August 29, 2022 - An easy win for the Croatia men's water polo team in their first match at the 35th LEN European Water Polo Championships in Split. Croatia crushed Malta 19:5 at Spaladium Arena on Monday night. 

The third day of the 35th LEN European Water Polo Championships at Spaladium Arena in Split was held on Monday, which finally featured the men's competition and, of course, Croatia's Barracudas!

After the Croatia women's water polo team defeated Germany on Sunday, the men took the stage after the official opening ceremony. 

The opening ceremony also welcomed the highest state, county, and city officials, including Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Split Mayor Ivica Puljak, and Split-Dalmatia County Prefect Blazenko Boban. 

"We are expecting a lot of guests, from the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, ministers, representatives of the city government, heads of the boards of many Croatian companies and our partners, and most importantly, the people of Split and everyone who loves water polo to come and support both our national teams. I am convinced of a good game against Malta in a spectacular atmosphere, as well as I hope that we will reach the fight for a medal with the intimate desire to reach the final," said Perica Bukić, vice-president and executive director of the Croatian Water Polo Federation, before the opening ceremony. 

The opening ceremony also featured Croatian music greats Zorica Kondža, Goran Karan, Tedi Spalato, Lidija Bačić, and Ante Gelo, among others. 

Croatia and Malta met in the 1st round of Group B from 21:00. 

"We are looking forward to the start of the European Championship, which is the end of long preparations, a tiring summer in which we also played the World Championships. We have done everything necessary, the national team is ready for the start of the competition, and we are starting to achieve the biggest and best result possible," said coach Ivica Tucak before the match. 

Match report

1st Quarter

Kharkov won the sprint for Croatia to kick off the first quarter, but the attack went without a goal. Malta's first attack was also unlucky. Loren Fatovic scored Croatia first goal with 6:53 on the clock for 1:0. Malta's next attack also went without a goal. Krzic made it 2:0 for Croatia with 6:19 left.  A brilliant save by Bijac kept Croatia ahead with 3 minutes to go. The first quarter ended 2:0 for Croatia. 

2nd Quarter

Malta won the swim-off for the first attack of the 2nd quarter but failed to score. Croatia did not score in their first or second attack. Malta hit the post with just over 5 minutes to go but still couldn't find the back of the net. Ivan Krapic made it 3:0 for Croatia with 5:15 left. Zuvela intercepted Malta's next attack though Kragic's shot was blocked. Croatia's defense blocked Malta's next attack, and Rino Buric had a quick counter. Buric passed to Kragic, who scored for 4:0. Buric found the back of the net with less than 2 minutes to go until the half - 5:0 Croatia! Malta's first goal of the match came with 1:09 left. A brilliant interception and one-on-one for Loren Fatovic was ultimately called for a Malta ball, and the match went into halftime 5:1 Croatia. 

3rd Quarter

Malta won the swim-off of the third quarter and scored for 5:2 in their first attack. Croatia was unable to score in the next play. Kharkov's shot hit the post, which found Fatovic, who scored for 6:2 Croatia with just over 6 minutes on the clock. Luka Bukic made it 7:2 for Croatia in the next play. Kragic scored a rocket for 8:2 with 5:10 left. Kragic scored for 9:2 with less than 4 minutes to go in the quarter. Rino Buric scored for 10:2 Croatian with 2 minutes left. Fatovic scored for 11:2 with just over a minute to go before the final quarter. Fatovic scored for 12:2 with 44 seconds on the clock. Malta scored for 12:3 to end the third quarter. 

4th Quarter 

Zuvela won the swim-off for Croatia's first attack of the final quarter. Zuvela scored for 13:3. A penalty was called for Croatia with 6:05 on the clock, which Kragic scored for 14:3. Zuvela impressed with a backhanded move around the Malta defender and lob over the keeper for 15:3 with 5:34 left in the match. Fatovic scored for 16:3 with just over 3 minutes in the match. And it was 16:4 after a Malta goal seconds later. A brilliant play in the Croatia attack found Buric alone in front of the Malta goal to score for 17:4. Malta found the back of the net again with 2 minutes to go in the match - 17:5. Krapic scored with 39 seconds left for 18:5. And Kharkov scored the final goal of the match for 19:5 Croatia! 

Croatia plays France next on Wednesday at 20:30. 

Upcoming schedule of concerts at Spaladium Arena's Jana - Water City

Tuesday, August 30

21:00 – Matija Cvek

Wednesday, August 31

22:00 – Mladen Grdović

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

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%.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

Football club Hajduk Split played their first Europa League qualifier against Malta club Gzira United after 29 days of preparations. The first qualifying round was played on artificial turf in Ta' Qali.

Hajduk opened the start of a new European season with a 0:2 win against Gzira United in the first qualifying round at the Centenary stadium in Ta 'Qali, Malta, reports Gol.hr on July 9, 2019.

Siniša Oreščanin’s team managed to secure the victory with goals by Adam Gyurcso in the 44th minute and Ivan Dolček in the fifth minute of injury time. 

Hajduk dominated the first minute but was unable to break through Gzira’s defense in the first half, which ended without goals.

Hajduk’s first real chance was in the 37th minute when Jradi passed two players to find Gyurcso, who missed the goal by 10 meters. Three minutes later, Jurić cut the ball from the right and shot from 20 meters but was also unlucky. 

Hajduk finally had their chance in the 44th minute thanks to a penalty which Gyurcso scored after his shot bounced back off the side post. 

Hajduk could have increased their lead in the 69th minute, though Hamza and Dolček were unable to realize their chances. However, seconds before the final whistle and five minutes into injury time, substitute Ivan Dolček increased Hajduk’s lead to 0:2, which was the final score of the game.

Hajduk arrived in Malta on Sunday and held one official training on Monday evening, and was welcomed by hot and muggy weather, with a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius. The club also arrived in Malta without a few sound names. Namely, Oreščanin could not count on captain Josip Juranović, Mijo Caktaš and Josip Posavec who received an extended rest after the U21 European Championship. 

The second leg is scheduled for July 18th at Poljud. If Hajduk moves forward,  they will play in the second qualifying round against the winner of Latvian club Ventspils and Albanian club Teuta.

More soon...

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

As Mirela Lilek/Novac writes on the 27th of April, 2019, Croatia's situation still isn't good: the country is continuing to ''produce'' graduates with the third lowest employment rate in the whole of the European Union, and as a result, taxpayers pay more and more money for them. According to new data from Brussels, based on a comparative survey of youth employment among Croats with diplomas earned in the last three years, a third of highly educated people aged between 20 to 34 in Croatia have no jobs. Only Italy and Greece are worse.

Of the 28 countries EU member states, Croatia ranked 26th with a 66 percent employability rate. Four positions above Croatia lies Romania, Bulgaria is six places above, and Slovakia is nine places above. Croatia's neighbour to the north, Slovenia, is eleven places above Croatia, Poland is thirteen places above (impressively right behind Ireland and Denmark), and the Czech Republic, with an 89.9 percent employability rate which has impressed the European Commission's experts - has risen to an enviable fourth place.

Malta is in first place in Europe as an employer of its graduates with diplomas, the employment rate of Maltese students stands at a very impressive 94.5 percent, even better than Germany, which boasts a rate of 90.9 percent, followed then by the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and then Austria. The EU average is on the rise, back in 2014 it stood at 76 percent and in 2018 it stood at 80.2 percent. Unfortunately, the Croats have been close to the bottom for years, more specifically for fifteen years, as it has a below-average rate of employability in relation to the EU. Of course, rather than attempt to fix the problem directly, the Croats are doing what the Croats always do - continuing to debate and argue over who is (more) to blame for such embarrassing conditions.

Economists see the issue as being that the Croats aren't adapting easily to the market, and that Croatia also has an old education system. At Croatia's universities, they argue that the key issue isn't Croatia's higher education institutions, but an underdeveloped labour market, low personal income, and demotivating working conditions. Experts from the European Commission have given a relatively simple answer: Investing in education will benefit everyone in Europe.

Let's see how they explain their theories in some of the country's universities, starting with the largest "producers" of graduates in the entire country, the Faculty of Philosophy and Economics in Zagreb.

''We're aware of the importance of linking study programs and labour market needs. In this regard, the Faculty of Economics makes an effort to make it easier for students to access the labour market by establishing multilateral cooperation with companies and respectable institutions that enable students to perform high-quality professional practices,'' stated Sanja Sever Mališ, who deals with strategic partnerships and projects at the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb. The basic message from this particular Zagreb university is that "they connect students and employers so their best students can find work even during their studies." Therefore, there is no concern for them.

On the other hand, Vesna Vlahović-Štetić, Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, admits that Croatia's humiliating placement at the bottom of the employability scale of graduates is still something to be very concerned about and therefore the causes of that need to be looked at.

''I assume that part of the problem lies in insufficient development and the ability of the economy and the public sector to absorb newly graduated students. On the other hand, the question is how many colleges and higher education institutions meet the needs of society with their respective programs. At the state level, in some professions there's hyper-production, and in others there is a lack of experts. Additionally, study programs should be regularly updated and developed to meet not only society's needs but also predict what competences professionals will need in the future,'' the dean says.

Data obtained through the HKO project of the Faculty of Philosophy shows that the employability of their students in the year after graduation is 75 percent. They believe this is the result of "the excellent professional and generic competences of their graduates".

"We're convinced at the Faculty of Philosophy that the study programs need to be further improved, so we have just started the study reform process and I'm sure the future employability of our students will be even better," says the university's dean.

The rector of the University of Rijeka, Snježana Prijić Samaržija, doesn't want to run away from the fact that Croatia's universities do hold a share of the responsibility for this issue but, again, she's convinced that Croatia's higher education institutions are't the key cause of the problem, but the underdeveloped labour market definitely is.

Rijeka University has eleven faculties and four departments. On their official page, they point out that they are a modern European university and a centre of excellence within the region and beyond, and that they are responsible for the social and economic development of the community. Samardžija claims that she doesn't want to relate the worrying data on the high rate of unemployed with higher education, but that "it should be borne in mind that higher education is a better job-finding guarantee, such as landing a permanent position,"

"Of course, it's possible to say that the employment rate would be higher if universities, by some automation, increased their quotas for the job-type deficit and reduced those profiles for which the employment bureaus take care of. In that sense, people often say Croatia's institutions and their enrollment policies aren't adapted to the labour market. However, the situation isn't quite that simple.

For example, the market seeks shipbuilding engineers, we have shipbuilding studies and a corresponding quota at the University of Rijeka, but there's a fall in interest for those studies. We can understand the students' fears about the situation with Croatia's shipyards, but the fact is that the need for this profession is still growing. Similarly, despite the lack of mathematics and physics teachers and the excellent studies we have, the interest doesn't match the employment opportunities,'' she explained.

The University of Rijeka decided to put seven studies ''into retirement'' this year, and isn't accepting students for them. Those are acting and media, dental hygiene, computer science in combination with professional studies of medical-lab diagnostics, mechanical engineering, shipbuilding, and electrical engineering.

On the other hand, there's a considerable level of interest in studies that don't guarantee quick and permanent employment at all, such as the arts, cultural studies, and psychology.

''Young people choose studies according to their personal interests, not just employment opportunities. They don't necessarily just want a permanent job, many of them are accustomed to gaining work experience in different institutions, at different places of work, and in different countries. More and more, they prefer to individually define the curriculum through courses and practical competences beyond their study program(s), which will make their expertise comparatively more special and desirable. In the midst of a sluggish and non-ethnological labour market, more and more students enjoy prolonged youthful relationships with their parents or rent apartments,'' says Snježana Prijić Samaržija.

"I don't want to run away from the responsibility of the university, we're constantly thinking about the jobs of the future, we're working on increasing the quota for the deficit professions and improving our students' competences to reduce the unemployment rate. However, time is needed to see the results of these measures because the higher education cycle lasts for at least five years. It should be understood that universities can't just simply increase quotas for occupations for which there's a labour market need because new employment is frozen,'' noted the Rector of the University of Rijeka.

As Croatia's paradoxical situation of having no work but plenty of jobseekers, yet plenty of work and no staff, it's hard to predict the outcome of education system reforms as the market and its needs can alter so rapidly. Will Croatian students simply continue to trickle away on the stream of a proverbial leaking tap out into Western Europe, leaving Croatia with the rather unenviable title of a country that educates its citizens for work abroad? It's likely such a scenario will continue at least for the foreseeable future. Whether or not Croatia will manage to make the necessary alterations to fix that aforementioned ''leaky tap'' in time remains to be seen.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle, politics and business pages for much more.

Click here for the original article by Mirela Lilek for Novac/Jutarnji

As SibenikIN writes on the 13th of April, 2019, Croats have taken yet another EU record, and it isn't the most encouraging one economy-wise. This time, Croatia has taken the crown when it comes to the age until which young people continue to live with their parents, Eurostat's data shows.

The only country in which young people leave the parental nest later than Croatia is Malta. While Maltese youth tend to leave the parental home at 32.2 years of age on average, the average is 31.9 years old in Croatia, according to Eurostat's data on the matter.

In comparison, in Sweden, the average age at which people leave the parental home is 21 years old, in Denmark it is 21.1 years old, Luxembourg id 21.4 years old, and in Finland, people tend to leave at around 21.9 years old. At the other end of the scale, after Malta and Croatia, come Slovakia (30.8 years old), Italy (30.1 years old), Greece (29.4 old), and Spain (29.3 years old), reports Index.

While this is immediately rather discouraging generally, in Croatia, however, the situation has slightly improved compared to how the situation was back in 2015, when the country took first place, and Malta came second. Back then, the average age that Croats left the parental home was 31.4 years old, and for the Maltese, 31.1 years old. A map of the European Union, published by Eurostat, also clearly shows that at least in this respect, Croatia is at the forefront of the EU - just where it shouldn't be.

According to Eurostat data for 2016, more than half (58.7 percent) of young Croats aged between 25 and 34 were still living with their parents, putting Croatia in first place for this statistic. The average at the EU level is only 28.5 percent, twice as low as it is in Croatia, reports Index.

The Nordic countries which are part of the EU have done the best by far in this respect: Denmark (3.8 percent), Finland (4.3 percent) and Sweden (6 percent). After Croatia come Slovakia (55.5 percent), Greece (55 percent), Malta (51.5 percent) and Italy (48.9 percent), at the extreme opposite end of the scale.

Eurostat also found that in each EU member state, females tend to move out of their parental homes earlier than males do. The biggest gender difference was recorded in Romania, where the age for women is 25.6, and 30.3 years for men. The second is Bulgaria with 26.5 for women and 31.1 for men, while Croatia is once again very close to the top, in third place: the average age for leaving Croatia is 30.4 years of age for Croatian women, and 33.4 years of age for Croatian men.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle and politics pages for much more.