May the 19th, 2023 - The Croatian Infobip Shift conference is ready for its very first edition across the pond later this month in the American city of Miami, bringing together American and European speakers.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian Infobip Shift conference, aimed at developers, will have its very first US edition on Tuesday, May the 23rd in Miami. The Perez Museum, a recognisable landmark of Miami, will host speakers, companies and visitors who mostly come from the US, South America and Europe. With its first event on another continent, this absolute favourite Croatian developer conference will take a big step towards achieving its goal - connecting and strengthening the global developer ecosystem.

"After months of organisation, everything is finally ready for the Croatian Infobip Shift conference in Miami and I believe we have a great event ahead of us that will showcase Shift to the American developer audience in the proper way. The conference is smaller in size than the one we have here in Croatia, but its content and programme remain in line with our high standards, which is how we want to stand out on the challenging American tech scene. We've prepared an impressive list of speakers, since we want to present ourselves as being top quality and leave a real impression following the first edition, and I'm sure that we're going to achieve that on Tuesday,'' Nikola Radisic, the head of the Shift Miami project at Infobip, stated.

In addition to this gathering of developers, the goal of the Croatian Infobip Shift conference is to bring this remarkable domestic company closer to the American developer community and thereby continue to strengthen the footprint of the first Croatian unicorn across the pond over in the USA. The organisers pointed out that Miami was chosen because it's a city that is rapidly developing as a new technology centre, and they want to make Shift an annual event in Miami that will grow over time and become recognisable on the American and international tech scene.

The all-day programme of Shift in Miami will be opened by John Romero, a video game developer behind more than 180 titles, among which the most famous are Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein. Romero is also called the ''father'' of this type of video game, the so-called First Person Shooter (FPS), and when in Miami, he will share his rich experience gained during more than 30 years of work in the challenging gaming industry.

In addition to him, fifteen other speakers, developer experts from well-known technology companies, including Postman, Gitlab, Cloudlfare, Elastic and Hashicorp, will give lectures at the conference. The topics which will be discussed will cover various aspects of today's industry, including the pervasiveness of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on the development profession.

"The Croatian Infobip Shift conference in Europe is undoubtedly one of the most impressive conferences I've spoken at, and I believe that the same awaits us in Miami. I appreciate the fact that the organisers put a lot of effort into the quality of the speakers, topics and programmes, and such a level of invested effort is always seen and felt at the conference," said Gift Egwuenu from Cloudflare, whose technology supports more than 25 million websites, and who will be one of the speakers at the conference.

During more than a decade of being held in Europe, Shift has distinguished itself on the technology scene thanks to a strong focus on the quality of the programme that it combines with a relaxed atmosphere where developers can more easily connect with their colleagues. It will try to repeat this exact formula in Miami.

"Developers come to conferences not only to listen to lectures, many primarily come to meet other developers and companies, that is, potential clients, partners, colleagues and employers. That's why we prepared the EXPO part with the sponsor's exhibition stands, the lounge parts for meetings, and we'll end the day-long gathering with a party in the Wynwood district, the artistic heart of the city,'' concluded Radisic.

This combination of high-quality educational, business and entertainment content provided by Shift has put Croatia on the map of must-see tech destinations in Europe. In addition to Miami, the Croatian Infobip Shift conference will also be held in Zadar on September the 18th and 19th this year, and two editions in one year will further strengthen the position of this conference as an event that successfully gathers the global developer community around it.

For more, check out our news section.

April the 14th, 2023 - This week in Croatian politics, we've had to entertain the idea of Plenkovic potentially heading off for a very high position within NATO, calls to tackle the issues with the judiciary (again), leaked US documents have mentioned Croatia, and Franjo Tudjman took a tumble.

Foreign policy analyst Denis Avgadic talks Plenkovic, NATO, and issues with the Croatian judiciary

As Index writes, Croatian foreign policy analyst Denis Avdagic recently commented on the problems in the Croatian judiciary, the potential departure of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic to NATO, the ongoing war in Ukraine, protests raging in France, and the migrant crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy on N1 television.

The Croatian judiciary

"I think it's clear to everyone that the Croatian judiciary is the key cancer wound of this society and until we solve it, we'll continue to be forced to deal with problems that are far beyond our ability to solve them. Let's solve the issues with the Croatian judiciary first of all, and many things will become easier, more comfortable, and more efficiently as a result,'' he said.

"I believe that the Croatian judiciary needs a reform of a wider scale. The judiciary as it is now is simply ineffective," he added, noting that some cases are still being dealt with from the former state (Yugoslavia) and that this is utterly tragic.

Plenkovic could be heading off to NATO?

"The fact is that in European circles and a little more widely, Andrej Plenkovic is seen as a high quality member of staff, as a person who has certain diplomatic skills, quite extensive political experience, and as such he's acceptable for a whole range of supranational functions. First of all, we in Croatia have been talking for a long time about whether Plenkovic is simply sitting and waiting for a higher position at the level of the European Union," he pointed out.

"Looking at it from that aspect, it's clear that there is speculation as to who could be an adequate replacement at the head of NATO," he continued. He indicated the method of election of the head of NATO and that the bloc of new NATO members believes that the head of that alliance should be a person from that area who understands what Central and Eastern Europe has gone through what Ukraine is going through.

"Is Plenkovic a template person who would be responsible for that? Absolutely, yes, he is. Is Plenkovic a person who is acceptable to the whole bloc? Yes. Is he acceptable to the others? Absolutely. Is he acceptable to the Americans? Yes. Then we see why it occurred to someone to talk about him," claimed Avdagic. He noted that Plenkovic is one of the leaders of the EPP.

"Plenkovic is a good candidate for the head of NATO"

He believes that Plenkovic could become the head of the European Commission, but pointed out that Plenkovic is a relatively young politician and therefore there's no need for him to suddenly leave Croatian politics. Avdagic also emphasised that polls show that he could win another election right here in Croatia. "He's one of those politicians who is a good candidate for the post of NATO chief," he said.

A huge picture of Dr. Franjo Tudjman fell while Plenkovic was speaking

This was symbolism in motion in the eyes of many across the spectrum of Croatian politics as the first president of the independent Croatian nation almost cut Plenkovic's speech short. 

''Oh God, surely not?'' Plenkovic said while turning to see the huge image of Tudjman falling from its place, seemingly also aware of the symbolism behind such an amusing event. Tudjman's fall from grace as it were occurred precisely when a group of gathered journalists were asking him about Swedish media articles that had been circulating about him being among the candidates for the head of NATO, as I talked about above. Then the cameras turned to the wall where Tudjman is as the image fell down.

Politico claims that leaked secret US documents mention Croatia and Croatian helicopters

Europe has special forces on the ground in Ukraine, with Poland and Slovenia having provided almost half of the tanks delivered to Kiev. Neighbouring Hungary may also be releasing weapons through its airspace. These are just some of the striking details about European participation in the Russian-Ukrainian war from the 53-page document, based on leaked information from US military intelligence.

From precisely these leaked US documents, one can also learn something about the European war effort in Ukraine as a whole. The leaked files offer insight into everything from a British-dominated special forces group in Ukraine to how and when France and Spain will send a key missile system out into the battlefield. The documents also contain claims that Turkey is a potential source of arms for Russian mercenaries.

It's important to note that Politico hasn't independently verified the documents, and there are indications that some of the leaked pages are actually forged. That said, the USA has  acknowledged the intelligence breach and arrested the suspect on Thursday. Here are some of Politico's analyses after studying the dossier:

Europe allegedly has troops on the ground

According to the US documents, a European special forces group has been operating in Ukraine - at least since March the 23rd. The United Kingdom dominates the "US/NATO" contingent of 97 people with 50 members of its special forces. The group includes 17 people from Latvia, 15 from France and one from the Netherlands. There are also 14 American nationals.

As expected, national governments have been largely silent on the subject. The British declined to comment, while the White House admitted there was a "small US military presence" at the US embassy in Ukraine stressing that the troops were "not fighting on the battlefield". The other countries listed did not respond to a request for comment.

Europe is providing most of the tanks to Ukraine

Tanks are one area in which Europe collectively outdoes America. One page gives an overview of the 200 tanks that US allies have promised to send to Ukraine - 53 less than what the document says Ukraine needs for its spring offensive. Poland and Slovenia appear to be the biggest contributors, accounting for almost half of the total number of tanks, according to an estimate as of February the 23rd. France and the United Kingdom are also key players, each with 14 tanks.

There is also the modern German Leopard 2 tank, which Ukraine has spent months convincing its allies it needs. This composition includes Germany, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Finland.

Croatia is also mentioned

Neighbouring Hungary appears several times in the leaked documents, which offers a lot of information about a country headed by Viktor Orban that regularly confuses its own allies. The most interesting tidbit of all in this sense is buried in a "Top Secret" CIA update dated March the 2nd, which says Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban worryingly labelled the US as "one of his party's three biggest adversaries'' during a strategic policy session held in February this year.

These concerning remarks, the document points out, represent Orban's "escalating level of anti-American rhetoric." Indeed, Orban's somewhat controversial government charted its own course during the war by pushing pro-Russian narratives, essentially calling on Ukraine to back down and strongly rejecting allied efforts to isolate the Russian economy and impose harsh sanctions on the Russian Federation.

However, the US documents also show that Hungary - which shares a small border with Ukraine - may be secretly allowing allies to use its airspace to move weapons towards the battlefield despite promises to ban such transfers. One of the leaked documents describes the plan of Ukrainian pilots to fly donated helicopters from Croatia to Ukraine in detail, and it also claims that will be done "through Hungarian airspace". If this is indeed correct, the information shows not only that Hungary is releasing weapons through its skies but also contradicts media reports that the helicopters will be transferred by land or flights over Poland.

Hungarian and Croatian officials did not respond to any requests for comment.

Plenkovic says Eurozone and Schengen accession pushed Croatian growth forecasts above government expectations

Since Croatia's official entry into the Eurozone and the Schengen area on the 1st of January this year, international institutions revised the growth expectations of the Croatian economy above the government's GDP growth forecast for this year by 0.7 percent, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said during the opening of a recently held government session.

He recalled the World Bank's January forecast of 0.8 percent growth this year, which this month raised that same forecast to 1.3 percent, the European Commission announced in February that it expects Croatian GDP to grow by 1.2 percent, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated this year's growth of the Croatian economy by 1.7 percent a few days ago.

"The impact of membership in the Eurozone and in Schengen will be felt in terms of growth"

"All of this means that they're somewhat more optimistic than the forecasts that we ourselves projected, and I believe that the impact of membership in the Eurozone and the Schengen area will really be felt when it comes to domestic economic growth, which will be better than expected, despite the slowdown of the global economy in 2023,'' said the Prime Minister.

He noted that according to Eurostat data, Croatia has reached 73 percent of the EU level of development, taking GDP per capita as a measure, which is the highest level so far, and in 2016, the country was at 62 percent. This means that Croatia is using its international position strongly and maximally, Plenkovic asserted. As for tourism, he predicts that this year's summer season will be a record one. He also announced further government activity in preparations for loans from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

So far, as he explained, 2.2 billion euros have been paid to Croatia free of charge out of the 5.5 billion that are available, and the country has another 3.6 billion euros of loans available, with the government wanting to invest this money in education, renovation, energy efficiency, the water supply, transport, energy, gasification, etc.

For more on Croatian politics, make sure to follow our dedicated section. A Week in Croatian Politics providing an overview is published every Friday.

April the 12th, 2023 - Pula Airport has a strong desire to attract more visitors from North America, as more and more people from that part of the world flock to Croatia. This is especially the case for US citizens, who are appearing more and more frequently in Croatia, especially along the coast, for various reasons and not only for tourism.

As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as stated above, the general level of interest of travellers from the North American continent to the Republic of Croatia, especially to the Adriatic coast, whether it be for tourist or personal and family reasons, has never been in question. The abolition of American visas for Croatian citizens has also only further increased the interest of Croats in making trips the other way across the pond.

Air carriers have also recognised this trend, and it is increasingly likely that in the coming period, this country will be much more connected to North America, meaning by more than the existing two seasonal routes. In addition to the airports in Zagreb and Dubrovnik, in the foreseeable future it will likely be possible to see a connection between North America (including Canada) and Pula Airport.

New York and Toronto

As its chief director Nina Vojnic Zagar confirmed last week, Pula Airport recently ordered a study as it eyes up expansion, that is, moving the threshold of the runway.

"Pula Airport is considering extending its runway in order to be able to operate long-haul flights, with a focus on transatlantic services. This means that we're investigating the possibility of extending the runway to 3,200 metres to accommodate long-haul flights, i.e. flights to the east coast of North America. The current runway is 2954 metres long and lacks another 250 metres for this purpose. We have space both to the east and to the west to extend the runway, but we have to take the slopes into account," said Vojnic Zagar for local portal Glas Istre/The Voice of Istria.

She added that it will certainly not be a project that will be realised this year, but that the first steps have now been taken to make it happen as soon as is realistically possible. According to her, passengers from Pula are already well connected to the North American continent through various other European hubs, including Frankfurt, Munich, London Heathrow and Belgrade.

That said, she admits that current flight schedules are not ideal for transfer passengers as most airlines target point-to-point passengers on flights to Pula Airport. Based on indirect traffic flows to and from North America, Pula Airport records the most passengers to New York, followed by those coming from the Canadian city of Toronto.

Air Transat "operates" between Toronto and Zagreb Airport with its Airbus A330-200 aircraft, after restoring traffic between the two cities last year after a two-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Canadian airline served 21,597 passengers between the two cities during its six months of operations last year. On the other hand, United Airlines connects its New York Newark airport hub with Dubrovnik Airport (Cilipi) using Boeing 767-300 aircraft along that route. Last year, it carried 28,445 passengers on this route between the two cities during its four-month operational period.

Split isn't remotely interesting

Back in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, Air Transat planned to start a weekly seasonal summer service between Toronto and Split, but ticket sales were suspended several months before the launch for "commercial reasons". Split Airport previously announced that it was simply not interested in accommodating or dealing with long-haul flights.

The reason for this is, of course, that these long-haul flights with wide-body aircraft would mostly be performed on weekends, most often on Saturdays, when Split is the most crowded. As intercontinental wide-bodied aircraft take up much more space and need a larger maneuvering area, the operations of smaller aircraft that form the air traffic base in Split would suffer because of them, and it is precisely on them that Split Airport relies.

Before the coronavirus crisis, there were announcements circulating around about connecting Zadar with several Chinese destinations, but after the end of the pandemic, there is no more speculation about such an idea, at least for now.

For more, check out our dedicated news and travel sections.

March the 24th, 2023 - The American company Jabil is constructing a large centre in Eastern Croatia, more specifically in Osijek, where it will employ 1500 people.

As 24sata/Martina Vidaic writes, one of the world's largest providers of production solutions, the American company Jabil Inc., recently announced the construction of a new large center of excellence for production in the Croatian city of Osijek.

The completion of the construction of the production facility is scheduled for the beginning of 2024, and the brand new centre is expected to quickly become a key driver of the local economy, creating more than 1,500 new jobs for skilled workers. When the new centre of excellence for production starts operating, the American company Jabil will become one of the largest employers in all of Slavonia, and provide the local community with opportunities for both growth and development - the company's press release states.

The American company Jabil was founded back in 1966 across the pond over in the USA, and currently has more than 250,000 employees working a hundred different locations in 30 countries, and they've now actively started looking for workers in and around Osijek. On their website Osijek Hiring - Jabil explains in detail who they are looking for and what they can offer them.

''Business expansion is a strategic decision that is in line with Jabil's focus on long-term trends and growth in the areas of renewable energy, electric vehicles, healthcare, the 5G network and the Cloud. The new facility will be the very heart of Jabil's ongoing commitment to innovation, sustainability and providing comprehensive manufacturing solutions to its customers,'' said Gerald "JJ" Creadon, Jabil's Executive Vice President of Operations.

They are also planning to open a factory for the production of medical prosthetic parts, microchips and motherboards for the automotive industry, which means a strong business momentum for that entire region.

''Recruitment of the workforce for the new centre of excellence for production in Osijek has already begun and will continue throughout 2023. Management and engineering positions are currently open, as well as a number of positions in operations, supply chain, finance and human resources. Our company is focused on the future and boasts a diverse portfolio of industrial operations. We'd like everyone interested to contact us, regardless of whether they have recently graduated or have years of work experience behind them,'' stated Robin Forster, the senior director of regional human resources at Jabil.

For more, check out our news and business sections.

February the 23rd, 2023 - The Croatian Kanaan company has secured an agreement with no less than Costco, the second largest retail chain on the planet which pulls in eye-watering figures as revenue each year.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, snacks made by the Croatian Kanaan company from Donji Miholjac, one of the best European producers of quality snacks, will now also be found on the shelves of Costco, the second largest retail chain in the world, which generates enormous revenues of 227 billion US dollars a year.

The above information was confirmed for Lider by Zvonko Popovic, the so-called "Croatian king of crisps" and the owner and director of the Croatian Kanaan company, which holds the title of one of the best European producers of top quality snacks.

Popovic said that it is a great honour for his company to have entered Costco's stores. He also revealed that they currently have orders for Mexico, and by the end of the year they will make sales for the USA, South Korea, Australia and even for New Zealand.

Due to the current crisis and ongoing spiralling inflation, the Croatian Kanaan company has faced numerous challenges, from rising costs, disruptions in supply chains, the security of their energy procurement, issues with the procurement of packaging, and reduced quantity and quality of some basic raw materials due to bad climatic conditions.

"Unfortunately, the prices are much higher than they were in earlier periods. We're hoping for more stable conditions this year and for us to be able to maintain our prices,'' said Popovic for Lider.

Back in 2021, the Croatian Kanaan company generated impressive revenues in the amount of 22.65 million euros, and in 2022, their revenues grew by about 20 percent compared to the previous year, to an encouraging 27 million euros. More than half of their sales are exported to the markets of neighbouring Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia, and then to customers in France, Lithuania and Denmark. In total, they sold around 8,000 tonnes of various products in 2022, and their goal is to be close to that amount in 2023 as well.

Popovic revealed to Lider that in the future, they want to expand into higher category products, such as protein-added snacks and vegetable crisps, and maintain the quality of the their basic products; flips with peanuts, popcorn and crisps.

For more, make sure to follow our dedicated business section.

January the 23rd, 2023 - Something new for the diaspora across the pond in the United States of America which aims to keep them connected to the homeland of their parents or grandparents. Croatian Radio New York's new podcast is likely to attract many.

Croatian Radio New York launches a podcast ‘Study in Croatia’. The aim of this podcast is to inform high school students, their parents, relatives and friends about the possibilities and admission processes for studying at the Croatian universities and colleges. During the first two podcasts, six higher education institutions were presented. Podcasts were hosted by Joseph Bogovic, senior at Townsend Harris High School in Queens, Srecko Mavrek, Croatian Radio NY host, Sara Skoda, college counselor at Townsend Harris High School in Queens, and Petra Pesa, Croatian Radio NY president and host. Boris Vilic, dean of the School of Professional Studies at Albright College in Pennsylvania, gave his introductory and final remarks to the podcast participants. He also introduced his voluntary work as a chair of the charitable foundation of the Association of Croatian American Professionals, ACAP, through which he led the creation of the Domovina Birthright Summer Program and several collaborations with institutions in higher education in Croatia.

Studying at the Rochester Institute of Technology Croatia (RIT Croatia) was presented by dean Don Hudspeth, a Canadian that has been with RIT Croatia since the beginning and lives with his family in Dubrovnik, and Ivan Smoljan, Recruitment and Enrollment Specialist. Valentina Vucenik, RIT Croatia freshmen, described her experience and student’s life in Zagreb.

Izabela Oletic Tusek, Head of International Department at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics (FOI) in Varazdin, and prof dr. sc. Violeta Vidacek Hains, Head of Student Research Symposium in collaboration with Universities in USA and College Professor, introduced studying options at the FOI. Students Jerry John Antolos and Erik Duranec described their views and excitement about studying at the FOI in Varazdin.

Dean Dr. Sc. Mato Njavro introduced the Zagreb School of Economics and Management (Croatian: Zagrebačka škola ekonomije i managementa, abbreviated as ZŠEM), which is a private business school located in Zagreb. Founded in 2002, ZSEM provides undergraduate and graduate education in economics, management, finance, marketing, and accounting. ZSEM has been voted the best business school in Croatia for five consecutive years, most recently in 2012, and is Croatia's largest private institution of higher education. In 2013, the Zagreb School of Economics and Management became the first business school in Croatia to receive AACSB accreditation. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, also known as AACSB International, is an American professional organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to schools of business, and was later known as the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business and as the International Association for Management Education. Ruzica Lipovac, student at ZSEM, was born and raised in New York. She moved to Zagreb and followed in her older brother’s footsteps to enroll in the Zagreb School of Economics & Management. As a former International Baccalaureate student, with all her studies being in English, she wanted to continue having a global learning experience. The knowledge obtained has given her the expertise to help run businesses in the US and Croatia.  

Lovre Kolega, ZSEM alumni, is from the USA, specifically Florida. He moved to Croatia in 2013 to attend high school and continued studies at the Zagreb School of Economics and Management - completing the undergraduate program in Economics and Management. During studies at ZSEM, with the support of ZSEM's Career Center he got an internship at Rimac Technology, where he was immediately hired after graduating and where he is currently continuing his career path as a Project Coordinator.

The University of Rijeka is in the City of Rijeka, the third largest city in Croatia and the main Croatian port. As one of the largest universities in the region, it comprises 12 Faculties and 4 Departments, which offer more than 172 accredited study programs. University of Rijeka welcomes international students through student mobility stays, degree study programs or research/guest activities. To support mobility, the University has signed more than 600 bilateral Erasmus agreements with 30 countries and takes part in various bilateral and multilateral ventures in higher education. Students who wish to enroll in full degree study programs at University of Rijeka have the possibility of choosing study programs in English and Croatian language, attainable on undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate study level. Podcast speakers from the University of Rijeka were:

Prof Dr. Sc. Marta Zuvic, vice-rector for studies, students and quality assurance University of Rijeka

Marija Spoljaric  - Student International Business at Business College at University of Rijeka, student ambassador on the Ambassador Platform

Tyler Zanki – alumni born and raised in New Jersey to Croatian Parents. Graduated with a Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering in May of 2020. A year ago, he moved to Croatia, and now is studying at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology at the University of Zagreb. 

Aspira University College is a private college and a nonprofit institution, which organizes and conducts professional studies of Sport Management, Computer Science – Program Engineering, International Management in Hospitality and Tourism and Hospitality and Tourism Management. Aspira was presented by the following speakers:

Petra Mandac – Assistant Dean of International Cooperation

Josip Radic – International Relations Coordinator

Laura Mishevska - student

Algebra University College offers to the next generation of its students a possibility to study in English on validated bachelor study programs in the fields of computing, design and management and a unique chance to receive a Dual Degree from AUC and Goldsmiths, University of London. Algebra University College is the flagship of largest private educational organization in Republic of Croatia and the region (Algebra group), present today in more than 20 cities across Croatia. Founded in 1998, they currently have more than 150 full-time employees and more than 600 associated experts and higher educational faculties employed also in industry. Algebra is located in historic CUC campus in the heart of Croatian capital Zagreb, while adult education and training programs are conducted also in: Osijek, Pula, Rijeka, Zadar, Split, Varazdin and Dubrovnik, as well as in more than ten other smaller cities. Algebra University College was presented by:

Hrvoje Josip Balen – President of the Board of Trustees at Algebra University College   and

Lidija Šimrak - Head of the International Office at Algebra University College.

“It was a great pleasure to moderate this informative podcast together with Joseph, who is such talented young man. Valentina was also a great contributor to discussions. I strongly believe in a big potential of the young people. My hope is that studying in Croatia will strengthen the ties between Croatia and Croatian communities around the world and develop solidarity among Croatian youth from many diaspora communities and homeland”, said Mavrek.

For more on the Croatian diaspora, follow our lifestyle section.

December the 7th, 2022 - After three (very long) decades of negotiations, the representatives of Croatia and the USA in Washington are finally set to conclude the Croatia-USA double taxation agreement today. Croatia is otherwise the only nation in the EU and NATO that hasn't yet regulated this relationship.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, back during previous years, analysts assessed that the signing of the Croatia-USA double taxation agreement, which will finally result in the avoidance of having to pay tax on income in both nations to both nations, will not result in a sudden rush of American investors to Croatia, nor will it open up new businesses for Croatian companies on the American market. What it will primarily do is result in considerable benefits for companies that are already operating, as they will be less burdened by tax payments. It will also increase their level of competitiveness overall.

However, circumstances have changed somewhat over more recent years, and it seems that the number of those who will benefit from the settlement of fiscal relations between these two countries on each side of the Atlantic Ocean will be more significant. What will this mean exactly, and who will benefit the most from the signing of the historic Croatia-USA double taxation agreement?

Climbing the ladder

The USA was not among the major investors in Croatia for a very long time, but that has changed quite significantly in recent years. Steve Bubalo, an American entrepreneur with Croatian roots, has the longest investment experience here. He invested in the Vrana agricultural farm near Biograd in Zadar, as well as in rural tourism in Baranja, and one of his big takeovers was certainly Barr's takeover of Pliva back in 2006, which was then taken over by the Israeli company Teva.

After Croatia joined the EU back in July 2013, and especially over the last few years, more serious investments followed, such as IBM's investment in the Technical Support Centre in Zagreb, two years ago New York's One Equity Partners invested 200 million dollars in Infobip, and this summer, Goldman Sachs, together with the Japanese SoftBank, invested 500 million euros in the remarkable Rimac Group.

At the same time, in Savski Marof, the start of work on the new production facility of the American company Pfizer for the production of innovative biological drugs, in which it is investing 100 million euros, was marked. The USA is thus climbing the investment ladder, and from 1993 to the end of the second quarter of this year, more than 595 million euros had been invested in Croatia, and thanks to the latest investments successfully ticked off, it took 15th place on the list of investors in this country.

It's also interesting to note that Croatian investments over in the USA over the past three decades, in Croatian circumstances at least, aren't insignificant. They amount to more than 73 million euros, and among those Croatian companies that started production in the USA is, for example, Podravka. HS Produkt from Karlovac has also been among the main exporters for years, along with Pliva.

Trade has also been growing in recent years, especially in the last year on the back of US LNG imports. In terms of trade, Croatia is mainly focused on the market of the EU and neighbouring non-EU countries, but thanks to LNG terminal on Krk, the USA has moved up to the seventh place among the main trade partners.

In the first nine months of 2022, imports from the USA into Croatia amounted to more than 2.07 billion euros and at the annual level they increased by 703%, and goods from Croatia were exported for 349 million euros (marking a decrease of 17%).

According to AmCham's estimates, the Croatia-USA double taxation agreement will have a positive effect on the transfer of knowledge, due to the costs of withholding taxes on the provision of certain services and royalties, and the costs of labour taxation, which is particularly important for the IT sector and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Croatian companies that establish subsidiaries over in the USA are currently subject to federal and state income tax, and dividend payments are subject to a 30% tax. Since the corporate tax rate in Croatia stands at 12 or 18%, AmCham estimates that the cumulative US tax rate is very discouraging for Croatian companies.

A company in Croatia owned by a larger American company pays profit tax at the rate of 18%, and according to the parent company in the USA, it must make three payments per year, for interest and royalties, and then for dividends, it pays withholding tax at rates of 12 and 15 %, and only the net after-tax amount can be paid to the US parent company.

This Croatia-USA double taxation agreement will make it possible to get rid of these payments once and for all, and make it so that the full amount is paid to the parent company, which makes Croatia more attractive as an investment and business destination overall.

"This is a significant step for the business community both in the USA and Croatia, which for many years advocated the initiation of negotiations on the signing of such an agreement. This step is particularly important for AmCham and its members, given that it prepared the initial arguments for the conclusion of the agreement back in 2018 and brings together companies that are most involved in trade and investment flows between Croatia and the USA," said Andrea Doko Jelusic, the executive director of AmCham Croatia.

The conclusion of this historic (and long-awaited) agreement will bring a lower financial burden for companies, and here on the Croatian side, it will be especially interesting for the IT sector, as well as for the food and pharmaceutical industry, while on the American side, it will open space for cooperation with small and medium-sized companies that haven't been represented in Croatia until now.

The Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) also welcomes the signing of the Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation between Croatia and the USA, and points out that, although there's still some time to go before its full implementation, it is to be expected that it will have a positive impact on the overall economic relations between the two countries, mutual trade, and will especially facilitate mutual investments.

For more, make sure to check out our news section.

November the 29th, 2022 - The Croatian company ETF Airways, which was born during the pandemic, has become the first company registered in Croatia to be able to fly to the United States of America.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, following on from an excellent second summer flight season since its establishment, the Croatian charter carrier ETF Airways has become the very first Croatian airline to receive approval from the US Department of Transportation for flights to the USA, which will initially also open up the Caribbean market for them.

For next year, this company's main plan is additional growth, with an increase in the fleet from three to five Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which will depend on the dynamics of signing contracts for the next summer season, but things are looking very certain, Stjepan Bedic, the CEO of ETF Airways, revealed.

ETF Airways has transported 300 thousand passengers

As is already quite well known, ETF Airways was founded back during the global coronavirus pandemic at the beginning of last year by Croatian investors and bankers, investor Ratko Bajakic, economic analyst Velimir Sonje and banker Zdenko Adrovic, who is involved in the project through his own company - Korta. Among the founders are pilots Dragan Stefanovski and Marko Bankovic, a team of enthusiasts who have already collaborated with Bedic on several startup projects in the wider region, and spent a good part of their careers working for different foreign companies.

ETF Airways took to the skies last June and they aren't a liner company, they instead specialise in flights based on ACMI - aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance contracts, and this year they mostly flew on the Paris - Greece route, Bedic stated, adding that 2022's summer season was excellent - this company which has about 60 employees will end the year with a profit, but they aren't ready to reveal any of the more detailed figures yet. The potential for growth is significant, and it would be much greater if Croatia made it easier for staff to be employed, explained Bedic.

"In one single year, we flew between 5,500 and 6,000 hours at 150 airports, and transported around 300,000 passengers to different destinations. With two planes in Paris and one in Pristina, we also flew to destinations such as Svalbard, Greenland, and Reunion in the Indian Ocean. We operate on the EU's very competitive market, where there are hundreds of such companies, but there is also a lot of demand. Therefore, growth is planned, but currently the biggest challenge for us is the employment of pilots, because Croatia has a significantly higher cost of labour than some other EU menber states, with a much higher tax burden. Slovakia, Bulgaria, Ireland and other countries are therefore much more competitive than Croatia, which, with a different tax treatment for pilots, similar to seafarers, could have a much more developed aviation industry, i.e. more companies like us," explained Bedic, who believes that and the payment of benefited seniority is outdated and redundant.

Conquering the Caribbean market

ETF Airways is currently hiring cabin crew, and then it will look for more pilots, which will be additionally challenging because strong companies such as Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways are also in the process of hiring, and their impressive salaries cannot be compared to those offered by smaller companies such as ETF Airways. Although there are 60 employees employed directly by the company, that figure rises to 150 if external service providers in the entire ecosystem are added into the mix.

ETF Airways is entering the demanding American market through a joint venture company with a local French company, and their license to provide services across the pond in the USA will enable them to position themselves in the market of local flights to the Caribbean, as well as to popular American destinations such as Miami. There is a demand for their services there, and depending on the number of contracts signed during the winter for the next summer season, the acquisition of two new aircraft may also come to be. Namely, as Bedic pointed out, the situation on the market is still unstable in terms of last minute flight reservations, and ETF doesn't fly without signed contracts and deposits.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

November the 10th, 2022 - Americans are investing a huge sum of money in a brand new Zabok medical centre, but just how much of a role with the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) play in it all?

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, although many details about the establishment of the new Zabok medical centre, which will be a centre for the treatment of malignant diseases, have yet to be defined, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre's (UPMC) investment of about 15 million euros in Hrvatsko Zagorje is the first investment of this magnitude by foreign investors in Croatian healthcare.

The announcement about the investment that will be realised in cooperation with the General Hospital Zabok and the St. Catherine Special Hospital (Sv. Katarina), owned by Dragan Primorac, comes at a time when the state seems to have decided to strengthen cooperation between public and private healthcare.

This is further evidenced by the public support that the founders of the future Zabok medical centre received when signing the cooperation agreement from the government representatives, and support for such projects will also be given by the new legal regulations that will direct patients to private institutions in the country instead of urging them to seek treatment abroad, regardless of whether they have contracts with HZZO or not.

However, we have yet to see how many services from the new Zabok medical centre will actually be made available to Croatia's residents who are HZZO insured individuals. Namely, as confirmed by them, HZZO wasn't officially contacted regarding the possibility of contracting services with the future Centre for Oncology.

For the American investors, however, this is certainly an investment in health tourism, considering that they will be able to gain the market of Croatia's entire wider region, as well as the whole of Europe. It is also the largest American healthcare institution that employs 92,000 employees and 5,000 doctors, with a massive annual budget of 23 billion dollars.

There are a total of 40 hospitals within the UPMC chain, and in addition to over the USA, they are currently present in Italy, Ireland, China and Kazakhstan. As they claim from St. Catherine, this large investment will provide Croatian patients with diagnostic and therapeutic services completely equivalent to those in the USA, in accordance with the existing prices set by HZZO.

The new Zabok medical centre will be located on the premises of the Zabok General Hospital, which the hospital has been renting out to the St. Catherine Special Hospital since back in 2008. It spans 2,200 square metres. In addition, two linear accelerators will be built for radiation purposes, the location has already been defined, and permits need to be obtained for this. The plan is to complete the brand new medical centre in a period of about one year.

"This is primarily about a huge step forward in the transfer of the latest knowledge and technologies from the USA, the kind of which we can only dream of. When we talk to Croatian oncologists, they believe that in a few years, with the support of UPMC, Croatia could be at the very top of the EU in terms of oncology services," Jadranka Primorac, a member of the administrative council of the St. Catherine Special Hospital stated.

She added that this type of therapy and treatment, as well as state-of-the-art diagnostics in cooperation with UPMC, must be available to every Croatian resident. "It is the beginning and the end of everything. If you look at EC strategies, one of the key steps forward is to make this kind of therapy available to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. Among other things, this is why we have HZZO,'' she explained.

Zabok is apparently now preparing negotiations with the state insurer, HZZO, which so far has not quite fulfilled all the efforts of private institutions to offer their services to the Institute's policyholders in greater numbers. One of the key obstacles was often the too low price of the services covered by HZZO, and since these are new services that didn't even exist within the Croatian healthcare system, those prices have yet to be established.

Negotiations with HZZO will certainly be one of the most important steps for future partners. Director of the Zabok General Hospital, Tihomir Vancina, pointed out that there are still a number of operational and technical matters to be resolved, from space to personnel engagement.

"We agreed in principle that we want to build the Zabok medical centre, and now we need to see how to implement it all," stated Vancina, who believes that everything can be done in the space of one year, especially considering that the investment has been under consideration for four years since the UPMC team was in Zabok for the first time. "This will be a huge step in improving the quality of the treatment on offer.

In the Zabok General Hospital, we have departments where our oncology patients can have part of the procedure, but for the rest they have to go to Zagreb, which will not be necessary in the future. The cancer survival rate in the USA is significantly higher than it is here in Croatia, precisely because of the available therapy that we're now bringing to the country. For the state, this is an ideal model, because it doesn't have to invest in space, equipment and personnel, it only has to pay for the services," concluded Vancina.

For more, make sure to keep up with our dedicated news section.

October the 4th, 2022 - American TV host, writer and comedian Jay Leno is clearly pleased with the amazing Nevera created by Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, famous American presenter Jay Leno well and truly threw himself into the waters of all things automotive just a few years ago. He has since grown a very successful YouTube channel called "Jay Leno's Garage" which is dedicated entirely to his passion and he recently tested out Mate Rimac's stunning Nevera.

Leno loved Rimac's remarkable car, the Nevera, and he was particularly impressed by the speed it can reach without much effort and the sheer ease of driving one feels when behind the Nevera's wheel. Leno said that Americans, especially many of those who have never even heard of the Republic of Croatia, will now hear about it and the incredibly intelligent people who built the strongest car in the entire world, as RTL Direkt reported.

"The Nevera's acceleration is impressive. It's linear,'' said Leno in the video in which he tested the Nevera, comparing it to the lack of ease of other electric vehicles and adding that he thinks that this, the latest of Rimac's astonishing supercars, is set to achieve great success on the demanding American market.

Livno-born Croatian entrepreneur and businessman Mate Rimac has often been compared to famous inventors and is frequently referred to as Europe's own Elon Musk. This doggedly determined creator started out with his love of cars from his garage, with not much knowledge or cash behind him.

He has since put Croatia, a country which had absolutely nothing to do with the automotive world whatsoever, very firmly on the map for all lovers of cars and connected it forever with Bugatti, showing that even the most unimaginable ventures can work out, even in a country which is still only just learning how to give entrepreneurs a fighting chance to succeed.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Made in Croatia section.