ZAGREB, March 27, 2019 - An agreement on allocating 320 million kuna as non-repayable funds for the reconstruction of the crossroads of the Jadranska Avenija and Avenija Dubrovnik streets, which is also known as the Rotor roundabout in southwest Zagreb, was signed in the Croatian capital on Wednesday.

The document signed by Mayor Milan Bandić, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butković, and SAFU agency head Tomislav Petrić envisages that 272 million kuna will be set aside for this project from the European Fund for Regional Development (ERDF) and 48 million kuna from the Croatian state budget.

Attending the agreement-signing ceremony, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that the co-funding of this project was an important message about the benefits of Croatia's European Union membership for the Croatia capital.

An additional 47 contracts of this kind, worth 2.3 billion kuna, have been signed for the City of Zagreb so far, according to Plenković.

He underlined that the revamping of the biggest roundabout was the continuation of major infrastructure projects in the capital city such as the modernisation of Zagreb Airport.

Plenković expects the reconstruction of this roundabout to be completed by the beginning of next year, when Croatia assumes the six-month rotating chairmanship of the EU.

Mayor Bandić recalled that over 100,000 people passed daily through that circular intersection and the reconstruction would make traffic flow smoother.

More Zagreb news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

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

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

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

May's deal/withdrawal agreement passes:

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

What does this mean?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is there any new information?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What does all that mean?

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

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

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

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

Need an example?

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

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

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

What about healthcare?

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

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

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

It is not a 200-storey skyscraper, which Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić daydreamed about last week, but it is an observation tower that could potentially be among the 15 highest structures in Croatia. According to the public call issued to architects and designers, it will be the “the anchor and the heart of a mixed-use master plan which will represent the new city centre.” In other words, it is around this 45-70 metre tower, which will be located in the area of the present racecourse, that the so-called Zagreb Manhattan will be based, reports Večernji List on March 27, 2019.

The call to interested designers is the first concrete move in the “City Within City” project, announced just over a month ago. It is supposed to cover the 1.1 million square metre area at and around the current Zagreb Fair and should include the centre of Novi Zagreb. The ideas on how the tower should look like have been sought by Ex Development from Dubai, a company with less than ten employees established, according to the LinkedIn business network, about half a year ago.

The observation tower, which must be a recognisable city landmark, should look over the Sava river, as well as the whole city, according to the call, adding that it is essential that the structure should have only stairs and an elevator leading to the top, with no additional facilities.

Designers and architects have until just April 10 to design the future "symbol of Zagreb", and the best proposal will be rewarded with 20,000 dollars. The "view of the old part of the city and the mountain in the background" will be the main feature of the future tower, which will be located in the new centre of the Croatian capital, which will also include "residential buildings, shops, offices and cultural facilities.”

According to the sketch which is part of the competition and which shows where the future tower will be located, it will be surrounded by one of three large squares, a retail street, a larger park and a “green link” with the existing Park Mladenaca. Also, there is a tram line planned within the "Zagreb Manhattan".

The Zagreb Society of Architects Zagreb (DAZ) reacted to the competition, saying that the area with the first structure should actually be developed at the end of the project. “It is set on the hippodrome and near the Sava river, and this area should be planned only after the urban regeneration of the Zagreb Fair area is completed,” said the DAZ, adding that the whole intervention is against the concept of the fair as a cultural unit.

The city authorities said unofficially that they know about the contest, but that it was a "framework plan" of one of the potential investors in "Zagreb City".

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Mateja Šobak).

More Zagreb news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, March 27, 2019 - Hundreds of members of the academic community rallied outside the Zagreb University building on Tuesday evening for a protest against a proposal by the Zagreb Academy of Music to award Mayor Milan Bandić an honorary doctorate of Zagreb University.

Speakers at the rally said that Zagreb University was going through one of the worst episodes in its history, adding that they were ashamed and that a turnaround would have to happen.

Stjepan Perko, a candidate for a doctor's degree at Zagreb's Faculty of Political Science, who organised the rally, said that it was shameful to honour Bandić, who had been indicted in a number of cases, in any way, let alone with an honorary doctorate.

The protesters carried banners with messages seeking Zagreb University head Damir Boras's resignation and ridiculing the university's earlier decision to grant an honorary doctorate to Dragan Čović, leader of the Bosnian Croat HDZ BiH party, and shouted "Stop violence against university".

A professor at the Faculty of Science, Damir Bakić, expressed solidarity with the members of the Academy of Music who opposed the academy's proposal to award Bandić an honorary doctorate.

More than 750 professors, students, Zagreb University alumni and other members of the academic community a few days ago sent a letter to the Academic Senate, urging it not to award Bandić an honorary doctorate.

Noting that the commission in charge of awarding honorary doctorates would probably cite in its decision regarding Bandić projects such as the new building of the Academy of Music, they said that it was not Bandić who had financially helped Zagreb University but rather residents of Zagreb, by paying local taxes.

The disgruntled members of the academic community also noted in their letter that Bandić was connected with numerous scandals and legal proceedings launched against him over suspected wrongdoing.

Science and Education Minister Blaženka Divjak said earlier in the day that the Academic Senate had to take into account the opinion of the part of the academic community that opposed the plan to award the mayor an honorary doctorate and that its responsibility in that regard was considerable.

More news about Zagreb mayor can be found in the Politics section.

In Switzerland, at the Grand Hotel Kempinski along Lake Geneva, the European Hotel Awards 2019 ceremony was held, where awards were given in ten categories. Among the laureates is the luxury Zagreb Esplanade hotel which was recognized as the ‘Historic Hotel of 2019’, reports HRTurizam on March 25, 2019. 

Hotel Esplanade has stunned since 1925 with its luxurious interior, impressive architecture and contemporary amenities, even attracting travelers of the famous Orient Express. Today, on the foundations of top service, timeless charm and decoration, and cultural and historical importance, the Esplanade continues to enchant guests in Zagreb every day, said Ivica Max Krizmanić, general manager of the hotel Esplanade, adding: 

"This award once again proves that we are at the very top of the European, but also the international scene of the selected hotels, widely known for its rich history which makes the Esplanade so unique. What I especially appreciate, as a person who spent almost three decades in this hotel, is that the Esplanade has long been a temple of superb gastronomy and a hotel with a touch of taste, sophistication, outstanding service and special, sincere connections with Zagreb, its fellow citizens and every guest. The Historic Hotel of the Year award is a great honor. I congratulate the entire hotel team on the valuable years behind us,” says Krizmanić.

The Esplanade manager was previously awarded the World Star Award for his personal contribution to the Esplanade hotel's business, the Five Star Diamond Award for outstanding hotel management, while the oldest gourmet association in the world, Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, named him an honorary member in Croatia at their recent inauguration ceremony. 

The European Hotel Awards by Références 2019 award winners are selected by experts from all over Europe and hotel guests.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

ZAGREB, March 25, 2019 - The 13th edition of the Festival of Tolerance will take place in Zagreb's Europa and Kinoteka cinemas from 7 to 13 April, featuring over 60 award-winning films and a diverse entertainment and education programme.

The focus of this year's festival is on the importance of accepting and respecting diversity and the fundamental principles of equality and justice, and especially on the burning global issue of refugees.

The supporting programme includes two exhibitions. An exhibition of photographs entitled "They", inspired by the Aleppo Studio project "Picturing (new) European citizens", will be staged on the streets of Zagreb on 1 April. On show will be pop-up installations with portraits of four refugees from Syria, Iraq and Iran currently living in Croatia.

The exhibition "They fill no space: Reviving memories of Polish Jews" will be put on display outside the Museum of Contemporary Art from 5 to 17 April. It features reproductions of murals created by urban activists in towns where Jews had lived in considerable numbers before the Second World War to remind their fellow citizens who their neighbours had once been. The exhibition will be staged in collaboration with POLIN, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw.

More news about festivals in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

March 24, 2019 - After 30 million euro of deals over 300 meetings in 25 cities, Zagreb-based networking club Business Cafe is set for its first international edition.

Although I am a man of many words through my blogging and over a beer, I am quite a shy and not very accomplished public speaker. 

This could be due to some of the situations I have had to deal with in my 'career' so far - lecturing the professors on Hiroshima on the Middle East peace process (with the Professor of Middle Eastern studies in the front row), addressing the Rwandese Minister of Agriculture on the benefits of Brussels sprouts (in French) after I took delivery of a shipment of 20 tonnes of vegetable seeds as an aid worker, or giving a live television interview in Russian on the benefits of peanut butter which had just arrived as aid. 

(Business Cafe founder Kristina Ercegovic)

And so I am highly honoured - and just a little nervous - to be invited to be a speaker at the inaugural international version of Business Cafe, a rather interesting business networking concept, which was born in Zagreb in 2011. 

Since those humble beginnings, founder Kristina Ercegovic has taken her concept to connect entrepreneurs - both existing and budding - into 7 countries, 25 cities and 300 events, with more than 20,000 people attending and over 30 million euro of deals made or agreed directly during these events. You can learn more about Kristina and the Business Cafe concept in our interview with her during our series on female entrepreneurs in Croatia last year. 

(Nenad Bakic, Varteks CEO and named by the Financial Times as one of Europe's Top 100 digital champions)

"I started the international version," Kristina told me as she invited me, "because I believe we are all tired of hearing stories in the media about leaving Croatia and that everything is bad here and we want to show examples of foreigners being crazy enough to move and start a business here.

"We look forward to hearing how it is for them to do business in Croatia, how they see Croatian people, and how can we change our mentality and improve the business climate and make Croatia a more attractive place to do business in. 

(Last week's guest, leading PR guru, Kresimir Macan)

"Recent speakers at Business Cafe include Nenad Bakic last week Kresimir Macan, as well as this year Ana Lisak, Nikola Vrdoljak, Irena Orlovic, Gordana Nikolic, Nikola Zinic, Tomislav Car and Davorin Stetner. In previous years we have hosted the likes of Emil Tedeschi, Branko Roglic and Sasa Cvetojevic."

No pressure then... 

Fortunately for anyone who decides to attend, I will not be the only speaker, and the wisest words and business advice will come from Natalia Zielinska, an EU consultant from Poland who lives in Ogulin and also runs Entrepreneur Academy there.

Even more fortunately for those who hate to see the Croatian language butchered, the event will be in English, with translation services available through Diglossia, as well as refreshments by Lisak Catering. 

It is all happening at 18:00 on April 1 at Rooftop Lateral in Zagreb. For more information and to reserve a place, visit the Facebook event page. 

To learn more about foreign entrepreneurs in Croatia - check out the TCN series. Some REALLY interesting stories.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 23rd of March, 2019, Business Matchmaker, organised by the eSTUDENT student association and the Office for consulting and career development at Zagreb's Faculty of Economics, will be held on the 26th of March this year at Zagreb's Faculty of Economics (Trg JF Kennedy 6), beginning at 9:00. The completion of the official part is expected to be at 15:00.

This innovative project allows students to personally present themselves in a short four minute selection interview to a group of desired companies. Interviews will be held in the halls of the faculty, and the continuation of the meeting and greeting, to which all participants are invited, will be in "Kefi" after 15:00 that same day.

Business Matchmaker is an event which resembles the speed dating principle and is intended for EFZG students to represent themselves to their potential employers. After the interview, employers and students will evaluate each other and the best students can then expect another round of interviews, where they will be able to learn more and find out more about employment opportunities in their desired companies.

In this interesting and useful way, students on the lookout for an employment position are able to properly develop their self-presentation skills and get to know how the labour market works firsthand. This year's Business Matchmaker will see the participation of as many as 21 companies divided into five different groups.

Lucija Matašin shared her personal experience of last year's Business Matchmaker and what it did for her career-wise:

"By participating in Business Matchmaker, I got a student job, which is honestly everything but ''student'' style. Along with that [I got] a great reference for my CV and a lot of motivation and courage to make it easier to deal with stress in similar situations in the future. I met the people from the company, which I might once meet again, because the world is really small and who knows where I'll be tomorrow, and maybe I'll bump into some of these people again on my way. This eSTUDENT initiative and the Office for consulting and career development really provide EFZG students with something they don't get through their classes.''

The companies participating in the project are 24sata, Addiko Bank, Atlantic Grupa (Group), ATOS, British American Tobacco, Croatia Osiguranje (Insurance), Deloitte, DIV Group, EC, INA, Kaufland, King ICT, KPMG, L'Oreal Adria, mStart, Philip Morris Zagreb, Samsung, SofaScore, Syskit, Talentarium and Zagrebačka banka.

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

Zagreb's ZET is set to introduce a brand new ticket. Whether or not Zagreb's citizens will actually purchase it is another story.

ZET's transport is plagued by people who for various reasons refuse to pay for its use. Excuses range from being dissatisfied by the quality of the vehicle, feeling the route is too long, or simply just wanting to get something for free.. This habit is known in Croatian as švercanje, and avoiding getting caught by a controller and paying a 250 kuna fine is a favourite ''extreme sport'' among many of Zagreb's residents.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 22nd of March, 2019, in kiosks permitted to sell ZET tickets, there will be three types of carts available for use on ZET vehicles, and exactly that same amount of different tickets will be available for purchase directly from the driver when on the vehicle itself. In other words, tickets costing four, seven and ten kuna will be available to buy from the driver, and these are valid for half an hour, an hour and an hour and a half of travel.

There will be the ability to purchase ZET tickets for six, ten and fifteen kuna from the driver, and these will also be worth half an hour, one hour, and ninety minutes, as they have stated from ZET adding that, in principle, only one brand new ticket will be introduced, which comes with a new six kuna price tag.

As Večernji list writes, the ticket which costs 10 kuna purchased from the driver will still have to visually differ from those purchased at kiosks, as it will not be valid for the same time period.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more. If it's just the Croatian capital you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow for everything you need to know that's going on in the city.

Queen Victoria loved roses, Princess Sissi iris, Catherine de’Medici bergamot, and when you are a member of a royal family, you just have to snap your fingers and a personal perfumer will appear to create a perfume with your favourite scent notes. A selected group of people in Zagreb had such an honour when a real artist came to visit. An artist of perfumes, the famous nose Paolo Terenzi from the family niche fragrance house Tiziana Terenzi.

In the Martimex perfumery at the Ban Jelačić Square in Zagreb, in front of journalists and fans of perfumes, Terenzi held a fascinating three-hour interactive workshop. In front of the audience, he created personalised scents, one of which he named after Zagreb – "Zagabria".

Talented, unconventional and lovable, he is a connoisseur in creating fragrant stories, sensations in the world of beauty. He is a professional musician with a degree in law and philosophy, but he also studied chemistry and physics. He has unlimited poetic imagination and sensibility and is known to be fond of working with natural raw material that he collects on his many travels. His fragrant library includes between 200 and 300 precious notes which he skillfully mixes and creates fragrant compositions that brought him the nomination for one of the most prestigious awards in the world of perfumes, the so-called perfume Oscars – Fifi Awards.

“Even when you have the best ingredients, it is critical how you mix them and in what proportions because it takes just one drop to cause the opposite effect of the desired. That is why I organise perfume workshops because I want to show that creating the finest scents is like alchemy and that a true perfumer and artist of this craft can motivate anyone to create a unique scent. This time, I was inspired by the beauties of Zagreb and by the spring – by the awakening of a new life – that I translated into the personalised perfume 'Zagabria', "said Paolo Terenzi, who heads the niche house together with his sister Tiziana, who is the creative director and designer.

The portfolio of the perfume house, which started in 1968 from a 16-square-metre workshop in the Italian town of Cattolica, is becoming larger and larger. "Our fragrances are born from the feelings experienced during our journeys. Creating a fragrance sometimes take an hour, but sometimes even a whole life is not enough. The Tiziana Terenzi brand was born out of the common passion and creative work by my sister and me. We are always ready to work hard, just like our father and grandfather did before us. We are indeed two souls united in sheer diversity, with a common mission of creating unique fluid, visual and tactical emotions," said Paolo, adding that their business is a kind of homage to their father, a memento of love and memories of the father with the desire to celebrate his heritage.

The passion for travel and the effort to bring the feel and the spirit of visited locations, to collect the memories and to pass on the fragrance to someone else, is also carried by V Canto, the Tiziana Terenzi’s sister brand. Inspired by Dante's “Divine Comedy”, the V Canto fragrances tell stories about travel and love, and stories are packed into perfume bottles with rare and precious essences that make them unique and unforgettable. “Our perfumery is artistic, and we do not care about the trends that will be forgotten tomorrow. We want to create a miracle in the bottle that will withstand time and fashion, fluid emotions that blend with the skin and pervade the person wearing it," concluded Paolo Terenzi.

More lifestyle news can be found in the dedicated section.