ZAGREB, December 4, 2019 - The County Court in the coastal city of Zadar has handed down a final verdict in the case of businessman Tomislav Horvatinčić, charged with causing a maritime accident in which an Italian couple were killed in August 2011.

The court, however, would not confirm media reports that the trial court's conviction of four years and ten months in prison has been upheld.

"The ruling was made on Monday, and on Tuesday it was dispatched to the Municipal Court in Šibenik which delivered the first-instance ruling. That's all I can confirm," Zadar County Court spokesman Hrvoje Visković told Hina on Wednesday.

The Šibenik Municipal Court has not yet formally received the ruling.

The Novi List newspaper said on its front page on Wednesday that the Zadar court had upheld the prison sentence of four years and ten months for Horvatinčić.

Three trials were held against the 77-year-old businessman on the charge that he had run his yacht into the sailing boat of the Italian couple Salpietro and killed them. The third verdict, of March this year, found him guilty and sentenced him to four years and ten months in prison.

More news about the case can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 4, 2019 - Croatia does not stand out in the EU in terms of focusing on environmental policies but the European Greens expect it not to hamper the green transition during its presidency of the Council of the EU, the co-chair of the Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) group in the European Parliament, Philippe Lamberts, said ahead of his visit to Zagreb.

European Parliament President David Sassoli and leaders of all political groups in the European Parliament will pay an official visit to Zagreb on Thursday to discuss with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and government members the priorities of Croatia's EU presidency in the first half of next year.

Green topics are evidently not the focus of the Croatian presidency, Lamberts remarked in an interview with Hina.

If we want the von der Leyen Commission to be successful, all member countries will have to accept the green transition, even if they did not do it earlier, he said.

Croatia has an abundance of sun and wind compared to Belgium and one would expect, considering that it is a Mediterranean country, that it would focus on renewable energy sources, however, its energy policy is still mostly based on energy from fossil sources, Lamberts said, noting that this meant that the green awareness was not very much present among Croatian governments.

This is evidenced by other issues that Croatia is struggling with, such as waste management. If you want to go green, you have to deal with the issue of waste, starting with its reduction and maximum possible recycling, Lamberts said, noting that as far as he could understand, that had not been one of the priorities of Croatian governments so far.

He noted that one should not overestimate member states' possibilities in shaping the EU presidency.

Presidency is primarily about the role of an organiser and a fair mediator, Lamberts said, expressing hope that the Croatian government and administration would act accordingly.

He went on to say that he was of the impression that the Andrej Plenković government would perform well, that he was satisfied Plenković had a pro-European orientation but that he was always wary of any form of nationalism and was aware that the ruling HDZ party was known as the main Croatian nationalist party. He added that he was also aware that lately the HDZ had become more pro-European and said that he welcomed it.

Lamberts also said that the Greens would continue to ask the Commission to stop supporting the project to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the northern Adriatic island of Krk.

The position of the Greens is that any support from public sources should not be spent on energy from fossil sources. That does not mean that such energy should be banned overnight, but public money should be entirely invested in the transition towards green energies. If Croatia has projects related to sun, wind or similar energy, the Greens will strongly support their financing from the European budget but will not do so with regard to energy from fossil sources, Lamberts said, explaining his party group's opposition to the Krk LNG terminal project.

At a plenary session in November the Greens in the European Parliament abstained from a vote on the new European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen.

The Greens/European Free Alliance is the fourth largest political group in the European Parliament, holding 74 of 751 seats.

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 4, 2019 - On Friday Bosnia and Herzegovina will take full control of its air space and will start controlling all air traffic above its territory on its own, something it has been doing with the help of air control services in Zagreb and Belgrade since 1996, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Air Navigation Services Agency (BHANSA) confirmed on Wednesday.

Bosnia and Herzegovina air traffic controllers will take over full control of the country's air space from their colleagues in Croatia and Serbia in the night between December 4 and 5, and as of that moment they will also be navigating planes flying over Bosnia and Herzegovina's territory at altitudes of more than 10,000 metres.

Bosnia and Herzegovina currently has 60 trained air controllers.

Since 1996, when regular air traffic was established in Bosnia and Herzegovina and international flight corridors above the country were opened, the job of controlling air traffic has been done by controllers from Zagreb and Belgrade because Bosnia and Herzegovina lacked the necessary capacity and equipment as well as trained personnel.

It was only in 2014 that the country took over control of air traffic at lower altitudes, namely those below 10,000 metres, and now it will perform control of all air traffic above its territory.

It is estimated that around 1,600 planes fly along corridors at altitudes of more than 10,000 metres above Bosnia and Herzegovina every day, while only some 200 fly at lower altitudes.

The fees that are collected from this amount to around 15 million euro annually and the largest portion of that money has so far gone to the air flight control services in Zagreb and Belgrade.

"This is a big day for Bosnia and Herzegovina because in a relatively short period of time, as the youngest European air control agency, we have managed to create technical, personnel and all other conditions to control air traffic above Bosnia and Herzegovina's territory on our own," said BHANSA director Davorin Primorac.

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

Croatia MUP representatives released a statement today regarding the Nigerian students who had reported to the Bosnian portal Žurnal that they were arrested by Croatian police in Zagreb, forcibly taken to Bosnian border and then left there.

Police Claim They Didn’t Act on Skin Color

Croatian police have dismissed those allegations, according to their statement as reported by Index on December 4, 2019.

"Claims that Croatian police acts and condemns individuals on the basis of their skin color are unacceptable and we strongly reject them! The police have verified the accusations of the alleged treatment of the Nigerian nationals in Zagreb on November 17. On November 18, they properly checked out of their hostel in Zagreb with their documents and left," they claim.

The police also announced what they have learned about the case so far.

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Croatia have reviewed the allegations made publicly on the Bosnian portal Žurnal, and have determined the following through their research:

- On November 12, five Nigerian nationals entered Croatia, legally and according to proper procedures, to participate in an inter-university competition in Pula. The group consisted of a team leader and four participants.

"The team leader and one participant legally left the Republic of Croatia via the Zagreb Airport, after competing," MUP reported.

Conflicting Accounts of Documents Loss and Dates

Police also say Nigerians checked out of the hostel a day later than they were allegedly expelled from the Republic of Croatia.

"The two Nigerian nationals, who are being mentioned in the Bosnian media, left for Zagreb a day earlier than the rest of the group, and stayed in Zagreb. Therefore, they checked into the Zagreb hostel on November 16 of this year. On November 18, they checked out of their hostel and went to an unknown destination, after paying their expenses and taking their travel documents and personal effects with them.

Therefore, its entirely inaccurate, and we reject the allegation that their documents remained in the hostel, and that police officers of the Zagreb Police Department had acted inappropriately against them. We call attention to the contradictions in their statements and their allegations about how the police officers allegedly dealt with them on November 17. The fact is that they appropriately checked out of their Zagreb hostel on November 18 (a day later). The police had no record their legal departure from the Republic of Croatia, nor did police officers working in the field of illegal migration deal with people with these names," MUP added.

Fifth Participant Tried to Enter Slovenia Twice

MUP also wrote about the group's fifth participant, whose visa expired while he was in Croatia. He received a judgement to leave the European Economic Area (EEA) within 14 days.

"Regarding the fifth participant in the group, it was determined that he left his accommodation in Pula on November 17 of this year. He tried to leave the Republic of Croatia and enter Slovenia at two separate border crossings. On both occasions, Slovenian border police officers denied him entry because he does not possess a Schengen visa. Following these two attempts to cross the border, the Nigerian national arrived at the Central Zagreb Police Station on November 18 and reported the loss of his travel documents. He was offered the option to contact his embassy ​​but refused.

Then He Applied for Asylum in Croatia

Given that his visa had expired on 17 November of this year, he was issued a judgement to leave the European Economic Area (EEA) within 14 days, following an administrative procedure. However, the Nigerian citizen did not leave Croatia, but returned to the Central Police Station in Zagreb on November 27th and expressed his intention to seek international protection in the Republic of Croatia. He was granted protection status and is currently in the Asylum Seekers' Asylum Reception Center in Zagreb. It is important to note that, on this occasion, he presented the travel document which he had previously reported lost," they added.

Police claim that third-country foreign nationals are using legal entry into the Republic of Croatia to attempt to move further to the EU after participating in the activities for which the permits were obtained.

Using Sports Competitions to Enter EU Illegally

"All of the Nigerian nationals had their return tickets for November 17 of this year. Two of them used their air tickets and left Croatia on that day, while the remaining three missed their opportunity to leave Croatia legally. This fact casts real doubt on the intent of their arrival and stay in Croatia.

Police officers had been encountering abuses of alleged and real participation in sports competitions in Croatia during their elevated campaign in the fight against illegal migration. Entering Croatia legally and participating in an approved sports activity is one way for foreign nationals from third countries to continue their journey illegally to their target destination countries in Europe.

The Republic of Croatia has refused entry to nine Nigerian nationals at border crossing this year due to non-compliance with conditions for entry.

Police officers will continue to investigate the allegations and review available facts in this case to determine whether this is another case of abuse of sports competitions for the purpose of illegal migration," MUP concluded.

Follow our Politics page here to keep updated on the migrant crisis in Croatia.

December 4, 2019 - It has been 88 years since scientist Massimo Sella discovered the capital of truffles in the heart of Buzet.

And thanks to his diary and records, the history of Istrian truffles and Buzet as a truffle town is written, reports Glas Istre.

"Just 220 meters from the Albergo alla Fontana Hotel, between December 9 and 11, 1931, a half-kilo truffle was found. This is the center of truffles today! Thanks to the record of Istrian scientist Massimo Sella from Rovinj, an avid photographer and nature lover, there are clues to the history of Istrian truffles, as well as the history of Buzet as a truffle town. When the councilors declared it a truffle town 20 years ago on the eve of Subotina in September, it was because of tourism branding, and we have a historical stronghold that this is the case. Buzet justifiably bears the name of truffle town,” says Buzet native Robert Marusic.

Marusic is from a truffle family traditionally engaged in the truffle hunt in Sovišće, and actively involved in the promotion of Buzet as the town of truffles.

Massimo Sella was born in 1886 in Biella. He completed his natural sciences in Rome to become director of the Rovinj Institute for Marine Research in 1924, where he left behind an extensive archive. Today, a special foundation takes care of this. What is especially important for the Istrian truffle zone is that Sella determined the development cycle of the Istrian white truffle, an expensive underground fungus of the Latin name Tuber magnatum pico and marked the sites of Istrian truffles.

“Sella, with friends, including Clara Ida Countess Barbara Elisabeth, daughter of Johann George Hutterotta, the owner of St. Andrew island in Rovinj, today's Red Island, and truffle adventurers Carlo Testoni and Pietro Giovannelli, both from Pula, but a native of the Emilie region, stayed in the northern Istria region from December 9 to 11, 1931, and recorded something of great importance. Not far from the Fontana Hotel in Buzet, they pulled out a half-kilo heavy white truffle with the help of a lagotto dog, one named Dora. They later founded a truffle trade and export company in Livade, but that's another story. The subject is Buzet here,” Marusic says.

Marusic says he had heard about Sella's truffle discovery in Buzet before, and when looking for a photo of said truffle, the director of the Istria County Tourist Board, Denis Ivosevic, recommended that he go to Rovinj, where documentation about Massimo Sella and his works should be stored. Through Mirko Cetinski, he contacted the Rovinj Museum, in which the Sella Family Foundation set up an exhibition of photographs titled "Massimo Sella (1886-1959), Other Countries, the Second Sea”, a retrospective of valuable photo records of Rovinj, back in 2016. Tajana Ujcic gave him the contact address of the Sella Foundation in Italy, which operates under the name "Testimonianze per Massimo Sella". The Sella family today inherits the work of Massimo Sella.

“Through her assistant, Ellene Gallo, his daughter Selina Sella-Marsoni informed me that she was very pleased with my interest in the historical position of Buzet on the topic of Istrian truffle production and that she would relay to her coworkers to view the large archive Sella had left to her successors. She approved the submission of documentation that could assist me in my search. So I studied various records that, normally, given Massimo Sella's status, are more research-scientific than travel-tourism. We could not find a photo of this truffle, but Gallo sent me a copy of a key document entitled "Il truffle bianco in Istria" by Professor Massimo Sella, Istituto italo-germanico di Biologia marina di Rovigno d 'Istria. It was published by the Italian publisher Societa botanica Italiana, in Florence in 1932, and in the new botanical Italian magazine printed by Tipografia Mariano Ricci also from Florence,” Marusic concludes. 

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

Croatian Railways is introducing a new guideline: If your train is more than 60 minutes late, you are entitled to a partial refund or travel voucher.

According to Poslovni Dnevnik on December 4, 2019; here's what you’ll need to do to get your partial refund or voucher. As of today, passengers using Croatian Railways are entitled to a partial refund for 60 to 119-minute delay. They will be paid a refund, which is 25 percent of the ticket price, and the refund deadline is one month after the application is received.

Instead of a receiving a partial refund, the passenger can choose a travel voucher of equal value, as reported on the official website of HZ Passenger Transport.

The Statute of the European Parliament and Council on rail passengers' rights and obligations will be in effect as of today. According to the new law, passengers are entitled to a partial refund for a delay of 60 to 119 minutes, which is equivalent to 25 percent of the ticket price. Travelers are entitled to a 50 percent refund for delays longer than 120 minutes, reports tportal.

In order to exercise their rights to a refund, passengers must submit their original ticket (certified by a train attendant or cashier) and send the request and the certified ticket by mail to:

HŽ Putnički prijevoz
Prodaja i marketing
Strojarska cesta 11
10 000 Zagreb

The refund payment, as noted, does not apply to subsidized tickets, those sold by other railway ticket vendors or tickets for railway workers for their work or business trips. The refund for the delay will be paid to the passenger within one month of receipt of their application.

HZ Passenger Transport will not pay a refund of less than 4 EUR (at the current HRK conversion rate). Passengers can download claim forms on their website here.

For more information on transportation and travel in Croatia, follow our dedicated page here.

December 4, 2019 - The Ministry of Tourism, the Croatian Tourist Board, and UNICEF are cooperating on promoting children's rights in the Croatian tourism sector.

HRTurizam writes that the main objective of this cooperation is to promote good tourism practices in the context of young guests, the children of families employed in tourism, and young students and workers.

As part of the cooperation, the Ministry of Tourism, the Croatian Tourist Board and UNICEF will promote the importance of caring for children's rights in the tourism sector, through conferences, congresses, and other events, and organize training on children's rights for tourism professionals. The Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian Tourist Board will also support UNICEF's programs to help the most vulnerable children in Croatia and their families.

"Tourism is an industry of experience and emotions, and we desire that all children who visit Croatia have the opportunity to see all the best that Croatia has to offer so they can remember it forever. Likewise, tourism can be an opportunity for everyone to create together. That is why the Ministry of Tourism always encourages children and students to be creative and innovative through part of its youth programs. We want young people to be involved in creating competitive and responsible tourism, which is why working with UNICEF is another step towards building the foundations for the future of Croatian tourism, because ultimately, people are always the key to success,” said Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli.

"We are extremely proud of our cooperation with UNICEF in promoting children's rights in the tourism sector in Croatia, especially considering that children up to the age of 14 make up 18% of the total Croatian tourist traffic and form a significant segment in tourism. Accordingly, a large number of our promotional campaigns around the world, but also our total tourist offer, is directed precisely at families with children,” said Croatian Tourist Board Director Kristjan Stanicic.

Globally, UNICEF works with the travel and tourism sectors, governments and civil society organizations to promote the perspective of children's rights and to support companies in the sector in identifying and managing their impacts on children.

Cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian Tourist Board is an important step in the realization of children's rights in Croatian tourism and contributes to the sustainable development of tourism and society as a whole, points out Regina M. Castillo, Head of the UNICEF Office in Croatia, and adds:

“Tourism, as an important industry, has a great impact on children. The safety of children traveling with their parents, decent wages and working conditions for parents or guardians, working conditions for young employees, care for the environment in which children grow and develop are just some of the areas of interaction of the tourism sector with children. The Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian Tourist Board are strong partners who, together with UNICEF, will work to raise awareness of these impacts and promote good practices that will positively impact the lives of children and their families. We are happy that one of the leading tourist groups in Croatia - Arena Hospitality Group - will join us in this important work,” said Regina M. Castillo, Head of UNICEF Office in Croatia.

Arena Hospitality Group is the first tourism group in Croatia to support families with children from the welfare system in Istria County in cooperation with UNICEF.

On this occasion, a partnership between Arena Hospitality Group and UNICEF was announced to support UNICEF's Stronger Family Program initiative, which improves the quality of social support for families with disabilities.

Arena Hospitality Group will launch a series of activities focused on guests and employees in its selected hotels, resorts, and camps in collaboration with UNICEF to promote children's rights and solidarity with the most vulnerable members of our society. The funds raised through the cooperation will be used to support families with children from the social care system in the County of Istria.

“Arena Hospitality Group, as the first Croatian hotel company to expand its portfolio beyond the borders of Croatia, is continuously investing in the development of social responsibility towards its guests, employees, partners, shareholders and the community in which it operates. In our work, we are especially focused on families with children who strive to provide a variety of quality facilities and the highest level of service. But we also take into account the needs of families with children in our community who are facing various life difficulties. By joining forces with UNICEF, we will support the implementation of the "For a Stronger Family" program initiative, which will help strengthen systemic support for the most vulnerable families with children in Istria County. We are particularly proud to include our employees in the project, who, through activities with families and children, will draw attention to the importance of solidarity with our guests,” said Reuel Slonim, CEO of Arena Hospitality Group d.d.

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

Finally, 28 years after Croatia declared independence, the United States is on the verge of waiving travel visas for Croatian citizens. The Croatian government and their US partners have been working together closely since Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic’s visit to the US at the beginning of last year.

Extremely important security criteria and agreements should be finalized this month according to Sandra Veljković/Večernji List on December 3, 2019. And visa denials, which is the main obstacle to abolishing the visa requirement, have been reduced from 5.96 to a record 4.02 percent, which is close to the 3 percent threshold that will guarantee entry into the visa-free program.

Croatia Encouraged to Follow Poland’s Path

To further this goal, the US encouraged Croatia to follow Poland’s path, which reduced the number of refusals this year, and entered a visa-free program with a collective application from officials, businessmen and citizens who will certainly be granted visas. In Croatia, this action has already been initiated at various levels, especially among businessmen.

- Croatia is close to meeting the criteria and we will continue to work with the relevant authorities to help Croatia meet the requirements. We urge the Croatian Government to take a proactive role and review the successful steps the Polish government has taken in its bid for admission to the visa waiver program, the US Embassy in Zagreb said.

Three Percent Rejection Rate Goal

So, what steps has Poland taken? And what is the background story regarding the sharp decline in visa refusal rates from nearly six percent in 2017 to below three percent? That country, in agreement with the US, initiated a process of encouraging its citizens to obtain US tourist visas. In addition, Polish officials also applied for visas, thereby reducing the rate of visa refusals. They concentrated, of course on those groups of people who have the best chance of obtaining visas. This method, which has been discussed with Americans for a long time, could theoretically function in Croatia, since the real numbers of rejections are rather small: around 300 to 400.

US Ambassador to Croatia Robert Kohorst also spoke with Croatian Chamber of Commerce President Luka Burilović about the Polish model for reducing visa rejections. The CCC confirmed this meeting and discussion regarding visas.

Croatia Among Four EU Countries Needing Visas for US

- Croatia is one of four EU member states, along with Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus, whose passport holders still need visas to arrive and stay in the US. They stressed the need to reduce the rejection rate to at least three percent, and both sides agreed that they could achieve this goal by this time next year. This will require a concerted effort to encourage members of the business community to apply for visas within the next ten months, the CCC reported. In addition, another cause for optimism is the large number of valid visas, which are issued every 10 years, so that their renewals could positively impact the balance between approved and rejected visas.

Secure Source of Income Required

Although Americans have the discretion to refuse requests without giving a reason, according to diplomatic sources, most of the rejected requests are being filed by Croatian nationals in Serbia and Bosnia. Most of the visa rejections were for people who could not prove that they had a secure source of income. And applicants have often contacted family members living in the US who have businesses or trades, which was another indicator that the applicant was going to the US to get a job with a relative.

Check out our Lifestyle page here or our Politics page here to follow travel and visa information for Croatian citizens.