national minorities in their own education and culture.

That cooperation exists equally between institutions, students, and teachers, he said.

"This is a beautiful and important station in development and cooperation. Just like Hungary has done for the Croatian minority, Croatia has expanded the possibilities in public education for the Hungarian minority. This is a symbolic step, but it is also very important because it enables that one country provides help for the other," said Minister Kásler.

In that context, he said that since 2010 Hungary has increased its financial investments by three and a half times, from the initial 1.8 billion forints (€5.1 million) to 10 billion (€28.5 million) now.

"We have to discuss material matters that will enable good functioning but I consider that content is just as important. We have 800 years of joint tradition and history, living in peace and allowing coexistence and survival in difficult times," he said.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 8, 2021 - As the season approaches, Croatia and Hungary have reached an agreement to lift restrictions on citizens crossing the border with a vaccination certificate.

The vaccination process is still underway and the cases of infections continue to decrease in Croatia, and it is thus that, as the summer season unfolds, Croatia and its neighbor to the east have reached a bilateral agreement recognizing each other's vaccination certificates with any COVID-19 vaccine.

As hrturizam.hr reports, this is an agreement which, with the presentation of a vaccination certificate, will enable unhindered travel of Croatian and Hungarian citizens between the two countries, and which will be able to cross borders without restrictions, such as mandatory self-isolation or negative test.

This is great news ahead of the main part of the tourist season, during which the highest intensity of tourist traffic is expected in Croatia.

As they point out from the CNTB, good trends from the Hungarian market are confirmed by today's virtual presentation and business workshop organized by the Representation of the Croatian Tourist Board in Budapest in cooperation with the Zadar County Tourist Board. This virtual event brought together more than 110 participants, and almost 300 individual meetings will be held during the day.

"The great interest of Hungarian partners for virtual presentations and business workshops is a good indicator for the tourist season. In addition to reminding all participants of the beauties of Croatia, and especially Zadar County, we informed them about the current travel conditions between the two countries. The news of concluding a bilateral agreement between Croatia and Hungary came at the right time, and a large number of Hungarians will surely choose Croatia as their destination", said Ivana Herceg, director of the Croatian National Tourist Board in Budapest, adding that the first airline between Budapest and Zadar, which will operate twice a week from July, will also contribute to good trends.

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

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ZAGREB, 5 May, 2021 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić on Wednesday met Hungary's incoming Ambassador to Croatia, Csaba Demcsák, expressing satisfaction with Croatian-Hungarian friendly relations.

"Both sides expressed their satisfaction with the long-lasting friendly relations between the two countries while Minister Banožić said that the two countries have developed excellent bilateral military cooperation," a press release from the defence ministry notes.

Banožić spoke about Croatian-Hungarian cooperation within the RACVIAC centre for security cooperation and the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) and at the Multinational Division Command Centre in Hungary, established jointly by Hungary and Croatia, as well as about their cooperation in the EU and NATO.

Ambassador Demcsák presented Hungary's current defence policy, underlining that he believes in the continuation of the two countries' good cooperation, the ministry's press release notes.

For more about diplomacy in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

January the 4th, 2021 - A Hungarian company is set to enter the Croatian gas market through the much talked about Krk terminal.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the purchase of liquefied natural gas through the Krk terminal will provide the Hungarian company MVM with direct access to new resources and clients and entry into the wider Croatian gas market, the group announced on the occasion of unloading their first shipment.

The Krk terminals commercial operations finally began on January the 1st this year with the docking of the tanker "Tristar Ruby", which delivered 155 thousand cubic metres of liquefied gas in total for the Hungarian gas trading company MFGK, a member of the aforementioned MVM group.

This shipment is "the first element of a package of agreements" by which MFGK reserved a total of 6.75 billion cubic metres of gasification capacities and supply contracts for a period of almost seven years back in June 2020, which started on January the 1st, 2021,'' the statement explained.

By supplying through the Krk terminal, the Hungarian MVM group is directly entering the wider Croatian gas market through the Croatian subsidiary of MFGK, in accordance with the strategy of expanding business in the region, which includes Croatia, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, as well as Serbia and Romania, it was added.

The Krk terminal and the procurement contracts concluded by MFGK will provide neighbouring Hungary with "real gas supply and the diversification of (supply) routes" as well as provide direct access to natural gas sources and "market players" that haven't been made available to on the Hungarian market or indeed on regional markets to date.

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August 21, 2020 - Hungary will tighten the rules for border crossings from September 1 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that is rapidly growing in neighboring countries, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on the radio Friday morning. So, what will this mean for Croatia?

"As the school year begins, we will no longer be able to have the border crossing system as it was during the summer," Orban said. Under current rules, those returning to Hungary from countries where the number of new infections has increased must go into quarantine for 14 days, unless they have two negative tests.

Croatia is on the green list

However, Reuters writes that Croatia, which is a popular summer destination for Hungarians, is still on the green list, which means that no special rules apply. Reuters also states that there were 255 newly infected people in Croatia yesterday, bringing the total number to 7329. This number is by no means decreasing. 

Orban did not reveal details about the new restrictions, though it seems citizens are encouraged to take their holidays now before the September 1 deadline. 

I5046 cases of coronavirus infection have been recorded in Hungary so far, while 609 people have died.

Orban also announced a two-year economic recovery plan

Orban, a nationalist who has been in power for more than a decade, also said his government must draw up a two-year plan by mid-next month to boost the economy after an annual 13.6 percent drop in the second quarter.

The government’s official forecast still sees the economy shrink by 3% this year. However, Finance Minister Mihaly Varga said last month that the country's economy could shrink by about five percent.

This was even before the release of GDP data for the second quarter.

On Friday, Orban did not present a new economic forecast for this year.

Source: Index.hr

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