ZAGREB, November 5, 2019 - Croatian Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek said on Monday that a draft bill on electronic media would be put to public consultation in two to three weeks and that she believed that it would contribute to "preserving the diversity and sustainability of the Croatian media."

The minister made the statement at the opening of a two-day international media conference called the South East Europe Media Forum (SEEMF).

Obuljen Koržinek said that during work on the bill, information was collected primarily on the state of electronic media but that problems were also identified regarding the revenues of print, local and non-profit media.

She noted that Croatia's presidency of the EU would focus, among other things, on the issue of media in a changed media environment and the role of Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) as the public media service.

"It is crucial to ensure the attained level of autonomy in relation to sources of financing because the HRT subscription is constantly questioned," the minister said.

Obuljen Koržinek described professionalism as the main challenge for the HRT. "We have been witnessing a long-lasting erosion of professionalism, not only at the HRT but on the entire media scene," the minister said, underlining the need for independence from any political influence.

"As for guidelines and priorities that we consider important in the further development of our media policies, emphasis is put on improving the quality of the media. It is clear that without free and independent media, a society is neither free nor democratic," she said, adding that currently everyone was faced with a flood of fake news and misinformation.

Journalists who attended the first discussion held as part of the conference pointed the finger at the incumbent government, "as one of the most non-transparent governments, lacking the minimum respect for media, media freedoms and reporters' questions."

"We don't want anything from the government or the ministers, we must fight for our freedom on our own. But what we do expect of the government is to not sabotage us, arrest us, sue us and financially destroy us," said Index website reporter Ilko Ćimić, describing the situation at the HRT as a "disgrace for the entire country".

Croatian Journalists Association (HND) president and HRT journalist and editor Hrvoje Zovko said that print media reporters were currently in the most difficult situation due to pressure from their managements. He also said that there was a large number of lawsuits against journalists.

"What is happening with the media in Croatia is a disgrace for the EU as well. We live in a country where you can be convicted if you publish true information. The government's fight against fake news is bizarre because that same government generates the fake news is it fighting against. The incumbent government, headed by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, acts irresponsibly and is the main reason why reporters are described as the cause of all problems," said Zovko.

The 13th edition of the SEEMF focuses on the future of public broadcasting and print media in Southeast Europe, with emphasis on financing, autonomy and new business models.

More than 300 journalists, editors, executive directors and media owners, media experts, spokespeople and members of the academic community are attending the event.

The SEEMF is organised by the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) in cooperation with the German Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Central European Initiative and in partnership with the South East and Central Europe PR Organisation (SECEPRO), the International Academy in Belgrade and the International Institute - International Media Center, Vienna, SEEMO says on its website.

More media news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, November 5, 2019 - The ministry of demography, family affairs, youth and social policy on Monday put to public consultation amendments to the Maternity and Parental Allowance Act whereby the maximum pay during parental leave (after the first six months of the child's life) would be raised to 5,654 kuna (€759).

Under the amendments, as of April 1, 2020 the maximum allowance paid for the duration of parental leave (after the first six months of the child's life) to employed and self-employed parents would be raised from the current amount of 3,991 kuna (€536) to 5,654 kuna.

The amount would be received for six months if the right is used by one parent, plus an additional two months (a total of eight months) if the right is used by both parents.

Maternity allowance (paid in the first six months of the child's life) would continue to be paid as part of the mother or father's salary and would not be capped.

The changes in the system of maternity and parental leave are being introduced to additionally encourage parents to use parental leave, ensure mothers' stability on the labour market and more strongly include fathers in the early upbringing of children. Using this right would enable parents to harmonise their professional and private life, read the amendments, which will be under public consultation for 30 days.

The Croatian Health Insurance Institute (HZZO) estimates that the amendments will cost an additional 160.65 million kuna in 2020, an additional 214.19 million kuna in 2021 and as much in 2022.

More news about children can be found in the Lifestyle section.

November 5, 2019 - Split Advent this winter will be held from November 30, 2019, to January 2, 2020. 

Split Advent 2019/20 will boast nineeteen holiday houses in three locations - the Riva (11), Đardin (4), and the Split 3 neighborhood (4). On Monday, the competition for catering facilities began, reports Splitski Dnevnik.

Spalatum D.M.C. as an organizer of Split Advent 2019/20, invited all interested individuals and legal entities to submit, under general and special conditions, an offer for the display, presentation and sale of their products and services at the event from November 30, 2019 to January 2, 2020, on the Riva, Đardin, Prokurative (the plateau by FINA), and from December 6, 2019, to December 24, 2019, at Rudjer Boskovic RK Prima 3.

This year, there will be no Advent in front of the Gallery of Fine Arts due to the vibrant program and ice rink at Đardin. In addition, part of the program will be dispersed this year to the Split 3 neighborhood to provide Advent entertainment to residents outside the city center. As the stages and holiday houses will be located in a residential area, the program will last until 9 pm.

"There are no houses in front of the Gallery of Fine Arts, but we have decided to focus on the Riva, Đardin and Split 3 because of the great fluctuation of inhabitants in that part of the city. In this area, we went with a much lower price, and there will be a stage set for the music program. This is an intention to offer events outside each center and to expand zones, and to disperse some Advent events to other parts of the city, and if successful, plan to do so in other quarters in the coming years, where it is organizationally possible. Also, on the plateau in front of FINA, there will be children's content and a traditional train. The number of houses on the Riva remained the same, and the number of houses at Đardin increased,” said Ante Sunjic, director of Spalatum D.M.C., adding that the initial rental prices of houses on the Riva and Đardin remained the same as last year, and they expect the same interest. 

This year, the competition is open for exhibitions, sales and presentations, including the following: Christmas products, books and multimedia, souvenirs and gifts, original products, gastronomy, and presentations by tourist boards, counties, cities, municipalities and chambers of commerce.

Interested bidders are required to send their offer to Spalatum D.M.C. or the Split Tourist Board by November 13, 2019. Bids can be submitted from November 4 to 13, 2019. 

The accepted offers will be published on the websites of Spalatum D.M.C. and the Split Tourist Board on November 14, 2019.

Bids that do not meet the required conditions, which were not submitted in the required form and content or were not submitted within the prescribed deadline, will not be considered or included in the Advent program. 

The main selection criterion will be the highest rent or fee offered, followed by the authenticity of the products and services being offered, as well as the content related to the Christmas holiday, creativity in the interior decoration of the buildings, previous experience in exhibiting at fairs and many years of activities for which they are applying.

If a successful tenderer withdraws their offer, the Commission reserves the right to select the next best offer.

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

Some rather disappointing news has come to light thanks to a report from The Washington Post as it continues to look at Europe's migrant crisis on November the 4th, 2019 - and Croatia is in the limelight.

As the Associated Press/WP writes on the 4th of November, 2019, three British nationals have been caught and are currently being held by Croatian police (MUP) for apparently smuggling illegal migrants. The publication claims that one of the individuals in question also attempted to run over a Croatian police officer in a vehicle.

WP writes that a statement reads that Croatian police approached a vehicle which was being driven by a 31-year-old British man while parked close to the Slovenian border. The car then sped toward one of the officers, leading him to jump out of the oncoming vehicle's path to safety.

Following that already strange incident, the individual was arrested. According to a statement from the police on Monday, the man who seems to have attempted to run over, or at best scare the Croatian police officer was linked to two other men, who also hold British citizenship, who were trying to transport a number of ''foreign citizens'' (their citizenships have not been specified) over the Slovenian-Croatian border in a van.

In addition to that, the authorities in Croatia's neighbour to the north, Slovenia, have claimed that their police officers have also caught and detained as many as nine people who hold various different citizenships for trying to smuggle migrants, recording a very concerning 150 attempted illegal border crossings since last Wednesday alone.

In addition to this, WP reports that issues of a similar nature involving migrants have occurred in other European countries over the last couple of days, too.

We will continue to update this article as more information is officially released. Stay tuned.

Make sure to follow our politics page for more.

One of the largest Croatian strategic infrastructure projects, the construction of the state road 403 between the Škurinje junction and the Port of Rijeka, which is co-financed by the European Union with 85 percent of its funding, has been stopped, yet again.

As Novac/Kresimir Zabec writes on the 4th of November, 2019, according to what is currently unofficial information, the Jurcon Projekt company from Zagreb has filed an appeal for the tender for the construction of this (otherwise most expensive Croatian road) and thus stopped the implementation of the project until further notice. It is a 2997 meter long road with an estimated construction value of 461 million kuna, while the value of the total project is 520 million kuna. Therefore, the estimated cost of constructing one kilometre of this road is 153 million kuna or about 20 million euros.

The complaint was filed two weeks after the State Commission for the Control of Public Procurement Procedures suspended the proceedings following the complaint of a little-known Nekretnine Medulin from Rijeka. The project's investor, Croatian Roads (Hrvatske Ceste), announced the closure of the bidding process on October the 31st, just hours after the announcement that bids would be opened on November the 14th. In construction circles, this information has caused quite a surprise considering that Jurcon Projekt is a design company, and they've filed an appeal for a construction tender. Quite soon after, information was circulating unofficially that in this case, it was actually a complaint on behalf of another larger company.

According to the information available, in this case, a large Italian construction company Rizzani de Eccher is allegedly the one behind the appeal. People in the know seem to have concluded that the Italian company wants to extend the bidding process as they still have time to put together a quality offer for this complex project.

The ''games'' surrounding this tender began on September the 27th, when Nekretnine Medulin, owned by two Russian nationals, filed an appeal, just days before the deadline for opening bids. Just days later, DKOM's lawyer Boris Šikanjić filed a motion to dismiss Nekretnine Medulin.

However, as the submission did not include a valid power of attorney, DKOM requested that document. It took the company eight days to submit the document, so DKOM only suspended the procedure on October the 15th.

According to Croatian law, the tender process in such cases must be extended for as long as it was stopped due to appeals, and the opening of offers was postponed until November the 14th.

Following a new appeal, it is questionable whether or not offers will be opened at all this year. DKOM must resolve all of the appeals about strategic projects within a one month period. However, this deadline begins to run only after they receive all the documentation from the one who lodged the appeal and the investor, and not from the day the appeal was filed. Therefore, it isn't unrealistic for bids to stay open until January next year, a whole eight months after the announcement of the tender. Of course, only if there are no appeals again.

This project is of strategic importance to Croatia as it will connect the newly built container terminal, Zagrebačka obala, in the Port of Rijeka with the Rijeka - Zagreb motorway. The construction of this road, according to all of the listed criteria, is a very demanding construction project.

Namely, it passes through a dense residential area of ​​Rijeka, and above the tunnel are four fourteen-story skyscrapers, and there are between 105 and 110 apartments in each skyscraper.

In addition to these skyscrapers, there are several smaller residential buildings along the tunnel route. The future contractor will drill a tunnel just below these skyscrapers and other residential buildings. As the tunnel vault to the foot of the building is about 30 metres away, the future contractor will need to apply special drilling and tunneling techniques to prevent the collapse of the ground.

As many as eight variants were considered in the design of this road route and this was chosen as the most favourable one of all. Those in the know claim that, given the configuration of the terrain, the construction of tunnels under this heavily populated area in Rijeka is not unusual and there are several such facilities in the city. However, this tunnel is specific because of its length and the number of dwellings below which it will pass. In addition to the tunnels, two viaducts, one underpass and one overpass will be built on the route. The deadline for the construction of this road is 30 months.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more.

November 5, 2019 - The World Travel Market, which takes place in London from November 4 to 6, is one of the world's most important trade fairs. This year, among the hundreds of booths showcasing tourist destinations, you'll find the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, who is participating for the first time with their own booth. With this appearance at the World Travel Market (WTM), the official fair promotion of the Split-Dalmatia County tourist offer begins.

Dalmatinski Portal and TZ Split-Dalmatia County report that the Split-Dalmatia Tourist Board is presenting its tourist offer with four cluster info-desks, and has provided the county's economic operators with the conditions to interview business partners at the world's largest gathering of businesspeople from the tourism industry. Within the Split-Dalmatia County booth, a series of events and business meetings are planned, with the presence of prefect Blazenko Boban and his associates. Guests are also offered a tasting of Central Dalmatian wines, prosciutto, and cheese from local producers in Split-Dalmatia County.

“I am happy that, as a County with our own booth, we had the opportunity to be at the two largest tourism fairs this year, first in Berlin and here in London now. We aim to develop tourism in two directions. The first is to try to extend the tourist season by diverting tourist arrivals from July and August into April and May, and September and October. The fact that we were the most visited county in Croatia in October this year is confirmation that we are on the right track. We want to gently divert tourists from major coastal destinations to the rural areas of the county, which we can only achieve through attendance at fairs such as this one in London, where we have the chance to show all the beauties that our county truly abounds. And these beauties are not just in the frequently visited tourist destinations of Split, Makarska, Bol, Hvar, or Trogir. We try our best to present all the treasures of our beautiful Dalmatian Zagora and the interior of our islands. This year's results of the Imotski Tourist Board after the Berlin fair are the best indicator that we have something to offer and attract tourists both in the pre-season in the post-season and the rural, peripheral areas of the County,” said Boban, who had the opportunity to speak with the British Minister of Arts, Heritage and Tourism, Helen Whately.

Kristijan Stanicic, director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB), said that for the development of tourism, we need the right people and continuous education about the quality of tourism infrastructure, from tourist capacities and the catering offer to the quality of the overall tourist service.

“The main task of the CNTB is to recognize trends in tourism in a timely manner and to keep up with the competition in the innovation and creativity of the offer. I believe that when it comes to the sustainability of tourism development, Croatia has all the resources it needs and that a bright future awaits us.”

Tourism Minister Gari Capelli said we could expect even better results in 2021 'because, in the presence of such fairs and major marketing activities, only HRK 70 million has been invested in additional airlines over the past two years, which was discussed here'.

Josko Stella, director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, expressed his satisfaction with the fact that Split-Dalmatia County presented itself for the first time at the London Fair.

“We want to bring our county to the British market, where we traditionally stand well,” Stella said, adding:

“We have conducted several interviews with three airlines, in cooperation with our airport in Kastela, to introduce additional lines and overcome the possible consequences of Brexit as smoothly as possible.

The results achieved during the peak season in Split-Dalmatia County continue with the new post-season records. According to data from eVisitor and the offices of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, in October, Split-Dalmatia County was the most visited and most desired Croatian region in tourism. Thus, in October, there were 188,562 arrivals and 623,895 overnights in commercial accommodation, which is an increase of 14 percent in arrivals and 8 percent in overnight stays. In October, there were 15,255 arrivals from the UK market in Split-Dalmatia County, which is an increase of 17% in arrivals and 81,142 in overnights, and an increase of 10% compared to the previous year. In the first ten months of this year, a total of 3,592,210 arrivals (+5%) and 17,932,166 overnight stays (+2%) were realized in the county. In the first ten months, the Germans ranked as our largest market for the first time, with 318,000 arrivals and 2.21 million overnight stays growing 9% in arrivals and 3% in overnight stays. Growth in arrivals and overnight stays in the first ten months compared to last year was also recorded from the UK market. Namely, with 241,000 arrivals and 1.12 million overnight stays, the UK market is up 5% in arrivals and 3% in overnight stays.

In the first ten months of this year, UK guests visiting Central Dalmatia liked Split the most. Namely, they made up 39 percent of the arrivals and 29 percent of overnight stays in Split. Split is followed by Hvar, where they made up 13 percent of the arrivals and 10 percent of the overnight stays. Split, Makarska, Hvar, Omis, Baska Voda, and Tucepi are the most visited tourist destinations in Split-Dalmatia County this year, registering an increase in the number of nights compared to last year.”

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

November 5, 2019 - Warm up your wintry mornings with the return of Sweet Tuesdays at Brasserie on 7. 

We know it’s not quite the winter season yet, but this rainy autumn weather is gearing us up for the wet season ahead. 

However, it doesn’t have to be so bleak - that is, thanks to Brasserie on 7. 

If you’re looking to satisfy your sweet tooth this winter, you won’t have to look too far. Brasserie on 7, an institution on the Riva for banging breakfasts, luscious lunches, delectable dinners, and, of course, perfect patisserie treats is pumping out their bossiest bakery items for you to try at promotional prices this offseason. 

Yes, you guessed it - Sweet Tuesdays are back! 

Namely, every Tuesday, you can enjoy a specialty coffee or tea AND the cake of your choice for only 28 kuna. 

On offer while supplies last, B7 devotees can choose a dessert from the restaurant’s in-house bakery, from cheesecakes to carrot cakes, Swedish cakes to berry cakes, and even a black noir noisette or gluten-free dark chocolate cake. 

Better yet, you get to try B7’s specialty coffee by Hug & Punch Coffee Co., a new roaster in the ever-growing Croatian coffee scene, which launched back in 2018. Brasserie on 7’s very own signature blend boasts beans from Brazil, India, and Peru, with a hint of chocolate to pair perfectly with the confection of your choice. 

And if you’re not one for coffee, you're not left out. B7 offers a selection of teas from local tea house Kuca Caja, including green teas, white teas, herbal teas, black teas, fruit teas and more! 

If you're looking to indulge a bit this offseason, there is no better place to satisfy your sweet tooth than Brasserie on 7. Head to Brasserie on 7 now, as Sweet Tuesdays begin today!

You can find Brasserie on 7's breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu here. 

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

As Novac/Dora Koretic writes on the 4th of November, 2019, while this amount may be quite a lot for the average person on a Croatian wage, the statistics actually show that the 27 kuna per hour price tag which is paid for parking at Zagreb Airport is actually one of the cheaper ones when it comes to European Union airports.

Namely, the website www.taxi2airport.com has made a list of 28 European Union capitals and listed the cost of parking within their airports, and it shows that Zagreb Airport is around the middle.

With a parking price of 3.63 euros per hour, Zagreb Airport took sixteenth place and is almost three times cheaper than Europe's most expensive airport car park, the one within Stockholm's Arlanda Airport.

In this expensive Swedish airport, consumers will have to spend as much as 9.28 euros per hour just for parking, while the second most expensive airport car park in Europe is at London's giantic Heathrow Airport, where parking costs 8.69 euros per hour.

Paris' “Charles de Gaulle” Airport took third place, where visitors spend as much as 8 euros per hour for parking, and it is interesting that the airport of one country, which in principle has average prices close to Croatian ones, came in fourth place.

This is Prague's Vaclav Havel Airport, an hour's parking there costs 7.79 euros and is even more expensive than parking at Copenhagen Airport, where one hour of parking costs 6.69 euros.

Prices for parking at Zagreb Airport are close to those of some regional airports, such as Budapest's Ferenc Liszt Airport (3.93 eurps) or Bratislava Airport (4 euros).

The airport that currently has the cheapest parking in a European capital is the Romanian "Henri Coandă" Airport, where visitors pay only 1.26 euros per hour to leave their vehicle, followed by the airport in the Bulgarian capital, where the same service costs 1.53, and Vilnius Airport at 1.80 euros per hour. Cheap parking is also available today in neighbouring Slovenia, where the price per hour at the Joža Pučnik Airport is set at 2 euros per 60 minutes.

Most expensive European Union airports (for parking per hour)

- Stockholm, Arlanda: 9.28 euros

- London, Heathrow: 8.69 euros

- Paris, C. de Gaulle: 8 euros

- Paris, Vaclav Havel: 7.79 euros

Cheapest European Union airports (for parking per hour)

- Bucharest, H. Coanda: 1.26 euros

Follow our travel page for more.