ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that job-retention grants of HRK 4,000 per employee for August would remain in place for the catering industry, the event industry, passenger transport, and travel agencies.

The grants will be disbursed in September to the event industry, travel agencies, and nightclubs, he said, recalling the relaxation of the anti-epidemic measures as of 1 September.

All other businesses are more or less going back to normal, he said, adding that in case the need for grants emerges in some other sectors, the authorities will consider the matter.

The shortened working week measure remains in force until the end of this year and covers up to 90% of the wages including contributions, Plenković said.

The government is set to turn from the job-retention to job-creation measures, whereby the employment schemes will be bolstered with HRK 500 million, and in 2022 the allocation for this purpose will be HRK 1.5 billion, he added.

HRK 18 billion for job-retention measures, contributions

The job-retention schemes, including the schemes for salaries and contributions, cost HRK 18 billion, Plenković said.

Nearly every second job was covered by the schemes, or 700,000 out of 1.59 million, and 92% of the companies operating in Croatia were covered.

As a result, there are now 52,000 more employees in Croatia than in the corresponding period of 2020, and 6,000 more than in the corresponding period of 2019, the prime minister said.

Furthermore, there are 9,000 fewer people out of work compared to March 2020, just before the outbreak of the pandemic in Croatia, he added.

 (€1 = HRK 7.5) 

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ZAGREB, 11 June 2021 - The event industry said on Friday that together with the Culture Ministry and the national COVID-19 crisis response team they had created a platform for financial incentives to restart the business of event planning companies.

We are also asking for extended working hours because we think that it isn't possible to start a music event before 9 p.m. due to expected high temperatures, so we are trying to arrange that hospitality establishments can stay open until at least 1 a.m., Darko Tuček said in the press release.

We are working on reducing the required square metres of space per visitor to two for outdoor events and on reducing the mandatory distance between table to two metres, so that it would be easier to organise events.

The Fest company nominated the Jarun Open Air event under the slogan "Get Vaccinated and Have Fun Like Before", thus becoming a precursor to a joint campaign which should emphasise the importance of young people getting vaccinated as the only way for us all to return to normal, it was said.

Jarun Open Air is perceived as a concert zone with the greatest musical artists for all generations and visitors. At the festival, there will be a separate zone for visitors who have recovered from coronavirus, who have been vaccinated or tested, so that they could have fun like before, without keeping their distance or wearing masks.

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