ZAGREB, November 26, 2019 - Several Croatian Air Force commanders have been dismissed over the transport of an arms smuggler by helicopter, and their dismissal was proposed by the Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mirko Šundov and approved by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in her capacity as Armed Forces Commander in Chief.

Following the scandal that happened at the Zemunik air base, a military police platoon commander, a flying platoon commander, and a squadron commander and the Zemunik air base commander have been replaced, Defence Minister Damir Krstičević said in Osijek on Tuesday.

The President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, President Grabar-Kitarović, sent into retirement Air Force Commander Brigadier General Mato Mikić and appointed Brigadier General Michael Križanec in his place.

Also, Zadar air base commander Mario Pleša was replaced by Željko Ninić.

The decisions were made after it came to light that Air Force pilots had flown in a helicopter a suspected arms smuggler.

Minister Krstičević said today that the newly appointed commanders were top-notch officers and pilots. He stressed that no arms or ammunition had been transported.

More news about Croatian military can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 26, 2019 - United States officials and representatives of international Jewish organisations have positively assessed efforts by the Croatian Culture Ministry in protecting, preserving and promoting the Jewish legacy, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek met in Zagreb on Monday with the US State Department's special envoy for Holocaust issues, Cherrie Daniels, US Ambassador William Robert Kohorst and representatives of the Jewish organisations WJRO and B’nai B’rith - Dan Mariaschin, Ivan Čerešnješ and Evan Hochberg.

The meeting, held at the Culture Ministry, also involved the minister's assistant Davor Trupković, secretary Ana Perišić Mijić and senior advisers Dražen Klinčić and Lidija Zozoli.

Obuljen Koržinek presented Croatia's involvement in dealing with issues relating to the Jewish cultural legacy and the Holocaust, citing "strong and open support by the government." She informed the delegation of the activities the ministry had launched within its own remit and in cooperation with other state institutions regarding issues of special interest to the Jewish community in the last three years.

The main topics discussed were property restitution, conservation and protection of historical Jewish cemeteries, activities of the Jasenovac Memorial Centre, establishing the origin of works of art in heritage institutions, protecting and promoting the cultural identity of the Jewish minority, and fostering the culture of remembrance of historical Jewish communities.

The minister stressed the importance of further institutional development of cooperation on these important issues in protecting and preserving the Jewish cultural heritage in Croatia.

The US officials and Jewish representatives spoke affirmatively about the ministry's activities and efforts undertaken so far in protecting, preserving and promoting the Jewish memorial and material legacy, the culture of remembrance and identity, and commemorating Holocaust victims in Croatia, the statement said.

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

November 26, 2019 - Advent in Trilj begins this Saturday, November 26, 2019!

If you're in Inland Dalmatia this winter, Trilj is one town you won't want to miss.

The Advent program begins this Saturday on the Trilj bridge for the official opening ceremony with the 'Trilj' kindergarten students, the young Trilj majorettes, and the Noel group from Djakovo. The first Advent candle will be lit on Saturday. 

This winter the Trilj Advent program runs until January 5, 2020. You can see the full program above!

November 26, 2019 - The first Museum of Hangovers in the world opens on December 1 in Zagreb (Preradoviceva 8), just in time for the Advent festivities in the capital. 

This unforgettable space for some of our more forgettable events is the project of a group of students designed as ‘a drunken return home’ - from the city streets to a casual stroll through the forest and eventually getting home where, if you are lucky, you manage to wake up in the morning. The idea of this unique museum was borne on an evening out, when students Rino Dubokovic and Roberta Mikelic, together with their friends, began to retell their best booze-fuelled stories. 

It didn’t take long for their tales of tipsiness to bring them to a quite brilliant idea - why not create a museum featuring the best drunken and hangover stories with one item that would best represent it?

The idea came to fruition thanks to the students who chose the space, the lighting, painted the walls, and also sent in their best drunken escapades. To create the feeling of a drunken trip home, the museum will take you on a tour of four different rooms. The experience begins when you enter the museum, where the first stop of the adventure - exiting a stuffy club or packed bar, is visually captivated. 

The Museum of Hangovers is a must-see during this year’s Advent for anyone looking to have a good laugh. The stories are presented in both Croatian and English at the same time, and the museum will be open daily from 9 am to 11 pm. The adult ticket price is 25,00 kuna, while students will have a slight discount (20,00 kuna).

If you also have a hangover story you would like to share to be a part of this unique museum concept, you can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or send a message to their Facebook page. 

You can find more info about the new Zagreb museum here.

Source: Journal.hr

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

November 26, 2019 - Can't make it to Split? Don't fret, Advent in Kastela will spice up Split's surroundings from December 1, 2019, to January 5, 2020. 

Leteci odred, Crvena jabuka, Psihomodo Pop and New Year's Eve with Alen Nizetic - are just some of the performers the people of Kastela and their guests will enjoy this year as part of the "Advent in Kaštela 2019" program, which will take place at the Novi Park in Kastel Luksic, the City of Kastela reported on Monday.

The event program was officially presented by Kastela mayor Denis Ivanovic, together with his deputy mayor Jadranka Matok Bosancic, head of the Board for Social Affairs and General Affairs Sandra Zokic, and director of the Kastela Tourist Board Nada Marsic.

“It all starts on December 1st at 6 pm with the Luka Nizetic concert. This year we have paid special attention to our children, for whom we have prepared numerous events within the Advent Fairytale, while everyone else will enjoy concerts and the great gastronomic offer of our Advent houses. Also, on Christmas Eve, bakalar (or cod to non-locals) will be distributed at the cathedral in Kastel Stari, during which several Kastela klapa groups will spontaneously gather and spread cheer around the citizens with their songs.”

We tried to design the best possible program this time, too, so we hope that everyone will find something for themselves this year as well,” said mayor Ivanovic, stating that an ice skating rink has been set up near the Novi Park to the delight of the youngest. Between Christmas and New Year, a concert will be hosted by one surprise guest, who will be announced later. We can say one thing - it will be a big name in Croatian showbiz. 

Every Sunday, starting at 5 pm, the Advent candles will be lit at Dardin in Kastel Novi, on an 18-meter-long wreath. To conclude, on the Feast of Saint Stephen, everyone will be able to see a live nativity scene in Kastel Novi.

You can see the full program for Advent in Kastela here. 

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

As Glas Istre writes on the 25th of November, 2019, due to its impressive 100 percent growth in sales in fifteen countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Croatian company ''Bijeli svijet'' (White world), in competition with more than a hundred companies from all over the world, has won yet another prestigious award. The global corporation LG Electronics has awarded Bijeli svijet with the ''Outstanding Growth Performance'' award for the fastest growth in 2019.

''Although we come from little Croatia, we're just one of more than a hundred partners of the Korean LG corporation, and for the second year running we're winning international accolades. Last year, we received the Best Partner Award, and this year the record growth we experienced was rewarded,'' explained Mario Martinek, Bijeli svijet's director.

Bijeli svijet has experienced impressive results on the Croatian market as well as on the markets of fifteen European countries, from Poland to Greece. As the sole strategic partner of LG in this area, Bijeli svijet achieves all it does through an innovative business model. For over ten years, this company's business story that has proven to be extremely profitable here in Croatia, and has thus been successfully applied across foreign markets as well.

The company's success story initially started from the B2B segment, when Bijeli svijet equipped professional laundry facilities of most of the well-known facilities in the HoReCa sector, such as Hilton, Falkensteiner, Radisson, Kempinski, McDonald's, Valamar, Maistra, Plava Laguna (Blue Lagoon) and many others.

They decided to share their knowledge and experience in the B2C segment as well, and back in 2014, they launched the Jumpstart program to help Croatian families who were seeking entrepreneurial pursuits by launching a mini-profitable laundry facility. They're unique in that they guide their clients step-by-step through the whole process: from raising grants to starting a business to opening and operating in their own facilities.

As a result, over the last five years, they have helped as many as 150 entrepreneurs successfully realise their business dreams, thus stimulating the employment of more than 300 people. Bijeli svijet's recorded increase is also consistent with the trend of increasing tourist traffic here in Croatia, which means, as was explained by Mr Mario Martinek, there's much more laundry to be washed.

''Namely, from 2016 to date, the number of beds in private accommodation has increased by as much as 127,600, while for hotels this number is 5,800. It's therefore not surprising that there is a growing need to open laundry facilities across the European market.

However, we're proud that most of them are open along the Croatian coast, from Umag to Dubrovnik, where most of the revenue is generated during the tourist season. Today, foreign guests are increasingly staying in one destination for only two to three days, which leads to the need for the more frequent cleaning of such facilities,'' explained Mario Martinek.

''We have a premium product and a premium service for service and accommodation facilities, which is why they choose us over the competition. When a hotel needs professional laundry service, we do a detailed analysis, project documentation and provide them with the installation, equipment, maintenance, consulting and everything else they need,'' says Martinek.

According to him, the story doesn't stop there either, as Bijeli svijet is transferring its best practices to its European distributors - on the basis of the company's model, laundry facilities were opened in Prague, Budapest, Belgrade, Sarajevo and Podgorica. All this was achieved with the wholehearted support of the LG corporation, which selected them as their sole partner in Eastern Europe, and the efforts they make to educate citizens and numerous companies across not only Croatia but the wider region have been repeatedly recognised with prestigious awards.

There are twelve experts in the Bijeli svijet team, which gives clients security in business. They also have the most service partners in the country and products such as professional rollers, washers, dryers for utility and self-service laundries. The results for the customers are quite measurable: it is an annual savings of 25 percent on electricity consumption and as much as 44 percent on water consumption.

More than 1,500 satisfied customers and over 5,000 devices sold guarantee that this is not the last award for Bijeli svijet.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages for much more.

November the 26th, 2019 - As you'll no doubt have heard by now, Croatian teachers are on strike. There were some incredible scenes yesterday as Zagreb's main square became thronged with Croatian teachers striking and protesting for their rights.

If you're still unsure exactly why Croatian teachers are currently striking, feel free to read our article on the precise reasons as to why education system employees have felt the need to take to the streets. 

One man, Marin Miletic, has uploaded a powerful video on his YouTube channel which describes, films, and follows the striking Croatian teachers. The description reads as follows: 

''They tried to divide and intimidate us - they failed. The teachers stood up loud for a fairer system, for fair wages for workers, for our retirees... for a society where citizens will want to stay and live in, and not to flee from our Croatia.

We have been supported by many brave people, ots of different unions, individuals all united for - a better society, a better education system.

I see that some individuals are very annoyed by the fact that I've been chosen to speak as a religious teacher. It damages their exclusivity and lack of libertarian thought. I'm primarily a human being, then a religious teacher who has shared this chamber with his colleagues for fourteen years. My teachers are my legitimacy. My atheist and agnostic colleagues, members of other religions who voted 100 percent in a secret ballot for me to be their union leader. They're my legitimacy. Lucky for them, they're not as narrow-minded as some individuals are, lucky for me is the fact that they can see that we have existential battles in common and that we can do so much more when we stick together.

I have only one Master. the one in Heaven. Jesus. And everywhere else - my heart, my conscience, and I'd never overlook that for anything, no matter the cost. How many masters do those who spit on me now have? I don't know. May God bless them.

I don't have time. Life is short. You need to create, you need to work, you need to live.''

If you understand Croatian, watch Marin's video ''Croatia will remember the 25th of November'' below:

Make sure to follow our dedicated politics page for more information on the Croatian teachers strike and much more.

By early July of 2020, it will be much easier for Croatian job seekers to find work in Austria. Their labor market will be significantly liberalized as Barbara Ban/Novac/JutarnjiList reveals on November 22, 2019. Finding employment in Austrian companies will be easier, without the massive present-day paperwork or work permits for certain jobs.

Admittedly, many Croatian tourism and hospitality workers have been finding jobs in Austria for a long time. As in Croatia, their profession is in high demand and finding work is not a problem. Nevertheless, some important rules still apply.Dr. Marie Škof, from the Klagenfurt-based law firm Grilc Vouk Škof, spoke last Friday at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Pula. She indicated that the liberalization of the Austrian market will be a great help to workers and entrepreneurs who want to send their employees to work on projects their companies have contracted with Austrian companies.

No More Work Permits

- This will mean that you will no longer need to fill out all the present-day forms nor will work permits will be required. The entire procedure for issuing permits for workers in Austria will be greatly reduced. Presently, it’s practically impossible to obtain a work permit - as Dr. Škof noted. The exception is tourism and hospitality workers who obtain work permits to work in season.

- It’s not a problem to get a work permit in that sector, but it has been a problem to get one for construction trades, because certain quotas may have already been met. And from July 1, 2020; all Croatian citizens will be able to get a job in Austria without a work permit. This means that workers in Austria can be employed in the same way as they can in Croatia. It’s important that they find an employer - the lawyer emphasized.

Large Croatian Worker Wave Expected

Asked about what Austria expects next year, since a portion of the Croatian population can hardly wait for the labor market to be opened; Dr. Škof replied that a large wave of Croatian workers is expected especially since Austria is so close to Croatia.

- While Austria expects a lot of Croatian interest, Croatian workers will also be able to work for Croatian companies in Austria without having to seek an Austrian employer. This means that they will not have to move with their entire families but will only need to work in Austria on a temporary basis, the lawyer explains. When they work for a Croatian company in Austria, that employer is obliged to pay them in accordance with the Austrian collective agreement for that industry. Also, according to Austrian regulations, an employee will have certain rights: including time off and paid time off (13 and 14 days respectively).

Strict Employer Regulations

If Croatian employers in Austria do not comply with these strict regulations, Austrian inspections are not so forgiving. In fact, they are among the most rigorous in Europe, will hand out fines immediately and penalties accumulate on a per offense basis. This means that for one offense, the penalty is multiplied by the number of employees working in Austria and the number of Austrian partners with which the Croatian company works. Those numbers can quickly become quite massive. That is why Dr. Škof warns Croatian companies in Austria to become familiar with the regulations, since they could easily go bankrupt otherwise.

The Brodmont Company is a striking example. In 2015 it was rehabilitating a part of the Poels paper mill. There were 217 employees working there, and the Austrian financial inspectors noticed some irregularities, which resulted in a € 3.2 million fine for Zoran Maksimović, the director of the Croatian company. A prison sentence of four years or more was also handed down in the event of non-payment. Maksimović decided to challenge these massive and disproportionate penalties, and won the dispute at a European court for this case, which has become a precedent and will serve as an example in further jurisprudence.

For more information on the labour market and and trends, follow our Business page here.