Croatia Donates 10,000 COVID Vaccines to North Macedonia
ZAGREB, 2 July 2021 - Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman on Friday donated 10,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to North Macedonia, saying that "efficient vaccination is the only way out of the COVID-19 pandemic."
"Efficient vaccination is the only way out of the COVID-19 pandemic, of course, while maintaining the necessary balance between gradually opening borders and people's health," he said in Skopje.
Assistance to North Macedonia is continuing because the Croatian government decided yesterday to donate another 20,000 vaccines, Grlić Radman said.
North Macedonia's Foreign Minister Venko Filipče thanked Croatia for the donation. The additional 20,000 doses will be from AstraZeneca or Moderna, "which would be the first batch of that vaccine" in the country, he said.
Grlić Radman said Croatia would continue to underline "the importance of Southeast Europe for the EU and support EU initiatives for delivering COVID-19 vaccines to countries in Europe's immediate neighbourhood."
"Only through joint effort and a solidarity-based approach will we create the conditions for sustainable social and economic recovery after the pandemic," he said.
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600,000 Residents in Croatia Were Born Abroad, Where Are They Located?
The unemployment rate for young people up to 29 years of age is the highest among Croatia's domestic population, and the lowest among young people from third countries.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of April, 2019, the Republic of Croatia is among the countries of the EU with the best integrated immigrants from third countries, which can only be met with surprise by those people who do not know that these ''immigrants'' are actually mostly just Croats born in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by a few immigrants from Serbia, Germany, Slovenia, Kosovo and Macedonia.
According to the latest census, 584,947 (13.7 percent) of the population of Croatia were born abroad. The number of migrants are as follows: Serbia (9 percent), Germany (5.8 percent), Kosovo (3.5 percent), Slovenia (3.4 percent), Macedonia ( 1.7 percent). Immigrants to Croatia, predominantly from Bosnia and Herzegovina, are doing much better in terms of the employment rate of young people up to 29 years of age, meaning that they're significantly better integrated into the Croatian labour market than those born in Croatia and those from other EU countries.
This data were presented by sociologists Snježana Gregurević and Sonja Podgorelec, and social geographer Sanja Klempić Bogadi from the Institute for Migration and Ethnicity in the presentation "The Influence of Immigrant Groups on the Social Cohesion of the Receiving Society - the case of Croatia".
A large number of Croatian residents born in Bosnia and Herzegovina are the result of labour migration during the socialist period of Yugoslavia and immigration during the Bosnian war. Most immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina live in Zagreb (98,579), Split-Dalmatia County (36,864), Zagreb County (35,427), Brod- Posavina (29,537) and Osijek-Baranja County (28,051), these are the "entrance" Croatian counties, those closest to the border regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the exception of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, from which emigration towards Croatia was the most intensive,'' stated Klempić Bogadi.
By the year 2015, Croatia, along with Serbia, Germany and Austria, was the most common destination for immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, since 2016, the trend is for the Bosnian population to migrate to Germany and Austria, and the number of such persons in Croatia and Serbia is steadily decreasing.
"According to Eurostat's data, immigrants from third countries, predominantly immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, are better involved in the Croatian labour market than the domestic population and immigrants from other EU countries in terms of the employment rate of young people aged from 15 to 29. The employment rate of young people from third countries in Croatia is higher by 18 percent when compared to the employment of domestic youth,'' said Snježana Gregurović.
As stated, the unemployment rate for young people up to 29 years of age is highest among the domestic Croatian population, and is actually the lowest among young people from third countries.
"Because of their small share of the total population of Croatia, immigrants haven't endangered or undermined the country's social cohesion. Because of the modest share of the immigrant population in Croatia who do not have Croatian ethnic origin, and the large share of those who do have it, the integration challenges are not yet posing any sort of significant cost to the state, or a threat to the domestic population,'' says Podgorelec.
In Zagreb, the largest concentration of immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina live in Sesvete, where the research "Influence of immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina on the socio-demographic development of Croatian urban regions" was conducted on a sample of 301 people aged 18 and over born in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Most of them (93.4 percent) were ethnic Croats, ethnic Serbs made up 3.7 percent of them, Bosniaks made uo 2.3 percent, and 0.7 percent was made up of others. Otherwise, 85.2 percent of Croats born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and living in Croatia are actually Croats, 6.3 percent of them are actually Serbs, and just 6 percent are Bosniaks.
A third of respondents hold dual citizenship, (Croatian and Bosnia and Herzegovina). Almost half of them work, of which 68 percent are mostly in trade or the construction industry. 14.6 percent are unemployed, those who stay at home make up 6.6 percent, pensioners make up 29.2 percent, and students and pupils in education make up 2.7 percent. The largest number of immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina living in Sesvete have secondary education, and 6,3 percent have higher education.
"Most respondents feel very welcome in the local community, they have a strong sense of belonging to the Croatian society, and they vote in large numbers during elections in the Republic of Croatia, but are exceptionally poorly involved in any organisation and/or civil society. Given the fact that many of them also have Croatian citizenship and therefore they vote in the elections in the Republic of Croatia, many are significantly less interested in political developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which shows a high level of political integration,'' concluded Podgorelec, reports Večernji list.
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Sućuraj's Search is Over as Macedonian Doctor Takes Position
As we reported recently, an attractive position being offered for the last six months in Sućuraj on the island of Hvar went unanswered by any Croatian doctor, but while tumbleweed appeared to roll by the ageing job advertisement in Croatian terms, one applicant, the only applicant, did get the job.
As Morski writes on the 23rd of January, 2019, the Sućuraj clinic on the island of Hvar has finally managed to obtain a permanent doctor. The physician from Macedonia had to pass a few exams to make sure her foreign diploma could be recognised in Croatia and started working at clinic in Sućuraj on Monday. Sućuraj's brand new doctor is 36-year-old Divna Vojnovska.
The arrival of a doctor from Macedonia was officially confirmed by Dalmacija Danas after having been informed by the director of the health centre of Split-Dalmatia County, Dragomir Petric.
''I'm surprised by the media hysteria about this case. Recently, doctors are mentioned by the media only in bad cases, and they bypass the good ones among us,'' the director stated.
''It isn't news here that there's now a doctor from Macedonia, but the real news is that it is the first local self-government in our county that has provided all of her conditions, which means an apartment and a 50,000 kuna annual bonus. In my view, it's secondary news that the person who came here isn't from Split but from Macedonia or some other country,'' added Petric.
Dr. Vojnovska: I love Dalmatia!
Dr. Divna Vojnovska revealed that she's not afraid of the winter blues and boredom on the sunniest Croatian island and that she is already very much in love with the sea.
''Yesterday was my first day in Sućuraj. I'm satisfied. The first day there were a few more people, I guess they wanted to meet me. Today there have been less. Otherwise, there are about 400 patients in Sućuraj,'' Dr. Vojnovska said.
''The accommodation is good, I got a big apartment. I haven't met a lot of people yet, but since I signed a contract for one year, which is how long my work permit lasts, I believe that I'll gain friendships on the island. Of course, there's always the possibility of extending my contract. Generally, I'm satisfied with everything offered,'' concluded Sućuraj's new doctor.
Šibenik Police To Be Helped By Czech, German and Macedonian Police
As Dubrovnik and Zagreb police get help from China, Šibenik's police are to be joined by Macedonian, Czech, and German colleagues.
Slovenia Sends Army to Croatia Border As More Refugees Get Stranded
Refugee crisis starting to escalate?
