ZAGREB, December 7, 2019 - University of Zagreb rector Damir Boras on Friday received the 2019 Juan Vucetich Award for outstanding contribution to the promotion of relations and strengthening of the friendship between Argentina and Croatia.

Boras was presented with the award by Argentinean Ambassador Maximiliano Gregorio-Cernadas, who recalled the rich history of relations between the two countries.

The cooperation between the two states and peoples, which share a similar mentality, is better and better thanks to systematic advocacy by institutions as well as individuals like Boras, he said.

The award is named after Argentinean Croat anthropologist and policeman Juan Vucetich (1858-1925), the pioneer of fingerprint identification, known as dactyloscopy.

Gregorio-Cernadas said the award was being presented on the 350th anniversary of the University of Zagreb and the 27th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Argentina and Croatia.

The Juan Vucetich Award was established by the Argentinean Embassy in 2017 and its first laureate was Croatian politician Davor Ivo Stier, who was born and raised in Argentina.

More news about relations between Croatia and Argentina can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 7, 2019 - In 2018, Croatia was among the EU member states with two-digit increases in the number of air passengers, while at EU level the number was the highest since Eurostat has been keeping records, the EU's statistical office said on Friday.

In 2018, 1.1 billion passengers travelled by air in the European Union, up by 6% compared with 2017 and by 43% compared with 2010.

In 2018, intra-EU transport represented 46% of total air passenger transport in the EU and extra-EU transport 37%, while national transport accounted for fewer than 1 in every 5 passengers (16%).

The number of air passengers carried in 2018 rose in all member states compared with 2017. The highest increases were registered in Lithuania (+19%), Latvia, Poland and Slovakia (all +16%), Estonia and Hungary (both +14%), Malta (+13%), Luxembourg (+12%) and Finland (+11%).

Croatia recorded 9.73 million air passengers in 2018, up 10% on the year, with 7.49 million travelling intra-EU, 1.7 million extra-EU and 528,000 within Croatia.

The lowest increase was registered in Sweden (+1%), followed by the United Kingdom (+3%), Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands (all +4%).

London/Heathrow remained the EU’s busiest passenger airport in 2018, with 80 million passengers handled, followed by Paris/Charles de Gaulle (72 million).

More news about flights to Croatia can be found in the Travel section.

The results of this survey of the quality of the English language in countries where non-native English speakers live shouldn't surprise anyone who's ever visited Croatia: it ranks very near the top!

CNN writes about the report by international education company EF Education First. The top of the list of countries where English is not an official language is also not surprising. They calculated their English Proficiency Index based on a free online test taken by 2.3 million volunteers, and the four North-European countries (the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Denmark) are at the top. Croatia has managed to get the fourteenth position on the list, the last one in the tier of countries whose non-native English speakers still show high proficiency in the English language. Ranked before Croatia are two non-European countries (Singapore and South Africa), as well as a couple of other European countries (Finland, Austria, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Portugal and Belgium). Just below Croatia are some of the neighboring countries, such as Hungary and Serbia, as well as some far-away countries, such as Kenya and the Philippines.

In addition to ranking the countries, the educators from EF Education First also made the list of the capitals with best non-native English speakers, and Croatian capital was also ranked high on the list. Zagreb found itself in exactly the same position as Croatia, 14th, but interestingly enough, behind Budapest.

While there are obvious problems with the method used in this research (volunteers taking an online test is most certainly less than perfect sampling), the sample size of the number of volunteers who participated gives a strong indication that these results should be taken seriously. Even more so because most seasoned travellers would agree with these results, with maybe some objections to the positionings of some countries. Overall, it's a result to be proud of, especially since an estimated 1.5 billion people speak English today, making it the most commonly used language in the world today.

For more lifestyle news, visit our Lifestyle section.

The Jakopić family from Međimurje has been in the wine-making business for over a hundred years, and they also manage the Terbotz restaurant in Železna gora.

They've decided to showcase their Decanter-awarded wines, as well as the cuisine from the Terbotz restaurant to the Zagreb audience, and they did so in the recently opened International Business Hotel. The history of winemaking in the family starts with grand-grandpa Filip, who began making wines in the hills of Međimurje in 1908. The winery's current owner, Branimir Jakopić, is the fourth-generation winemaker in the family. The three sons are still not decided on whether they want to keep the family's tradition. Terbotz restaurant has not been in the family for that long, but it also creates traditional food, made from the indigenous ingredients - but, thanks to the chef Silvija Korak - the food is done with a twist!

The Jakopić family has succeeded in getting four Decanter wines over the last three years: a platinum, a golden and two silver medals. In Zagreb, Jutarnji list writes, they offered their Pušipel, Graševina, Rajnski Rizling, Sauvignon, Zeleni Silvanac and Žuti Muškat. The flavours of the Jakopić wines were paired with a creative menu by chef Hrvoje Nakić, a master of combining ingredients and his own unique interpretation of them. Siniša Lasan, leading Croatian sommelier was in charge of the presentation of the wines, so the guests were able to learn more about the richness of the wines by this label.

The guests had Jakopić Terbotz 2018 sparkling wine and Jakopić Mlado Međimurje 2019. After that, a meal with red prawn was paired with Pušipel Classic 2018, and the pairing was perfect, thanks to the aromas of green apple and tropical fruits in the wine. The freshness and minerality of Jakopić Sauvignon 2017 were accented when it was paired with octopus. Next came the veal risotto paired with Jakopić Rose 2017, with aromas of berries. Jakopić Rajnski Rizling 2016 went perfectly with meatballs made with beef cheeks. A reduction of raspberry, pink pepper, grilled goat young cheese and raspberry jam was served for dessert. That, of course, required a sweet, mature wine, such as Jakopić Muškat Žuti 2017, with flavours of honey and peaches and apricots. And at the end of an amazing evening, the guests were given a special opportunity, when Jakopić Selected Grapes Graševina 2017 was tasted - a wine that won the platinum award at the 2017 Decanter World Wine Awards.

ZAGREB, December 6, 2019 - Fortenova Group chairman of the Board Maksim Poletaev said on Friday he talked with Slovenian Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek in Ljubljana the day before about solving outstanding issues concerning the transfer of the Mercator retailer to the group by the end of the year.

The talks, attended by Sergey Volkov of Sberbank, focused on a model of cooperation so that the outstanding issues over Mercator are solved positively by the end of the year, to which both parties committed, Poletaev says in a press released cited by Slovenia's news agency.

He says both parties have common goals concerning Mercator and are on the same line concerning the inter-dependence of Mercator's local suppliers and attempts to keep the retailer's HQ in Ljubljana for the next few years.

Foretnova's Board will also meet with Slovenia's market competition regulator, whose approval is necessary to transfer Mercator to Fortenova Group, Poletaev says.

The Slovenian Economy Ministry said in a press release that Thursday's meeting between Počivalšek, Poletaev and Volkov discussed a solution which, upon Mercator's possible transfer to Fortenova, would ensure equal treatment for Slovenian suppliers.

Slovenian media said on Thursday that Fortenova had reported Počivalšek to the European Commission over statements which could be interpreted as pressure on a private company in the form of conditions for said transfer.

Commenting on this before Thursday's meeting, Počivalšek said Slovenia was legitimately protecting the interests of its suppliers and that Slovenian laws applied in Slovenia, not Croatia's Lex Agrokor.

More news about Fortenova (Agrokor) can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, Dec 6 (Hina) - Croatia's life expectancy is increasing but is still below the European Union's average by three years, according to findings of the EU report on the State of Health in its member-states.

"Although life expectancy at birth in Croatia increased by 3.4 years between 2000 and 2017, from 74.6 to 78 years, the distance to the EU average remained almost unchanged, amounting to 2.9 years," reads the report's section on Croatia

Croatia's Health Profile, which was presented in Zagreb on Friday by the Andrija Štampar Teaching Institute of Public Health, reads that one the reasons for this gap is "the low effectiveness of public health interventions," and in this context it is underscored that "anti-tobacco policies are underdeveloped, indoor smoking in public places is still widespread, and rates of teenage smoking are the third highest in the EU."

"Obesity rates are rising, particularly among children. Preventable mortality is well above the EU average," reads the report.

"Social inequalities in life expectancy appear to be less pronounced in Croatia than in many other EU countries. For instance, Croatian women with lower education live on average 1.6 years less than those who completed tertiary education, and this gap for women is far below the EU average (4.1 years).

In 2017, Croatians aged 65 could expect to live an additional 17.4 years, 2 years more than in 2000. However, more than 12 years of life of this period is spent with disabilities. The gender gap in life expectancy at age 65 is about 3.5 years in favour of women. However, there is no gender difference in the number of healthy life years because women tend to live a greater proportion of their lives after age 65 with health issues and disabilities, reads the report.

The shorter life expectancy in the Croatian cohort of elderly citizens than in the whole of the EU is the consequence of behavioural risk factors, including dietary factors, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and low physical activity, exceeding the EU average in particular for dietary risks and tobacco. Slightly more than half of all deaths in Croatia can be attributed to those behavioural risk factors.

Croatia spent 6.8 % of its GDP on health in 2017, much less than the EU average of 9.8 %. Although it is also among the three lowest spenders in the EU in terms of health spending per capita, Croatia has maintained a relatively high share of public spending, resulting in high levels of financial protection. However, levels of public debt still exert constraints on public spending on health. Furthermore, a large share of health expenditure goes to pharmaceuticals, far exceeding the EU average. Policy initiatives to address this include evolving centralised procurement for hospitals, but there is large scope for further action, such as increasing the share of generics. In contrast, a very small share of health expenditure is spent on long-term care, which is generally underdeveloped. In view of the ageing of the population, it will be important to increase the availability of community-based long-term care.

Croatia is advised to improve the strategic planning of human resources in the healthcare system, although in the country there are fewer unmet needs for medical care than on average in the Union.

In recent years, the number of doctors and nurses has increased in Croatia but they are unevenly distributed across the country, and many are either moving abroad or nearing retirement.

More health news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, December 6, 2019 - Croatian War Veterans Affairs' Minister Tomo Medved said on Friday that a campaign with posters displaying the names of three presidential candidates and their slogans written in Cyrillic, launched by the Serb National Council (SNV), was unnecessary and did not contribute to a better understanding between Croats and Serbs.

"In my mind, this is unnecessary. I cannot see any concrete form of contribution (to a better understanding)," Medved said adding that he would refrain from any further comment given that this was launched in the build-up to the presidential election.

Several jumbo posters with the names of the incumbent President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, former Prime Minister Zoran Milanović and Miroslav Škoro and their campaign slogans written in Cyrillic, were set up by the SNV on Thursday.

This umbrella association of ethnic Serbs in Croatia thus resumed its campaign "Let's better understand each other", launched two months ago with the aim of removing a stigma from the Cyrillic script during the 1991-1995 Homeland War when Serb rebel forces used this script and sprayed Cyrillic letters on buildings and houses in the occupied areas.

The SNV embarked on the campaign following the Constitutional Court's recommendation in mid-2019 that the Vukovar city council adopt changes to the city statute under which Serb councillors should be allowed to ask orally for documents and papers to be delivered in their mother tongue and Cyrillic script. Currently, such requests have to be submitted in writing.

The Council was given until October to make such changes and adopt other necessary decisions that would enhance the Serb minority's right to use its language and script.

On 18 October, the City Council adopted a conclusion saying that understanding, solidarity, tolerance and dialogue between ethnic Croats and Serbs are at a level that enables cooperation and co-existence; however, conditions have not been met to expand the scope of vested individual rights and prescribe collective rights for the Serb minority in Vukovar.

More news about the status of Serbs in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

December 6, 2019 - The Croatian Football Federation (HNS) has fulfilled all obligations required to start using the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) system in Croatian football.

The Croatian Football Federation has completed all activities and referee training to introduce VAR technology into Croatian football, which is funded through the FIFA Forward program.

Namely, eleven Assistant Video Referees (VARs), thirteen Assistant VARs (AVARs), sixteen VAR Match Referees and five technicians have been trained.

Ante Kulušić, President of the HNS Football Referees Commission and VAR Project Manager for Croatia, submitted all final documentation, including a competition permission request to the International Football Federation Board (IFAB) and the World Football Federation (FIFA).

This fulfills all the obligations of the Croatian Football Federation necessary to start using the VAR technology in Croatian football.

"Congratulations to all who have participated in this challenging and extensive project and thanks to the Croatian Football Federation and Fifa for their great support. A lot of resources, effort and time have been put into the training, and we look forward to a positive IFAB response and the go-ahead to use VAR, as announced, from the spring part of the Croatian championship,” said Kulušić, who is also the vice president of HNS.

Recall, back in May this year, selected referees underwent complex training under the watchful eye of IFAB, an independent regulatory body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football, so that VAR would be ready to use in Croatian football in a year. 

"VAR technology is the most important and fastest revolution in modern football. It was used for the first time in 2016 and has been used in the most important games of the 2018  World Cup. Our vision for VAR technology and video aids is as little interference in the game as possible," IFAB Technical Director and former English football referee David Elleray said at the presentation of VAR technology in Sesvete then. 

All involved in this project agreed; the introduction of VAR technology is the most demanding project of HNS. Disagreements with referees, which have hovered over the Federation for years, generated many affairs that would have been minimized by introducing VAR.

The VAR room will include only the VAR Chief Referee, AVAR or Assistant Referee, and VAR Technician. 

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