Croatia is full of tradition as well as it is full of life, and the sixth Pula Carnival which kicked off this Saturday is no exception to that.

As Glas Istre/Danijela Basic Palkovic writes on the 8th of February, 2020, Pula's citizens and visitors were delighted with the Pula Carnival procession that marched into the City of Pula on Saturday. Vibrant colours, thousands of masked faces, clowns, bells, trolls, superheroes, princesses and more dominated the popular Istrian city's streets - all of them were part of the sixth Pula Carnival, which is getting better and more interesting each and every year.

The Pula Carnival is also heavily supported by numerous residents of the city who came out to watch the procession led by the Pula Majorettes and the Pula City Wind Orchestra. The procession was attended by 27 groups and almost a thousand people in masques who, owing to their apparently endless originality and creativity, evoked cheers and laughter from all those gathered.

"It's good when the masques take over the city," said some of the comments in reference to the Pula Carnival, and it was quite difficult to decide on whose mask was better this year. Those in masks gathered at Veli Vrh and were led by carnival master Damir Pletikos Koroman. The children were most delighted with the colourful trolls, and the already famous bell-ringers, with their distinctive dancing and ringing, justifiably received a standing ovation.

The masquerade groups included groups from Istria, Kvarner, and even neighbouring Slovenia and Italy, all of whom attracted attention with their crazy, creative and above all original costumes. Saturday was perfect for being outdoors thanks to the favourable weather conditions, so the audience was far from lacking. Many people from Pula, from the youngest to the oldest, put on masks and came to the carnival for a dose of fun.

Watch the video of the amazing Pula Carnival below:

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more on events across Croatia.

ZAGREB, February 8, 2020 - President-elect Zoran Milanović on Saturday attended a session of the SDP Main Committee to say goodbye to his soon-to-be former party colleagues, saying that "if the truth were the only election criterion, the SDP would be in power forever."

"Even when we slip, we speak with the best intentions, and it has been so for 30 years. We had governments and people didn't leave those governments nor were they expelled because of corruption scandals, dishonesty, betrayal of the public trust, practically ever. I'd say the choice is simple: the truth, vote for Croatia's left wing, you're on the right track," Milanović said in a closed-door speech which Hina obtained unofficially.

However, that is not so and when you prepare for the parliamentary election, which you have already started to do, keep that in mind, he told the Social Democratic Party members. People vote first and foremost according to their wishes, he added.

"Fight for the truth, and the guarantor of the truth in democracy are three institutions: an independent academia in the broad sense, notably in natural sciences, freed and independent media, and civil society. There's no democracy without that."

Thanking the SDP members for helping him win the presidential election, Milanović said he won "only 100,000 more votes than his opponent, the incumbent president."

In democracy, that is sometimes the fate of the truth. This time it was a good fate, we are successful, we won, we were given the chance to set the rhythm, dynamic and pulse of society and I to do so over the next five years within the limited presidential powers, Milanovic said.

"Over the next five years all those who fight for the truth, for justice, which is a somewhat less tangible phenomenon and notion, will have my support. To fight for those who are weaker is our mission. We are not the Church, we are Social Democrats and we do that by civil means, and that job is full of substance and sense."

Milanović was the presidential candidate of 13 left-liberal parties led by the SDP.

According to unofficial reports, he will leave the party, which he must do under the law, on Monday.

More news about Zoran Milanović can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 8, 2020 - Members of a delegation of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance, who visited Croatia on Friday, say in an interview with Hina that all the EU member-states tacitly accept the violation of migrants' rights at the Croatian border, while Interior Minister Davor Božinović adamantly dismisses any claim about rights' breach.

The three-member delegation on Friday held talks with the Croatian minister Božinović, the public ombudswoman Lora Vidović and activists from civil society associations, and on Saturday they will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina to get an insight into the migration situation along the border between the two countries.

Erik Marquardt, a German member of the European Parliament, told Hina on Friday afternoon that all the EU member-states should be considered responsible for the developments along the Croatia border, and explained that the Green MEP delegation had not arrived in Croatia to blame the Croatian police, explaining that the situation was the result of the pressure from the whole Union.

The countries along the EU borders, including Croatia, Greece or Italy, must deal with the arrivals of migrants, and the responsibility should be shared among other EU member-states, too, however this is not yet the case, Dutch MEP Tineke Strik told Hina. She said that the current treatment of migrants was in the interest of all the EU members.

The delegation said that they had been provided with contradictory statements from the interlocutors in Zagreb. While Minister Božinović denied any case of violation of rights of migrants who are trying to pass through Croatia on their way to the western countries, ombudswoman Vidovic and the activists insisted that testimonies of people indicated violations of the rights of migrants.

Belgian Saskia Bricmont raise the question of "pushbacks" of migrants as problematic.

Minister Božinović informed the delegation that Croatia protected its border in legal way and in parallel it humanely treated all who really needed assistance.

Dismissing any accusations about violence against migrants, and reiterating that those accusations had been directed from the left-wing part of the political spectrum, he also said that the law enforcement authorities investigated every claim about possible illegal treatment of migrants.

MEP Bricmont also added that the European Union had not developed a joint policy of asylum and migrations.

In a similar vein, Minister Božinović aid that Europe had to decide on plans for those people and to remain committed to is principles of humanism and the rule of law.

"All those who give false hopes to migrants about problem-free and illegal passage to Germany, France or Italy, fail to honour the European values and actually act inhumanely, despite their declarative intentions, the Croatian minister said.

There are the 68 MEPs from the Group of Greens in the European Parliament, and they make up approximately 10% of the seats in the EP.

More news about the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 8, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Saturday he would do everything so that in the European Union's next seven-year budget Croatia was given appropriate cohesion funds, which he added were the driver of development and investment.

"We must do everything to get as much as possible now that a big member state, a net contributor, Great Britain, has left the Union," he said in Brussels.

"Alongside Portugal, we are one of those countries in which European funds account for the bulk of public investment. Also, the fact that we have been an EU member state only seven years puts in a special position and I'm sure the colleagues will acknowledge that," Plenković said after talks with European Council President Charles Michel.

They talked as part of preparations for an extraordinary EU-27 summit at which member states' leaders will try to agree the EU's 2021-27 budget. Michel convened the summit for February 20.

Plenković said that when his government took office in 2016, only 9% of the financial envelope for Croatia had been contracted and only 1% paid.

"Today 86% of the funds have been contracted and over 31% paid. That is this government's legacy in the absorption of European funds, which are the driver of agriculture, infrastructure, the economy, equal regional development. We put special emphasis on less developed parts of Croatia such as Slavonia."

Negotiations on the EU's seven-year budgets are always difficult and challenging. This time they are harder because of the departure of the UK, which contributed €12-14 billion to the EU budget. It is also necessary to fund new challenges such as the fight against climate change, migration, and allocations for innovation and digitisation so the EU can keep up with global technological development.

Member states' heads of state or government first have to reach a political agreement on the total budget and the distribution of the funds by sector. This calls for a unanimous decision and reaching a consensus is very difficult.

After leaders reach a consensus, talks begin on legislative acts by sector that are necessary to implement the seven-year budget.

Plenković and Michel also talked about enlargement, negotiations on future relations with the UK, the Conference on the Future of Europe, and the European Green Deal.

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

February 8, 2020 - Bojan Bogdanovic added to his already impressive stats this season with 27 points against the Portland Trail Blazers. 

HRT reports that the Utah Jazz was down by 16 points early in the second half, but achieved a massive turnaround and managed to break their five-game losing streak by defeating Portland 117:114.

Croatian basketball player Bojan Bogdanovic was the best for the Jazz with 27 points, scoring key points in the final moments. Namely, 52 seconds before the final buzzer, at 112:112, he scored for the Jazz lead, and a few seconds before the end, he hit one of two free throws for the final score. In addition to 27 points, he also recorded four rebounds, two steals and an assist.

?| Bojan with a team-high 27 points ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/JPPLkuTdbK

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 8, 2020

French center Rudy Gobert booked 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Mike Conley scored 18 points for the Jazz.

In almost 27 minutes on the court, Mario Hezonja scored 11 points with six rebounds and three steals for the Trail Blazers. Portland was led by Damian Lillard, who scored 42 points, six rebounds and six assists. However, he was anything but pleased after the game.

“The referees hijacked this win from us,” said Portland's best player, referring to the basket at the end of the game when Gobert blocked the ball for a Jazz lead of 116:114.

“That was a clean situation. Three refs are on the court and none of them saw it. They cost us victories. We are fighting for the playoffs and every win is important to us. We did our best to come up with a tough away win, and they stole it from us.

The whole match I was hit, sometimes I was guarded by three guys, they pulled me, pushed me and I only make three free throws in the game. And then they still make a mistake in a clean situation at the end of the game. Shouldn't we say something about it? Of course, we have to speak, because they cost us victories,” Lillard concluded.

Gobert also acknowledged the error of the judges.

“I did what I could to stop him. It can be seen in the video, he was honest.”

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

A brand new tourist attraction is set to enrich the already impressive tourist offer of the bustling Croatian capital city of Zagreb - in the form of no less than tanks.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 8th of February, 2020, when the Croatian team from Iron Bull, full of impressions and important contacts from Las Vegas, returned to Zagreb, they announced that they wanted to open their first ''tank game room'' in Croatia in an interview with Zimo. Their plans for the attraction in the Croatian capital city are moving in the right direction, and at this week's Bug Future Show new information about the was learned, as well as their plans to expand to international markets.

In an interview with Zimo, Ante Medic from Iron Bull revealed when and where they plan to launch their first tank game room and that if their plans come to fruition, the Croatian capital could get the new attraction in the second half of this year.

''Now that we're back from CES, the process of the further development for our company is such that we're opening the first prototype game room in Zagreb. We hope that this will be in the area of ​​the Zagreb Fair (Velesajam). Some 300 squares metres will be taken up by the game room, of which 250 square metres will be a map where the tanks can be used. Up to some 12 to 16 tanks at a time, with two people per tank. The idea is to do the soft opening sometime by July and a full launch in September,'' they stated.

The tank game room seems to be an ideal place not only for fans of World of Tanks and tanks in general, but for anyone willing to try their hand at real tank battles, not on a computer screen, but in reality. Such a game room could certainly improve the tourist offer of the Croatian capital.

''Each tank is designed to be operated by two players, so some teamwork is implied. You have to be an effective crew, which means developing a skillset that kind of evolves over time. Each tank has two cameras, one for the driver and one that controls the firing mechanism. The tank also has a network of sensors that recognise when bullets hit the tank,'' said Ante when describing how controlling and fighting in the tanks works.

The Croatian capital is merely the first step in Iron Bull's global plans because, after Zagreb, similar game rooms could be opened in some cities abroad. Firstly, they want to get enough people interested who are ready to take this franchise concept to other countries.

''We'd love to have at least five international locations in a year, starting in Europe, and then of course expand to other markets like North America, India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia... So, there are really good and interesting markets for us,'' they stated.

The interest in their product is promising and will probably exceeded the initial expectations of the Iron Bull team. Their experience, as well as the popularity of video games like World of Tanks, has shown that there are a lot of fans of tanks and tank fighting, and there's little to no doubt that they would all like to replace virtual fights with real ones in Iron Bull game rooms.

Make sure to follow our dedicated Made in Croatia, lifestyle and travel pages for more. If it's just Zagreb you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow or check out our dedicated Zagreb in a Page for all you need to know about the Croatian capital city.

As Novac/Frenki Lausic writes on the 8th of February, 2020, at the same time as talks on the increase in excise duties on non-alcoholic beverages and cigarettes are going on, the Ministry of Finance is also negotiating with companies in the alcoholic beverage industry. According to unofficial information, the tax administration's working proposal is to increase these excise duties by about 30 percent, starting in early May, which will see alcohol prices in Croatia rise.

Novac's sources didn't want to talk in more detail about the proposal put before them by the aforementioned ministry, but that they would see prices in Croatia rise, making a litre bottle of Pelinkovac for example increase from 100 kuna to 104 kuna.

When asked if more specific information about how much excise duties would increase depending on the alcohol content - because there are different excise duties for different alcoholic beverages, meaning the excise duty or calculation on alcoholic beverages over 1.2 percent is not the same for drinks with alcohol content of over 22 percent - the response was that only information that the initial proposal of the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Administration was available. That information foresees, as stated, an average increase in excise duties of about 30 percent.

The Croatian Employers Association (HUP and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) have declined to comment on this topic so far and have claimed that there is no official proposal from the Ministry of Finance.

However, Novac's sources in the beverage industry have pointed out that several working group meetings have been held, and at these meetings, the Ministry of Finance has proposed an increase in excise duty of about 30 percent. It is somewhat understandable why HUP, HGK, but also the alcoholic beverage producers don't want to come forward with more detailed information on the current proposals, because there is an agreement not to release the information to the public before a final decision is reached.

However, some of Novac's interlocutors are from the beverage industry, and the situation was similar with the working group for increasing excise duties on non-alcoholic beverages. They believe that the Ministry of Finance wants to raise excise duties as much as possible with as little media attention and public noise as possible. So, just after Jutarnji list announced that excise duties on sugar in soft drinks will be increased by an average of 100 percent, and for Red Bull by as much as 1450 percent, the Ministry of Finance softened its first proposal for alcohol prices in Croatia to rise, Novac was unofficially informed.

The Ministry of Finance had suggested that the linear taxation of 30 kuna per hectolitre should still be maintained, although industry representatives had had it announced to them that they would abolish this provision (so far this had amounted to 40 kuna per hectolitre) and that strong taxation should be introduced based on the taurine and methyl-xanthine content.

The beverage producers then demanded that linear taxation per hectolitre be abolished and that the content of additional sugar, taurine and methyl-xanthine be taxed at a rate of 10 percent for those beverages that have those amounts below five grams per 100 millilitres, at a rate of 20 percent at a share of five to eight grams, and at a rate of 50 percent to a share of over eight grams.

In further talks, the Ministry agreed to reduce linear taxation to 20 kuna per hectolitre, which means that, for example, excise duties on a bottle of Coca-Cola would rise by 100 percent instead of 120 percent. These negotiations are still under way, so further adjustments are possible, but the excise duty on tobacco will still, as things stand, become more expensive, so a box of cigarettes will be two kuna more expensive.

Industries who supply non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and tobacco are aware that there will be an increase in excise duties, but much milder, especially for non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages. All of them point out that the increase in excise duties will shift to consumers.

Yesterday, the taxpayers' association Lipa (Udruga Lipa) responded in a statement against the increase in excise duties on soft drinks and tobacco, saying they oppose a re-increase in the tax burden, which they say is the sole aim of patching up the budget deficit caused by the non-implementation of reforms and Croatia's signature non-transparency.

They note that they believe that the Croatian Government will increase the overall tax burden with these regulations, but that the money raised is not intended to be spent on improving the health sector, but that it "serves to patch up the budget deficit."

"Although the Ministry will refer to an EU Directive, it should be noted that the EU continually recommends that Croatia implement reforms in all parts of the public sector, and these recommendations are largely ignored," Udruga Lipa said in a clarification of their position.

For more on prices in Croatia, follow our lifestyle and politics pages.

ZAGREB, February 8, 2020 - The spokesman for Andrej Plenković's campaign for intra-party elections of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) confirmed on Friday that apart from Plenković, who is running for top position in the party leader, War Veterans' Affairs Minister Tomo Medved would be the nominee for the party's deputy leader.

The other nominees for four vice president positions are Transport Minister Oleg Butković, Foreign Ministry's State Secretary Zdravka Bušić, HDZ whiip, Branko Bačić, and Osijek-Baranja County Prefect Ivan Anušić.

The new leadership will be elected in line with one member, one vote principle on 15 March. If a second round of the election will be necessary, it will be held on 22 March.

Spokesman for Plenković's team, Davor Božinović, said on Friday that the members of the team led by Plenković had proven themselves in their professional and political life.

He is also confident that the HDZ and the government could continue to be successful under Plenković's leadership.

Presidential hopefuls are supposed to collect over 10,000 signatures from HDZ members in the period from 10 to 28 February, or 5% of the total number of members. There are some 210,000 registered members of this the largest political party in the country.

In late January, HDZ parliamentarians Miro Kovač, and Davor Ivo Stier, who used to be foreign ministers, as well as Vukovar Mayor Ivan Penava confirmed at a joint news conference that that they would run in the forthcoming party elections as a team. Kovač and Penava will be contesting for the party's leader and deputy leader, while Stier said he would run for one of the four positions of vice presidents.

Medved, who is running for the position of the HDZ deputy leader, said today that Plenković's team had prepared an integrated and affirmative programme for the serious and responsible polices for running Croatia.

"The team will win these (intra-party) elections and the parliamentary elections next autumn."

An important element in Plenković's team that it is clearly reflected, is that the Homeland War and Croatian veterans are the strongest foundation of the independent and sovereign Croatia and in that light, I will play a great role, said Medved.

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.