ZAGREB, 29 March 2022 - As of 1 April, employed and unemployed persons will be able to apply for education vouchers and the plan is that 4,000 will do so this year and 30,000 by 2026.

A voucher will amount to HRK 10,000 on average and will be given only for the acquisition of green and digital skills, Hina learned from the Croatian Employment Service, which is conducting the programme together with the Labour Ministry.

The ministry has defined 60 short-supply green and digital skills.

The amount of the voucher a person gets will depend on the sector, duration and complexity of the education programme. If the cost of the programme exceeds the voucher amount, the difference will be covered by the beneficiary or their employer if they are employed.

The education programmes may last up to six or ten months, depending on whether the person is unemployed or employed.

Beneficiaries will be able to use the vouchers at 600 institutions for adult education which offer 11,000 programmes.

Croatia has opted for the voucher model to respond to labour market needs and to reach the EU adult education average by 2030. At the moment, Croatia is at 3.5%, while the EU average is 10.8%.

For the next four years, HRK 300 million has been set aside in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for this purpose. The voucher programme is aimed at the jobless and employed persons who could lose their jobs because they don't have the knowledge or skills required by the market or who wish to advance their careers.

Applicants must be 15 or older and have at least elementary school education. Applicants may come from the private, public and government sectors, but the programme does not apply to persons in the education system, science and pensioners.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

March 29, 2022 - The Croatia handball squad for the upcoming 2023 World Championship qualifiers against Finland has been named. Croatia will play the first match away on April 13 and in Varaždin on April 16. 

After the recent national team gathering in March, the Croatia men's senior national team will get together again in April. During the upcoming EHF week from April 11 to 17, 2022, the second round of qualifications for next year's World Championships will be played. Croatia is also participating in the second round of qualifications.

Croatia will meet Finland in the 2023 World Championship qualifiers. The first match will be hosted in Vantaa, on April 13, 2022, at 18:00. The return match will be played at Arena Varaždin, on April 16, also at 18:00.

Coach Hrvoje Horvat announced the list of players for the upcoming matches. There are 21 players on Horvat's list and nine more on the reserve list.

Croatia handball player list

MARIN ŠEGO – MONTPELLIER HB
MATEJ MANDIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
DOMINIK KUZMANOVIĆ – RK NEXE
DAVID MANDIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
MARIN JELINIĆ – RK NEXE
IVAN ČUPIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
FILIP GLAVAŠ -HC TRIMO TREBNJE
VERON NAČINOVIĆ – MONTPELLIER HB
ŽELJKO MUSA – RK PPD ZAGREB
MARINO MARIĆ – MT MELSUNGEN
MARIN ŠIPIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
DOMAGOJ DUVNJAK – THW KIEL
LUKA CINDRIĆ – BARCA
IGOR KARAČIĆ – LOMZA VIVE KIELCE
ZVONIMIR SRNA – RK PPD ZAGREB
MARKO MAMIĆ – SC DHfK LEIPZIG
TIN LUČIN – ORLEN WISLA PLOCK
IVAN MARTINOVIĆ – TSV HANNOVER-BURGDORF
LUKA LOVRE KLARICA – RK PPD ZAGREB
HALIL JAGANJAC – RK NEXE
LUKA ŠEBETIĆ – CB NAVA

RESERVE PLAYERS:
JOSIP ŠARAC - FRISCH AUF GöPPINGEN

JAKOV GOJUN - RK PPD ZAGREB
MATEO MARAŠ - HC EUROFARM PELISTER
LEON ŠUŠNJA - ORLEN WISLA PLOCK
IVAN PESIC - TVB 1898 STUTTGART
KRISTIAN PILIPOVIĆ - CADET SCHAUFFHAUSEN
DAVOR ĆAVAR - RK PPD ZAGREB
VLADO MATANOVIĆ - RK PPD ZAGREB
ANTE GADŽA - RK VARDAR 1961

COACHING STAFF:

HRVOJE HORVAT, COACH
IVANO BALIĆ, COACH
IVAN STEVANOVIĆ, GOALKEEPER COACH
ŠIME TOMAŠEVIĆ, CONDITIONING COACH
ŽELJKO KERCEL, PHYSIOTHERAPIST
FILIP ŠIMUNOVIĆ, PHYSIOTHERAPIST
KREŠIMIR ROTIM, DOCTOR
DOMAGOJ GAJSKI, DOCTOR
IVICA UDOVIČIĆ, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL TEAM
IVICA MARAŠ, SPEAKER AND TEAM MANAGER
ZDRAVKO MIRILOVIĆ, TECHNICIAN
ZORAN ČULK, VIDEO (from April 13, 2022, Varaždin)

Source: HRS

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

March 29, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as 50,000 seats on the Zagreb-Barcelona route are on sale this summer thanks to Vueling and Croatia Airlines. 

Spanish low-cost airline Vueling will introduce a regular seasonal route between Zagreb and Barcelona on April 2, 2022. At the end of April, Croatia Airlines will renew the same line, reports Croatian Aviation. 

Namely, as of this Saturday, Vueling is re-introducing its regular seasonal line between Barcelona and Zagreb. The line returns after the winter break, and the last flight Vueling made on this line was on October 16 last year.

Vueling will gradually increase the number of weekly operations in April, and from May it will operate three times a week between Zagreb and Barcelona, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. This should be the case until September 10, when the number of weekly rotations will be reduced to two, until the end of the summer flight schedule on October 29.

Vueling is planning 90 return flights on this route from April to October, offering exactly 32,400 seats per season on its A320 aircraft.

As of Thursday, April 28, the Croatian national airline, Croatia Airlines, is renewing the same route after two summer seasons. Flights are also planned until the end of the season, or the end of October.

Croatia Airlines will use A319 aircraft with a capacity of 144 seats on this route, and three flights a week have also been announced, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.

On 79 return flights planned for this summer season, the Croatian airline offers a total of 22,752 seats between Barcelona and Zagreb. 

In total, Vueling and Croatia Airlines planes will operate six times a week and offer 55,152 seats between the two mentioned cities from April to October this year.

From March 24, Dubrovnik will be connected to Barcelona by a regular Vueling line, which will operate daily from May, and from April 1, this airline will resume traffic to Split. Between Barcelona and Split, 6 flights a week have been announced until mid-June, and then it will run daily. Other Croatian airports (Osijek, Pula, Rijeka, Zadar, and Brač) do not have scheduled flights to the capital of Catalonia in this year's summer flight schedule.

For more, check out our travel section.

March the 29th, 2022 - The proposal for a huge project involving the construction of a Split hospital lung disease clinic has been proposed to the HUP (Croatian Employers' Association) Committee as one of social significance.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the HUP Committee for projects of social importance established for the purpose of affirming the cooperation and solidarity of HUP members through the implementation of projects for the common good, and ultimately for a sustainable future, invited HUP branches in Rijeka, Split, Osijek and Varazdin to send their project applications for projects deemed to be of humanitarian importance.

The Committee has an advisory role to the Council of Members of HUP with the task of organising and implementing projects deemed to be of humanitarian and charitable importance to needy people or organisations that work to help such people, in order to improve the quality of their lives.

The Committee for Projects of Social Importance selected, and the Council of HUP Members confirmed the proposal of the Executive Board of HUP Dalmatia Branch which is a project for the construction of a Split hospital lung disease clinic.

''KBC Split (Split hospital) is strategically important due to its position''

“The population of the whole of Dalmatia and beyond gravitates to Split hospital, so the hospital capacities need to be adjusted to these needs. The fact that the current building of the clinic was built back in 1958 shows that it is absolutely necessary to do this,'' said Zdravko Plazonic, a member of the Executive Board of the HUP Dalmatia Branch, who also thanked the members of the Council of HUP members for choosing this project as a project of social significance for the year 2022.

"Split hospital is strategically important because of its position, we serve a population of about 20 percent of the country's residents, and in the summer that number goes up to 1.5 million. On the stretch from Trieste to Athens, Zagreb and Bari, there is no larger institution or employer. Split hospital has 4,100 employees, most of whom are medical staff. In these extremely demanding times over the past few years, the hospital has managed to remain in function and offer all of its patients the necessary care. We managed to save the system in the challenging and difficult times of the coronavirus pandemic, but we do need help,'' said the director of the hospital, prof.prim.dr.sc. Julije Mestrovic.

"In our work, we mustn't be focused solely on the present day and we do need to think about what we're planning to leave as a legacy to future generations. For many years, the Croatian Employers' Association has been encouraging activities based on the principles of socially responsible business among its members. There is no long-term sustainability of any company without quality and partnership relations with its stakeholders and the responsible disposal of resources,'' said the President of the Council of Members of HUP, Ivan Misetic.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

March the 29th, 2022 - Croatian covid certificates are going to remain necessary for companies to receive state/government support despite the fact that in most other places across the country and indeed across Europe in which they were once needed, they're being scrapped.

As Marina Klepo/Novac/Jutarnji list writes, employers operating within economic activities with reduced activity can continue to count on the government's job preservation aid for the months of March and April in the maximum amount of 4,000 kuna per worker, but they'll need to show they still have valid Croatian covid certificates

As reminded in the Ministry of Labour and Pension System, Family and Social Policy, "state support is approved based on a drop in income of 40 percent and more."

It is also awarded to employers from the areas where the earthquakes of 2020, those from Sisak-Moslavina, Zagreb and Karlovac counties, regardless of their sort of field or economic activity. Croatian covid certificates are still a condition for receiving any government support.

"Grants in the amount of 100 percent are received for all workers if 70 percent of them or more have Croatian covid certificates, and if there are fewer, then those grants are awarded proportionally," they said from the competent Ministry, which has been paying grants monthly since the global coronavirus pandemic began way back in March 2020 to try to preserve jobs.

About 13 billion kuna has been invested in these grants, and when contributions are added to that, the amount soars to a massive 17 billion kuna. Largely thanks to these subsidies, the Croatian market remained more or less stable during the height of the pandemic, and the number of insured persons has been growing almost continuously.

Back at the beginning of the year, the CES announced that it would continue to pay subsidies to employers who shorten their working hours due to business difficulties, but this is now possible in the amount of up to 50 percent, meaning that the amount of support per employee was reduced from a maximum of 4,000 kuna down to 2,000 kuna. Part-time support is mostly used in labour-intensive activities, such as in the textile, clothing, footwear, leather and wood sectors. At the end of last year, it was used by 2,368 employees.

Back at the end of December, the CES Council adopted a package of Active Employment Policy Measures for this year after the Croatian Government announced a new measure called "I choose Croatia/Biran Hrvatsku", which aims to "motivate the return of emigrants, encourage them to start a business in their homeland and encourage population regeneration in areas with pronounced emigration ".

Green and digital business

This year's measures are mainly a continuation of the measures that have been offered to companies before, from support for employment, internships, training and self-employment and more. In addition, part of the existing grants (those for self-employment and internships) has been extended to cover green and digital jobs.

For more, check out our business section.

March the 29th, 2022 - The French company Groupe Looping (Looping Group) has taken over the largest Croatian water park Istralandia which will see it enter the next tourist season under new ownership.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian water park Istralandia is set to enter this year's summer tourist season with new owners, local portal Glas Istre/The Voice of Istria reports.

According to the Lider portal, the takeover of the first and largest water park in all of Croatia and one of the largest in southern Europe was announced by the French Groupe Looping, which has expanded its network of amusement parks to span eight European countries.

The value of the deal itself, in which the seller's exclusive financial advisors were Grubisic & Partners, hasn't been revealed, but it can be assumed that it was not less than five times the amount of EBITDA for the company (16.4 million kuna) which generated a massive 30.2 million kuna in revenue back in 2021.

The French company in question otherwise describes itself on its website as a ''group of regional leisure parks consisting of 16 parks of four types. Our aquariums, animal parks, amusement parks and water parks are major local attractions in their areas. We operate in 7 countries - France, the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Spain and Portugal, and we aim to become the European leader in the regional leisure park market. Our core business is operating leisure parks; client experience and visitor satisfaction are our priorities. We welcome nearly 5.5 million visitors per year, and all staff members share the common aim of giving our visitors a fun and entertaining family day out.

Our expertise as an operator is the foundation on which we aim to build. The Looping Group aims to triple its business in the next few years, both by developing its existing parks, and by growing its portfolio of activities. We intend to acquire existing regional sites, build new sites and establish management contracts to operate leisure sites for both private and public bodies including leisure park owners, campsite operators, shopping centres, property developers, local authorities and all bodies concerned with tourism development.

The Group's sites are managed independently to enable them to adapt to local conditions. They benefit from support in aspects of the business such as shopping, merchandising, catering services, marketing, digital services, finance and human resources in order to benefit both from pooling resources and from sharing best practice among the group, thus enhancing performance.''

For more, check out our business section.

March the 29th, 2022 - The Take It Slow project is set to explore the rich and varied Peljesac peninsula gastronomy scene. The pilot area for this project being conducted by the DUNEA Regional Agency is the gorgeous walled town of Ston.

As Morski writes, as part of the project "Lifestyle in the Adriatic as an inspiration for sustainable development" (Take It Slow), the DUNEA Regional Agency is conducting some research and a survey into Peljesac peninsula gastronomy and heritage related to food production, preparation and consumption until April the 30th this year.

The first step in the research is the collection and analysis of data from a questionnaire on food and eating habits of the inhabitants of the Municipality of Ston. The questionnaire is intended for adults living and/or working in the Municipality of Ston as well as all those who are connected with the area for their business, owing to family or indeed in other ways. Participation in this research which seeks the further explore Peljesac peninsula gastronomy for those connected to the area is voluntary and free of charge.

The pilot area of ​​Ston was chosen because of the high level of protection of key products: Mali Ston oysters have received the European protected designation of origin, and the Ponikve vineyards have also been entered into the register of protected designations of origin of Croatian wines at the EU level. In addition to the aforementioned, Mali Ston Bay is a special nature reserve and an area of ​​the NATURA 2000 ecological network.

There is also the historical and urban history and heritage of Ston, the walls of which are often referred to as the ''European wall of China'' which, together with Mali Ston, the Ston saltworks and more, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It's important to note that Peljesac peninsula gastronomy belongs to the Mediterranean diet, which is considered to be among the healthiest diets in the world and as such is also protected by UNESCO.

The aim of this particular piece of research is to obtain as much information as possible about valuable knowledge, skills, and everyday practices related to the Peljesac peninsula gastronomy scene in order to preserve it and present it to guests visiting this popular area in the best possible way.

The Take It Slow project is a strategic bilateral project of the Republic of Croatia and nearby Italy designed to manage and promote the Adriatic as a green, smart and sustainable destination. The focus of the project is on small communities on the islands, coastline and inland along the Adriatic sea rich in tangible and intangible heritage that have preserved an authentic lifestyle adapted to the natural environment.

The project is worth more than 28 million kuna, of which 85 percent is being funded from the European Regional Development Fund, and 6.5 million kuna has been made available for Dubrovnik-Neretva County. The project is being implemented by Dubrovnik-Neretva County with the technical support of the DUNEA Regional Agency.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.

28 March 2022 - Russia has lodged a strong protest with Croatia after Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, the Russian Embassy in Zagreb said in a statement.  

Insulting language and unfounded accusations against the President of the Russian Federation are absolutely unacceptable, the statement said.

Russia also protested because Grlić Radman had referred to the Russian government as a regime and wished that it would not stay in power for long.

Such irresponsible behaviour of a representative of the Croatian leadership is destroying the tissue of Russian-Croatian relations, which are marking 30 years this year, the statement said.

The government in Zagreb was called upon to refrain from triggering negative consequences for relations between the two countries.

In conclusion, the Embassy stressed the need for adherence to the universal rules of international communication and diplomatic etiquette.

Last Wednesday, speaking in an interview with Croatian Radio, Grlić Radman said Putin was a war criminal and expressed hope that "the Russian autocratic regime" would not last for long.