February 13, 2020 - The Kazbek Hotel in Dubrovnik is the first Croatian hotel to join the global cage-free initiative, eliminating chickens that produce cage eggs from its supply chain.

HRTurizam reports that Kazbek Hotel stands alongside the world's leading hotel names such as Hilton, Best Western, Marriott International, and thus places the ethical dimension of the company's business in parallel with its economic policy.

“We are inviting hotels and all the companies that use eggs in their supply chain to contact us for more information on how to offer their guests even more valuable services - an awareness that sustainable and socially responsible business is the only acceptable business in the 21st century,” said Zrinka Kosta of the Pobjeda Association.

In social, ethical and environmental terms, raising animal welfare standards is becoming an increasingly visible component of CSR in the 21st century. Intending to make this part of the socially responsible practices of Croatian companies, the Pobjeda Association, a Croatian association for the protection and promotion of animal rights, has joined the global coalition of cage-free eggs - or the Open Wing Alliance - and is actively working to inform companies and the public.

This kind of public commitment is part of corporate social responsibility and many of the world's leading companies such as Nestle, Danone, Unilever, McDonald's, Burger King, Tesco, Aldi, Metro C&C, Lidl, Barilla, Mars have incorporated a cage-free statement into their responsible business policies.

“We believe that choosing a more socially acceptable business practice for both animals and the expectations of the clients who support them is a very desirable determinant of ethical business operations in the 21st century. In cooperation with companies, we also work steadily on the largest political campaign for animals used in the food industry - the European Citizens' Initiative 'End The Cage Age', whose ultimate goal is to ban cage breeding. By combining the takeover of the cage-free business model and political lobbying in the EU Parliament, we will surely reach that goal,” concludes Kosta.

It is clear that any such initiative is an opportunity for OPGs from the continent and small breeders who can reach customers through clusters as the need for free-range eggs will increase thanks to such initiatives. A good example is the Agro-cluster of Vukovar-Srijem County, which brands free-range eggs and offers cooperation with the tourism sector.

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February 13, 2020 - Hajduk Split has announced a vibrant program for its 109th birthday, which is celebrated on February 13. 

Slobodna Dalmacija reports that the club made every effort to mark the birthday with dignity, and to bring together the Hajduk family in large numbers as appropriate. On this occasion, the Hajduk Interpretation Center and the Poljud Museum project will be presented.

Hajduk’s 109th birthday will also mark the 75th anniversary of Hajduk’s official honor by the Free France sports team. It will also mark a quarter-century since Hajduk’s first team was received by Pope John Paul the Second (1995).

The centerpiece of the celebration will begin at noon. The book "Hajduk and the World" will be promoted in the cinema hall of Poljud stadium. The book is authored by the club chronicler Jurica Gizdić. At the same place, the Hajduk Interpretation Center and the Poljud Museum will be presented.

Another showcase will open in honor of the legendary footballer and club official Dr. Šime Poduje. The Vis native was one of the most deserving people in the rebuilding of the club in 1944 as HŠK Hajduk. He played 226 games for Hajduk and scored 87 goals. He was a member of the 1927 and 1929 Hajduk championship teams.

At 9 am, a mass was held at St. Anthony's Church at Poljud for all the deceased players, coaches, fans, officials and members of the club.

Thereafter, wreaths were laid for all fans and members of the club in the Homeland War at the northern stand of the Poljud stadium, and at 10:30 am for all the deceased footballers at the Hajduk grave at Lovrinac Cemetery.

Program

9:00 - Holy Mass in the Church of St. Anthony at Poljud for deceased players, coaches, fans, officials and club members

9:45 - Wreaths in the northern stand for fans and club members killed in Homeland War

10:30- Wreaths for all deceased footballers at Hajduk's grave at Lovrinac Cemetery

12:00 - Promotion of the book "Hajduk and the World", by Jurica Gizdić and presentation of the Hajduk Interpretation Center and the Poljud Museum, both in the cinema hall at Poljud

13:15 - Showcase opening of the legendary footballer and official Dr. Šime Poduje in the trophy salon of the senior team

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February 13, 2020 - The products of Vrgorac will soon receive the unique designation label, “Vrgorac Quality”, the City of Vrgorac announced on Wednesday. 

Dalmacija Danas reports that this will thus differentiate Vrgorac products from its competitors, raise and maintain product quality, and stimulate sales in the local, regional and national markets.

“This will be one of the most significant projects for our agriculture. In today's competitive market, communication is becoming an increasingly important factor for a successful business. When it comes to agri-food products and services in rural tourism, the emphasis is on networking supply, creating common labels, and joint promotional activities. For a year, we worked on a project to help our farmers.

Agricultural production is highly developed in the town of Vrgorac, with the most important products being strawberries, prosciutto, wine, peaches, nectarines, grapes, table grapes, vegetables and honey. We are among the leading areas in Croatia for grapevines, prosciutto, strawberries, and table grapes. One way to increase the mutual knowledge and value of these products is to create a recognizable brand.

The purpose of the label is to differentiate these products from competitors, to raise and retain the quality of these products, and to encourage the sale of these products in the local, regional and national markets.

Our quality mark will be protected by the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Croatia as a figurative trademark owned by the City of Vrgorac, which in accordance with the prescribed procedure (Rulebook and contract on the right to use the quality mark) will give interested manufacturers the right to use the label. The quality label will be able to be used on product packaging and labels, and promotional materials. Every OPG that meets the criteria gets the label, and the OPG number will be visible at the end of the label.

The quality label, in the first phase, will be awarded to the following categories of agri-food products:

• Strawberries and other strawberry products;

• fresh fruits and vegetables and other products resulting from the processing of fruits and vegetables;

• honey and other bee products;

• wine and other grape and wine products in accordance with the Law and the Ordinance on wine

We will soon present this project in detail with a public presentation, which is in cooperation with our agricultural associations, agricultural advisers and the Tourist Board, i.e., members of the Commission."

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As Morski writes on the 12th of February, 2020, Croatian MEP Tonino Picula has been shortlisted for a prestigious MEP Award, known as the "EU Oscar", which is awarded to the best MEPs in certain categories. MEP Tonino Picula was nominated among the top three candidates for the Energy Award.

''I'm extremely honoured with this nomination as it's a great recognition of my many years of work. But this is first and foremost a tribute to the European islanders who have recognised the energy transition as a priority and made my initiative a success! I look forward to continuing to work on the energy transition of the islands, which already serve as one of the roadmaps of Europe's most important project for decades to come, the European Green Plan,'' said MEP Tonino Picula about the nomination.

One of MEP Tonino Picula's priorities was to include geographically vulnerable areas in European policies. That is why, back in 2016, he proposed a preparatory action plan and submitted an amendment to the EU budget, which provided 2 million euros.

This resulted in the creation of a Clean Energy Initiative for the EU islands. The initiative has involved more than 40 island communities across Europe to date in the Secretariat projects, and with the new amendment, Picula has secured an extra million euros from the budget for their work in 2020. The success of the initiative has also been confirmed by the European Commission, who has listed it in the European Green Deal.

Seeing in practice a positive outcome for the EU islands, Croatian MEP Tonino Picula suggested another successful initiative to extend a similar concept to a clean energy transition in rural areas, with another 1 million euros from this year's EU budget under preparation.

Following his successful Vice-Presidential term, Picula was elected President of the SEARICA Inter-Group for Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas (SEARICA), which brings together 114 MEPs from as many as 24 EU member states.

MEP Tonino Picula continues to work towards achieving the goals of an energy transition that will not leave anyone out and that will take special care of vulnerable environments.

The decision on the nominations was made by a jury of Parliament Magazine, and the winner will be announced on Monday, February the 17th, 2020.

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They thought they knew how to run a country, and they couldn't even run their own companies... Slobodna Dalmacija has compiled an interesting list of Croatian politicians who failed as entrepreneurs, with some exceptions...

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 12th of February, 2020, Nikica Valentic is considered one of the most successful Croatian prime ministers, as Anita Belak Krile writes for Slobodna Dalmacija.

He led the Croatian Government through some difficult times, inflation was halted during his mandate and the kuna was introduced, the Croatian Armed Forces was put into action for liberation operations, and 650,000 refugees and displaced persons were taken care of.

But when he stepped into private waters and started his own business, things took a dramatic turn for the worse. His business empire went almost completely down the proverbial toilet.

According to a report this week, the bankruptcy trustee of Nive Engineering (a company founded by Niva d.d. and headed by former Prime Minister Nikica Valentic) was handed over to the Zagreb Commercial Court, 99 properties have been sold so far, as well as failed companies from which creditors claimed as much as 130 million kuna.

The selling of real estate via the courts just a continuation of the collapse of that particular business empire that has been going on for years.

When he retired from politics at the end of 1995, Valentic started a business importing Malaysian Proton cars and an insurance company, but this soon failed. He then moved to real estate, building attractive residential complexes in desirable locations in Zagreb. For a while, business was going well, but with the arrival of the economic crisis, this also started to go downhill.

Year after year, the company recorded large losses, and accounts were constantly being blocked.

Valentic is far from the only high-ranking former Croatian politician who was much better off managing state affairs than his own private ones. Two more ex Croatian politicians, former Minister of the Economy, Goranko Fuzulic, and Radimir Cacic, the first deputy prime minister and former leader of HNS, today the head of the Reformists, also did poorly on the market.

If you can remembe "Magma", "Turbo Limac" and "Turbo Sport", then you'll know what this means. There is no Croatian home where there were no toys or baby clothes from Turbo Limac.

Prior to entering politics, Goranko Fizulic had an enviable entrepreneurial experience. With his wife, Biserka, he created "Magma" d.d. which included the Turbo limac children's empire and then the Turbo sport store. He has been an advocate for brands such as Esprit and Mexx, and in March 2003, Magma International was established over in Hong Kong.

Its revenues exceeded an impressive 1 billion kuna. Then in 2008, it all went downhill with the recession. He went bankrupt and endured two bouts of serious illness. Fizulic was among several former Croatian politicians to be hit badly by the economic crisis, with share prices plummeting from 315 kuna to just 1.2 kuna.

''I went through an extremely difficult period of my life. In addition to the two illnesses, I also experienced business collapse. But in every trouble, a new opportunity must be sought. Now I'm starting over,'' Fizulic said in an interview with Globus.

He admitted that he even considered suicide.

''I didn't want to inflict pain and suffering on my family. I managed to pull myself out of that without medication and doctors,'' he said.

After trying to find his place in the 3D printing industry, he launched the online service “LikeFigures”, but today he is better known to the public as a Telegram columnist.

Radimir Cacic was the construction minister and the first deputy prime minister at a time when motorways were being built across Croatia. Before joining the government and as such a list of Croatian politicians who also had their fingers in the business world, he was a successful entrepreneur, but those times are now long gone.

The backbone of the former Cacic construction and tourism business empire, the company "Coning" d.d., has been in bankruptcy for a year and a half, and just recently the sale of that real estate has been estimated at around 180 million kuna.

The Varazdin Commercial Court announced the sale of the Trakoscan Hotel and the Zelena Punta apartment complex in Kukljica on the island of Ugljan, both owned by "Coning" d.d., now in bankruptcy.

Politics in Croatia was often the entry visa for entry into the often harsh world of business and entrepreneurship, but there were also those Croatian politicians who did things in reverse, such as Zeljko Kerum.

Most of the former Croatian politicians and other officials who didn't end up in prison like Ivo Sanader, or who are not awaiting trial like Nadan Vidosevic, are doing consultancy work today, or have thrown themselves into the well-paid banking sector, or even better, the golden haunches - sports organisations, such as Croatian Olympic Committee (Zlatko Matesa).

Former Croatian politicians include those who live well today, although their first steps in entrepreneurship were a complete failure. One of those is Dr. Franjo Tudjman's former adviser, Ivic Pasalic, a general practitioner who, after leaving politics, began getting involved in the construction business. For a long time he was unsuccessful, and as quickly as any business was started, it failed just as quickly.

However, lately, since turning to the development of furniture design, things have improved. His company, Mundus Viridis, received the prestigious Red Dot Design Award in the home furniture category last year.

For more on Croatian politicians-come-entrepreneurs, follow our politics and business pages.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 12th of February, 2020, despite the 8.3 percent rise in the Croatian minimum wage in 2020, Croatia is increasingly sinking the Eurostat rankings that monitor the movement of guaranteed wages across Europe. With a gross minimum wage of 546 euros, Croatia remains better than Hungary and Romania, but most of the newer member states of the European Union have surpassed the country.

The minimum wage is prescribed in 21 of the 27 countries within the European Union and varies significantly from country to country, depending on development, standard of living and social sensitivity.

Minimum wages are expressed in gross amounts and countries with a prescribed minimum can be divided into three groups. In the first group, which includes Croatia, countries with minimum wages go up to 700 euros. Bulgaria is at the forefront with a minimum wage of 312 euros, with Poland being the best, with workers being guaranteed a wage of at least 611 euros, according to tportal.

In the past few years, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia and Lithuania have skipped past the Croatian minimum wage.

The Croatian minimum wage is in the middle, but until recently it was at the top of this group. In addition to Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia and Lithuania have also skipped past Croatia over the last few years.

There are six EU countries in the ''golden group'' with a minimum of between € 700 and € 1,400. On the lower border is Portugal with 741 euros and on the top is Spain with 1050 euros. The only transition country to break into this group is Croatia's nothern neighbour - Slovenia, where the minimum wage has reached 941 euros.

In the third group are six rich countries from the north and west of the European Union, in which the minimum exceeds 1,400 euros. France is at the bottom with 1,539 euros and Luxembourg is in front, with a guaranteed minimum wage of 2142 euros, which is almost twice the average Croatian salary.

Eurostat also monitors the movement of the American minimum wage, which currently stands at the equivalent of 1,119 euros and is close to that of Spain.

The highest minimum wage in the European Union was almost seven times higher than the lowest minimum wage, but the range is smaller when one considers purchasing power. Namely, minimum wages in EU member states with lower price levels become relatively higher when the purchasing power standard (PPS) is expressed, and they are relatively lower in member states with higher price levels.

By eliminating price differences, minimum wages range from 579 euros in Bulgaria to 1705 euros in Luxembourg, which means that the highest minimum is about three times the lowest minimum.

Given that there are differing practices across European countries in setting guaranteed wages, the European Commission has recently launched an initiative to create uniform criteria that would serve to set the statutory minimum wage.

The idea is that it amounts to at least 60 percent of the median salary in a particular country. However, this proposal has encountered resistance in the Scandinavian countries, which are reluctant to administratively fix minimum incomes.

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February 12, 2020 - The Croatia national football team will open June with a friendly match against Turkey in Osijek as part of their preparations for the European Championship.

Gol.hr reports that while waiting for confirmation of the two friendly matches that the 2018 World Cup finalists will play in March, the Croatian Football Federation has confirmed the first of two friendly games to be played in June.

Namely, on June 1, just before the Euro 2020 begins, Croatia will welcome Turkey at the City Garden Stadium for their first friendly preparatory match. Turkey will also play at the Euros and is currently the 29th best national team in the world in the FIFA rankings.

The second friendly match before the start of the European Championship should be played on June 8 in Nice against France, though we are still waiting for the official confirmation of that match.

The meeting between Croatia and Turkey in Osijek will be the tenth jubilee match between these two teams. Several of these meetings are very memorable.

At the Euros in 1996, it was Turkey that was Croatia's historic first opponent in major competitions, and thanks to Goran Vlaovic's goal, it also became the first Croatia win. Croatia also beat Turkey 1:0 at the Euro 2016 with a brilliant goal by Luka Modric, and we certainly remember playing Turkey in the Euro 2012 qualifiers, with a glorious 3:0 victory in Istanbul.

On the other hand, we still cannot forget that Euro 2008 match when Turkey celebrated after a dramatic penalty shootout and thus advanced to the tournament semifinal.

Ticket prices and ticket sales for this friendly will be announced at a later date.

Recall, Croatia will play in the European Championship this summer in Group D against England, the Czech Republic, and the playoff winner of Nations League C.

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