Amid recent reports from the expert witness who revealed his damning findings about just how much of Agrokor's company money the Todorić family used for their own personal expenses, Ivica Todorić, the former owner of Agrokor, hits back publicly.

"The key thing I want to point out today is the fact that the money they're talking about for the fourth time, in what I have to admit is the most totally sensationalist manner, is my money, and I've paid all of the necessary taxes on it," stated the former Agrokor owner and boss.

Ivica Todorić spoke up about the matter in a post after the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list published a shocking article about how much he and his family withdrew from Agrokor. As expected, Todorić has stated that all of that, and all that we see today, stems from the political need of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and his government associates to try to hide their illegal, criminal acts surrounding the former Agrokor.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 1st of July, 2019, here is his statement is transmitted (and translated) in its entirety:

''Over the past few weeks, my team and I have presented a whole host of new evidence on the criminal acts carried out by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenković, and his associates (the Borg Group and others, who've been very specifically mentioned), and we've presented what is, so far, the most comprehensive record of the crimes that took place within Agrokor. That document also has a number of high-profile addresses in the European Union in it.

The first thing I want to say to you, Mr. Plenković, is that you can see that Agrokor is not "PASSE".

Secondly, Mr. Plenković, the Agrokor affair and the Borg affair are the biggest corruption affairs in the history of this part of Europe, and you know that yourself today, as do the citizens of the Republic of Croatia, as does the region and the rest of Europe, they know it very well.

Thirdly, it's obvious that the fact that you've become a burden to yourself bothers you a lot, and with the same intensity, it probably bothers you a lot that you've become a political and legal bomb for the EU. If the content of ''findings'' published on the front page of a certain newspaper is true, then those findings, as I've already said, are fictitious criminal documents, perhaps also falsified, they're just your regular professionally created rubbish.

Everything we see today stems from the political need of Prime Minister Plenković and his associates in an attempt to try to hide their illegal, criminal acts. They're so afraid that they obviously don't understand how their attempts to conceal annihilation are failing because everything is on the table, and around the world, too.

The key thing I want to point out today is the fact that the money they're talking about for the fourth time, in what I have to admit is the most totally sensationalist manner, is my money, and I've paid all of the necessary taxes on it. Therefore, nobody ''took'' anything, that was my money, Becase Agrokor was a private company from 1989 until April 2017. I personally had private money there in accordance with the law, and I paid my taxes on that money correctly.

The Government of Croatia, governed by Andrej Plenković, is breaking down and is continuing with this fake news about me and my family, repeating the same untruths for the fourth time, to draw attention away from the enormous amounts of disturbing affairs, specifically from the recent HNS request for the dismissal of Minister Lovro Kuščević, and what's obviously for them a very unfavourable development of events surrounding the constitution of key EU bodies.

So, to repeat, I spent my private money, and Plenković and his associates have stolen someone else's money.

Obviously today in Croatia, under HDZ, not only can criminals nationalise and loot a private company with the use of an illegal law, but also decide who can do what with their own money which they've duly paid their taxes on.

I'm sure this won't go on for much longer.''

For more information on Agrokor (now Fortenova), Ivica Todorić and much more, follow our dedicated business and politics pages.

As Novac/Filip Pavic writes on the 24th of June, 2019, Mate Rimac, the founder of the Croatian supercar company Rimac Automobili and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković met in the afternoon a couple of days ago in Banski Dvori. During their 45-minute-long talk, which was also attended by Economy Minister Darko Horvat, Rimac agreed with the prime minister for him to finally pay a visit to his facility in Sveta Nedjelja near Zagreb.

Since Prime Minister Plenković has not yet visited Rimac's supercar factory, he has three-hour tour awaiting him on Friday, and there will also be a presentation on how to attract investment and improve the economic climate for investment in the Croatian car industry. Along with Prime Minister Plenković, Minister of Labour Marko Pavić, Minister of Economy Darko Horvat and Finance Minister Zdravko Marić confirmed their planned arrival to Sveta Nedjelja, and the arrival of Education Minister Blaženka Divjak is also possible.

This delegation of the Croatian Government will meet and list, first of all, to the experiences of investing in Croatia from Rimac's prestigious shareholders, made up of representatives of international automotive companies including Porsche, Hyundai and Kia, who have invested 100 million euros in Rimac Automobili over the past few years. Listening to their stories will hopefully be a wake up call for the group of politicians.

In addition, Rimac will share the likely damning results of an intensive two-year study, which analyses why Croatia lags so miserably behind other nearby European countries when it comes to the car industry, and why so many rounds of investment in that field over the past few years have totally, and intentionally, bypassed the Republic of Croatia.

The recent meeting between the two is the result of a multi-month agreement between Plenković and Rimac, which Jutarnji list recently covered, stating that Rimac was finding it all but impossible get an actual date for a meeting with the prime minister. A fact much of the public were unhappy with the HDZ leader for, especially given the positive publicity and investment Rimac has brought to Croatia.

''They know about my ideas. I've already mentioned them on a couple of occasions. I want to present them to the very heads of the government, but we've not been able to sort a date out yet. I gave them some dates over the next two months when I'm available and I'm waiting for their response as to when Plenković can come and see the presentation,'' said Rimac back then.

Despite the fact that Plenković hasn't visited Rimac Autmobili yet made little difference to Rimac's personal and professional drive, the innovative Croatian entrepreneur didn't hang around waiting for his arrival.

Back in May, he published nineteen measures to develop the car industry in Croatia at the Croatia E-mobility Forum. He let the Croatian Government know that we could have up to 50,000 new jobs in that industry alone, as well as the equivalent of nearly half a billion dollars more in the budget, enough for "one and a half Pelješac bridges, 23 university homes, or 53 schools'' had Croatia set its sights on that type of investment at the correct time, just as other countries in the vicinity, such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary already have.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more.

June the 24th, 2019 - Since 2015, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović has been President of the Republic of Croatia. Prior to that, the 50-year-old NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy has so far been the highest ranking woman in the history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Furthermore, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović is the first female president of independent Croatia. Sven Lilienström, founder of Faces of Democracy, spoke with Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović about Croatia’s Presidency of the EU Council in 2020, the gender roles in Croatia and NATO as the backbone of Europe’s security architecture.

Ms. President, you are our 66^th “Face of Democracy”. How significant are democracy and democratic values to you personally?

I remember how much I yearned for democracy, when I was a girl growing up in the communist Yugoslavia. How much I wanted to escape the oppression, lack of freedom and lack of individual choice. This is what motivated me to become an exchange student in the US. Upon return, it was even more difficult to tolerate the failed economic policies, the lack of values, of respect, of democratic institutions and inequality before the state and the law. Thus, I joined the moment for an independent Croatia that wanted to become part of the democratic family of nations.

For me the European Union’s greatest achievements are peace, freedom, democracy, equality, human rights. It is easy to take the freedom it brought to all of us for granted. Or to forget the strong desire of the nations formerly behind the so-called Iron Curtain, behind that high wall that separated Europe, to be part of the free world. That desire guided and invigorated our fight for democracy and liberation. Croatia remembers it well.

As a country which has had its fair share of difficult history, communism and war it had to endure to achieve its independence and freedom, we appreciate peace, liberty, democracy, prosperity and stability even more. And we understand how crucial it is to protect the principles which allow our countries and peoples to live in conditions which a great majority of people on this planet are unfortunately not blessed with. My personal experience makes me appreciate democracy and democratic values all the more.

In the first half of 2020, Croatia will take over the Presidency of the EU Council for the first time. One objective for this period is the accession of your country to the EU and Schengen area. What other items are on your to-do list?

Joining the Eurozone and the Schengen area are our national priorities that we will be working on in the next period. In addition, on the global level, Croatia is ready to start the accession process to join the OECD. When it comes to our EU Presidency, we want to focus on development and growth, employment - especially of youth, connectivity (energy, transport, digitalization), and strengthening the security of our citizens, both internal and external. We will strive to give additional visibility to policies in which we believe we can provide some benefit and our specific know-how - such as tourism and maritime policies. Furthermore, one of our most important priorities is EU enlargement, or - as I like to call it - consolidation of the EU. In this vein, we will host an EU-WB summit in May 2020, twenty years after the first Zagreb summit, which was a turning point for the EU perspective of South East European countries.

In a global environment marked by disintegrating structures and numerous conflicts, NATO is an anchor of stability. What does the NATO membership mean for Croatia?

NATO has been the backbone of the Euro-Atlantic security architecture for decades. Let me emphasize in this context that the Republic of Croatia remains firm in its conviction that NATO is the cornerstone of our security and the backbone of Europe’s security architecture.

In our current security surrounding an arc of instability stretches from our south to our east, as a source of a multitude of traditional and non-traditional security threats and challenges, such as hybrid threats, terrorism and extremism, uncontrolled mass migrations and so on. In such circumstances, NATO’s relevance and importance for Europe’s, as well as Croatia’s security and stability remains unquestionable.

Croatia’s commitment to NATO and support to its goal of a Europe whole, free and at peace is steadfast and we have been proving this by our active participation in all major NATO missions and operations in Afghanistan, Kosovo and the Mediterranean, as well as NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence in Lithuania and Poland.

The further development of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is designed to strengthen the strategic autonomy of the EU. Does Europe need another security institution alongside NATO?

Europe must invest in its security. Investing in security is investing in long-term stability and prosperity. We support the further development of the CSDP and its Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). However, we do not believe in duplication of efforts. NATO remains for us the anchor of our joint defense.

Keyword “emigration”: At present, your country has a brain drain of almost 50,000 citizens per year. Many of them come to Germany. How do you intend to stop the brain drain?

The brain drain is also a consequence of our EU accession. All new EU Member States have experienced the same phenomenon. I have put demographics high on my presidential agenda from the beginning of my mandate. Croatia has talented, educated and diligent young people who fair well at the labour markets across the EU. It is important to implement policies which will keep them in the country. Job creation in Croatia and GDP growth coupled with specific measures for the youth and young families are crucial in this regard. I am content that the emigration process has slowed down recently, but there is much work ahead of us. Now we need to stimulate the return of our recent émigrés.

The gender roles in Croatia are strongly shaped by traditionalist values. You are the first female president of independent Croatia. What developments are taking place in your country with regard to gender diversity?

First of all, Croatia is currently one of only four countries in the world (out of 193 UN Member States) where a woman was elected Head of State directly by popular vote. We have had a female prime minister, and women foreign and defence ministers. I am proud to have recently taken over the Chairmanship of the Council of Women World Leaders (CWWL), the only organization in the World dedicated to current and former women heads of state and government. When it comes to Croatia, gender equality is enshrined in our Constitution as one of the highest constitutional values. We have a whole range of established institutional mechanisms for the protection against discrimination based on gender as well as combating all forms of domestic violence. Croatia is one of the few countries in the world that has a dedicated Ombudsperson for Gender Equality. Furthermore, we developed a Data Base of Business Women in Croatia as well as the Women's Entrepreneurship Development Strategy, which contributed to the increase in number of women entrepreneurs by 23 percent in the last 15 years. We are proud of the fact that we have a smaller gap in wages than the EU average (10 percent in contrast to EU average of 16 percent). Since 2003, a total of 344 women have participated in peace missions and operations around the world. That said, I don't think there is a day when I am not faced with some form of discrimination against women, of gender stereotypes and language that borders on hate speech. Our work is far from done until full gender parity is achieved and violence against women is eradicated, in Europe and the World.

Ms. President, you won the hearts of many people across the world at the World Cup final in 2018. Assuming that you will be elected for a second term in the office: Will you bring the red and white checkered jersey with you to Qatar?

First of all, I have to say once again how immensely proud I am of the Croatian team and their historic second place in Russia, but also of the way they played and carried themselves, of their passion and heart that they left in the field. I am also so proud of the Croatian people, of the sense of pride, unity, belonging and their love for Croatia, that was tangible and that could be felt throughout the country (and seen on TV as well). Of course, I am hoping for the same scenes in Qatar. No matter if I am the President or not, I will be there in red and white checkers cheering the Croatian team on.

Ms. President, thank you very much for the interview!

With thanks to Faces of Democracy for the interview with the President of Croatia.

If you'd like to keep up with more news, views and interviews from the Croatian political scene, make sure to follow our dedicated politics page.

If all is accepted and goes to plan, the very first aircraft would arrive in Croatia this year, and the training of five pilots, engineers and technicians is also thrown in with the very reasonable price tag.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 23rd of June, 2019, ''I'm ready to help Croatia with my experience and offer the quick, cost-effective and realistic procurement of combat aircraft, Mirage 2000, in excellent condition at a total cost of 75.9 million US dollars for twelve aircraft,'' said Zvonko Zubak for Večernji list.

The offer sounds sensational given the fact that Croatia has been struggling quite embarrassingly with the procurement of fighter jets for years now, and considering the fact that MORH failed to obtain the much talked about Israeli F-16s at a price of 500 million dollars due to the opposition of the United States. Now, the Croatian Government is trying to reorganise such a procurement and initiate direct negotiations with the United States and the Swedish SAAB on the procurement of aircraft such as the F-16 or the JAS-39 Gripen.

Zubak's offer comes entirely out of the blue. It's such a shock that if such an offer were to come from someone else, it would be somewhat difficult to take seriously or even begin to believe, but when a name like Zubak is involved, the facts are clear, and that is that he has already proved himself multiple times over as a highly respected international arms dealer.

Zubak sent his initial offer back at the beginning of this month to four addresses - That of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Defense Minister Damir Krstičević and OSRH's General Mirko Šundov.

In his extremely generous and surprising offer, Zubak offers Croatia concrete assistance in purchasing the 12 Mirage C aircraft from the state of Brazil. The aircraft, are completely NATO compatible, were originally manufactured back in 1984 with a residual resource of 150 to 200 of a total of 6,000 flight hours, according to a report from Večernji list.

Make sure to follow our dedicated politics page for much more.

What can Croatia learn from Portugal's dramatic turnaround? Quite a bit, as it happens.

As Novac/Nikola Mijatovic writes on the 9th of June, 2019, most European countries have faced a demographic crisis over the past decade or so, with the exceptions of rich EU nations like the UK and Germany, who have seen an influx of immigrants from other EU states. The number of deaths significantly exceeds the number of births in Croatia, which is also what happened in Portugal, affecting the proportion of the working-active population (employed) and even just state service users negatively.

This is negatively reflected in Portugal's public finance system, and in particular on the financial sustainability of the social security system. It can be said that the demographic aging of the population in the EU is a crucial challenge that currently doesn't have an adequate response offered to it. This was aided by the 2008 economic and financial crisis, which pushed Portugal even further back, seeing it drop to the very bottom of the European economy, taking the general levels of optimism of the Portuguese population down with it.

Portugal currently has 10.3 million inhabitants. Forecasts suggest that by the year 2080, if there are no positive demographic fluctuations, there will be 7.7 million inhabitants. Such a negative demographic breakdown was also influenced by Portugal's entry into the EU back in 1986, when a significant number of citizens, using the benefits of EU's fundamental freedoms, went to live and work in richer European countries such as the UK and Germany.

This should also include about 500,000 people who left Portugal in the wake of the awful 2011-2015 crisis. The poor economic situation in Portugal (additionally supported by the global crisis) affected a large number of unemployed people - in 2015 the unemployment rate in Portugal was 12.4 percent according to Eurostat, by 2018, it was 6.7 percent - especially affecting young people, of whom almost 50 percent were unable to find any sort of job (today the share of unemployed youth in Portugal stands at 20 percent).

All of this led to the figure of 2.3 million Portuguese citizens who went to live overseas. With the extremely negative rate of demographic growth - the lowest rate of demographic growth in the EU for the past few years (fertility rate of 1.4 percent) - Portugal's still lingers at the demographic bottom of the EU.

Significant economic revolutions and better financial parameters from the state are thanks to the formation of a new, left-leaning government which took over at the end of 2015. The growth of the Portuguese economy in recent years has led to the lowest budget deficit since 1974 (when a new government system was established).

Immediately after the takeover of power, in 2016, the new Portuguese government achieved a budget deficit of 2.1 percent, which is within the limits of budget constraints imposed by the EU (the budget deficit cannot be higher than 3 percent of GDP), and in 2018, it recorded a record budget deficit of 0.7 percent of GDP.

Though it has the largest public debt with the EU (with 128.8 percent of GDP in 2007), it has continued to decline over the last three years, to 201.4 percent of GDP (according to Wirtschaftskammer Austria), and the IMF forecasts from February 2019 predict a continued fall in public debt, and it's expected to amount to 107.4 percent of GDP by 2022).

Positive economic developments and the stabilisation of public finances also led to the early repayment of an IMF loan, which Portugal, forced by the economic crisis, took out in 2011 in order to service its financial needs. There is also a rise in its credit rating, which has affected the decline in interest rates on Portuguese bonds.

All of this contributed to stronger foreign investment and strong global business activity in ​​Portugal (Google employs more than 500 people there, Mercedes opened up new office IT offices, and more and more Spanish companies moved their headquarters to Portugal.)

All of the above has led to growth in private consumption, attracting more foreign investment and strengthening exports, and the Portuguese economy has been growing steadily in recent years (2017's GDP growth was 2.8 percent, and in 2018 it was 2.1 percent), leading to a fall in the unemployment rate (forecasts by the IMF indicate that in 2022, unemployment in Portugal will amount to a mere 6 percent).

In addition to a strong growth in tourism, the growth of the economy was affected by the lowering of oil prices on the world market, the increase in the sale of metal products and the increase in exports for the needs of motor vehicles, as well as the textiles and paper industries in EU countries (especially Spain, France and Germany as main trading partners).

The main export products from Portugal in 2018, at least according to Wirtschaftskammer Austria, were car parts (6.8 percent), electric machines (4.1 percent), mineral raw materials (3.5 percent), machinery and mechanical appliances (3.1 percent), and artificial materials/goods (2.6 percent).

The (economic) optimism that is now felt in Portugal is particularly evident in the field of tourism, which has experienced a real boom in recent years; it has received a variety of tourist awards, which attracts numerous (foreign) tourists and leads to an overall rise in tourism revenue.

According to WKO Austria, Portugal was visited by 15.8 million foreign tourists in 2015, then 21.1 million in 2017. It has strongly boosted (overseas) tourist revenues, which in 2011 amounted to 7.9 percent of GDP, and in 2017, they accounted for 9.6 percent of GDP. The strengthening of Portuguese tourism was also influenced by a tax-oriented tourism policy.

While the previous government, due to the crisis and the need for increased tax revenues, decided to increase the VAT rate to an unhelpful 23 percent, the current government has made a tax reduction - it has introduced a 13 percent lower VAT rate on tourism and hospitality, which paved the  way for the attractiveness of the country as a desirable tourist destination.

Positive budgetary and economic developments, among other things, were influenced by the good tax measures introduced by the new left-leaning government. Unlike the previous government, which, in response to the crisis, advocated a savings policy (reducing salaries and pensions) and introduced new taxes, the current government is pursuing expansive economic and fiscal policies by abolishing the reductions and taxes introduced during the crisis.

While it was decided to reduce VAT on tourism and hospitality, taxes on inheritance, gifts and property were raised. Tax exemptions seek to attract foreign pensioners to come and live in Portugal.

In this regard, wanting to take advantage of the mild climate, more than 300 sunny days a year and lower living costs, the Portuguese Government has already stipulated that foreign pensioners applying for a resident status - in the case of multiple residences - must stay at least 183 days oer year Portugal, and can then take advantage of the exemption from paying income tax.

With such tax planning, individuals can save up to 30,000 euros a year, depending on the country they come from and the pension that they have. Politico wrote about this "unusual resident scheme" a few months ago, stating that the well-off baby boomers moving to Portugal are attracted by the warm climate and tax benefits, where it isn't necessary to buy properly (it's possible just to rent). By applying for such a "resident scheme" pensions from abroad can be exempt from needing to be taxed for an entire decade.

2009's tax exemptions for new tax residents in Portugal were imposed. Physical persons who become Portuguese taxpayers (residents) next year, provided that they weren't taxpayers for the previous five years there, may seek the use of a special tax incentive for so-called "unusual" taxpayers.

For them, a proportional tax rate of 20 percent is foreseen regardless of the amount of income earned. There is also a limitation that such tax incentives, which are aimed at attracting highly educated professionals, remain valid only for professional activities in highly valuable positions.

For example, architects, engineers and similar technical professionals, artists, actors and musicians, auditors and tax consultants, doctors and dentists, professors, psychologists, investors, directors, and managers are included in this category. The aforementioned residents are entitled to tax incentives for the next ten years. In addition, under certain conditions, the possibility of a tax exemption for income made outside of Portugal (under the double taxation avoidance agreement, tax is payable only in the source country) is foreseen.

For entrepreneurs from third countries (outside the EU/EEA), in order to accelerate the acquisition of resident status in Portugal and the achievement of related tax incentives, the Golden Residence Permit was launched in 2012. If the investor wants to meet the conditions for obtaining this status, he must invest at least one million euros (share investments are allowed), open at least ten jobs within the investment project, and acquire real estate costing at least 500,000 euros.

By acquiring this status, entrepreneurs from third countries can move around and use the benefits offered within the EU more easily. This program proved to be beneficial to the Portuguese economy because such permits have been obtained thousands of foreign entrepreneurs who have invested more than four billion euros into the Portuguese economy so far, according to public figures. The program itself was supported by almost all political parties.

This also includes tax measures for emigrants, foreseen in the budget for 2019. It is intended to be realised within Portugal's ''Return Program'' (Program Regressar), where those who have emigrated from Portugal, as well as their offspring, are offered incentives if they return to their homeland.

Namely, as has been stated, in the period from 2011 to 2015, in the wake of the economic crisis, about 500,000 Portuguese people left their country. Although some of them returned, the Portuguese Government wants to boost the return of other Portuguese emigrants. That is why the Program Regressar was thought up and eventually passed, in order to, among other things, deal with the task of "meeting the current needs of workers within certain sectors of the Portuguese economy".

As part of this program, the intention is for emigrants who decide to return to receive assistance, help with the costs of relocating and transferring private property, as well as finding a job in Portugal. There are also specific credit facilities intended for returnees who want to start a private business.

Portugal has not only properly addressed their burning issues, but taken the necessary steps to overcome them. Croatia is continuing to lag, with an absolutely dire demographic trend continuing to strip the nation of its much needed labour force, resulting in the Croatian Government increasing the quota for foreign workers from outside the EEA, such as those from Serbia, Bosnia, and even people from as far away as Asia. 

The situation in Croatia is likely to get dramatically worse before it shows any signs of improving, or will the state wake up and follow in Portugal's footsteps? Only time will tell, but by then it might be much too late.

Make sure to follow our dedicated politics page for much more.

As Novac writes on the 6th of June, 2019, fiscal consolidation, investment and business barriers and the burden on the Croatian economy make things very difficult for business in Croatia, according to the results of HUP Skor for 2018, showcased by the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP).

It is a tool to measure the progress of reforms in the twelve critical areas necessary for doing better business and improving life in the Republic of Croatia when compared to the EU 10.

As Gordana Deranja, HUP's president, explained, "HUP Skor is an objective measure of how much we're really reforming."

Since the countries of central and eastern Europe progressed faster than Croatia last year, Croatia's HUP Skor for 2018 is a rather embarrassing 36 out of the possible 100 points, and what continues to push Croatia to the bottom, as was stated by HUP, are taxes and similar burdens. The ratio of general government tax and social contributions to the GDP in Croatia is continuing to rise, and even now it's exceeding the maximum achieved before the reforms in the tax system.

''Structural problems continue to pose a serious threat to adaptation to one of the next crises and permanently limit the speed of economic growth. Although we're satisfied that [Croatia's] GDP grew by 3.9 percent in the first quarter of this year, the fact is that this is still too little and we should be at least four percent more in the long run,'' Deranja said.

"The Croatian economy is the most burdened and that's reflected in its productivity. The economy is congested and has no power to grow," she said.

In addition to the above-mentioned problematic areas in the Croatian economy, the encouragement of investment, productivity and competitiveness, the justice system and the labour market, education, health and pension systems continue to be ''in the red''.

''This year's result suggests that Croatia is lagging significantly behind the EU member states from Central and Eastern Europe, and what's particularly worrying is the fact that Croatia's score is worse than that in countries which are less developed than Croatia, such as Bulgaria and Romania,'' said Davor Majetić, Director of HUP.

Follow our dedicated business page for much more.

When Croatia jointed the European Union back in July 2013, it agreed that it would eventually have to introduce the euro as its main currency as part of its accession to becoming a full member of the bloc. While many are concerned with the eventual introduction of the euro as Croatia's main currency, with a number desiring a referendum on the matter, it seems that Plenković is quite right when he says it's already a done deal.

The first official step in the process of sending the Croatian kuna to the history books has now been taken by the powers that be.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 30th of May, 2019, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić and Croatian National Bank (HNB/CNB) governor Boris Vujčić have requested that Croatia enter the Single European Banking Supervisory Mechanism, the first pillar of the European Banking Union, the primary duty of which is bank supervision, according to a report from Večernji list.

This is the first step of replacing the Croatian kuna with the euro, which could happen in five years.

The single supervisory mechanism is mandatory for all Eurozone member states. It is one of the last steps that Croatia has now taken before it officially requests the introduction of the euro as its main currency, abandoning the kuna, and entering into the European exchange rate mechanism, Večernji list writes.

Rather morbidly, this event coincides with the celebration of 25 years of the Croatian kuna, one of the few European currencies whose introduction is celebrated as a major historical and national event, yet in which citizens have little real confidence and in a country over which the euro still dominates.

While opposition among some members of the public remains strong, when it comes to savings and other financial practicalities of life, the euro has no competition in Croatia, just as German marks never did either.

If all goes well in not only Croatia but in the wider European Union ''family'', Croatia could introduce the euro during the year of the thirtieth anniversary of the introduction of the kuna - 2024.

If that doesn't occur, anything else could. It's possible that some of the sovereign and populist Croatian parties could seek and even succeed in launching a referendum, binding or otherwise, and convince citizens to reject the euro, which will force the government to stop the Eurozone accession process, but, that seems distant for now.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated politics page for much more.

HDZ officials have a strange addiction to making shows of themselves. Sometimes they get themselves in hot water and it is tragically amusing, other times, such as when they engage in corruption, physically abuse their partners, or beat up innocent people for no reason, it isn't funny at all.

One of the stranger things to come out of an HDZ official's mouth (and there have been many) is that Pamela Anderson is waging a special war against Croatia. Yes, you read that completely correctly. Pamela Anderson, from Baywatch, has apparently given up running around on a beach in slow motion with somehow still perfect, sea-proof makeup, to take to leading a war against Croatia. She must really be bored.

As Glas Istre writes on the 28th of May, 2019, Pamela Anderson is a woman who seems to have lived several lives, she's done a lot, and now much of her attention has been turned towards animal rights, such as exposing the horrors of the fur trade, and spreading awareness about the dangers of climate change, oh, and leading private wars against Croatia, at least that's what Split's HDZ boss Petar Škorić seems to believe. While we're sure Pam has a lot better things to be dealing with, let's have a look at what this HDZ official seems to believe she's doing.

Pamela revealed in a recent interview that she supports the left-leaning party Možemo! (We can!) on Twitter, because she has some good friends from Croatia.

''Maybe Croatia needs a political earthquake if you want to stop thousands of Croatian people leaving the country because the economy doesn't work, and if you want to be able to manage the situation where millions of climate refugees will come in two or three decades. My message to Croatia would be: Pay close attention to those movements, support the children who strike, get out of your nationalist past and come back to the future,'' Pamela said.

Her statements were reacted to on Facebook by Split's HDZ chief Petar Škoric, who publicly claimed that the Canadian-American actress and extremely dedicated animal rights activist is waging a special war against Croatia, merely for providing some quite reasonable advice.

Follow our dedicated politics page for more.

Zagreb has many beautiful parks, with the most heavily frequented being the likes of Maksimir and Bundek to name just a couple of them, but there is one other park which is much lesser known than either of the previously mentioned; Grad mladih, located in the eastern zone of Dubrava which longtime Zagreb mayor Milan Bandić has his eye on.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/VLM writes on the 28th of May, 2019, despite being far less known than let's say, Zrinjevac, Grad mladih is still considered by many to be (or at least have been) a pearl of the City of Zagreb, and after the completion of the announced works, the claims are that it will be more beautiful than the likes of Maksimir, Bundek and Tuškanac put together.

A bold claim indeed, but confidently asserted by Zagreb's Milan Bandić during a visit to the aforementioned Zagreb park, where the first machines set to undetake the work arrived yesterday. They began working on the setting up of a 2.5 kilometre long, 2.2 million kuna fence. Works on the complete revival of the former park, affectionately referred to as ''Pioneer'' will take place in four different phases.

After the fence is in place, a video monitor will be set up, followed by all of the necessary communal infrastructure. The water supply network and hydrant network as well as a proper drainage system will be reconstructed.

Out of a total of 43 facilities located in this Zagreb park, seventeen are empty. This year, at least according to the announcements, twelve of them, for which all of the necessary project documentation is still being prepared, will be repaired and thus restored.

As far as the building there is concerned, more than five thousand square metres will be renovated, which includes the renovation of accommodation facilities, as well as the reception, the halls, the galleries, and the restaurants. In about four years, when these works worth a massive 40 million euros should be completed, this Zagreb park will also receive a hall, new playgrounds and a swimming pool, the construction was initially planned back in 1948 when ''Pioneer Town'' was built.

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Click here for the original article by VLM on Poslovni Dnevnik

As Suzana Varosanec/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 23rd of May, 2019, investors have recognised the potential, which for the Port of Rijeka, means a step forward to the leading container-logistics centre in the Northern Adriatic.

With new investments, Rijeka is being returned to the former position that it once enjoyed at the tail end of the 1970's, when it was a large and significant port centre. Those have been the type of messages sent to the director of the Rijeka Port Authority, Denis Vukorepa, on the occasion of the completion of the Zagreb Deep Sea Container Terminal (Zagreb DSCT) project in the Port of Rijeka.

There has been a great level of interest from potential concessionaires, including as many as seven of the world's largest operators from Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. Officially, the Chinese, and also the CRBC which is currently building Pelješac Bridge, have made themselves known.

The Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, will also visit the terminal at which the works are taking place today. To briefly recall, the most important capital project in the Rijeka Gateway Project II, worth 112.5 million euros, of which 84 million euro is from a World Bank loan, while 28.5 million euros is financed by the state. However, in addition to those amounts, the Rijeka Port Administration has continued to invest 40-50 million euros in its own investments.

When this part is completed, individual talks are expected in June and July when potential concessionaires will present their respective terminal management concepts.

It's certainly not excluded that the interest for the second phase of the construction of the terminal will gain traction, and for which permits have been prepared. The expected term for the signing of a contract currently stands at the end of September.

Traffic in the Rijeka basin in the container area has increased by about ten percent over more recent years, but a more dynamic growth in freight volumes and cargo flow is expected, which is the subject of interest for rail freight operators, and is expected to attract a larger volume of truck traffic.

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Click here for the original article by Suzana Varosanec for Poslovni Dnevnik