ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - Over the past 12 months interest in buying a house in Zagreb dropped by 10% while at the same time interest in house purchase in Gorski Kotar, Lika and Istria grew significantly, shows an analysis by the Njuškalo online classified site.

Even though there have been no major changes in asking prices for real estate in Zagreb over the past 12 months, trends related to demand point to changes in customers' interest, which is probably due to a series of earthquakes that hit central Croatia in 2020.

Whereas last year clients increasingly searched for houses in Zagreb, rather than flats, over the past 12 months the interest in buying a house in Zagreb dropped by 10%.

In the entire country the interest in house and flat purchases grew less than one percent on the year but some regions have become much more attractive.

In the central mountainous Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the interest in buying a house rose by 26.75% in the last 12 months, while in Istria it went up by 25%. Ads for properties in Lika-Senj County, too, saw an increase in views of 22.4%.

The average asking price for houses in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County was €1,595 per square metre, in Istria County it was €1,799 and in Lika-Senj County €1,160.

Potential buyers also increasingly searched for houses in Zadar County, as well as in the region of Međimurje, with interest in buying real estate there going up by 11%.

Interest in flats in Zagreb up 5.6%

From February 2020 to February 2021 interest in buying a flat in Zagreb grew by 5.6%, with the average asking price exceeding €2,150 in February 2021.

Among the cities where asking prices have continued growing are Osijek, Zadar and Pula, with Rijeka seeing the highest increase, of 6.4%, for the second consecutive month. Even though Split was previously in this group, it has been stagnating now in terms of the average asking price, Njuškalo says.

Rent in Zagreb down 9%, demand down 6%

Over the past 12 months, the rent on flats in Zagreb dropped by 9% and demand in the first two months of this year dropped 6% compared to the same period of 2020.

The average rent in Zagreb was €539, with most flats for rent having an area of 40-70 square metres, and the only flats to see an increase in the cost of rent on the year were those with an area of 20 square metres. The cost of rent for such flats went up by 3.2% to an average €231 per month.

The cost of rent dropped the most in the downtown area of Zagreb, by 11%, however, the average cost of rent still exceeds €700 a month, the online site says.

March 5, 2021 - Two regions of Croatia today were menaced by a bomb threat. The Zagreb apartment block of former president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and a school in Sisak, to which an explosive was allegedly brought

As Index reports, today in the centre of Zagreb, in the building where former President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović lives, there was a dramatic intervention by special services. Shortly before noon, police received a report about a woman who locked herself in an apartment in Antun Bauer Street. She threatened to injure herself. She posted notes in her window on which it was written "there are bombs in the apartments".

Bomb threat in Zagreb Emica Elvedji PIXSELL

Police officers, firefighters, and an ambulance immediately went to the scene, as well as members of the Interior Ministry's anti-terrorist unit from Lučko. The tense situation lasted for about 45 minutes, after which special forces broke into the building and took the woman away.

Unofficial information says that the woman is a mentally unstable person. She was taken away by ambulance. As 24sata has learned, the former president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović was not in the building at the time of the drama, nor were members of her family.

Bomb threat in Zagreb Emica Elvedji PIXSELL

In the same street, more precisely, at the next entrance, lives the politician Vladimir Šeks, the former president of the Croatian Parliament, who was shocked by the news. He  also was not at home at the time of the event. A police investigation is currently underway.

Drama at a school in Sisasak, to which a young man claimed to have brought an explosive Slaven Branislav Babic PIXSELL

At around the same time in the city of Sisak, a young man entered the Sisak Vocational High School building and also issued a bomb threat. Croatian media have reported the young man is the son of a deceased war veteran. The young man is said to have been looking for the HDZ prefect of Sisak-Moslavina County, Ivo Žinić. County administration employees were moved to the building of the Sisak High School after the earthquake, where they were today - together with about 200 students and professors. All had to be evacuated immediately. Prefect Ivo Žinić was not in the school building at the time of the bomb threat.

Police went to the scene and surrounded the school. The young man who claimed to have an explosive was alone in the school premises for half an hour, after which time he turned himself in to police. Večernji list reports that the young man walked out of the school building, was immediately overpowered by the police and then placed in a police van to be taken away. A criminal investigation has begun.

While in the school building, the young man also sent his photo to the media, angrily commenting about how "the county is occupied." Meanwhile, police employed the help of two of his friends in order to try and calm him and negotiate with them.

Defense Minister Tomo Medved came to the scene, so too a professional negotiator from the anti-terrorist unit Lučko. Medved said the young man had not stated any demands or motives. The Vocational High School in Sisak director, Ivica Beloglavec, told local media the school would not reopen in the afternoon because of the incident.

As Večernji list unofficially finds out, the attacker is a resident of Sisak who was active in distributing humanitarian aid in the earthquake-affected areas. He is said to have displayed angry annoyance on social media, only to decide to act on it today. However, his full motives are still unknown.

Fortunately, none of the county administration and school staff were injured, nor were the students.  What made this young man from Sisak initiate this act will hopefully become known when the police investigation is over. The first statement of Sisak-Moslavina police in regards to the incident is pending.

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ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - The opposition Homeland Movement party on Friday confirmed that its leader Miroslav Škoro would be running for the post of Zagreb Mayor in local elections set for May this year.

Škoro won 465,704 votes in the 2019 presidential election and under his leadership the Homeland Movement won 16 seats in the 2020 parliamentary election, the party recalled.

Škoro will present his candidacy for Zagreb Mayor on Saturday, 6 March.

ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - The ruling HDZ party's candidate for Zagreb Mayor, Davor Filipović, said on Thursday he was confident of his victory in the May local election because his model of running the city was based on responsible financial operations, transparent post-earthquake reconstruction and capital projects.

"I enjoy the strong support of the HDZ branch in Zagreb, (HDZ) president (Andrej) Plenković and the entire HDZ," Filipović said after a session of the party branch on Thursday evening.

Plenković, too, attended the session and the subsequent news conference but did not make any statements.

"All of the recent attacks against me are due to my political rivals being very nervous. I am confident that the new model of governance that I will offer, which puts emphasis on responsible financial operations, transparent reconstruction and capital projects, will be recognised by voters and that I will be elected mayor in May," said Filipović, adding that he would present the key elements of his platform in the next few weeks.

He went on to say that all information on how city budget funds are spent would be made available on the city administration's website, that the process of post-earthquake reconstruction would be fully transparent, and that heads of city departments and directors of city-owned companies would have to make their declarations of assets public.

Filipović also said that "all members of the Opposition" would be included in the supervision of public tenders for major projects.

Škoro will go down in history as the bravest Croatian politician

Commenting on reports that Homeland Movement leader Miroslav Škoro would run for Zagreb Mayor, Filipović said that "Škoro will go down in history as the bravest politician in our country."

"After summoning courage for months to announce his candidacy, it was only (on Wednesday), after he saw for himself that the late mayor Milan Bandić was buried, that he did so," said Filipović.

"Škoro is also known for having run stalls at Zagreb Advent, and we all know what one had to do to be allowed to operate stalls at the Christmas market. Having one stall is evidently not enough any more, one needs to run five, six or ten stalls. Zagreb residents know who charged the most expensive parking tickets by a hospital," Filipović said, an allusion to Škoro's having had a stake in a company operating a parking lot by Zagreb's Merkur hospital, which he eventually sold.

ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - Brussels will leave it to Zagreb to decide on how to distribute money from the EU Recovery Fund, the Friday issue of the Jutarnji List daily reports, noting that there are no restrictions on aid to enterprises. 

There are no strict limits in drafting the national recovery and resilience plan, through which around HRK 45 billion of EU funds will be made available to Croatia to help it recover from the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, in terms of how much funds can be allocated for public investments and how much for private investments, as there is no such distinction in EU regulations.

This conclusion is based on a reply from the European Commission, after the Croatian Employers' Association asked that at least 50% of the available money be disbursed in direct grants for investments by the private sector, instead of spending most of the HRK 45 billion on investments in the public sector.

According to an interpretation presented earlier by Croatian negotiators and published by Jutarnji List, entrepreneurs would have access, through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, to direct grants and loan subsidies and guarantees in the maximum amount of HRK 4.5 billion, or only 10% of the available amount. In citing the amount, Croatian negotiators referred to restrictions imposed by the EC.

Zvonimir Savić, PM Andrej Plenković's advisor and national coordinator for the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, has nonetheless said that around 30% of the HRK 45 billion could end up in the private sector, if one takes into account the involvement of businesses in planned public projects, from research and development, energy transition and development of innovative tourism to stronger food supply chains, the daily says.

March 5, 2021 - To help tourism entrepreneurs add value to their facilities, Zagreb County grants HRK 70,000 to enhance accommodation in the area.

Jutarnji List reports that the coronavirus pandemic changed the habits of travel enthusiasts last year. Departures to other countries were very limited and, in some cases, almost impossible, which is why tourists explored their own country instead. This trend has not bypassed Croatia either, where domestic guests have replaced foreign tourists. They know this well in Zagreb County, which last year launched two campaigns - "Holidays Closer than Ever Before" and "Around Zagreb" to attract locals. The mentioned actions certainly paid off because there was an 11 percent increase in domestic guests at accommodation facilities. Ivana Alilović, director of the Zagreb County Tourist Board, states that this trend will have an upward trajectory this year.

"People's habits have changed and staying in nature, excursions, and escaping from mass tourism will surely mark this year as well. According to indicators of sales platforms in tourism, 60 to almost 80 percent of guests are ready to go on vacation as soon as the epidemic situation allows it, which shows an unquenchable hunger for travel. A stronger opening is expected, however, only in the second quarter of 2021, and this strengthens our assessment of the reorientation of our activities to domestic tourism," says Alilović and states that Zagreb County will certainly remain the most attractive weekend destination in Croatia.

That the trend of domestic excursions will continue is also shown by the research of the tourist platform Booking.com, which last year conducted a survey among travelers from 28 countries (including Croatia) about the future of travel. According to their data, 55 percent of travelers from Croatia will continue to plan travel within their own country soon. Half of the respondents said they plan to explore a new destination within their region.

These data indicate a further growth in local travel, which means that domestic renters will have to fight for their share of domicile tourists. Namely, the research conducted by National Geographic last year on the impact of the pandemic on tourism shows that travelers will increasingly insist on a responsible way of traveling and health and environmental protection and at the same time choose destinations more carefully depending on quality. That is why domestic renters and tourist facilities must adapt to the new mindset of tourists.

"New times require a personalized, honest, and thorough approach to the guest who wants to experience the local community authentically based on experience. The focus is also on sustainable coexistence with local communities, nature, culture, and the history of these areas," says Alilović.

The Zagreb County Tourist Board director also points out that the interest in holiday homes is constantly growing, and that is why it is necessary to raise the quality of accommodation and strengthen the content. To help its renters, Zagreb County has announced a tender worth one million kuna for entrepreneurs in tourism.

"The pandemic will pass, tourists will come again, and that is why we support entrepreneurs in adding value to their accommodation facilities. Tourism in Zagreb County has great potential, and in addition to new hotels, there are more and more rural holiday homes that have proven to be a complete success," said Prefect Stjepan Kožić.

The tender is open until April 1 this year, and the beneficiaries can be family farms, companies, institutions, cooperatives and crafts, and small businesses engaged in tourism who want to increase the standard and quality of service and offer in existing hotels, camps, and other catering facilities. Grants are awarded for renovating and equipping accommodation units and developing and improving additional facilities such as swimming pools, wellness, and other recreational, sports, and entertainment facilities. Costs related to works, equipment, and services for the applied project can be co-financed. The maximum amount of support that an individual beneficiary can receive is up to HRK 70,000 or up to 60 percent of eligible costs. It is important to point out that the investment must be at least HRK 75,000. 

The public call, instructions for applicants, and the application form can be found here, and more information can be obtained at the phone number 01 / 6009-425 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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ZAGREB, 4 March, 2021 - Tenants and users of state-owned flats and business premises from Sisak-Moslavina, Karlovac, Zagreb and Krapina-Zagorje counties and the City of Zagreb will be exempt from the obligation to pay rent or fee for the use of state-owned flats and business premises.

The decision was made by the Croatian government on Thursday because of the consequences of the earthquakes that struck the four counties and Zagreb on 28 and 29 December last year.

Tenants and users of state-owned real estate will be exempt from payment starting from January 2021 until it becomes possible again to use business premises and flats damaged in the earthquake.

The Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property is authorised, Minister Darko Horvat explained, to exempt tenants and users of state-owned property from the obligation to pay rent or fee for the use of state-owned flats and business premises which are managed by the ministry and have been declared as unfit for use following examination.

Since some of the state-owned flats and business premises are managed by the Državne Nekretnine company, the company's assembly is in charge of making the necessary decisions and taking the necessary actions to grant the exemption.

The government also authorised the Central State Office for Reconstruction and Housing to exempt users of state-owned housing units in Sisak-Moslavina and Karlovac counties from paying rent due to the consequences of the earthquakes after 28 December last year.

ZAGREB, 4 March, 2021 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Peđa Grbin said on Thursday that the funeral of late Zagreb mayor Milan Bandić had shown that discrimination was present in Croatia and that all of us in Croatia obviously "cannot be equal even in death".

"I have heard today that an association was penalised for organising a protest rally, (...) why were they penalised when we heard yesterday that the virus is not a chapmion in long jump and that everything is fine and according to the rules. The prime minister discovered discrimination in the past ten or so days, but this yesterday showed that discrimination is here in Croatia, because obviously not even in death can all of us be equal," Grbin said.

The Opposition leader said that due to the anti-epidemic restrictions some families had had to say to their loved ones that they could not attend a funeral because there couldn't be more than 25 of them, and then yesterday all of us had seen the "charade".

"Everyone in Croatia, of course, must have the right to a civilised and dignified burial, but what took place yesterday wasn't that. If we have rules in the country, then those rules must apply to everyone, if the rules do not apply to everyone in the same way, then that is discrimination. And then it's something else, too, then it's making people idiots, and that must be said loud and clear," Grbin said.

"Yesterday, no one from the SDP was officially at the funeral because we thought it was not necessary. No one from the SDP was officially there because we think that it wasn't up to us to honour in that way a man we talked about until yesterday as bad, as problematic, as someone who destroyed the city of Zagreb. That would have been hypocritical, and I have no intention of being a hypocrite," Grbin said.

ZAGREB, 4 March, 2021 - Tomislav Tomašević, the Green-Left Bloc's candidate for Mayor of Zagreb, said on Thursday he was prepared to deal with the legacy and network of the late mayor Milan Bandić, following comments that Bandić's death has shaken his position as an election favourite.

"Bandić is not the mayor any more, but his network, his legacy and problems are still present. We have been preparing for long to deal with these problems. We have entered politics not to be against, but in favour, to deal with the problems and raise the standards of living in Zagreb. Also, we want to change Zagreb in order to change Croatia," Tomašević said.

The present management model in Zagreb did not emerge with Bandić nor will it end with him. It will end only if true change occurs, and we are the sole guarantor of that, he added.

"The coalition between the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) and Bandić has been stable for five years. Who ran Zagreb before Bandić? The HDZ. Who rules Croatia on the basis of clientelism and corruption? The HDZ. If we look at all the local 'sheriffs' in Croatia, the model of local 'sheriffs' must be dismantled. The best place to show this is the City of Zagreb, because it is a symbol," Tomašević said.

He said he did not think he was politically incorrect because he had not attended Bandić's funeral and signed the book of condolence in City Hall. He said he had extended his condolences to the family, cancelled all his campaign activities and refrained from making public statements until today.

Tomašević said that he and his associates had been working on the election programme for Zagreb for months. He said he believed that it would be the most comprehensive of all programmes in the forthcoming election, due in May, and that he would present it to the public soon.

Debt to be stabilised by public procurement monitoring

Tomašević said that the city's budget deficit had officially reached HRK 1.3 billion (€173.3m), but noted they had not yet received the report on budget execution for last year, which was very difficult because of the earthquake, the coronavirus pandemic and the socio-economic crisis.

One of the main ways to stabilise and reduce the debt is to reorganise and monitor public procurement, he said. "My message to the private sector is that there will be a level playing field for all, no more favourites," Tomašević said, expressing confidence that in this way the city would cut expenses by HRK 600 million (€80m) annually.

He announced a review of all detrimental contracts with private companies, and said he expected all heads of city departments and all management boards of city companies to offer their resignations, after which public calls for those positions would be issued.

ZAGREB, 4 March, 2021 - Zagreb should in two to three years get its first 20 fuel cell buses in public transport, an investment worth €25 million, it was announced on Thursday at the signing of a cooperation agreement between INA and the City of Zagreb on the introduction of hydrogen in public city transport.

President of the Management Board at the ZET city transportation company, Ljuba Romčević-Žgela, said that the agreement was between the City of Zagreb and Ina, as well as the City and ZET, on further investments in alternative fuels, that is, the purchase of hydrogen buses.

The signatories of the agreement have undertaken to invest in alternative fuels. More specifically, it is about the procurement of 20 hydrogen fuel cell buses, and the construction of a hydrogen fuelling station at ZET's depot in Podsused is also planned.

Žgela expects that the project will be implemented in the next two to three years, with the first year being spent on the preparation of technical documentation.

Head of City Office for Economy, Energy and Environment Protection, Mirka Jozić, underscored that this was the first project to start mass application of hydrogen in Zagreb and Croatia.

"We are creating a new market for this energy source of the future. The estimated value of 20 hydrogen buses and supporting infrastructure is €25 million, and this will be financed by non-repayable EU funds," she said.

According to her, ZET's bus fleet today consists of 441 buses with an average age of 10.9, which cover a total of 29 million kilometres a year. Over the past few years, she said, the fleet has been modernised, so a good number of buses run on gas.

INA Management Board member Niko Dalić said that hydrogen was a clean fuel, with no harmful gases, and that hydrogen vehicles did not make noise. He is satisfied that ZET and Zagreb have recognised the advantage of hydrogen.