June 30, 2020 - Croatia will remain on Slovenia's 'green list' of safe countries to visit this year without needing to quarantine for 14 days upon return. 

24 Sata24 Sata reports that Jelko Kacin, the Slovenian government's spokesman for COVID-19, wrote on Twitter that the Croatian government has decided to take over their patterns of behavior and will close nightclubs, discos and cancel major events

He added that they, therefore, accepted the decision not to remove Croatia from the list of safe countries.

"We are giving Croatia the opportunity to slow down the growth of the infection with consistent measures," Kacin added.

Croatia was the focus of today's conference of the Slovenian government, where the National Institute of Public Health said that the number of cases in Croatia is declining and that with the measures we are preparing, we will be able to maintain this trend.

Recall, due to the increase in the number of cases in Croatia, Slovenia has considered removing Croatia from the list of 'green' countries. It is not a matter of the government intimidating Slovenian tourists or advising them not to go to those countries, but they must behave responsibly and very carefully and not risk getting infected, Kacin explained yesterday.

In addition, a binding 14-day quarantine is not required when returning from these countries, but those who go to such destinations must be responsible and act very carefully, he explained. So you should contact doctors as soon as you notice symptoms upon return or pay special attention to distancing if they are in Croatia.

In the last 24 hours, 15 new cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed in Slovenia, the Slovenian government announced on Tuesday.

Thus, the number of total confirmed infections has increased to 1,600 since the beginning of the epidemic, and it is estimated that another 101 are active cases of infection. So far, there have been 111 deaths among those infected, and there are currently eight patients in the hospital being treated for COVID-19, the health ministry said.

The decision, which is in line with what Kacin states, is also that of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the City of Novalja, which decided last night that there will be no festivals on Zrce this year.

"In the area of ​​Zrce beach, in agreement with the owners of clubs and festivals, no electronic music festival has been organized so far, nor does the City of Novalja want to issue any consent for holding music events on Zrce beach. Given the recent events in the Republic of Croatia, and related to the appearance of coronavirus in some nightclubs, today the Headquarters decided that this summer tourist season will not issue approvals to clubs and concessionaires on Zrce beach for festivals, after parties and similar parties. The same applies to party boats," they said in a statement.

They add that after reaching the conclusion in contact with the mayor of Kolan, Marin Pernjak, an identical conclusion was agreed that will be reached during the day at the session of the Civil Protection Headquarters of Kolan, which applies to the club Noa and other smaller clubs.

To read more breaking news in Croatia, follow. TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, May 28, 2020 - Croatian and Slovenian economy ministers, Darko Horvat and Zdravko Pocivalsek, met on Wednesday in Mursko Sredisce for the talks on economic cooperation after the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic and on better connectivity with the construction of a new bridge across the Mura River.

After the meeting on the bridge across the Mura River and in the office of the mayor of the Croatian border town of Mursko Sredisce, Minister Horvat said that both economies were cooperating very well and they were the top five strongest trade partners to each other.

They pledged to make sure that the bilateral cooperation should be raised as soon as possible to the level it was prior to the corona crisis.

"We agree that the corona threat has warned us and compelled us to develop much better cooperation in the segment of the common European market but also as two countries that have very good economic relations," said Horvat.

With reference to Croatia's current presidency of the European Union and future chairmanship by Slovenia In the second half of 2021, he added that the two countries have been cautious when it comes to the aim of having climate-neutral industries by 2050 and where to find favourable funding to reach that target.

Minister Pocivalsek recalled that last year was a record year for trade between Croatia and Slovenia, exceeding €6 billion.

"We have to take pride that we overcame the corona crisis as far as the health aspect is concerned better than countries that are more advanced and economically developed than us. That gives me hope that we will turn this year's negative trends into positive figures. And they will be better if we cooperate better," Pocivalsek said.

He added that the first step to open the borders has been taken by allowing the owners of properties and vessels to enter the country and that as of June 1, the border should be opened for tourists.

The two ministers discussed the construction of a new bridge across the Mura River and a bypass around Mursko Sredisce which would relieve this northern Croatian town of freight traffic in the centre of town. Horvat said that determining junction points was important for the preparation of project documents for the new bridge and bypass road.

Mayor Drazen Sprak said that the road was not only important for the town but that it would also connect the Slovenian motorway from Graz through Maribor towards Budapest and Croatia's motorway from the Hungarian border at Gorican towards Zagreb and then on to Rijeka and Split.

ZAGREB, May 21, 2020 - By the end of this week Croatia and Slovenia are expected to initial an agreement that would simplify cross-border travel for the two countries' nationals, after their border was recently reopened, but with significant waiting times for those wishing to cross it.

Slovenian government spokesman Jelko Kacin said on Thursday that the two countries' police commanders had agreed that by the end of the week they would initiate an agreement that would facilitate cross-border travel for Croatian and Slovenian nationals, that would cut waiting time.

Considering their similar epidemiological situations, the two countries have already opened their border for cross-border travel.

There have been no new cases of COVID-19 in Slovenia in the last 24 hours and one person has died. So far, 1,468 people have been infected and 105 have died, the government said.

The number of hospitalised patients has been on the decline, and currently 21 people are being treated in hospital, including three in intensive care units.

According to the Slovenian Health Ministry, there are only 20 active infections, which enables the further easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Kacin said that Croatian border police would soon have an application to enable Slovenians who frequently travel to Croatia, after they register with the application for the first time and state their personal information, to be allowed across the border faster than now.

Slovenia plans to sign agreements on cross-border travel with other neighbouring countries as well, Kacin said, adding that the first country on that wish list was Austria.

ZAGREB, May 19, 2020 - The Slovenian government has decided that Croatians are free to cross the border into Slovenia without having to undergo mandatory quarantine as the two neighbours have similar epidemiological situations.

The STA news agency reported on Tuesday that "Croatia became the first country Slovenia put on a list of countries whose nationals may enter without limitations."

Last week Slovenia declared the end of the COVID-19 epidemic and announced the reopening of borders for the European Union and the European Economic Area citizens.

Slovenian Economy Minister Zdravko Pocivalsek and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Monday discussed the plans for reopening the borders between EU member-states with similar epidemiological situations.

Slovenia and Austria have launched the talks on this topic, too.

ZAGREB, May 16, 2020 - The Croatian and Slovenian ministers of the interior, Davor Bozinovic and Ales Hojs respectively, held a meeting in Ormoz, Slovenia, on Saturday, at which they confirmed the excellent cooperation between the two countries' police forces.

One of the topics of the meeting was the coronavirus pandemic, and Bozinovic said that the two countries' ministries of the interior had dealt quickly with all issues posing a problem for their citizens and business sector on a daily basis.

"We were the first in Europe to enable convoys, the transport of goods by truck...  before the European Commission made such a recommendation. There was practically no suspension of transport," said Bozinovic.

He described the two countries' cooperation as excellent, recalling that they had reopened their borders and that since Friday evening, 2,000 Slovenian nationals had entered Croatia.

Minister Hojs said that his Croatian counterpart had informed him that border procedures were mostly due to estimates by Croatian epidemiologists that the entry of foreign nationals, including those from Slovenia, requires continued control of locations where they are staying, which is why a control regime has been introduced, with Croatian police taking the addresses and phone numbers of persons entering the country.

As for illegal migrations, they did not stop entirely during the coronavirus pandemic, even though they have decreased significantly, said Bozinovic, adding that Croatia had prevented illegal migrations on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

"We expect possible new movements of migrants following the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions and greater mobility, primarily between Croatia and Slovenia, for the time being," Bozinovic said, with Hojs noting that Bozinovic had confirmed that the return of migrants from the Slovenian to the Croatian side of the border was not problematic.

"All illegal migrants who do not want asylum in Slovenia will be returned to Croatia without any problem," said Hojs.

Another topic of the meeting was Croatia's accession to the Schengen area of passport-free travel, with Bozinovic saying that it was not only in Croatia's interest but also in the interest of Slovenia and the rest of the EU.

"The current situation, too, proves that all security problems, including health problems related to the epidemic, are transnational. Neither viruses nor any other thing, from terrorism to illegal migrations, know borders and the only way to efficiently fight them is cooperation," said Bozinovic.

Slovenia's position on the matter is that all technical requirements have to be met for accession to the Schengen area to be possible, Hojs said, adding that technical requirements had been met for the most part.

"The latest proposal, made by the next EU chair Germany, goes in that direction and Slovenia is interested in the Schengen border moving to the Croatian-Serbian border within a reasonable period of time. I have told  Minister (Bozinovic) that if Slovenia finds that the Schengen control of the future external border is not performed as expected, we will be prepared to reintroduce border controls at any moment," said Hojs.

Melania Trump is the inspiration for Croatian singer Miki Solus' new single “Melanija”. Everything will be fine as long as the CIA and the FBI don’t come knocking on his door! “Melania has completely lost touch and has not been in Slovenia for ten years. She's alienated herself."

In the Balkans, Melania could be an inspiration for how just how far you can go with “a little bit of English,” but Solus urges her to go even further and reconnect with her homeland. He also believes she could use her considerable influence for a greater good.

“I find it interesting that Melania has completely lost contact with her Slovenian homeland and the entire Balkan region. She has reportedly not been in Slovenia for ten years, let alone to her birthplace. She's alienated herself, and I want to remind her, through my song, to think about her roots a little! Who she is and where she comes from...and to influence her husband a little since she is in such a powerful position to do something good for this world,” Croatian singer Miki Solus reveals to Barbara Marinović/100posto on November 13, 2019; and introduces his new hit single: “Melanija”.

The song is dedicated to the first lady of the United States, Trump's wife and “Slovenian Rose” - as the Croatian singer teasingly calls her in his new single. This performance by Miki Solus could also get him into lots of trouble! When asked if he's afraid of The Donald's retaliation – because this song is not flattering to Trump at all; he replies, "Reprisals? What do I know? I don’t know. I’m a little scared, I'm thinking, Uh-oh, what if someone deletes my YouTube video in ten days, what if the CIA or the FBI come to my door, but I hope there won’t be any retaliation.” If the FBI knocks on the door of his Zagreb apartment - Solus will surrender to the mighty powers! What else can he do? “I would be powerless in that situation. I could fight and sue against this or that, but against the FBI or the US...I don’t stand a chance, the song will be gone and maybe I will be too…I'll disappear, yeah.” Miki jokes.

Making a Decent Living After Years of Work and Patience

He has been patiently working on his career for a long time and has just recently begun to make a decent living. “I've been doing this for seven or eight years since I released my first album. But it became serious about two or three years ago.”

“Everything started when I began working in theater and writing for others. It’s easier for me to write for others. As much as I try to do everything I do in a unique way, I cannot be as free when I work for someone else. Nevertheless, we can still deal with some more universal topics. Writing for others is a departure from myself, where my first goal is to be as innovative as I can. I try to express myself in a quality way but in a more standard pop form.”

Professor of Croatian Language and Art History

If he weren’t writing songs, he would be teaching. Soon Solus will obtain his degree as “Professor of Croatian Language and Art History” and he has already completed his teaching fellowship. “If I didn't have this (career in music), I would be teaching in school. I have already finished my fellowship and it was great. I would definitely like to work as a teacher for at least a couple of years, purely to get that experience because it’s a great job for someone who loves it.” When it comes to music, this unusual professor loves to study and is self-taught. He is learning to play various instruments himself. “I am learning to play the trumpet, and am nearly finished with that, and will begin studying violin next year. I never attended music school and am self-taught. I started near the end of high school, found some old guitar and began learning. In the age of the Internet one can really learn a lot. It's simple with instruments, at least in my opinion. When you learn to play one instrument, the next one comes easier...The principle is the same, one must simply master the physical aspects, but the whole philosophy is the same. It seems to come easy for me.”

Born in Germany and Built a Career in Croatia

He was born in Germany and came to Croatia when he was only three years old. “I lived in Germany for the first three years of my life and then my parents moved back here. I would not go back, I know how to write good songs, and I do my best in Croatian, so I'm fine with living here. As long as I can make my music and have an audience - I'll be fine”. He is aware that it would be easier to build his career in a larger country and sing in English, but he loves everything that he experiences in his home country. “There is a smaller audience for alternative music in this region. When considering concerts throughout the Balkans, there are two or three cities that are serious about this genre. There would be more of an audience elsewhere but also more competition. Working in the Croatian language is an advantage because we work among a small number of artists, relatively small, and it’s easier for me with a smaller crowd.” Solus reveals.

As one of the more talented young people in the alternative scene, this Zagreb-based musician will admit privately that he is rather boring and ordinary. “I walk the dog, watch football, go out with my girlfriend, and hang out with my friends. I enjoy walking my dog three times a day and love nature. I also like to go to the zoo and to Sljeme. It's a great break from making music, which requires a certain level of concentration, especially when working on a computer. Therefore, nature and animals are my best break from everything.”

He doesn’t have any specific ambitions except for continuing to make singles and albums. “’Melanija’ is coming out, and then I plan to drop two, three or four more singles by summer. The new album is planned for release before summer, and then I’ll quickly begin working on songs for the next album,” Solus says. Of course, unless everything is thwarted by Trump and his nefarious administration!

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Check out Miki Solus' website here. Find him on Facebook here and on Instagram here.

Miki Solus / Melanija
Music / Lyrics: Miki Solus
Arrangement: Miki Solus / Silvio Pasarić

Melania, who did you marry for?
Melania, don’t you know your husband is a fool?
Melania, instead of a young husband
you married a rich old snail.

Melania, this is a cry from the Balkans
Melania, come back to us someday
Melania, you can stop the war
save this world, f*** the marriage.

Because you are a Slovenian Rose, and he is a maniac
let’s find you a husband who is not a psychopath
or ugly, because you are a delicate flower
Melania, save the world.

Melania, who made you do this?
Melania, how did you fall in love with that b******?
Melania, I know that you see a saint in him
but your husband is a walking bag of trash.

Melania, this is a cry from the Balkans
Melania, come back to us someday
Melania, you can stop the war
save this world, f*** the marriage.

Because you are a Slovenian Rose, and he is a maniac
let's find you a husband who is not a psychopath
or ugly, because you are a delicate flower
Melania, save the world.

Slovenian Rose, save the world!
Slovenian Rose, save the world!

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 17th of May, 2019, the regional student competition, held at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb, marked the completion of the SIM (P) ATIC PLC + Challenge 2019 project.

This project, initiated by the student association EESTEC and supported by the faculties of electrical engineering in Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia, as well as by no less than Siemens, provides the region's young future engineers with a more detailed insight into the issues that engineers usually encounter in industrial automation in order to better prepare for such work out there in the real world.

Three winning teams, one from each country, as well as the overall regional winner were selected. The winning team from Croatia consists of Karlo Hercigonja, Ivan Ratković and Nikola Benazić from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb, from Slovenia, the winners were Urban Aravs, Jernej Štremfelj and Tina Vindiš from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Ljubljana, and from Serbia, the team consists of Uroš Rakonjac, Petar Kovačević and Dejan Bogdanović from the University of Electrical Engineering in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. The regional winner of the competition is the team from Zagreb, Croatia.

Namely, the SIM (P) ATIC PLC + Challenge 2019 competition started back at the beginning of April with theoretical part of the workshop, where university lecturers from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering from Zagreb, Belgrade and Ljubljana held lectures otherwise not covered by the curriculum. In the next phase, the student teams solved the task by which the best two teams in the country qualified for the regional final in Zagreb. Within this competition finale, the finalists presented their respective solutions of the additional part of the task. Each team had ten minutes available to them for their presentations and five minutes to answer the questions from panel members.

Significant knowledge in the field of industrial automation was also demonstrated by other teams, all judged by a panel consisting of three experts from each country.

Each member of the panel evaluated teams from neighbouring countries in the categories of the quality of the created program and their presentation skills. The Croatian members of the panel were prof. dr. sc. Igor Erceg (FER), mr. Sc. Tomislav Pavić (A & C Automation Adria) and B.Sc. Marko Bunić (Siemens), while from Slovenia and Serbia, there were two university professors and one Siemens representative.

"This competition is an excellent example of synergy between faculties, students and economics. Siemens wants to support projects that encourage the development of professional and practical knowledge of future engineers from this area because we're also strategically focused on the areas of automation and digitisation, which were the cornerstone of this competition,'' said Medeja Lončar of Siemens at the award ceremony.

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The Croatian fruits and vegetables are being sold through the FinotekaDostava.com website, in order to successfully cut out the middleman.

As Miroslav Kuskunovic/Agrobiz/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 27th of April, 2019, Croatian fruit and vegetable producers, as well the producers of other Croatian value-added products, have begun to use the benefits of the common EU (single) market and the ability to place and sell products in Austria and Slovenia, for now. On the FinotekaDostava.com website, customers from Croatia, Slovenia and Austria are able to order products from Croatian OPGs from the comfort of their own homes. Once ordered, the produce is freshly and carefully packed and delivered to their addresses directly from Croatia.

"Finoteka's specificity is that we don't store our fruit and vegetables, but we function with the ''from the field to the table within 24 hours'' principle. This literally means that some fruit or vegetables that are growing right now in a garden in Croatia are going to be sent out in package delivered to someone's doorstep in Vienna, Ljubljana or Zagreb the next day,'' said Hrvoje Kolman, the owner of Finoteka Dostava.

Kolman has been placing and selling products from Croatian OPGs since back in 2008 in this manner. However, his website first became the most well known a few years ago when, through his search engine, a huge amount of fruit from the Neretva Valley ended up being sold and sent throughout Croatia when a ban on exports of agricultural products to Russia from the EU was first introduced.

"Our delivery is as good on the islands as it is on the mainland. The quality of the service and the delivery speed is the same regardless of whether you live in the city or in the most remote place. All our fruit and vegetable packages arrive within 24 hours of harvest, whether you're in Croatia, Slovenia, or anywhere in Austria,'' says Kolman. He explained that the Austrian market has been being tested over recent months, while they have been present on the Slovenian market for more than a year now.

"We deliver about 100 packages per month to Slovenia. Asparagus have been doing well these days, and strawberries, cherries and other fruits and vegetables will begin soon,'' says Kolman.

The prices of Croatian quality products are, however, slightly lower than those on sale in Slovenia and Austria, which is why it is expected that such sales from Croatia could become very attractive indeed. Croatian farmers deliver their products to Finoteka, the products are carefully reviewed, and depending on the order, they're packed on that same day and then sent out. Croatian farmers get to cut out the middleman, and consumers don't have the worry of eating food which is of unknown origin, it's also GMO free, it hasn't been stored, and it hasn't been sprayed.

"It's very important for us to know who we're cooperating with. We choose good producers above all, those to whom agriculture isn't just a business but also a pleasure. We choose those whose eyes shine when they talk about their products. Finding and selecting such people is are biggest challenge," says Kolman.

Make sure to follow our dedicated Made in Croatia and business pages for more information on Croatian products, Croatian companies and OPGs, Croatian services and much more.

Click here for the original article by Miroslav Kuskunovic/Agrobiz on Poslovni Dnevnik

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 9th of April, 2019, more than sixty meetings with investors were held by five Croatian and three Slovenian issuers as the Zagreb and Ljubljana stock exchanges presented their markets and issuers in New York on Monday, at the second largest international stock market - Nasdaqu, in cooperation with the Auerbach Grayson investment company and with a very good response from American investors, as the Zagreb Stock Exchange announced on Tuesday.

Although the Zagreb and Ljubljana stock exchanges have repeatedly presented their markets and issuers at local and regional investment conferences and on other similar occasions, this was the first time that such an event was organised outside of Europe, the statement said.

With the management bodies of both the Zagreb and the Ljubljana stock exchanges, investors were introduced to the Croatian companies AD Plastik, Arena Hospitality Group, Atlantic Group, Podravka and Valamar Riviera, as well as the Slovenian companies Krka, Petrol and Triglav Group. The Croatian investment association, Intercapital, presented the Croatian and Slovenian market and its potential, and, as previously mentioned, the companies held more than sixty individual meetings with US investors.

"For the first time in the history of the Zagreb Stock Exchange, we're organising the presentation of our most prominent issuers who have voluntarily accepted the highest standards of corporate governance and reporting to US investors.

We are very pleased with the level of interest and we hope that acquainting US investors with our companies and the potential of our regional market will result in their interest in investing in Croatian and Slovenian companies,'' said the director of the Zagreb Stock Exchange, Ivan Gažić, the president of AD Plastik, Marinko Došen, added that he hopes that the New York presentation will help attract new investors to Croatia.

"We support all the activities of the [Zagreb] exchange, which will enable us to revive the Croatian capital market with joint forces, we're pleased with the level of interest of American investors in AD Plastik, and I believe that the potential of our shares and business will be recognised on that market as well,'' Došen stated.

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Croatia's infamous VAT is throwing prices around much more than one might expect at first when shopping in Lidl or Spar. Just how does your weekly shop in Croatia compare to a weekly shop in neighbouring Slovenia?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 5th of March, 2019, when taking a walk through six Slovenian and Croatian shops, it didn't take long to realise that retailers are struggling with their own branded goods, which are already sold at relatively low prices, and they could actually save well on them.

The popular Italian retail chain Eurospin, known for its discount prices, hasn't yet opened its doors in Croatia, but it can be revealed that the retail companty is indeed looking for locations for its stores across the country. It also has its own website in Croatian language on which the following has been published: "Still a little more patience ... We're coming."

A group of 24sata journalists from Croatia visited their store in Laško in neighbouring Slovenia to check if their prices really are lower than their competitors, and what prices were in comparison to the Croatian market.

They selected a basket of fourteen different products and compared then - Eurospin was cheaper than the first competitor in Slovenia by just a few lipa.

They also compared the prices in Slovenian stores with those in Croatia - some shopping baskets are very much the same, and the difference between the cheapest Slovenian product and the most expensive Croatian one is 22 kuna. However, it should be borne in mind that Slovenians have two tax rates applied when it comes to retail - 22 and 9.5 percent, and they also have a lower VAT rate (surprise, surprise) than is applied in Croatia, of 25 and 13 percent.

Eurospin appears very similar to the already popular Lidl.

When comparing the cheapest Slovenian and cheapest Croatian basket, the difference is 10.82 kuna. There were, as stated, forteen different products in the basket. When looking around on February the 25th of this year, the group of Croatian journalists visited the popular Slovenian shops including Eurospin, Lidl, Spar, and Mercator, the majority owner of which is Croatia's formerly ailing Agrokor.

They tried to find the cheapest products (flour, oil, butter...). When comparing detergents and softeners, they looked for products that were cheaper per litre, regardless of the size of the packaging, ie, whether the product volume is one, two, four litres...

Their cart showed that Eurospin was actually slightly more expensive than Croatia's beloved Lidl, at least on that day - by 2.30 kuna, Spar was cheaper by 3.60 kuna, and Mercator was cheaper by a not so insignificant 21.53 kuna.

Eurospin and Lidl have been shown to have relatively similar prices, and according to their trade concept, each reminds one of the other. Spar, which had the biggest store in Laško, had similar and sometimes identical prices as those in Eurospin. Only Mercator was considerably more expensive than the others, but their overall offer, just like at Spar, was much richer than that of Lidl and Eurospin.

The Italian discount store, just like Lidl, often only offers its own brands on it shelves, or products made by only one manufacturer - for example, only one type of oil, one type of sugar, one type of flour, etc.

The 24sata journalists compared the products purchased over in Slovenia to those in Lidl and Spar in Zagreb the following day, once again searching for the cheapest of all.

The most expensive shopping basket in Zagreb was from Lidl and it was 13.67 kuna more expensive than Eurospin in Slovenia. Let's remember, it should be taken into account that VAT in Croatia is higher certainly has a big influence over Croatian prices. The cheapest basket was from Spar in Zagreb, but when compared to Eurospin in Slovenia, it was still more expensive - by 8.52 kuna.

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Click here for the original article by Ivancica Ladisic and Katarina Dimitrijevic Hrnjkas for 24sata