Croatia is a little country with some impressive acheivements. From the sporting world to the scientific one and everything in between, there's no denying that Croatia outshines many other countries with its talent. One Croatian company from Zagreb has won an impressive award which just goes to further confirm that Croatian innovation is among the best.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ivan Tominac writes on the 23rd of October, 2019, a Zagreb system integrator confirmed its impressive level of expertise as a long-standing partner of a German company.

The Croatian company King ICT is truly one of the leaders in implementing innovative business solutions, as has now been evidenced by the recognition they rightfully won at the EMEA Summit (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

It is a recognition of the Best Solutions Growth in Europe awarded by Schneider Electric and that award is now firmly in the very deserving hands of this regional integrator system because it has achieved the highest growth at the EU level.

Thus, the Zagreb-based Croatian company reaffirmed its expertise and professionalism, and they take the prestigious Schneider Award, they say, as an additional incentive to continue to provide their clients with even better service and help build a technologically modern and connected future.

King ICT is a longtime partner of Schneider Electric, and the title of Elite justifies the trust of the clients they assist in the implementation of the project, from consulting all the way down the line to the final implementation.

"As an expert in software, infrastructure, networking and technical security, King's team has achieved one of the best results in the category, and we'd like to congratulate them on that," Schneider said of this Croatian company.

Make sure to follow our dedicated Made in Croatia and business pages for much more on Croatian companies, innovation, products and services.

ZAGREB, October 24, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that he did not think that the ongoing strike of primary and secondary school teachers was a good thing and added that it was creating a bad atmosphere among parents.

"Talks were conducted and we are open for further talks," said Plenković at the start of a cabinet meeting in Zagreb.

Considering the fact that the industrial action is in the form of a rotating strike taking place in different counties every working day, Plenković said that this also created "an unnecessary atmosphere of pressure on counties."

He called on leaders of the striking unions to sit at the negotiating table and to acknowledge what the authorities have done concerning primary and secondary school teachers whose work is respected and who are important stakeholders for the reform of the education system.

Plenković recalled that the overall increase in the base wage in the public sector's services would be 18% plus tax breaks, which leads to an increase of more than 20%.

"These are marked increases in the monthly income that cannot be compared to any earlier periods," the premier said.

Primary and secondary school teachers' unions launched a nationwide strike on 10 October. Since then they have been staging rotating strikes across counties.

Just before the start of today's government meeting, Education Minister Blaženka Divjak said that "the current situation is untenable", pointing out the importance of dialogue between the school unions and the government.

A meeting to this effect is expected in the coming days.

She reiterated that school unions were against a solution of raising the wage base for all as they insist that this move would not compensate the gap in their wages and are therefore demanding that the job complexity index be amended.

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

ZAGREB, October 24, 2019 - The Croatian Pensioners Union (SUH), which insists on raising the income threshold for eligibility to free supplemental health insurance so that a higher number of pensioners can be given free-of charge supplemental health insurance, on Thursday sent an open letter to the government with its demands.

Representatives of the SUH gathered outside Government House in the morning to inform the general public of their demand that the government should provide a higher number of pensioners with free supplemental health insurance.

The unionists warn that the pension indexation in the last years led to higher monthly pension allowances, while the income threshold has remained the same, which is why some 10,000 pension recipient have lost their right to have the state pay for their supplemental health insurance.

The income threshold is the same since 2004: for instance, 1,939 kuna for a single-member household, while the SUH union insists that this threshold should be raised to 2,485 kuna, which means that all pension recipients whose monthly income is below that line should be eligible to have the state pay for their supplemental health insurance.

The union says that 98% of monthly pension allowances is below the average monthly wage, and 55% of monthly pension allowances is below the poverty line of 2,485 kuna.

Currently, 163,000 pension recipients are covered by the scheme of the supplemental health insurance paid by the state for them, while others have to pay with their own funds.

SUH activists announced further protest actions until their demands are met.

More pension system news can be found in the Business section.

October. 24, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Zadar and Dubrovnik.

Avio Radar reports that Austrian low-cost carrier Lauda announced the introduction of a new route from Vienna to Zadar as part of their 2020 flight schedule. The line will begin operations from March 20, 2020, with three flights a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. An Airbus A320 will fly on this route. 

This is the second new Lauda line to Croatia in their 2020 flight schedule after the Vienna-Dubrovnik route was added. It is also interesting to note that the Austrian national carrier and Star Alliance member Austrian Airlines also announced a new route between Vienna and Zadar for next year, which will run daily. Compared to this summer, when only Eurowings ran two flights per week between Vienna and Zadar, there are now ten flights a week on this route for next year. 

Furthermore, Avio Radar reports that Spanish low-cost carrier Volotea has announced a new flight from France to Dubrovnik in their 2020 flight schedule. The new Toulouse-Dubrovnik route will begin operations from April 4, 2020, with two flights a week - on Wednesdays and Sundays. The end of the seasonal service is currently unknown, as tickets are on sale until the end of August. An Airbus A319 aircraft will fly on this route. 

This route will take the place of German carrier Germania, which filed for bankruptcy in February this year. Germania flew only once a week between Toulouse and Dubrovnik on Sundays. 

Volotea also strengthened three flights from France to Split in its 2020 summer flight schedule. Namely, flights from Lyon, Nantes, and Toulouse will fly to Split three times a week next year - on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays in the peak season. On the other hand, the Marseille-Split route, which only ran three flights a week, was reduced to two flights per week. 

Volotea will reduce traffic to destinations in the northern Adriatic for the 2020 summer flight schedule. Namely, only the Nantes-Pula route will remain with flights once a week, on Thursdays. This year’s new Bordeaux-Pula line is no longer on offer for 2020. Rijeka received its first Volotea line this year between Marseille and Rijeka, though it will not operate next year. 

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

October the 24th, 2019 - Who would ever have thought that possessing a Croatian passport would be a desire placed high on the list of a British citizen? A look at how the shock referendum result of 2016 changed minds and hearts.

Brexit is slowly becoming one of those words that drains the life and joy out of you when you say it. This process has now been going on for more than three years with yet another potential extension until the end of January 2020 on the horizon (we'll hopefully know more tomorrow about that).

After Donald Tusk warned the UK not to simply keep kicking the can down the road after the EU granted the last extension (from March to October this year), it seems that Britain is still no closer to sorting out the mess it has created.

With that being said, many Brits have sought out second citizenships following the referendum result of June 2016, in which the British public narrowly voted to leave the economic bloc. The mixing of the Brits and the Irish over many years made it easy for some who have an Irish parent or grandparent to get their hands on Irish citizenship and as such remain citizens of the EU.

Many Brits who have lived abroad in the rest of Europe for several years decided to apply to naturalise in their adopted countries, and countries like Germany even kindly went as far as to alter their laws, albeit temporarily, to allow Brits who apply for German nationality to be able to keep their British citizenship too.

While citizens rights has been decided across the bloc, deal or no deal, some Brits still will simply not feel secure unless they have a new passport, and that's more than understandable given the fact that after Britain ends its 40 year membership of what is now the EU (formerly the European Community), people fear being left in the dark with no EU laws to turn to for help.

However, not all of those seeking a second passport are living in another EU country. Some are resident in Britain and simply feel the need to take advantage of having a foreign parent now more than ever. One such person is British TV presenter Adrian Chiles, known for presenting the popular ''The One Show'' and who currently works as a radio presenter for BBC Radio 5 Live.

Chiles took to The Guardian on October the 24th, 2019 to discuss his longing for a Croatian passport, what with his mother being Croatian, and how he now values the idea more than ever given the utterly dire situation with Brexit.

Chiles cites how he has spent a lot of time in Croatia over the years, both before and after its independence from Yugoslavia. He talks about how ''one of his favourite things to do was to leave his British passport lying around when with friends over there'', before going on to talk about how dramatically that tide has now turned.

''How things have changed'' states Chiles when recalling his friend, Tomislav, tossing his Croatian passport on the floor and being irritated with the fact that such a document would never get him anywhere. Chiles claims that because he once had a Yugoslav passport, he thought obtaining a Croatian one would be simple, but of course, with all things Croatian as we who live here know well - it is anything but that.

Read Adrian's opinion piece in the link to The Guardian provided above.

Are you a foreigner with legal residence living in Croatia? Would you like to try your hand at naturalisation as a foreigner? Click here. Married to a Croat and want that little blue passport? Click here.

If you're worried about Brexit and are a British resident in Croatia, follow our extensive reporting on all things Brexit on our dedicated politics page.

Going to work abroad seemed to be the only option, and one Croatian couple spent a year in Ireland but returned to their homeland, just like other people do, as they say.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 24th of October, 2019, after 20 years in journalism, frustrated by a stressful job, low pay and an exhausting work pace, he decided to start a "new life" along with his wife.

But after just one year, they returned to Croatia. They only went to Ireland to make money to pay off their debts, Deutsche Welle writes.

"It was a very, very good experience. With the fact that I earned something, I gained something that is much more valuable - I lost the fear of existential problems. Because now I know I can go anywhere and live and work there. Nobody here can ever say to me, 'If you don't do it, there's someone who will work for the minimum wage'' again, I've learned to appreciate my time and my work.

I no longer care what I'll do if I lose my job, fail at a company or quit. It's an enormous burden taken from my shoulders. It is a release from the existential fear that most Croatian citizens live in. so I'd recommend everyone to go and try out their skills. If we all had that experience, then it would be a lot different here too,'' Soudil says as he begins the story.

"What was very important in making that decision was the fact that my then girlfriend and now wife was still out of work, so one day we sat down and talked. Many of our friends were already in Ireland. We got in touch with them and got information that we could make three to four times more over there than here. It was a big step, a big decision. You leave your parents, friends, your lifestyle and you're aware that you're going into the unknown and that your life will change completely. Honestly, that decision was not at all easy'' says Soudil.

"We were fortunate not to go to Dublin, we went to Letterkenny which is all the way north and is a small town. The size of the Đakovo, but much more urban and I won't say nicer, because there is nothing nicer to me than this here. I progressed in my work in just a few days. I worked for an agency that rents apartments and homes out and I can only say that I was valid and respected there, and paid properly for the work I did,'' Soudil says.

Immediately upon his arrival, he was offered to work four hours a day, but he refused because work and a better salary were the reasons why he left Croatia. As he says, his job was not demanding, and no one complained about his work ethic or the quality of his work.

"For the last four or five months, I've been doing another job because I realised that I could still make around 40 euros a day, and the money is welcome. It's easy when there are jobs and they treat you properly."

According to Soudil, having Croatian passport is a kind of job ''recommendation'' because the Croats are well known for being hardworking and responsible employees.

He says they repaid all of the debts they had Croatia off in just three months and even managed to buy a car on top of that.

"When we left, we didn't say: We're never returning to Croatia again. We went to see what it was like to make some money too, to cover the foreclosures and debts we had here. We had unpaid bills, foreclosures for parking, electricity... We paid back all the debts that we'd inevitably accumulated in Croatia in three months and we even bought a car,'' says Soudil.

He describes life in Ireland as extremely enjoyable and nice. He says it never happened that he was "missing one more paper" during administrative tasks, an all too common situation when dealing with Croatian state bodies. A person who has lived in Croatia and dealt with any sort of Croatian administration feels a sort of cultural shock when they're greeted kindly at the bank as if by their best friend, even though you're complete stranger, just getting off the plane, Soudil notes.

"At the age of nineteen, I started working in journalism, I was aware that I couldn't do that business there [in Ireland], but I lived in the belief that I didn't really know how to do anything else. My hobby when I was a journalist was a kind of woodworking, processing metal, electrical work... I learned this from the urgent need not to have to pay professionals to do those things and that it was enough for me to just be able to manage. I'm far from being a professional, but I realised that I could do a lot of other things,'' he explains.

He also says that nobody in Ireland ever asked him what school he graduated from and what kind of "papers" he has. Another shock for anyone who has done anything the dreaded Croatian way.

"It's important here if you have a certificate, there, what's important is whether or not you want to work. The employer is ready to invest in you to educate you at their own expense and give you the opportunity according to your abilities. In one whole year, nobody asked me for a diploma, a birth certificate or a certificate of impunity,'' Soudil tells Deutsche Welle.

Upon his return to Croatia he did well. He is now in a better-paying job that he is comfortable with, and as he says, if he ever begins to get sick of it again, he has a job waiting for him in Ireland.

"Ireland is great, but it has one drawback - it's far away. Anyone who works in Munich can spend almost every weekend in Osijek, which is a big deal when nostalgia grabs you,'' he says.

His wife Lea has a slightly different life story - she was born in Germany, lived in London and working in a foreign country is nothing strange to her.

"I found a job right away. I first worked as a maid, and as they saw I knew several foreign languages, they transferred me to the front desk," Lea says.

Despite the nostalgia, she does not regret engaging in the Irish experience. Because, she says, she tried a hundred things she had never had the opportunity to try, see, eat, do...

"With just three weeks of wages we bought a Mini Cooper, second-hand, but you couldn't even do that in your wildest dreams in Croatia. There are big differences in life here and there, but when everything is put on paper, it's still the best at home," concludes Lea.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for more.

October 24, 2019 - Croatian basketball player Bojan Bogdanovic was the second-best scorer in the Utah Jazz victory on Wednesday. 

Gol.hr reports that Bojan Bogdanovic was brilliant in Utah Jazz’s seasoner opener, as the team went on to win 100-95 in their first game against Oklahoma City Thunder.

?| Bojan with 16 points in his official Jazz debut ⤵️#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/Yce0Mfi8Se

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 24, 2019

While it wasn't his day for three-pointers (1/5), Bogdanovic made great use of the plays set up for him and nailed five out of nine two-pointers, eventually finishing with 16 points in 24 minutes on the court. Bogdanovic was Utah’s was second-best scorer after Donovan Mitchell, who scored 32 points.

The Utah Jazz was concerned about Bogdanovic's ankle injury in the second quarter, which saw him limp off to the dressing room. Still, after consulting with the medical team, he returned to the court and played in the second half.

?| “The fact that he came in ready to go in the third quarter—obviously he wasn’t 100 percent—that’s a competitor.”

» https://t.co/ylcLEhEzII

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 24, 2019

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the best for the Thunder with 26 points, while Chris Paul added 22 with eight assists. The team's biggest star praised Bogdanovic in his pre-game interview. 

“One of the most underrated reinforcements is Bogdanovic. He’s great and knows how to play,” Paul said the day before the game.

In addition to Bogdanovic, Dario Saric also hit the court on Wednesday, scoring seven points with four rebounds in 21 minutes in the Phoenix Suns' victory over the Sacramento Kings 124-95.

Devin Booker led the Suns with 22 points and ten assists, Kelly Oubre added 21 with nine rebounds, while Deandre Ayton scored 18 with 11 rebounds. Buddy Hield scored 28 points for the Kings.

Mario Hezonja played in the defeat of the Portland Trail Blazers to the Denver Nuggets (108-100) and scored two points with four rebounds. Nikola Jokic led the winners with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Damian Lillard scored 32 for Portland.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs also played on Wednesday. Cleveland topped the Orlando Magic 94-85, though Ante Zizic did not play. San Antonio beat the New York Knicks 120-11, while Luka Samanic stayed on the bench. 

In the most unlikely game played last night, the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrated at home after extra time against the Brooklyn Nets 127- 126.

Kyrie Irving scored 50 points in his Brooklyn debut. Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 36 points and 14 rebounds.

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

For decades we've all been hearing about the drastic reduction of the population on Croatia's Dalmatian islands. Now it seems that the trend might finally be reversing!

Although most islands still have a negative population trend because of the reduced number of births and people leaving them to go and live elsewhere, there are examples of the exact opposite happening. Damir Šarac writes for Slobodna Dalmacija not just based on stories and anecdotes, but referring to the real numbers issued by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

In the category which follows migration state-wide, in the period between 2013 and 2018, data shows that some of the Dalmatian islands are the undisputed champions. Among the municipalities with over a thousand inhabitants, the biggest growth has been seen in Šolta (23 percent), Sali on Dugi otok (16 percent) and Vir (14 percent). When it comes to towns with population growth, Novalja on Pag is the first (almost 10 percent growth), and Vis is second (6 percent).

While other islands congratulate them on their successes, mayors and municipality heads highlight that these are the results of years of policies aimed at increasing the number of inhabitants and making it easier for people to find work on Dalmatian islands. The sad side of the story is that so many people have already left the islands, and such a small number of people are still living on them, that it takes a very small number of births or arrivals to make that type of difference we've seen in the last paragraph.

The first example is Šolta, which can be seen as a Split suburb as it's close to Split and is well connected through ferry and catamaran lines (eight during the summer, six during the winter).

These measures allow people to live on Šolta and work in Split. The municipality, headed by Nikola Cecić Karuzić (in his third term, as an independent candidate) gives support for each newborn, they've opened a kindergarten and the number of children in their school is growing each year. There are a total of 92 foreigners living there, mostly from European countries, who have recognised Šolta as an island that makes for a nice life.

Šolta has no surtax, some other taxes are also at zero, and, interestingly enough: there are no unemployed people on Šolta! They need workers constantly, anybody who needs a job can find one on Šolta - and that leads to them having over 400 inhabitants more in 2018 than they did in 2011.

The Mayor of Vis, Ivo Radica of HDZ, is a bit sceptical about the numbers, saying that some of the people just register on the island in order to use the benefits from that, while they're actually living elsewhere, but he does think that some improvements have been made.

He says that the only way to increase the population is to give people a place to stay and work and that everything else is demagogy. Apartments are being built on the island, and families with children get sizeable benefits on Vis. However, he highlights that it's necessary to have people move to the island as well, and adds that four families have moved to Vis this year, one of them from Dubai. Some major projects (tourist and infrastructure) are planned on Vis, which means that more workers will be needed.

The Sali Municipality is known as the municipality in Croatia that gives out the biggest financial support for each newborn child - a massive 60 thousand kuna! That has certainly helped, as the schools are seeing the increased number of students (for instance, a school in Sali has 14 pupils in the first grade, and there were only 5 last year). The biggest problem for Dugi otok is that they're not connected to the water supply system from the mainland, and the water that can be obtained on the island isn't enough for the tourist season. However, new investments and projects are announced which might solve that problem.