As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 3rd of January, 2020, the minimum wage is 1,200 euros, and workers also get a thirteenth and fourteenth wage in June and again in January. One addition to hot spots for Croatian emigrants such as Ireland and Germany is Austria, which recently announced that it would remove its barriers for Croatian nationals to enter the Austrian labour market. It has now secured its place among the favourites.

''I'm satisfied with the salary, the employer provided me with accommodation, and even paid my bills and for my food,'' says the Dubrovnik native. After working as a waiter for fifteen years and two more years in a shop, Alen Sofić from Dubrovnik has been working in Austria for seven months now.

The waiter is currently in the town of Bludenz, on the border of Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Within fifty kilometres lies the Principality of Liechtenstein, in less than two hours you can get to Zurich, St. Galena, Innsbruck..., writes local paper Dubrovacki vjesnik of this Croatian emigrant.

''It's never a problem to get used to something better. Austria is removing the need for work permits for Croatian emigrants next year, and many will look for a new job in Austria,'' stated Alen.

''I left Dubrovnik because I couldn't live off my salary working in a shop. When I got to Austria, I thought: I'll work the season, pay off my debts, and then I'll go home. After six months, not only did I repay my debts, I was left with twice as much,'' said Alen, who recommends that when choosing between Ireland, Britain, Germany and the rest of the EU, that Croatian emigrants give Austria a go.

''Whoever wants to go, try to perfect the German language this winter. Most guests in Western Austria are from German speaking and English is hardly spoken, although it's welcome. For anyone with a basic knowledge of the language, employers pay for training, and the course is included in working hours!

That's how they invest in their workers who, if they do their best, will not fail. The job offers are vast and the easiest to find are in industry and the hospitality industry. The summer season is from May to September and then everyone is out in nature. This is followed by a collective annual break until November the 15th, when the winter season begins.

With me are two Slavonians and a girl from Viš, and many workers from Croatia's neighbouring countries. They've been granted work visas for six months, after which they must pause for three months to obtain a new half-year permit. We respect each other and help each other, and if necessary, jump in as substitutes.

We're protected by good laws and the Privileg Association was founded in Vienna: for an annual membership fee of fifty euros, seven top lawyers provide legal assistance and represent you in front of your employers. For example, at a neighbouring hotel, a shift manager banned a worker from talking with a colleague in his native language. Privileg responded and resolved it with a single letter with the argument: Croatian is one of the 24 equal languages ​​of the EU and anyone can speak it without freely if they want to. Outside the hall, German is of course spoken among the guests.

The worker is guaranteed a day off each week and five overtimes a week brings two days off in the following week. It's not like in Croatia, where you work from morning to tomorrow, ''as long as the guests are there''.

Overtime is paid double, and a day off is no problem to get: it just needs to be announced the day before. If you're on sick leave, the insurance sends a controller to your apartment, and they also ask you what the doctor's attitude to you has been like,'' says this satisfied Croatian emigrant in Austria.

He also notes that accommodation, utilities and food in the hospitality industry are paid by the employer.

''If you're fired, you can stay in the same accommodation until you find a new job or return home! In addition, local governments in Austria set rent limits for each type of accommodation and if the owners ask for more, their tax is automatically increased by fifty percent!'' added Softić.

''Austrians aren't cold, they just need time to accept you. They're skeptical until they're convinced that you're human and then only the sky is the limit! I greeted my neighbour for days but he kept quiet. After about twenty days he started to answer and even waved to me across the street! They are closed off to strangers, and they only appreciate you when they're convinced that you are contributing to the well-being of the country. Patriotism proves tax deductible.

Thus, the state receives about 200 million euros annually, which it allocates to municipal infrastructure and renewable energy sources. And in our country, hospitality workers wave flags and cheer, but they don't fiscalise the bills! This doesn't even enter the heads of the Austrians. They are workaholics, and after dinner they always do something. For example, they cut grass not only in their gardens but also for more than 100 metres around the house, thus contributing to the community. If we were like that, imagine where we could be now?'' concludes Alen, and his words are more than likely to tempt other Croatian emigrants to Austria.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for more on Croatian emigrants.

ZAGREB, January 3, 2020 - The centre-left government in Spain on Thursday wished Croatia good luck during its six-month presidency of the European Union, noting that in that period work will be done to strengthen the EU.

Spain and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs "wish good luck to Croatia, which for the first time ever holds the presidency of the EUCouncil in 2020. The work of the EU2020HR will be guided by the slogan ‘A strong Europe in a world of challenges’," the ministry tweeted.

On Wednesday, Croatia assumed the presidency of the bloc of 28 countries for the first time since accessing the European Union in 2013.

Spain's Secretary of State for the European Union, Marco Aguirirano, met in Madridon 17 December with Croatian state secretary Andreja Metelko-Zgombić and the two officials discussed topics related to the EU. The meeting was when Metelko-Zgombić attended the Asia-Europe summit.

The two state secretaries announced the establishment of firmer relations in politics and culture between their two countries.

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

ZAGREB, January 3, 2020 - The European budget will be the most important political topic of Croatia's Council of the European Union presidency because it will impact all the polices of the 27-member bloc, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday, adding that he expected "an appropriate compromise" to be reached.

Aside from the other four priorities of the Croatian presidency - a Europe that grows and develops, a Europe that connects and a Europe that is secure and influential globally - Plenković also singled out "the concrete, big political topics that will attract a lot of media attention and demand the political engagement of Croatia and the other member states," including the 2021-27 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

"Politically, the MFF is without a doubt the most important dossier Croatia will deal with in the months ahead," he said, adding that there was little time and that the European budget must be adopted this year.

This means the adoption of 45 laws proposed by the European Commission in cooperation with the European Council and the European Parliament, Plenković told the press.

The 2021-27 MFF will impact all Union policies and their financing - agriculture, rural development, fisheries, the cohesion policy, and new challenges such as migration, security, climate change or innovation.

According to a May 2018 proposal from Jean-Claude Juncker's Commission, the budget should be at 1.114% of the gross national income of the 27 member states. The dozen most developed countries which are net contributors want a smaller budget, while the rest, who are net recipients, want to continue to receive appropriate funding for the cohesion policy and agriculture. The European Parliament wants the budget to be 1.3% of the gross national income.

"The compromise that need to be found must strike a balance between the Commission's initial proposal, the positions of ten countries and those which want more money, and the EP's position," Plenković said.

European Council President Charles Michel has been formally tasked with coordinating negotiations on the MFF. In this context, he is more neutral than any presiding member state and Croatia, Plenković said, will help so that an appropriate compromise is reached.

Croatia "has a clear and strong national interest in receiving from the total budget in the next seven years funds which will resolve our priorities," he said. "In that context, we want the continuation of financing for the cohesion policy, the agricultural policy and the rural development policy, but also to ensure funds for other challenges such as security and preventing illegal migration."

Plenković is confident a compromise will be reached that will enable the Commission to carry out ambitious plans while retaining traditional policies.

"The MFF must be good for the whole Union and see to the specificities of every member state," he said, adding that, as the youngest member state Croatia had the least time to "catch up" with the rest of the EU.

He is confident Croatia will be able to better articulate the importance of the cohesion, agricultural and rural development policies which are important for a balanced development of the majority of the member states.

Plenković went on to say that Croatia had prepared a strategy for introducing the euro as its official currency.

We are going step by step, he said, adding that "through close dialogue with the Eurogroup and institutions we have prepared an action plan" which accompanies the process of entering the European Exchange Rate Mechanism II.

"We want to complete that plan by the end of our presidency and for an appropriate decision at the Eurogroup level to be made possible during the German presidency so Croatia can become part of ERM II, a mandatory step in the euro adoption process."

One of the big political topics of Croatia's EU presidency will be a summit on the Western Balkans in May, initiated by Zagreb and aimed, Plenković said, at stepping up the pace of the relations between Southeast European countries and the EU.

"Our political goal in consultations with the Commission and the member states" before the summit is to find a way to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, he added.

Brexit is a political topic that will be on the agenda this month. Plenković expects an orderly Brexit on January 31, after which, during February, Croatia, the Council and the Commission have to coordinate a draft comprehensive negotiating framework for future relations.

"That's our job and we are already working on it with (EU chief Brexit negotiator) Michel Barnier. "It's envisaged that those relations be negotiated from February 1 until the end of the year. Ideally, we will make our contribution and the process will end during the German presidency."

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

ZAGREB, January 3, 2020 - After the Zhongya Nekretnine company failed to pay, within an extended deadline, the remaining amount of money for the purchase of the building in the Croatian town of Kumrovec, which used to house a Communist political school and is now the Hotel Zagorje, the company stated on Thursday that it hadn't given up this acquisition.

The company said in a press release that partners of the investor, Mrs. Jiang Yu, had not managed to allocate the money within the set deadline, for technical reasons. They are seeking models to transfer the required amount to Croatia as soon as possible, reads the press release.

The company is also ready for a new round of talks with the Croatian government, and says that the delays are due to the fact that the Chinese government is tightening control of the transfer of capital out of China. In this context it mentions a trade war between China and the USA.

The press release, signed by director Mario Rendulić, also says that a statement issued by the Croatian State Assets Ministry on Thursday afternoon underlines that a final decision on the future of the Hotel Zagorje rests with the Croatian government.

In its statement, the ministry notes that the investor failed to pay the remaining amount by 31 December.

In mid-June the government decided to sell the Hotel Zagorje, which used to be a Communist political school during the time of the former Yugoslavia, to Zhongya Nekretnine as the sole bidder, for 14.09 million kuna (1.9 million euro).

The new owner was expected to pay the purchase price within 30 days upon the conclusion of the sales contract. After the company failed to do so within the initial deadline, the government allowed the bidder to pay the required amount until 31 December 2019.

In the event that the bidder missed the new deadline, the advance payment of 598,000 kuna would be retained by the government.

The state-owned Hotel Zagorje, which is in a dilapidated condition, covers 27,000 square metres.

More business news can be found in the dedicated section.

January 2, 2019 -  The Croatia handball team will compete in the European Handball Championship, to be held from January 9 to 26. Coach Lino Cervar finally has the complete squad in Porec ahead of the competition. 

Gol.hr reports that the Croatia men's handball team gathered in Zagreb on Wednesday before heading to Porec where they will hold the last part of preparations for the European Championship, which will be held in Sweden, Norway and Austria from January 9 to 26.

The Croatia squad is finally complete, as the players who compete in Germany have joined. Thus, coach Lino Cervar can finally begin playing the team according to his visions and wishes.

An unfortunate circumstance of these preparations, as well as for the Euros, is that Croatia will not be able to count on the three players with injuries - Lovro Mihic, Fran Mile and Luka Sebetic. Their absence will significantly change Cervar's plans and ideas for the team, especially in the defense.

Namely, two of these three players were to find their place in Croatia’s final team in Graz for the first round of the European Championship. Croatia captain Domagoj Duvnjak said that despite this bit of bad luck, he and Croatia are ready to perform at the Euros. 

"The group looks easier on paper, but it's not like that. I think it's very tough and that we have difficult games. Like every year, I repeat that the first game is the hardest one, and this one is against Montenegro. I'm healthy and I can't wait for it to start,” Duvnjak said.

As part of the third cycle of preparations, the Croatian Cup will be played in Porec, with Bosnia and Qatar participating alongside Croatia. It is these two teams that open the tournament on Friday, January 3, at 6 pm in Zatika. A day later, on January 4, at 4:50 pm, Croatia and BiH will play. The tournament ends on Sunday, January 5, with Croatia and Qatar, which also begins at 4:50 pm.

At the European Championship, Croatia will play in Graz against Montenegro, Belarus and Serbia in the first round.

List of players for the third phase of preparations;

Marin Šego – Montpellier

Matej Ašanin – PPD Zagreb

Zlatko Horvat – PPD Zagreb

Vlado Matanović – Gorenje Velenje

David Mandić – PPD Zagreb

Valentino Ravnić – PPD Zagreb

Željko Musa – Magdeburg

Marino Marić – Melsungen

Marin Šipić – PPD Zagreb

Domagoj Duvnjak – THW Kiel

Marko Mamić – Leipzig

Josip Šarac – Celje PL

Matej Hrstić – PPD Zagreb

Luka Cindrić – Barcelona

Igor Karačić – Vive Kielce

Luka Stepančić – MOL-PICK Szeged

Josip Vekić – PPD Zagreb

Ivan Martinović – Hannover-Burgdorf

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

January 2, 2019 -  After reviewing 2019 in Croatian sport, a look at the year ahead.

A remarkable year in Croatian sport lies ahead. It is the year of the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, and the Euros in handball, water polo, and football - but that doesn’t even scratch the surface. 

A closer look at 2020 in Croatian sport. 

The first weekend of 2020 will kick off with the always exciting ski spectacle on Sljeme in Zagreb - the Audi FIS Ski World Cup “Snow Queen Trophy” 2020. Namely, on Saturday, January 4, the women's slalom will feature in the program, while a day later, the men will take the stage. Croatian skiers will compete in both of these races.

Leona Popovic is the biggest expectation in the women's competition after she won the first slalom points in her career in Lienz, Austria, not even one week ago. However, Croatia has a respectable team of skiers, as evidenced by the fact that three Croatian representatives have finished with points twice this season, which many nations cannot boast.

The first-ever ATP Cup will take place across Australia in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney from January 3 to 12. The Croatia national team will play in Sydney against Argentina and Poland. Borna Coric, Marin Cilic and Viktor Galovic will represent Croatia. Croatia’s tennis players will continue their stay in Australia for the Australian Open in Melbourne from January 14 to 27. 

Croatia handball is next to steal the show, as from January 9 to 26, the European Championships are held. For the first time in history, the Euros will be played in three countries (Austria, Norway, Sweden) with 24 national teams. The ‘Cowboys' are placed in Group A in Graz, where their opponents will be Montenegro (January 9), Belarus (January 11) and Serbia (January 13). The two best teams move to the second round to be played in Vienna, and from that newly formed group (which will likely include Spain and Germany), the two top-ranked teams go to the semifinals.

Nearly running parallel to the Handball Euros is the European Water Polo Championship, which will be played in Budapest. This competition begins on January 14 and ends on January 26, with the ‘Barakudas’ in Group A against Germany (January 14), Montenegro (January 16) and Slovakia (January 18). The winner of the group goes directly to the quarterfinals, and the second and third go to the playoffs against Group C, hosted by Hungary, Spain, Turkey and Malta.

The second half of the Croatian First League returns earlier than ever, on January 31, with the match between Inter Zapresic and Istra 1961. The other games of the 20th round will be played in February.

Croatian football will be in focus in the first half of February, because in addition to the Championship, the Croatian Cup will continue, where Rijeka and Dinamo are scheduled in the quarterfinals on February 5. On February 12, the semifinals will be played with the winner of Rijeka - Dinamo against the host Osijek, while the other semifinal features Slaven Belupo and Lokomotiva. 

The Champions League knockout phase continues on February 18, followed by the Europa League two days later.

Croatia basketball will begin qualifications for EuroBasket 2021 in February. Coach Veljko Mrsic will again not be able to count on NBA players or those who play in the Euroleague. Croatia welcomes Sweden on February 21 and visits the Netherlands three days later. Turkey is also in Croatia's group, and three national teams will qualify for EuroBasket. 

The Croatia football team returns in March for two friendly games as part of their Euro preparations. The dates, as well as the opponents, are still unknown. On January 31, we will find out Croatia’s remaining rival in the Euros alongside England and the Czech Republic. The Nations League C Playoffs will be played that day, and the winner will play in Glasgow against Croatia in the third round of Group D on June 23. It will either be Scotland, Israel, Norway or Serbia.

April may be crucial for the Croatia handball team. Should the Cowboys fail to qualify for the Olympic Games in January at the Euros, their next exam will be held from April 17 to 19 when the Olympic Qualifying Tournament will be played.

In May, the focus returns to football thanks to the Croatian Championship and Cup, with an emphasis on the Cup final on May 13 at Subicevac, followed by the last round of the Croatian First League, which will be played on May 17.

The second Grand Slam tournament of the season, Roland Garros, begins Sunday, May 24.

In June, we move our attention to the Euros in football, which begins with the Turkey-Italy match on June 12. Zlatko Dalic's side will play two friendly games, one in Osijek on June 1 or 2, and one away in France, as a rematch of the World Cup final and general prep for the Euro competition. At the Euros, Croatia will play against England at Wembley on June 14, while the second and third Group D matches will be played in Glasgow: on June 19 against the Czech Republic and June 23 against the Nations League C winner.

At the same time Croatia is expected to get out of their Euro group, the Croatia basketball team will play in the final Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the Spaladium Arena in Split. Brazil, lead by coach Aco Petrovic, Tunisia, Germany, Russia and Mexico will participate in the qualifying tournament. Only the best of these teams will go to Tokyo.

Days later, tennis fans can rejoice with the return of the most prestigious tournament in the world, Wimbledon, on June 29.

On Friday, July 24, the new season of the Croatian First League and the Olympic Games begin in Tokyo. The biggest sports celebration will last until Sunday, August 9.  Croatian athletes are looking to repeat the medal harvest from 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, where they took home ten medals, five of which were gold.

In August, Croatian football clubs will fight to qualify for the group stage in one of the UEFA competitions. Namely, in the summer of 2020, five Croatian clubs will compete in the Champions League and Europa League qualifiers.

A new edition of the Nations League will follow in early September. The Croatia national team will once against compete in the highest rank.

Shortly after that, the Champions League and Europa League seasons will kick-off for the last time in the format as we know it. Recall, from 2021, there will be 32 instead of 48 clubs so far. At the same time, the last Grand Slam of the season, the US Open, will begin.

This is merely a fraction of what's on in Croatian sport this year. Follow TCN to find out more.

Source: Gol.hr

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

ZAGREB, January 2, 2020 - In 2019 revenue from road tolls on motorways operated by the Hrvatske Autoceste (HAC) and Autocesta Rijeka-Zagreb (ARZ) companies amounted to more than 3 billion kuna, which is the most ever, and that it was collected from 61.56 million vehicles, HAC said on Thursday.

According to the first data for 2019, a total of 61,565,203 vehicles was recorded on all motorways operated by HAC and ARZ, bringing in a revenue of 3.004 billion kuna in road tolls. This is the first time in history that revenue from road tolls exceeded 3 billion kuna, HAC said.

HAC underscored that compared to 2018 revenue from road tolls increased by 4.3% in 2019 and there were 5% more vehicles.

HAC pointed out that the highest revenue from road tolls was generated on the A3 motorway (Bregana-Zagreb-Lipovac), amounting to 992 million kuna.

The most significant revenue by month was generated in August (475 million).

More than 60% of tolls collected in 2019 were cashless, paid by ENC passes or various credit cards.

HAC noted that there was an increase in traffic on motorways in the off-season too in 2019 compared to 2018.

More news about Croatians roads can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, January 2, 2020 - During December 2019, Croatians spent nearly 16 billion kuna, according to figures provided by the Finance Agency (FINA) to the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) on Thursday when the chamber pointed out that spending this December was a billion kuna higher than in December 2018.

During December 2019, FINA processed receipts worth 15.8 billion kuna, and this means that we spent a billion kuna more than in December 2018, says Tomislava Ravlić of the HGK.

This positive trend in spending is a result of the steady rise in wages due to the tax reforms, she explained.

Also, the analysis of the expenditure on Christmas presents shows that two thirds of Croatians spent between 100 and 1,000 kuna on those presents, and one fifth set aside higher amounts of money for that purpose.

As much as 31.5% of those polled spent between 100-500 kuna on Christmas presents for their dearest ones, whereas 31.8% spent between 500 and 1,000 kuna for that purpose, and 20.8% spent more than 1,000 kuna, Ravlić explained.

Also, every tenth respondent says they spent less than 100 kuna on presents in December, and a mere 2.3% of those polled say they have not bought any presents at all.

Broken down by type of recipients of presents, family members top the list (84%) and are followed by those who are described as loved ones (56%) and friends (53%), while the lowest percentage went on business partners (17%).

Broken down by type of goods purchased as presents, cosmetic products top the list (39%), followed by clothes and footwear (35%) and children's toys (31%), the HGK says.

The survey was conducted among 300 respondents in four big cities: Zagreb, Rijeka, Osijek and Split.

More economy news can be found in the Business section.