Much like an unpleasant odour, former PM Ivo Sanader is back in the limelight, at least that of the court room, once again.

As VLM/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 2nd of April, 2019, two years after the Zagreb County Court announced their verdict in the Planinska affair, former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader is set to appear at the Supreme Court, in a hearing which will deal with his appeals against that previous judgement.

In the Planinska affair, former prime minister Ivo Sanader (HDZ) was handed down a verdict which saw him sentenced to four and half years in prison, while Mladen Mlinarević and Stjepan Fiolić were sentenced to one year in prison each, with that punishment being overturned for community service instead.

Hefty fines were imposed on the two accused companies, the Fiolić butchery was punished with a 50,000 kuna fine, and the the accused livestock reproduction centre was hit a fine of 70,000 kuna. The verdict saw it decided that Ivo Sanader, Stjepan Fiolić, the Fiolić butchery, and the aforementioned centre must jointly return fifteen million kuna, while Ivo Sanader faced more punishment on top of that.

It is anticipated that session of the Supreme Court dealing with the Planinska affair will last three days, during which the defense should explain their appeals. The defendants complained of substantial violations of the criminal procedure and demanded that the verdict be terminated. The main request is for the Supreme Court to revise the previous verdict and subsequent sentence(s).

The maximum prescribed punishment is being sought for former PM Ivo Sanader, which currently stands at ten years behind bars, is because the belief is that this is truly a case of the "worst form of political corruption which he [Ivo Sanader] himself devised, and in its realisation he was insistent and persistent, just as he was persistent and diligent in hiding it". As for Mladen Mlinarević, they believe that he and Ivo Sanader have shown that this was not a case of misconduct but pure corruption as a form of lifestyle.

The Planinska affair gave way to one of Ivo Sanader's most controversial court proceedings to date, which was often interrupted due to his various health problems. Due to these postponements, the trial took place from April 2013 right up until April 2018.

Several years later, Ivo Sanader was placed on trial again in repeated trials for his involvement in the INA - MOL and Fimi Media affairs.

While waiting for the Supreme Court to pass its decision on the appeals to the previous sentence for the Planinska affair, Ivo Sanader was sentenced to two and a half years in prison back in October last year in the Hypo scandal, and his verdict was acquitted in yet another affair involving HEP. If the Supreme Court confirms the previous ruling for the Planinska affair, it means that Ivo Sanader will soon be back behind bars once again. If the judgement is terminated, it will mean that another repeated trial, which in true Croatian fashion, is likely to last for years, will occur.

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

Click here for the original article by VLM/Poslovni Dnevnik

Zagreb draws people from across the country and the wider region to march in the name of transgender rights.

The Republic of Croatia is known as a conservative country, and while there are people of all backgrounds, ethnicities and religious beliefs (or none whatsoever) living in Croatia, the dominant religion is Catholicism. Most people in Croatia identify as Catholic if asked, even if they don't actively practice the religion or attend church regularly, or at all.

Gay pride has become somewhat of a staple in some of Croatia's larger cities, including the capital of Zagreb, Split, and in the typically much less conservative Rijeka along the northern Adriatic coast. While gay pride parades generally pass by without many incidents, Croatia still has a long way to go before such parades are as accepted as they are in other European capitals such as London or Berlin.

What of those who are transgender, you might ask? As france24 writes on the 30th of March, 2019, Croatia hosted its very first transgender march yesterday, which attracted approximately 300 people from Croatia and the wider region to Zagreb to march in an attempt to draw attention to the discrimination they feel they face in what is a largely, but not entirely, conservative part of Europe.

Those marching were accompanied by special police as they marched through the streets of the capital on the warm, sunny spring day this weekend, blowing whistles and brandishing signs and banners attesting to their struggle within society. 

The organisers of the Zagreb march spoke about the concerning rise of ''right-wing groups'', even going as far as to refer to such groups as ''fascists'' who seek to focus their ''attacks on marginalised people'' which they claim include women, migrants and transgender individuals. They claimed that the march encompassed not only trans rights but desired to draw attention to ''all forms of oppression,'' according to a statement from the organisers.

Since its accession to the European Union back in 2013, Croatia has seen the gradual liberalisation of gay rights, and homosexual couples have been perfectly free to register themselves as life partners, just like unmarried heterosexual couples, since the year 2014. That law afforded them the same rights which were already enjoyed by homosexual couples who are legally married, which include matters involving property, tax, health and social insurance, and various other things.

In spite of Croatia's numerous steps forward, which have picked up their pace quite significantly since the country's accession to the political-economic bloc, issues still remain for people seen as as marginalised, which includes both gay and transgender people.

A trans activist from the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana stated that solidarity is key, and that the march was an emotional one as it saw all of the people from across the region, which like to fight with each other at the best of times, coming together in Zagreb in the name of such an important matter.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle and politics pages for much more. If it's just the capital you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow.

Click here for the original article by france24

At the start of the enfeebled Uljanik's bigger problems, the Croatian Government's view was either restructuring or bankruptcy, and now there's no time to devise any sort of new solution.

As Marija Brnic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 28th of March, 2019, the government rejected the offer of strategic partner Brodosplit for Uljanik's restructuring, and thus, although the prime minister tried to avoid actually saying it, a process that would have a domino effect on all the companies operating within the Pula-based group system was launched.

The fact that there is no longer a strategic partner for Uljanik, which was the main argument for the postponement of the opening of bankruptcy proceedings in the previous proceedings on the 3 Maj shipyard and Uljanik's other companies, is changing the situation and it is now clear that no matter how much room the government initially left for some possible new solutions, the judge in Pazin doesn't have much of a choice today and will determine that the conditions for declaring bankruptcy for the Uljanik shipyard are now fulfilled. Such a decision automatically withdraws what the Rijeka court stated and opens bankruptcy proceedings for the 3 Maj shipyard.

All the speculations that there could be another possibility for Uljanik, for which Prime Minister Andrej Plenković left space in his statement, are empty stories, not only because of the fact that right at the very beginning of Uljanik's growing woes, the government's position was that the only possible scenarios for Uljanik's rescue were restructuring or bankruptcy, but also because of the fact that now, there is definitely no more time available to come up with a new solution for the burdened shipyard. When it comes to the question of the possibility of the continuation of shipbuilding in Pula and Rijeka as a whole, the key question remains the same - how many ships could buyers actually be found for, and then arrive other questions regarding financing through bankruptcy.

Two ships that are now in their final stages of construction in Pula were de facto detained over the past few days by the company's emotionally exhausted employees, and Uljanik's workers aren't finishing the job, because "other" workers, not from that shipyard, are working on Scenic's polar cruiser, while Jan de Nul is awaiting the government's decision to pay the requested difference of 22 million euros and to take over and finish it in Trieste, Italy.

From Pula, the request was for the completion of construction to be carried out in Uljanik, but the government didn't even discuss that yesterday, so it remains unknown as to whether the Ministry of Finance has worked to meet the necessary conditions, and if so, when it intends to pay any price differences and deal with the issue of the contracted vessels.

Although it's quite impossible to describe the situation surrounding Uljanik and Croatian shipbuilding as a whole as anything remotely positive, its rather lucky, analysts agree, that all of this happened and seems to have finally reached its peak in a year in which a surplus was recorded, but that doesn't minimise the issues Uljanik faces, nor does it even begin to confront the shipyard's overworked and well and truly underpaid employees.

The interesting thing which always happens in Croatia is the intertwining of business and politics. Just like with the messy Agrokor situation that has dominated the Croatian media for the past couple of years, there is always a political element, and if there isn't really one, someone will make you believe there is. The Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) has accused the Croatian Government of purposely trying to cause issues by using the Uljanik saga to its benefit, even claiming that the ''government's lack of action and indecisiveness'' is an attempt to destabilise Istria.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated business and politics pages for much more.

Click here for the original article by Marija Brnic for Poslovni Dnevnik

A look at the possible Brexit scenarios and what they mean for Croatia's confused British residents.

Brexit has been delayed. If May can't get her deal through parliament, or if no other way forward is proposed, the UK could end up with a disorderly No Deal exit, despite parliament having voted overwhelmingly against it. If May passes her deal or parliament finds another route and that is passed then Brexit has been delayed until May the 22nd to allow for the necessary legislation to be passed. The UK cannot delay Brexit any further unless it agrees to partake in the European elections. Farcical, no? 

Anyway, La La Land, sorry... I mean Britain, aside, let's see how things currently stand for Croatia's resident Brits. I've tried to update you a lot, but as you know, the Brexit situation has changed more times than Boris Johnson has changed his political beliefs, so it doesn't always mean much. Still, let's give it a go.

May's deal/withdrawal agreement passes:

If, in the unlikely event May's deal passes during the third meaningful vote on it (third time lucky?), then the withdrawal agreement concluded back in 2018 will come into force on May the 22nd this year, giving way to a transition (implementation) period until what we currently believe to be the end of December, 2020. This however, could be extended and altered. 

What does this mean?

It means that you need to make sure you're correctly registered with the authorities (MUP/Ministry of the Interior) as a resident in Croatia. You need to be in possession of a valid residency permit or the white piece of paper proving you've been approved and you're just waiting for it to be made, before December 2020. If you're due to gain permanent residency (after five years of continuous, lawful residency in Croatia), you can apply for it as an EU citizen would during this time. In short, nothing will alter.

Here's a more detailed guide I wrote a few months ago.

May's deal fails again, parliament can find no way forward, No Deal occurs:

This remains unlikely as this is only the desire of a handful of people who seem hell bent on such an insane idea. Still, it could happen. You need to make sure you're correctly registered with MUP as stated above, and your registration, receipt of registration and/or residence permit will act as proof of your British citizenship and proof of you having been resident in Croatia before the UK's withdrawal from the EU. It's hugely important that you do this if you haven't already. 

Here's how you should prepare for all scenarios, this guide will help you make sure you're on the right side of the law should the UK crash out of the EU with no deal next month. 

Here are MUP's guidelines, with our explainers and points thrown in, in the case of a No Deal Brexit. Croatia has now finally confirmed it will protect British citizens living legally in Croatia and minimise any disruption as much as possible regardless of the Brexit outcome. Click the above link and read carefully. Here's MUP's original post on the subject.

Is there any new information?

Yes and no. Here's what we know so far: Croatia has committed to protect its British residents regardless of the outcome, which is good news. You can click here for an overview of each EU member state's guidelines for residence rights for Brits in the unwanted event of the UK leaving without a deal. It isn't in alphabetical order, so scroll down until you find Croatia, or don't, because I'll just write what you need to know here and explain each point as necessary anyway. Here goes:

''In order to provide for the regulation of residence status of UK nationals and their family members, who on the day of departure of the UK from the European Union have already registered their temporary or permanent stay or have been issued with a residence card pursuant to Title X of the existing Aliens Act, certain amendments to the draft proposal for the Act on EEA nationals and their family members have been proposed.  

Those provisions provide for keeping the existing residence status and lay down the right to work without obtaining additional authorisation (this provision will have no end date). 

The residence documents already issued under the existing Aliens Act will be recognised as temporary national residence permits for nationals of the United Kingdom and their family members after Brexit (option c). These temporary national residence permits will be valid maximum up to one year from the entry into force of the Act (or until their expiration date, if the said date is shorter).

An obligation has also been prescribed to replace residence documents within a year from the entry into force of the Act. New residence permits will be issued in the format laid down by Regulation 1030/2002. 

Pursuant to a special procedure, the draft Act will be sent before the Croatian Parliament for urgent legislative procedure.

b). On 19 March 2019 total of 655 UK nationals have regulated their residence in the Republic of Croatia (358 on temporary residence and 297 have permanent residence).

Having this in mind, we do not currently expect overburden of our administrative capacities.

We aim to implement a simple and straightforward procedure in order not to overburden UK nationals.

Therefore we are considering accepting applications for exchanging the recognised temporary national residence permits after 30 March 2019 (or no deal Brexit date) and issue first permits in accordance with Regulation 1030/2002 afterwards (in order to replace any temporary documents).

c). We have made a proposal for a recommendation addressed to all UK nationals and their family members residing in the Republic of Croatia who intend to continue residing in the Republic of Croatia, to register their residence in the Republic of Croatia in line with the provisions of the existing Aliens Act.

This recommendation was published on the website of the Ministry of the Interior https://mup.gov.hr/vijesti/information-concerning-the-future-relations-between-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/283273

What does all that mean?

In short, legislation is being put forward to mean that the current residence document/permits you hold now, which were obtained via your EU treaty rights (the right to live and work in any EU member state) will remain valid for one year, or less if you're due to update them (renew or apply for permanent residence) in less than one year. 

This legislation will mean that essentially, British citizens already residing legally in Croatia will be treated like all other EU citizens and their unrestricted entitlement to access the Croatian labour market will remain as it is now - permanently.

There aren't many Brits living here, so there shouldn't be any particular extra burden felt by MUP or by individuals.

Eventually, residence cards obtained through EU law will cease to be valid for British nationals, but there's nothing to worry about, you simply exchange them for whatever the new ones will be. Croatia is considering beginning permit exchanges as of the 30th of March (however this might be worth bypassing considering the fact that the UK will almost certainly still be a member of the EU on that date).

Need an example?

1) Let's say you're due to get permanent residency this year. You'll apply for it as normal just like you were still an EU citizen, and you'll be granted under the same conditions as EU nationals. Ask the official if you'll need to alter it in a year's time. If you do, you won't be asked to make an application again, it will be a simple exhange for a new permit. It will still be permanent residence, just maybe a slightly different looking card.

2) You've still got a few years to go before you hit that magic five year mark. Your current temporary residence permit will remain valid for another year. Go and exchange it for whatever the new document will be as soon as MUP announce they're beginning exchanges to save you any extra burden. Ask at your local police station for information on this, or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

3) Let's say you've somehow managed to live in Croatia without any sort of residence permit (yes, it happens), you need to go and register your residence now and get a five year temporary residence permit. You can then exchange it for whatever the new document is when MUP begins exchanging cards, and then eventually get permanent residence.

What about healthcare?

If no other way forward is found and no further extension to the Brexit process is agreed, the UK will crash out of the EU. In this case, the EU health insurance card will cease to be valid for British citizens. As things stand, we can reveal that the Croatian Government is preparing a Draft Law Proposal on a Temporary Measure in the area of Obligatory Health Insurance designed to provide transitional healthcare arrangements after the UK leaves the EU to those who are residents in Croatia.

We'll update you as soon as we know more about what that means.

Make sure to follow British Embassy Zagreb on Facebook, and sign up for email alerts from gov.uk's Living in Croatia page, which is updated as soon as any new information comes out. Give our dedicated politics page a follow for much more on Brexit and beyond.

As tportal writes on the 24th of March, 2019, in just a few day's time, it will have been a full two years since the adoption of Lex Agrokor. Four and a half months since his extradition to Croatia after a year of fighting his corner in London, there are still no actual indictments against Ivica Todorić and his managers in the former Agrokor system. After having announced his desire to enter into politics, followed by a brief yet rather deafening silence, N1's guest was no less than the former owner of Agrokor, Ivica Todorić himself.

Asked to comment on the notion that he symbolised absolute power two years ago, built and owned the most successful company in the Balkans, and today he's a destroyed businessman awaiting his indictment, the ever smiling Ivica Todorić said he was in exactly the same form and acts very much in the same way as he did two, three, or four years ago.

''I'm doing more than I've been doing for the past forty years and I'm going to be honest, maybe I'm even happier today, a happier man than I used to be,'' a grinning Ivica Todorić told N1, saying that he was fighting for another thing now, and that is a fight against Croatia's corrupt system. He said that he was far from destroyed, quite the contrary.

For the last two years, the state has been preparing a trial against you, claiming that you committed crimes within Agrokor...

''I don't bother having anything to do with that, some accusations against me, what they're saying, and what they've tried to imply, it will be one serious legal document of this shameful Croatian state ... After thirty years, I left my company. In the last thirty years, everything remained within the company, all my mails, SMS's, accounts, all my transactions, all my contracts, everything remained within the company! Why not show us just one receipt?! What they did in Agrokor in a year, what crimes they were committing...'' questions Agrokor's former top dog.

Although DORH argues that the value of the company fell due to debts, Ivica Todorić claims that he has full evidence of the value of the company.

''What they made out of Agrokor today, I can't get 2.5 billion for the whole group. What destruction they've caused. When you talk about DORH and the process against me... Unbelievable. They claim I took some money. They know where the money went, where the accounts are. I took about 470 million euros in personal debt and gave it all to Agrokor. Agrokor was indebted to me, not me to Agrokor! And sure, it's like I've taken something...'' said Agrokor's ex boss.

He also said that Božo Petrov lured him to a meeting and he arrived like something out of the mafia in the night. "That was a weird meeting, I did't understand anything," Ivica Todorić said.

When asked if he was looking for money from the Croatian Government for Agrokor, he said: ''What do you mean? What money? Agrokor wasn't in trouble. It was only important for them that I came to be able to say that I came, so they could say that I was looking for something,''

He also said that none of the suppliers who worked with Agrokor had suffered any damage, but that was why he acted in the manner he did towards CNB/HNB's governer Boris Vujčić, about whom he had few nice words to say.

"He absolutely ruined me, he'd talked to some vulturous funds, gave them preferential information. You'll see what will still be done, what will be found out. That Vujčić has dragged Croatia to the bottom of the bottom. He put me, Agrokor, a thousand of our suppliers in position in which we had to pay more interest,'' said Ivica Todorić.

He also commented on the possible return of Antonio Alvarez III (Yes, that's really his name), who was among the very first to appear on Agrokor's then crumbling stage just after the passing of Lex Agrokor, allowing the government to intervene in the enfeebled company's affairs.

"This about them calling Mr. Alvarez and what they're doing, you can see that they're just lost, they don't know what they're doing, they don't know where they're going," he remarked.

Ivica Todorić believes that the Fortenova Group, which will soon be the ''new'' Agrokor, won't actually exist for years, nor will it be anything compared with Agrokor's entire business. He also believes that DORH is working to protect Andrej Plenković.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle, business and politics pages for more info on Ivica Todorić's entry onto the Croatian political scene and much more.

The City of Dubrovnik wants 30 million kuna and 30 percent of future revenue for the use of the popular Srđ cable car without a concession contract.

As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of March, 2019, the several year long ''argument'' over the concession of the Srđ cable car has escalated to the extent it has because the City of Dubrovnik filed a lawsuit against Excelsa nekretnine (real estate) owned by the Lukšić family, accusing them of the unlawful acquisition of money. The amount that City of Dubrovnik is seeking for the use of the popular cable car without a concession agreement is 30 million kuna, as Dubrovnik's mayor Mato Franković announced last week.

He also explained that DORH had given the company a deadline which is the end of this month to comply with the law of the Republic of Croatia, to pay a concession fee to both the City of Dubrovnik and to the state, and by April the 1st, they are obliged to sign a concession agreement with the City of Dubrovnik.

If this doesn't happen, the cable car will be closed because its use would then be illegal, Mato Franković said, adding that a new report showed that the concession fee of 15 percent is too low and the belief is that it should be 30 percent. At the next session of Dubrovnik's City Council, a proposal to annul the old motion and to propose a new one will take place. In an interview with Poslovni Dnevnik, Anto Rusković, the director of Excelsa nekretnine explained why a concession contract has not yet been signed and that the company will not agree to an even higher fee than the one which was previously proposed.

Do you admit that there is a 30 million kuna debt to the City of Dubrovnik? Do you consider that the city's claim is justified?

The City of Dubrovnik filed a lawsuit against Excelsa nekretnine in the amount of 20.1 million kuna, and Excelsa nekretnine will pay as much as is determined by a final court judgment. Given that such verdicts still haven't come to pass, and in order to ensure that the City will be able to be paid if the court's verdict goes in its favour, we have offered the City of Dubrovnik the appropriate means of securing its eventual receivables in good will. It should be stressed that, if [any debt] exists at all, then it has arisen because the City of Dubrovnik hasn't offered a conclusion to the concession contract to date.

Why has a concession agreement between Excelsa nekretnine and the City of Dubrovnik not been signed yet?

Excelsa nekretnine has applied for a concession, with the concessionary terms agreed with the City of Dubrovnik, filed in August 2015, while the City of Dubrovnik hadn't issued a concession decision in accordance with the agreed terms until April 2018. In the meantime, the city brought in and then revoked several concession-related decisions, and the last one from April 2018 hasn't yet been implemented. It's necessary to clarify that we have been seeking concessions since 2010, but we had to wait for the applicable legislation by the state. The law granting concessions to cable cars entrusted to local self-government units was passed in 2014 and then we started negotiations with the city, finally agreeing on the concession conditions in July 2015. Since then, the process has only become more complex and has led us to the situation in which we find ourselves today. If the concession contract was signed in 2015 as was agreed, the City of Dubrovnik would have got its concession fee the entire time and there would be no dispute today.

Is the closure of the cable car expected?

In the potential situation of the closure of the cable car, all sides will suffer significant losses, especially Excelsa nekretnine and its partners, since the work of the cable car provides jobs for a significant number of people.

Furthermore, if the cable car closes, the state budget will lose part of the tax revenue, and the City of Dubrovnik will not receive any revenue from the concession. It's important to note that since the beginning [of the work of the cable car] Excelsa nekretnine has contributed more than 122 million kuna in taxes and contributions to the state budget, predominantly based on the cable car's business.

We believe that the scenario of its potential closure should be avoided, but we're not in a position to make such a decision. Not only are we disappointed in the way the authorities are acting, but we're also frustrated by the fact that, unsuccessfully, we've repeatedly tried to solve this problem with a reasonable and rational approach. Unfortunately, this negative attitude towards investors will not contribute to improving the investment climate in Croatia.

Do you have a license from the Ministry of Transport to work on the lift and on what basis does has it been provided?

Excelsa nekretnine received approval from the Ministry of Transport for the carriage of passengers by cable car before the cable car even started working back in 2010. At that time, such approval was granted instead of a concession due to the long duration of the concession-issuing procedure, as is written in the very approval. Had Excelsa nekretnine not received explicit permission to carry out activities of the carriage of passengers by cable car, we wouldn't have even begun doing so.

The mayor has announced that he will seek 30 percent of the revenue in the concession contract, which should be signed by April the 1st. Are you ready to agree to that?

We still haven't had any insight [into that] and we don't have access to the new expert testimony mentioned by the mayor which points to the need to increase the fee by 30 percent, so we can't comment on it either. On the basis of the previous expert testimony, we can see that such fees, twice the amount previously agreed, is unfounded. The City Council already approved the concession fee in April last year. We consider that the City of Dubrovnik should send a contract under the previously agreed terms and end this whole situation, which has already been going on for far too long.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more. If it's just Dubrovnik and the extreme south of Dalmatia you're interested in, give Total Dubrovnik a follow.

Click here for the original article/interview by Marija Crnjak for Poslovni Dnevnik

The German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is paying an official two-day visit to the Republic of Croatia from Germany today, the plans include for him to pay a visit to the German and French international school "Eurocampus" and get a taste for the incredible creations of Croatia's most well known entrepreneur, Mate Rimac.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of March, 2019, upon the invitation of Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the official visit of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany will begin with a ceremony at the Presidential Office, a friendly tête-à-tête meeting between the two presidents and a bilateral meeting of the official delegations of the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Germany.

After meeting with President Grabar-Kitarović, President Steinmeier will meet with Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and go to Zagreb's beautiful Mirogoj cemetary, where he will place a wreath in front of the monument entitled ''Glas hrvatske žrtve - Zid boli'' (The voice of Croatian victims - The wall of pain).

As mentioned, between or after having met with the necessary persons who make up essential parts of the Croatian Government and the Croatian president herself, Germany's Steinmeier will visit the German and French international "Eurocampus" school, as well as the one and only Rimac Automobili which is located in Sveta Nedelja, not too far from the capital city of Zagreb.

Mate Rimac is the undoubtedly the face of modern day Croatian entrepreneurship, echoing the memory of Nikola Tesla from many moons ago. Mate Rimac's Rimac Automobili company was founded back in 2009 with its headquarters located in Sveta Nedelja in Zagreb County, where it remains to this day. The German President's visit to the company's headquarters will continue to send out the message that despite all - you definitely can make it work in Croatia.

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

Since as far back as 1998, when a person is left without work, their health insurance and the right to receive health care has been made possible by going and registering with the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO).

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 19th of March, 2019, although thousands upon thousands of people have left Croatia in recent years, many of them are still being treated medically in their homeland, primarily because it pays off more than doing so elsewhere. This trend was warned about by the Croatian Association of Contracting Ordinations. They estimate that as many as 330,000 people who don't actually live in Croatia are still exercising the right to the country's health insurance benefits through HZZO.

As mentioned, since back in 1998, when a person becomes left without work, their right to health insurance is realised rather simply via registration with HZZO. At the same time, this person does not actually have to be regisered as unemployed officially, as was explained by HZZ. This leads to a large number of people working and paying their taxes over in Germany, and coming and getting their teeth fixed while on holiday in summer in Croatia.

This is apparently also an issue in the mind of the Croatian health minister, both financially and morally. "It's not fair to those who live here and who pay for health insurance, therefore HZZO will undertake and is already taking out certain measures [to attempt to deal with this issue]," said Minister Milan Kujundzic. Such measures will also soon be taken up by the European Union itself. Electronic data exchanges between member states is being introduced, which will help control those who are HZZO insured.

''According to the data we have, as of the 31st of December 2018, compared to 2017, we've got 40,850 less insured persons -  that's about 0,96 percent. Our records include some 60,000 workers who work for our _Crpatian+ companies in the EU,'' said the HZZO's director, Lucijan Vukelić. He emphasised the fact that HZZO has been caught up with the various problems of expatriates from Croatia who pay their taxes abroad and are still in HZZO's register, and are therefore treated for whatever ailments may bother them here in Croatia.

Vukelić also noted that HZZO should enter into a joint data exchange with the EU on the 1st of July this year. This data also includes non-EU countries, but involves them as they are economically linked to the EU. It is a bi task and a fairly painstaking process because there are many countries involved, both EU and non EU across the European continent.

There are numerous confusing laws that many misinterpret when it comes to health insurance in Croatia which came into force when Croatia joined the EU back in 2013.

EU countries with a public health system such as Poland and the UK made it so that, for example, British nationals who are resident in Croatia could use their EU health card to access healthcare in Croatia, effectively trading one public insurance policy for another. Such laws appear to have created more confusion than sense, and whether or not HZZO will manage to get to the bottom of the situation with its own nationals with MUP's help is yet to be seen.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for more.

Independent parliamentarian Vlaho Orepić discussed various issues surrounding the Croatian political and social structure, claiming that ''the failure to properly deal with fake (fictitious) residences by the authorities is politically motivated and purposely left unresolved with the aim of influencing the outcomes of the upcoming elections,''

The fact that there is no real intention of the current authorities to remove fake residences from the electoral register and bring some order [to that situation] and accordingly, Croatia conducts a policy of banalisation when it comes to the conditions for obtaining Croatian citizenship were grounds for a press conference held by independent MP Vlaho Orepić.

On Tuesday, February the 5th, 2019, on the premises of the Croatian Parliament, Vlaho Orepić held a press conference on which he once again pointed out to the media and the public the problem of fake residence registration.

The fact that this issue remains unresolved means people who have their permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia are denied the right to elect their own authorities, and Croatian citizens living outside the homeland (whose voting rights are indisputable and come directly from what is written in the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia (Ustav Republike Hrvatske) are also deceived in this way.

The conclusion which has now been arrived to, given that a response from the relevant minister wasn't given even after the issue was brought up in parliament, is that there is simply no sincere and real intention of the current government to even try to tackle an extremely important issue so that honest elections can be carried out in the future. Orepić has therefore also called upon political and social structures to take a stance and engage with the aim of protecting legality of upcoming elections and democratic processes in the Republic of Croatia.

"What worries me, and what has inspired a series of both formal and informal reactions from me, even this press conference, is the fact that false (fictitious) residences are politically motivated and protected with the aim of influencing the outcomes of the electoral process(es) in the Republic of Croatia. My goal is to put an end to fake residence [registration] and the type of politics which permits that same cheating in the elections. My goal is fair elections,'' stated Orepić.

According to new statistics, Croatia has fewer than four million inhabitants (approximately 3.750 million), according to official data we can count almost 4,175,000 people with health insurance and as many as 3,746,286 voters. The fact that the number of voters isn't actually correct has been indicated by the data of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), published in July 2017, which states that just children under the age of fourteen alone which are registered amount to 600,000. It's totally clear that Croatia has no accurate and publicly available list of citizens and voters, nor does it have the political will to have this problem solved.

From the mentioned numerical indicators, as well as from the legal definition of residence, which reads as - residence is the place and address in the Republic of Croatia where the person permanently resides in order to exercise his/her rights and obligations related to living interests such as family, professional, economic, social, cultural and social other interests - it's clear that a lot of people who don't meet these conditions have been entered into the electoral register.

They are listed [on the electoral register] on the basis of their false registrations of residence in the Republic of Croatia and thus, in addition to voting and other rights, they enjoy economic ones which come with residing in the Republic of Croatia.

That this is politically motivated has also been indicated by the fact that the second day after Vlaho Orepić's dismissal as Minister of the Interior, the disclosure and deletion procedure of false residence registrations in the Republic of Croatia (mainly regarding citizens from neighbouring Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) was suspended. Activities related to the abolition of fake residences are a legal obligation of the chief of police administrations, but in spite of that fact, all of those who were engaged in carrying out this work were prevented from continuing with it.

While Vlaho Orepić was the Minister of the Interior, in just two and a half months, about 45,000 fake residence registrations were removed, and over the next four months that number rose to 75,000. The estimates are that at the present moment, there are at least 150,000 fictitious residence registrations in the Republic of Croatia, which brings a whole range of election process outcomes as well as the legality of the authorities at all levels into question.

"I hope all political, judicial and other social structures will realise the importance of this issue. From the government, the security services and the justice system, I expect an urgent reaction, just as was done with the recent attempt to try to discredit the Minister of Agriculture (Tomislav Tolušić). I expect from the umbrella of war veteran associations to stand up for the legality of the election process in the Republic of Croatia, especially with the engagement of Mr. Josip Đakić as a parliamentary representative and as a war veteran.

I expect the support of the President of the Croatian Parliament, Mr. Gordan Jandroković, and especially the two vice-presidents Mr. Milijan Brkić and Mr. Božo Petrov because they know very well what I'm talking about and what I'm fighting for. I also expect the support of President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to whom this issue must be in focus because it's in the interest of citizens, and all the citizens of the Republic of Croatia, and without whom we cannot even begin to talk about the rule of law as the basis for the survival of every single legal state,'' concluded Vlaho Orepić, MP.

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The InvestCro conference was opened by the editor-in-chief of Poslovni Dnevnik, Vladimir Nišević, who stressed the fact that this project opens up discussions topics that are of great importance to our society.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of March, 2019, the "InvestCro: Investment in (Non) Opportunities in Croatia" conference, whose central theme is rather depressingly inspired by missed opportunities, ie planned investments that have not been realised, as well as obstacles investors encounter and also possible improvements to the arrival and treatment of foreign investors, is being held at the Westin hotel in Zagreb.

This conference is the second in a series of four conferences as part of the all-year-round multimedia project headed by Croatian news and media outlets Večernji list, Poslovni Dnevnik and 24sata entitled "InvestCro: Kako do ulagača" which discusses how investors can be attracted.

The President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, stated that the current results of foreign investments don't match the desired image. She said that lessons should be learned from the mistakes alreayd made to avoid repetition.

President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said that Croatia was missing out on so-called Greenfield investments and has proposed five specific guidelines to the Croatian Government in order to attempt to tackle that problem.

"The results of direct foreign investment don't match the desired image. In 26 years, 33.5 billion euros has been invested in Croatia, but the problem is that the investments were mostly Brownfield [investments] and focused on ''nontradeable'' sectors. We're missing out on Greenfield investments, investment in the production of goods and services that will create quality jobs and be more export-oriented,'' said the president at the InvestCro conference in Zagreb.

She feels that the direction of development can be directed in the desirable direction if the appropriate lessons learned from the mistakes made are properly taken into consideration. "First of all, I'm thinking of investment woes, the shortage of people involved in attracting investors, the lack of approach planning and coordination," she said.

On their way directly from Pantovčak to the Croatian Government are five key guidelines for the faster and easier growth of investments in Croatia. It is necessary to consolidate the competences of all those responsible for attracting FDI (foreign direct investment) at a single national level, to create an investment attracting strategy aligned with other economic strategies, to focus on new models and soft investment incentives for added value and to constantly create an attractive investment climate.

The five recommendations include the continuation of work on a better overall image of the Republic of Croatia and the promotion of the country as a destination for investment, not just a tourist destination. In this regard, Grabar-Kitarović announced that the working group who deal with branding Croatia will come out with guidelines within a month.

"We decided to do something for our society, as well as for those who will still be here when we're gone. Without healthy investments, we will remain without investors, and for this reason we have just decided to speak [on the subject] through various conferences, just like this one today.

''I hope this conference will contribute to the progress of Croatia,'' Niševic said.

'' the last two years, two-thirds of greenfield investments in the EU took place in just six European countries. I believe that Croatia will raise its rating in 2019 and come over to the side of these six countries, with the help of new laws and a better quality framework for stimulating investment,'' said Minister of Economy Darko Horvat at the InvestCro conference.

"The share of investment in GDP is growing, we're at the average of EU countries. The third quarter in 2018 was, according to current information, optimistic, as there was a 4.9 percent rise. Croatia needs economic growth of five percent. Step by step, we're strengthening competition, there is no instant solution, and changes need to be deeply rooted.

We should help entrepreneurs to retain as much of their own funds as possible for the new investment cycle. We're digitising business and the state, in order to reduce the burden on entrepreneurs. Therefore, I expect growth in production, especially in the private sector. Through the Investment Incentive Act alone we attracted 16 billion kuna, with 12,750 new jobs being planned. We know exactly what kind of educational profile we need, we need to make sure we've got young people who will be employed there. We need a synergistic effect with cities and counties," the minister said, hinting at the need to all be on the same level.

"We want investments with new technologies and added value. Despite the global boom in the digital economy, less than 20 percent of such investments fell into the ICT sector. We are not only looking at the volume, but also the character and type of investment, as well as the quality of jobs which is what our young people who are leaving are looking for abroad. We need a bit of courage and some enthusiasm in order to turn these issues into a chance.

The Ministry of Economy has announced five new tenders, which is an innovation opportunity for domestic entrepreneurs. I'm sure that 303 million euros will be invested in Croatia's investment potential and that this year will end with development,'' concluded Horvat, adding the encouraging fact that this week, the representatives of several Swiss companies are browsing northwestern Croatia and looking for business zones that are ready for them to move part of their business to.

Mladen Fogec, president of the Association of Foreign Investors in Croatia, noted that Croatian pessimism could affect foreign investors very much.

"The rating agencies are constantly positioning us at the end of the second-third on the doing business scale, but they all get their perceptions from talking to our political parties, non-governmental organisations, and we're very inclined to being negative - we have to turn to optimism. When it comes to the perception of corruption... we're not in the best position, but when you ask a person whether or not they bribed someone, the answer is always that they didn't. Please spread optimism because Croatia has a lot of potential. In principle, there's an enormous problem with our mentality, the capacity for change isn't big enough, we're still not ready to start to change, and we're living in the era of digitisation and computerisation,'' Fogec said.

"We've spent far too much time wrestling with the past, we spent an actual minister of economy on Agrokor, and her successor is now spending most of his time trying to deal with Uljanik, which is also grappling with the past. We need to deal with the future. It's good that we have introduced a law on strategic planning. It's not a question of whether foreign investors want to come to Croatia, but whether or not we actually want foreign investors,'' claims Fogec.

He noted that the association he leads didn't issue the so-called ''white book'' for business for 2019 because the problems still remain exactly the same as they were before. "Nothing has changed, or it has changed at a slower rate compared to changes in neighbouring countries, so our latest edition is still valid," he concluded rather sarcastically.

For those of you who understand Croatian, here's a video of what has been said, suggested and discussed at the conference:

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