The Zagreb earthquake which struck back in March this year caused a huge amount of disruption in the Croatian capital and the tram lines were far from immune to it. Thankfully, as of today, all of ZET's trams will be running as normal once again, operating along Zagreb's most famous street (Ilica) and passing Ban Jelacic Square, which wasn't possible for several months.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 2nd of July, 2020, all of ZET's tram lines will run according to the valid summer timetable as of today, the 2nd of July, 2020.

After the expert services performed detailed inspections and eliminated the dangers that threatened the lines after the earthquake, and the ZET teams checked the correctness of the tram tracks and the accompanying voltage network, the city's trams will begin running along Jurisiceva, Ilica, Praska and past Ban Jelacic Square again today, ZET reported.

''As of today, all of the tram lines that operated on the altered routes are returning to their usual routes,'' ZET's statement reads.

ZET reports that line 13 (Kvaternikov trg - Zitnjak) is returning to operations, while at the same time the extraordinary bus lines 608 (Trg zrtava fasizma - Vlaska - Kvaternikov trg) and 611 (Glavni kolodvor - Praska) will end.

The final works on the regular maintenance of the tram tracks in the central square are still in progress, but they will no longer affect the use of the tram lines in those areas, which was the case since the earthquake struck earlier this year.

"On this occasion, we once again call on passengers to abide by the Decision of the National Civil Protection Headquarters on the obligation to wear a medical mask or face mask when using public transport, and ZET will, as before, disinfect the vehicles three times a day and ventilate them to reduce the possibility of spreading the coronavirus infection,'' they state from ZET.

For more on public transport in Zagreb and beyond, follow our travel page.

ZAGREB, June 20, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ leader Andrej Plenkovic said on Saturday that the HDZ would invest maximum effort in the reconstruction of Zagreb and its historical centre damaged in the March 22 earthquake.

Speaking at a presentation of party candidates running in the July 5 elections in Constituency No. 1, Plenkovic said that the damage to the city had been estimated at €11.5 billion euros.

He said it would take at least ten years for the city to be reconstructed in such a way "to be safe and for its citizens to be given what they need after that big natural disaster."

Plenkovic recalled his government's results, citing an increase in employment and a decline in unemployment, a healthy economic growth, an increase in wages and pensions, etc.

He said that this was the reason why his party had wanted to hold parliamentary elections in the summer, when the intensity of the COVID-19 pandemic is lowest, to win voters' trust and continue working to the benefit of all citizens.

Plenkovic said that his government would continue reducing taxes, noting that the tax burden on citizens and the business sector had been reduced in the amount of nine billion kuna.

He went on to say that his government would reduce income tax and VAT on all food.

The HDZ wants to create conditions by the end of the term for the average wage to grow from the current HRK 6,700 to HRK 7,600, to raise the minimum wage to HRK 4,250 and to secure an additional HRK 10 billion for active employment measures, as well as create an additional 100,000 jobs, he said.

This will be possible to achieve through the EU's new seven-year budget which, in its current form, envisages 11.5 billion euros for Croatia, he said.

In addition to that, we will get more than €10 billion through the EU's plan for economic recovery, said the PM.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of June, 2020, the funding has been provided to the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Museum of Arts and Crafts and the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb. INA has so far donated more than 1,500,000 kuna to the fight against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and repair the damage caused by the Zagreb earthquake that struck the capital back in March.

Through its daily operations and socially responsible behaviour, INA continues to be a partner and support for the community. Aware of the difficult situation in which the historic core of the city of Zagreb found itself after the devastating earthquake, INA decided to donate an additional 800,000 kuna to the aforementioned institutions.

"On behalf of all members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and myself, I'd like to sincerely thank you for the generous donation you sent us, which we really need in these difficult times. By supporting the highest Croatian scientific and artistic institution, INA, as one of the historically leading companies in Croatia, has once again expressed its social responsibility by providing an inspiring example of solidarity and friendship. We truly appreciate your valuable and quick help, which will be invaluable in the restoration of the Academy's property,'' said Academician Velimir Neidhardt, President of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, which owns damaged buildings located in the historic protected part of town.

"On my own behalf and on behalf of all employees of MUO, and I'm convinced that I speak on behalf of the entire cultural public, I'd like to express my gratitude to INA for the valuable donation that will be an incentive for us, despite all of the adversity, to equip the museum building for visitors and continue with important programmes to preserve the cultural identity of us all. Thank you, INA, for recognising our efforts and vision to restore the splendor of one of the oldest fundamental national cultural institutions in the Croatia, the Museum of Arts and Crafts,'' said Miroslav Gasparovic, the director of the Museum of Arts and Crafts, which was closed to the public due to severe damage caused by the Zagreb earthquake.

"Thank you for your contribution to enable us to return the possibility of re-exhibiting archeological material to the citizens of the City of Zagreb and the general public as soon as possible. We believe that with the help and support, we'll be able to restore the permanent display we had before the earthquake struck, improve the presentation and ensure the safety of our visitors. We'd like especially thank you for recognising the urgency of the action, which enabled us to start as soon as possible with interventions in the rehabilitation of the building, restoration and other interventions,'' said the director of the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, Sanjin Mihelic.

The Vranyczany-Hafner Palace, built back in 1879 and which has housed the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb since 1945, has been given the yellow label "temporarily unusable" and the museum is closed to visitors due to earthquake damage.

"The oil and gas industry has been affected by the crisis, which isn't something that has bypassed INA either. We're adjusting our business and we've been forced to revise our investment plans, but even in such a situation, in INA and the entire MOL Group, we're aware of the need to invest in the quality of life of the society in which we live and work. Residents of Zagreb, as well as numerous institutions in the protected historical core that were destroyed in the earthquake, are facing difficult circumstances. It's our duty to help, because this is the moment when we can show that together we're stronger than a natural disaster. INA has been on this path for years and continuously provides support to scientific, cultural and artistic institutions, and we're going to continue to do so in the future,'' said INA CEO Sandor Fasimon.

In order to help repair the damage caused by the earthquake that hit Zagreb, INA donated 250,000 kuna to the "Together for Zagreb" campaign and a further 100,000 kuna to the Children's Clinic in Zagreb back in April.

In addition, 250,000 kuna was donated to the ''Dr Fran Mihaljevic'' Clinic for Infectious Diseases and the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Health Centre in order to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. 100,000 kuna was donated to the Dr. Ivo Pedisic General Hospital in Sisak and the Red Cross.

The Special Hospital for Childrens' Chronic Diseases in Gornja Bistra and the Croatian Institute of Emergency Medicine were donated 50,000 kuna each, the Rebro Pediatric Oncology Foundation was provided with a donation of 200,000 kuna, with the Pula General Hospital also receiving 100,000 kuna.

In addition, INA donated 50,000 kuna to the Kamensko Association, which sews cotton masks, while 10,000 kuna was donated to the Rudjer Boskovic Technical School in Vinkovci to make visors on 3D printers that the school then donated to Croatian hospitals. INA also helped supply the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia with a deficient surface disinfectant by donating 720 litres of INA Denizol, a new product produced by INA MAZIVA, which was also donated to the Zagreb Homes for the Elderly.

Corporate responsibility and social engagement are an integral part of INA's business operations and are part of a long tradition focused on social and economic progress. The preservation of the cultural public good is certainly one of the key features for the further development of our society.

For more, follow our lifestyle page.

June 17, 2020 - We've almost gotten over our anxieties over the numerous earthquakes that hit Zagreb in 2020, but yet another one of them hit us today. 

The major earthquakes which hit Zagreb on March 22, 2020, have wreaked havoc in the city centre, and have been followed by numerous aftershocks. Most of them were not remarkable, but some of them the citizens of Zagreb will remember, as they still grapple with the consequences of The Big One, happening on that snowy morning during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The earthquake which was felt in Zagreb today was not of that magnitude, nor is it expected that it caused any damage. It's just that the people of this city have mostly, honestly, had enough. This is not a seismically very active part of the world, and we're not used to earthquakes like people in Japan or California are, so we'd just like for the earthquakes to be over by now. The experts, however, are warning us that it takes time for the soil to settle after "the big one" (and in terms of seismicity of this region, the earthquake we had in March was, in fact, a big one), so we'll just have to live with the soil settling for a while. 

(The image is a screenshot of the horizontal mechanical seismograph, installed in Zagreb in 1909; time in UTC)

The EMSC reports that the magnitude of the latest earthquake was M 2.9, while some Croatian sources claim it was M 3.1. 

The story says that the big earthquake which ruined Zagreb in 1880 was followed by 30 years (!) of moderate earthquakes. I just hope it won't be that many years before the COVID earthquake of 2020 which hit Zagreb is finally done. 

ZAGREB, June 16, 2020 - Croatia has accomplished the set priorities while chairing the EU during COVID-19 and done the most it could in response to the Zagreb earthquake, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said on Tuesday.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the presidency has been held at a physical distance, but communication channels were retained, he said at a ceremony two weeks before the end of Croatia's rotating EU presidency.

"We held everything we set out in the Croatian priorities but in a different way. Not one priority that was defined in the presidency programme has gone unmentioned," he said.

"The biggest achievements are the opening of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania and the Zagreb Summit with Western Balkan countries," which have been given the message that they have a European perspective and a future in the EU, he added.

Asked by the press if Croatia failed to do more to help the people of Zagreb and its environs after the March 22 earthquake, Grlic Radman said Croatia was successful. "Croatia did its utmost," he said, adding that "the European Union hasn't forgotten Croatia."

Croatia is perceived as a developed country and it can count on the solidarity of the member states in such situations, he said. "We managed to apply for the (EU Solidarity) Fund."

"The damage estimate is €11.5 billion. That had to be established and supported by credible documents," he added.

The EU responded by sending humanitarian and other aid, the EU is a family which has appropriate mechanisms and funds, he said, adding that a donor conference was not held for Zagreb as they were envisaged for third countries, as was done for Albania after the earthquake in late 2019.

The day after it was officially confirmed that the US is withdrawing 9,500 of its troops from Germany, because it is not contributing at least 2% of its GDP for defence as promised, the minister reiterated that he and his EU counterparts spoke with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"Transatlantic peace has no alternative," he said, reiterating that Croatia had demonstrated its commitment to peace, including transatlantic peace, as "peace is indivisible."

"That should all be considered in view of strengthening the defence forces of NATO member states," said Grlic Radman.

Many inventions have been made in Croatia, and while Zagreb was continually made to shake by earthquakes, followed by weaker but still noticeable ones, a young boy from Zagreb, Karlo, sat down to think, draw and design.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of June, 2020, when a strong earthquake hit the Croatian capital of Zagreb back at the end of March, many of the city's residents (including me) were still sound asleep. A sudden awakening and the sight of people running out of their homes onto the streets on a cold Sunday morning will be forever etched in the memory of myself and many others. Some were unable to return to their homes after that, others didn't manage to sleep peacefully for weeks, and others were given no peace when slightly stronger tremors began.

Among those who ran out into the cold was sixteen-year-old MIOC student Karlo Bockaj. And as he stood outside in front of his building, surrounded by his family and his neighbours, Karlo thought of ways in which to make his stay in his apartment during the earthquake as safe as possible.

''There was no school after the earthquake and I was left with a bit of trauma from it as well as some time to spare. I was thinking about what to do so I didn’t have to get out of bed during the next earthquake and was interested by rally cars that have a cage in them which works to protect the driver. It was there that I realised that a cage could be made around a bed and I drew the first sketch of that,'' revealed Karlo Bockaj in an interview for Zimo.

Karlo took to drawing and designing the cage as the city continued to tremble on and off for the following few weeks, leaving everyone feeling a little bit on edge. He adapted the principle of the protective cage, which is applied in certain cars, to life in an apartment. He used the 3D modeling programme Rhinoceros and came up with the design from which Xocage was born.

But the design itself means nothing. Therefore, he joined forces with Zelimir Matic from Buba interijera and made the very first prototype.

''We worked on the prototype (Buba and I) for three weeks. It consists of a scaffolding pipe with a diameter of 48 mm and a wall thickness of 3 mm. It's assembled with scaffolding couplings and one number 22 ring wrench,'' said Karlo when explaining his simple but extremely efficient construction, which is not as expensive as it may seem at first glance.

''The price of this steel structure and all of its joints, designed and made in Croatia, stands at around six thousand kuna. The Kevlar net that goes onto the roof is around 1000 kuna,'' he added. It consists of 12 parts that are easy to carry and only one person is needed to assemble the entire thing.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

June the 5th, 2020 - As we wrote on June the 1st, 2020, the initiative Zagreb, I love you so (Zagreb, take imam te rad) enacted and organised by the Unimedia Agency from Zagreb, opened with a panel discussion aimed to raise awareness about the necessity of a thorough restoration of the many historic venues damaged by the catastrophic earthquake in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic back in March.

If you missed it, you can find more details here.

As announced by the organiser, the second part of the action, and quite a special one indeed, is going to take place in the atrium of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences (HAZU) on Sunday the 7th of June, 2020, at 20:00. It will be worth every little bit of attention and is going to be streamed on the platform of Vecernji.hr and on this YouTube channel. Make sure not to miss it, here's why:

Ludwig van Beethoven was born exactly 250 years ago. The world was preparing to celebrate one the of the most brilliant authors of all times, but then… the coronavirus pandemic sneaked in. And an earthquake shook Zagreb in the midst of it. Worldwide, events and concerts in the honour of the great master had to be cancelled.

The Zagreb Soloists wanted to give their share in the anniversary and adapted to the situation in a unique way. Sreten Krstic, their concert master, composer and teacher of music, was essentially inspired by the limits imposed by the pandemic and, for the first time known to us, re-orchestrated one of Beethoven’s most admired oeuvres and adapted it to the formation of a chamber orchestra. That is the version we're going to hear on Saturday evening.

The first four notes, the famous ‘ta-ta-ta-taaa’ opening Beethoven’s Symphony no.5 have entered the ear of most every human on Earth. When we listen to this glorious mainstay of classical music, we enjoy the harmonies, the rhythm, the dynamics and those often surprising specific musical colours of his characteristic orchestration, imagining what we feel or what we want as music has no boundaries.

As lovers of classical music, we seldom think of what inspired the author, of what is his real message and a real content of the particular piece. Here are some hints to help us be more aware of what Beethoven had in mind, and, especially and separately, why his Fifth Symphony is so adequate for this particular evening, as it is special and important in more ways than one.

Another thing everybody knows is that Beethoven started losing his hearing in his early years and that he ended his life totally deaf (although some evidence suggests that he could hear low tones and sudden loud sounds to his last day). What a setback for a musician!

In 1802, on the advice of his doctor, he moved to the small Austrian town of Heiligenstadt. In his letters to his brothers, he often mentioned his growing deafness and suicidal thoughts, but also his resolution to continue living for and through his art, how he had to ''seize fate by the throat, it shall certainly not crush me completely''.

This can be taken as the message of this Symphony to all : do not kneel, fight fate. And to coronavirus and the earthquakes we say: You can't crush us completely!

Make sure you dedicate less than one hour of your time on Sunday evening to this message that eventually will also be spread to the world through a delayed broadcast of Croatian National TV (HRT) and the US based cable TV and communications platform Comcast. Zagreb is greeting the world through the Zagreb Soloists, its honoured and honourable ambassadors!

Plug in, enjoy and be proud. For we will never be crushed!

For more on coronavirus, follow our dedicated section.

June the 1st, 2020 - Zagreb has suffered being the first coronavirus hot spot in the country, a devastating earthquake, and many questions surrounding its identity in the wake of all that, as it continued to hold the presidency of the European Union.

Oblivion is the saviour of human existence. Just remember how all of us cheered with joy and went around with half empty bottles in our pockets, hoping for the midnight of December the 31st to erase all of the flaws of 2019 and give us another clean slate. Good health was one of the most frequent ingredients of most every well-wishing card (rather: of most e-mails and text messages). But, as we know, something went thoroughly wrong.

In Zagreb, the capital of the country that rightly boasts its exceptional results in fighting the new coronavirus, COVID-19, off, the old saying that ''one evil never comes alone'' unfortunately proved to be very true indeed. On March the 23rd, 2020, amidst a general lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, it was hit by a strong earthquake (and a series of quite serious aftershocks that followed) that caused unfathomable damages in the area, and especially in its very historic centre.

In the world of arts, after the lockdown that paralysed everything and jeopardised the sheer existence of artists, be they freelance or otherwise, the earthquake served yet another, almost fatal blow to the capital's arts and culture scene. The blow came with such a force that almost every single theatre had to be put out of use, just like most museums, galleries, art institutions and schools.

The impression is that, due to the coronavirus epidemic around the globe, the bad news in Zagreb fell very much under the radar and without the level of attention it deserved. Somebody felt that much more attention was needed. And that was a Croatian agency called Unimedia.

Unimedia is an agency which boasts wide range of professional services in public communications, promotions, campaigns, tourism films, short films and documentaries. In short, you name it, Unimedia probably does it. Their successful collaboration with the internationally respected Zagreb Soloists gave them an inspiration, says Unimedia’s owner Nikola Mihaljevic:

''The day after the earthquake it became clear that the Zagreb Soloists were deprived of their only proper stage in Zagreb. The legendary hall of the Croatian Musical Institute (HGZ) was so damaged that it was dangerous to even peep inside. We then went around Zagreb with our camera to see and register other venues of historic and cultural importance. Disheartened, sad and impressed in the worst way possible by what we saw, we felt we should provide our lshare in trying to repair the consequences. I knew from the start that, due to the sheer level of the damage, a fund raising action made little sense.

How much could we even raise, what would it mean at all? It would have been a drop in the ocean. My experience in communications, however, told me that what we could do something to raise awareness of the need to repair and restore all of the facilities without which not only Zagreb, but all of Croatia, would lose its relevance, meaning, its history and with that, its entire cultural and civilisational future. I called Mr. Kruno Maric, Chairman of Board of the Zagreb Soloists and suggested the idea. We couldn't just sit twiddling our thumbs waiting for someone to come along and do all of it for us.

We must act now and try to do what we can. That was the first call in a series of calls and meetings that ensued. Of course, it took some time to pass the trajectory between the idea and its form and the final programme. I named it ''Zagreb, I love you so'' (Zagreb, tak imam te rad) after the legendary ballad dedicated to the city.

What was the first idea?

Well, my first idea was for the Zagreb Soloists to provide a concert in the damaged hall of the HGZ without any audience and to stream it on the web. But of course, it didn't make much sense and I started seeking help at other addresses. Then I concluded that the highest instances with the mandate over culture, science and heritage are the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Ministry of Culture. While the answer from the Academy came almost immediately, the reaction from the Ministry arrived only after repeated messages and telephone calls. And quite some. Unsurprisingly.

Maybe they thought you were just another person coming and asking for money?

No way. Our idea was explained clearly and distinctly. As said earlier, the only aim of this little mission is to raise awareness of the fact that if we don't take to a thorough, professional restoration of the venues vital for performing arts and arts and sciences in general, to the buildings that we hold and cherish our national memory, our entire future of a civilised nation with a real identity is at stake. At this moment in time, in this devastating situation with the aftermath of the earthquake and the coronavirus pandemic, awareness is so vital, it is a prerogative to a proper, complex action. We want everybody to be aware of the scope of this calamity and its invisible consequences.

Are you thinking of some particular target groups?

No. Not at all. The target is - everybody, from the highest authorities and institutions to the widest general public reachable, from politicians to a retired grandma reading newspapers on a bench in the park. I should hope we can eventually grow and as such attract more and more attention. This is only a modest, optimistic start that isn't pretending that it will change the world, but aims to rekindle something not necessarily active in the awareness of people.

So, in the wake of the earthquake and amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic - how do we begin?

We've conceived a small programme consisting of two events. The first is going to take place on a live web stream at noon on Tuesday, June the 2nd, 2020. It's hopefully only the first in a series of more discussions on the subject. In this first one, we're going to hear the viewpoints from HAZU’s Prof.sci. Mladen Obad Scitaroci, from Ms. Iva Hraste Soco of the Ministry of Culture, from Milana Vukov Runjic of the City of Zagreb and, in the name of arts, from Krunoslav Maric of the Zagreb Soloists.  It's going to be streamed by our main media sponsor Vecernji list and in collaboration with Opis Film, our partner company.

Total Croatia News is proud to join all the media that will announce and follow this praiseworthy initiative. In the following days, make sure to follow our further coverage of the second part of ''Zagreb I love you so'' -  a very special concert of the Zagreb Soloists on the evening of June the 7th, 2020 at 20:00, which will also be streamed live on Unimedia’s channel dedicated the the initiative, which you can subscribe to here.

Let's all come together and contribute our beloved Zagreb's recovery, even if only by having it in our daily thoughts.

For more, follow our lifestyle page.

As Novac writes on the 28th of May, 2020, recently, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) held another in a series of meetings by which the chamber brings together relevant institutions and professions that will participate in the Zagreb earthquake reconstruction process.

After the topics of urgent rehabilitation works were discussed, along with the development of guidelines for the renovation and the use of Croatian products were presented to engineers, contractors, chimney sweeps and building managers, designers then became part of the dialogue.

"This crisis could have hit the construction industry much worse than it ended up hitting it. The Croatian Chamber of Commerce sought preconditions for its survival during the strictest epidemiological measures through the continuation of work on construction sites and in construction material stores, as well as the movement of workers in that field. The incorporation of Croatian products in the Zagreb earthquake reconstruction is the next and key step on the road to recovery. The call to be responsible in such a crisis has a much broader meaning, and it includes responsibility through economic activity,'' said the Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for Construction, Transport and Communications, Mirjana Cagalj, at the meeting where the Association of Technical Design and the Association of Architects were presented with some guidelines.

Cagalj commented on the activities of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning, the Faculty of Civil Engineering and the Croatian Chamber of Civil Engineers, emphasising the role of building managers as the key to connecting people with the profession and establishing the Zagreb Group of Managers inside the Croatian Chamber of Commerce as the the platform through which such a move can be done.

State Secretary at the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning, Zeljko Uhlir, spoke about the urgent work on the protection of buildings and the application that is being prepared which will enable the monitoring of bills and costs involved in it all. Regarding the question of the profession for the design and restoration of the original condition of the buildings, Uhlir said that the current regulations define urgent and necessary repairs.

"Amendments to the Technical Regulation for Building Structures are also being drafted," Uhlir noted, as this regulation will enable part of the work to be carried out on buildings harmed by the Zagreb earthquake until the law is passed.

"We now need manuals and guidelines for emergency repairs, budget methodologies and remediation technologies. From that side, we can help in this scientific segment. We'll present a proposal for an emergency programme. The protocols must be clearly defined in order to know who is responsible for which segment,'' said the dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Stjepan Lakusic.

The manual was presented by the leader of the team of experts for checking the statics of the buildings and the professor of the Faculty of Civil Engineering Josip Atalic, who stressed that there is a big problem in fact that there is no awareness of earthquake risk, as such, he asked all professions to work together.

The manual defines different levels of renovation: the repair of non-structural elements, the repair of the structure, the reinforcement of the structure and then complete renovation. Several technical solutions for the profession and for people have been offered.

"These are the bare bones of the programme, which will be supplemented and changed in order to best help the profession," Atalic emphasised. The manual was prepared by the Faculty of Civil Engineering and the Croatian Chamber of Civil Engineers, whose president, Nina Drazin Lovrec, also attended the meeting.

The manual also includes the Catalog of Croatian Products, which was prepared by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce with the intention of presenting domestic production to customers of goods and services with detailed information on those products, especially during the preparation of all of the tender documentation. As part of the Ugradimo hrvatsko campaign, a special category of products and companies for reconstruction following the Zagreb earthquake has been created.

For more on reconstruction following the Zagreb earthquake, follow our lifestyle page.

ZAGREB, May 28, 2020 - Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Marko Pavic said on Thursday that soon Croatia would apply to the European Solidarity Fund for the reconstruction of Zagreb after the March 22 earthquake and that it expected to receive over €500 million.

Responding to questions from the press ahead of a cabinet meeting, Pavic said the deadline to apply was June 14 and that he expected Croatia, i.e. the City of Zagreb, to receive over €500 million.

The estimate of the damage will be finished this week and it must be done according to a methodology recognised by the European Commission, Pavic added.

He said a €100 million advance from the ESF was expected this summer, the maximum amount that could be received.

He recalled that a US$ 200 million loan was being arranged with the World Bank for dealing with the effects of the quake and that the government set aside HRK 141 million for urgent repairs.