February 5, 2020 - The Japanese Foreign Minister has recognized the Zadar Tourist Board for its contribution to connecting Croatia and Japan through the "Tuna, Sushi & Wine Festival", which has been held in Zadar since 2015. 

Namely,  Dalmacija Danas reports that the Japanese Ambassador to Croatia, Her Excellency Misako Kaji, presented the Zadar Tourist Board director, Mario Paleka, with the award at a ceremony at the Rector's Palace in Zadar on Tuesday.

Before the award was presented, a short documentary on the five years of the "Tuna, Sushi & Wine Festival" was screened.

In her address, Ambassador Kaji emphasized that this recognition by the Japanese Foreign Minister is given to individuals and organizations for their contribution to the advancement of Japan and other countries. She called the "Tuna, Sushi & Wine Festival" a "distinctive sign of Zadar in the spring" and emphasized:

"Tuna from Croatia is very well received and appreciated in Japan as a valuable ingredient of sushi, accounting for half of Croatia's exports to Japan, and the Festival brought Japan and Croatia closer to Zadar, bringing the Japanese culture closer to these areas. That is why I believe that the "Tuna, Sushi & Wine Festival" will continue to be organized in Zadar," Misako said, adding that some Croatian wines also found their place in the Japanese market.

Filip Brala/TZG Zadar

Zadar Tourist Board director Mario Paleka also thanked the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs for the award. 

"This recognition confirms the importance and value of the Festival and the efforts of the Zadar Tourist Board. The basic prerequisite for the development of such a project is cooperation at all levels, from local, national and international. The festival, among other things, was a finalist last year in the selection for the Tourism Event of the Year at the Days of Croatian Tourism, all of which confirms the long-term thinking of my predecessors Messrs. Supa and Rados to create, expand and enhance the Festival," said Paleka. He added that this recognition obliges the organization of even more content and attractive festivals and the continuation of cooperation between Japan and Croatia, with an emphasis on Zadar.

Zadar Mayor Branko Dukic was also thankful for the valuable recognition:

"Tuna connected Zadar and Japan, many business relationships were created through the tuna and the Festival, and these relationships grew into a lasting friendship."

The awards ceremony was attended by Ines Stranja, Member of Parliament and President of the Inter-Parliamentary Croatian-Japanese Friendship Group; Head of Sector for Eurasia, Eastern Partnership, Asia and Oceania at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Drazen Margeta; Ivan Vodopivec, Honorary Consul of Japan in Split; Zadar Mayor Branko Dukić; Zadar Chamber of Commerce President Dario Jurin; president and CEO of "Kali Tuna" Jiro Kamba; Director of the Zadar County Tourist Board Mihaela Kadija and representatives of other Zadar tuna companies.

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The shipbuilding industry in Split has not left its company Brodosplit - Diesel Engine Factory (TDM) to go bankrupt, marking a much needed positive outcome for the otherwise enfeebled Croatian shipbuilding industry.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes on the 4th of February, 2020, the decision to save Brodosplit's diesel engine factory has been set in stone, and according to the company, they have big plans for it. The Commercial Court in Split has confirmed the large company's status as successful.

In line with their commitment to preserving all segments of Brodosplit, the profession and the knowledge acquired in recent decades, and especially the Diesel Engine Factory, Brodosplit states that they have serious plans for the factory, and this is also evidenced by the Commercial Court's decision rejecting the bankruptcy petition and continuing with the company.

They recall that their factory has been producing four-stroke and two-stroke engines under the license of MAN Diesel & Turbo for several decades now, producing more than 180 identical "machines". The production of electronically controlled motors for the last decade represents the very top of technological achievements in this field and they can, in the future, be handled equally by all international marine engine manufacturers.

"However, because of unfair Far Eastern competition that can count on near-endless funding sources, its sustainability has logically been called into question. Nevertheless, our plan is to produce two-stroke LNG engines and motor fuels, the cleanest and most environmentally friendly fossil fuel, and four-stroke auxiliaries. Dual fuel engines will continue to be built in Brodosplit,'' they say.

Thus, the procedure was suspended in order to determine the preconditions for opening bankruptcy proceedings against TDM, initiated upon Fina's proposal three months ago due to a debt of 840,000 kuna, and part of the blockade was already reduced in December.

The court's decision means that this large company is a solvent company, so its statement of access to debt - judged credible and approved by a court - provides creditors with a strong sense of security in terms of securing their claims, within short legal and court deadlines which have been set.

There are several creditors with claims, with the exception of Croatia Osiguranje (Insurance), which alone claims around 500,000 kuna. The statement of access to the debt of January the 29th, 2020, was certified by a notary public, so Brodosplit, in addition to the debtor, undertook the obligation of fulfilling all the obligations of the bankruptcy debtor within two months of the issuance of that court decision.

The Commercial Court states that Brodosplit is classified as a large company with a general liquidity ratio of 0.49 (others of the same size have an average coefficient of 0.26), a coefficient of 1.04 of the ratio of total revenue and expenses (others of the same size have an average of 0.51), and 3.88 percent of profit share in total revenue.

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As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 4th of February, 2020, the Arena Hospitality Group confirmed on Tuesday that their latest investment, which will be in a new Zagreb hotel, will be located in Amruseva street, confirming unofficial information which has been circulating since last week.

As is already known, the Arena Hospitality Group, owned by the Dutch PPHE Group, announced on Thursday that it is investing in a luxury hotel in the historic part of the City of Zagreb. Since then, it has been unofficially learned that the facility is being rented by the Jewish Community of Zagreb.

"We plan to open a modern, upscale five-star hotel in Amruseva street with approximately 120 rooms, meeting rooms, a wellness centre and a restaurant. The architectural project is under construction and the total investment will be known soon, as will as brand under which the hotel will operate,'' they stated from the Arena Hospitality Group when discussing their new Zagreb hotel investment, noting that they will soon be able to reveal more and offer a clearer picture.

In addition to their impressive Croatian portfolio in Pula, which will be joined by the new Zagreb hotel in about two years' time, PPHE Hotel Group has hotels across Europe in some of the continent's most popular cities, including Berlin, Budapest, London, Utrecht and Amsterdam, operating under the desirable Park Plaza and Art'otel brand. They recently announced the opening of another new hotel in Europe, more precisely in London and one much further afield, across the Atlantic in New York.

Last spring, they opened the Holmes Hotel in the City of London, followed by the opening of the Park Plaza Vondelpark Hotel in Amsterdam in the autumn, in which they invested a massive 10 million euros, six million euros was invested in the renovation of the Park Plaza Hotel in Utrecht.

In addition to the new Zagreb hotel, the opening of Art'otel London Hoxton in the United Kingdom will be announced in 2023, which it will manage itself, and a project is underway in New York.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 4th of February, 2020, the Zagreb Police Department has announced that with regard to two fatalities which occurred in traffic accidents this weekend in the area for which the Zagreb Police Department is responsible, enforcement will be stepped up.

In Samobor, a 20-year-old driver was tragically killed on the road, and in Zagreb, more precisely on Jadranska avenija (Adriatic avenue) a motorcyclist was killed. As such, the Zagreb Police Department have readily announced upcoming repressive measures on the roads.

Accordingly, it has been pointed out that back in 2015, and in particular in 2019, the main quantitative objective of the National Road Safety Program 2011-2020 was reached, according to which, in the period from 2011 to 2020, the number of people killed in road accidents should have been halved when compared to back in 2010.
 
In 2019, in the area over which the Zagreb Police Department is responsible, a positive trend of increasing road safety continued, which was established in 2018 when 55 people sadly died, and in 2019, 38 people were killed in traffic accidents. While still tragic, the number is much lower.
 
In almost all traffic accidents involving persons killed, the cause is either breaking the speed limit, which is often directly related to driving with a blood alcohol level which is over the limit, and also the illicit use of mobile phones and other handheld electronic devices by drivers. Not wearing a seabelt tends to exaggerate the consequences of such accidents, as it does with the loss of life incurred.
 
Furthermore, given the high proportion of pedestrians injured in road traffic accents, it's worth noting that the most common driver errors are once again speeding, while the most common pedestrian errors are the improper crossing of the road by not using the pedestrian crossing or continuing to cross when the ''little green man'' has turned red again.
 
For this reason, intensive measures will be taken by the Zagreb Police Department in the upcoming period with the aim of increasing the overall road safety situation. The measures will be aimed at reducing the number of misdemeanors that most often lead to traffic accidents with the most serious consequences, ie, to the so-called "four killers on the road'' - alcohol, speed, mobile phone usage and not wearing a seatbelt.

The Zagreb Police Department has noted that alongside the four aforementioned points, they will also be watching closely for any other traffic misdemeanors.

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From social and more basic economic questions to the worry of it potentially damaging Croatian tourism, the country's most precious and strongest economic branch, opinion is divided when it comes to the proposal to restrict shops doing business on Sundays.

As Novac/Adriano Milovan writes on the 4th of February, 2020, not even several rounds of talks by those in the retail industry who gathered at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce have succeeded in establishing a common position on the proposal by Economy Minister Darko Horvat to restrict shops doing business on Sundays.

While some support limiting work on Sundays, there are traders on the other side of the trench who staunchly oppose such an idea. Regardless of the gap between the traders themselves, Horvat is going further forward with his proposal.

It isn't only traders and those working in retail are deeply divided on this issue: a similar division exists among economists who otherwise have little to do with that field. However, most of the economists Novac interviewed felt that such a move would be questionable from the point of view of constitutionality, and that it would have major consequences for both trade, industry and the Croatian economy as a whole.

It should be noted that the Croatian tourism industry, which is by far the country's strongest economic branch, generates one fifth of all Croatian economic activity, and that trade is a significant wheel in the ''cog'' of the Croatian economic mechanism. Furthermore, both Croatian tourism and commerce employ a huge number of people. In other words, as some experts have warned, closing shop doors on Sundays would be a real gamble with the Croatian economy as a whole.

''There are certainly pros and cons to this issue. But as a tourist country, we also need to have our shops open on Sundays. I think that the decision should be made by the employers themselves, with the inspections monitoring whether or not they fulfill their obligations to their workers,'' says Dragutin Ranogajec, president of the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (HOK).

He added that warnings had already arrived from major shopping centres that restricting or entirely banning work on Sundays would have a negative impact on their businesses. But, as he notes, small shops, which would face lower incomes, would also suffer significant damage.

''Every kuna is very important to them,'' Ranogajec points out.

The big question is also what limiting shops working on Sundays would bring to Croatian tourism, as the majority of Croatia's foreign guests, as Sanda Corak, scientific adviser at the Institute for Tourism, says, are made up of tourists staying in private accommodation and on campsites.

''There is a ban on shops opening on Sundays in other tourist countries. However, if private accommodation prevails in tourism, as is the case with Croatian tourism, then this can be a huge problem because these tourists really need those shops,'' Corak says. They need the shops to remain open much more than people staying in hotels do. She added that Croatia has a relatively small share of guests staying in hotels and those in apartments and camps tend to dominate the Croatian tourism sector.

''Such a measure, in circumstances such as ours, would certainly bring a drop in turnover in shops and in Croatian tourism, or a drop in consumption,'' fears Corak.

Predrag Bejakovic of the Institute of Public Finance also opposes the restriction or prohibition of shops working on Sundays. Bejakovic points out that it would be very difficult to explain why one activity is restricted or prohibited, while others, such as restaurants or cafes, can continue to work smoothly on Sundays. The consequences, he fears, could be even more severe than they may seem at first glance.

''Some of the shops would have to reduce their number of workers due to less traffic. In addition, because of a lower turnover, it's more difficult to expect traders to raise wages. Economic growth would probably slow down a bit, too,'' Bejakovic fears.

He points out that the state prohibits by decree the work of certain activities on certain days. Instead, he says, he should insist that workers are paid fairly on Sundays.

Decisions to ban Sunday trading should not be made without a quality analysis, which is currently lacking, said Zeljko Lovrincevic of the Zagreb Institute of Economics. He added that there is neither a simple nor a unique solution, given that the situation is not only different between countries but also within Croatia itself.

''Such decisions should be left to the local self-government units because the situation in Baranja or Dubrovnik just isn't the same. Local self-government units will be the ones to best evaluate whether shops in their area should be open on Sundays or not,'' says Lovrincevic.

He also warns that Croatia is full of specifics. For example, when making such a decision, the traffic of passengers will have to be taken into account as Croatia is a transit country and the traffic of passengers is strongest on the weekends.

Furthermore, it is important whether customers have alternative "shopping sources": in Croatia, given the shape and proximity of its borders, they have open shops in neighbouring countries, especially in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Therefore, the restriction or ban on work on Sundays could result in an outflow of demand from Croatian customers to surrounding countries.

In other words, our customers could once again be helping to bolster neighbouring countries' economies, at a time when Croatia is finally starting to attract customers from overseas. Finally, there is the question of the moment when such proposals come.

''I think it's better to think about the growth of compensation for forms of work such as work on Sundays than it is to restrict work, especially because we lack the workforce and because Croatian tourism is strong. If one wants to work on Sundays and pay their workers 50 percent or more for that, then one should be allowed to work. It's up to the state to create a framework for work,'' said Lovrincevic, who believes that compensation for working outside regular working hours could be increased.

In the end, he adds, it's a sociological issue. Shopping malls have also become places for people to go and hang out on weekends, so bans in that area could also negatively affect people's habits. Nevertheless, some macroeconomists believe that restricting work on Sundays would not necessarily have a negative impact on the Croatian economy.

''Purchase power doesn't depend on working hours but on income. In Croatia, working on Sundays will not significantly increase the income of these traders, and it has negative consequences in the segment of family and social development. Therefore, my suggestion is not to work on Saturday afternoons and Sundays, with shops open until 10pm on Thursdays,'' concludes Ljubo Jurcic from the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb.

A quick look at the arguments from both sides:

1) Reasons against Sunday restrictions on shops:

- The question is whether such a move would even pass the constitutionality test

- Most tourists in Croatia stay in private accommodation and campsites and are connected to shops

- Croatia is a transit country and many who go through it also buy things in its stores, especially on weekends

- Part of the traffic in the stores will flow from Croatia to the neighbouring countries

2) Reasons for Sunday restrictions on shops:

- Shopping in stores does not depend on their opening hours but on people's disposable income

- Trade unions advocate restricting Sunday shops

- Trade is not an activity that must be done on Sundays

- Labour shortages are present in stores as well

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February 4, 2020 - 'Green Mind - transnational integration of innovative entrepreneurs' is the name of a conference held on Tuesday at the premises of ICT Counties, that is, at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in Split.

Dalmatinski Portal writes that the conference was part of the Green Mind project co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg MED program, which aims to develop economic competitiveness and innovation in the green and start mobility industry by enhancing regional and transnational cooperation between businesses, research bodies and authorities. The total value of the two-year project, which ends at the end of July 2020, is 1,298,000 euro, and the share of Split-Dalmatia County as a partner amounts to 151,000 euro.

“We are in the final phase of a project that needs to be capitalized through a transnational innovation network and that aims to showcase eight pilot areas and eight pilot services specifically designed for SMEs involved in the smart and green mobility sector,” said Martin Bucan, project manager for the Green Mind project in Split-Dalmatia County, adding that it is a sector that contributes to reducing CO2 emissions and influencing climate change.

Split-Dalmatia County, as a project partner, organized this transnational event, bringing together small and medium-sized enterprises interested in participating in the future of mobility to obtain free support from project partners and external experts; testing pilot services to better understand the green and smart mobility market and to take advantage of these business opportunities; assistance in finding public funding for their projects; and B2B matchmaking to find the right project partners, as well as supporting the integration of the local cluster and the transnational network.

According to Bucan, some 30 companies participated in the Green Mind project, and seven of them showed interest in participating in this pilot project. After the analysis, all publicly available financing was found for them, and fairs and competitions were identified, and they could join in the next period to find a partner. Vuk Kašić of Net Media Sistemi, a company specializing in website design and customer support, said their company had participated in the project and hoped for its successful continuation.

“By participating in this project, we were provided with an analysis that was very difficult for us to cover financially, nor did we have the resources to execute it, and we were given complete insight into the current market situation. Based on this analysis, we will decide to visit the fairs, and we will also analyze the financial possibilities for further investment in infrastructure. We also hope for the possibility of withdrawing European funds for our projects,” said Kasic.

Professor Mateo Perak outlined the benefits and perspectives of developing their Smarparking app, which reduces the unnecessary circulation of cars by seeking free parking, reducing CO2 emissions.

“As entrepreneurs, in this Green Mind project, we see an opportunity to solve certain problems in society and to connect people with similar interests and energies, which always results in progress,” Perak added.

The conference was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts (Sector for Innovation Policy), Split-Dalmatia County, and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture. After that, a panel discussion was held on the importance of connecting and collaborating with the private sector, the research community, and the public sector, in which representatives of FESB, Ericsson Nikola Tesla and Profico and the City of Split discussed.

Successful innovative projects Smart Parking (Profico), electric parking barrier (Parklio) and Smart City (City of Split) were presented during the conference, followed by a visit to the FESB H2 Laboratory.

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ZAGREB, February 4, 2020 - An exhibition entitled "If I forget you... The Holocaust in Croatia 1941-1945/Final destination Auschwitz" will be staged on Wednesday in the French Pavilion of the Zagreb Student Centre, the building in front of which Jews were rounded up to be deported in railway wagons to the Auschwitz death camp.

The exhibition, running until 21 April, has been organised by the Croatian History Museum on the initiative of the Croatian Ministry of Culture. The exhibition focuses on the sufferings of Jews from Croatia during World War II, with a special emphasis on the fate of Jews deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.

The museum's director, Matea Brstilo Rešetar, said at a news conference in Zagreb on Tuesday that it was the duty of "this museum, as a national and specialised institution to highlight topics" such as the Holocaust.

"It has been especially challenging to state the exhibition at the authentic venue," Brstilo Rešetar said, referring to the fact that Jews were first taken in groups to the site of the pavilion to be transported in railway wagons to the Auschwitz camp.

The museum says on its website that for the purpose of the exhibition "destinies of the killed, testimonies of the survivors, and the few preserved original objects from the camp, photographs and documents from various Croatian and international museums and archives, as well as those borrowed from the families of the victims and the Righteous among the Nations, have been divided into four thematic units: Excommunication; Concentration and Liquidation; Auschwitz (Oswiecim) – Death Factory; and, A Sparkle in the Darkness."

Brstilo Rešetar said that the museum was the right place to address those issues factually and neutrally, free of daily political discourse. She said they had been given support by many, including the co-organiser, the Croatian State Archive.

"We would like to show that the Holocaust did not happen somewhere else, somewhere far away in Europe, but here, in front of our eyes," said Nataša Mataušić, a Croatian History Museum expert who participated in the organisation of the exhibition.

The director of the Student Centre, Mirko Bošnjak, said that the Centre, which cares for 65,000 students at the University of Zagreb, was the right place at which young people could be reminded of the Holocaust and victims.

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

ZAGREB, February 4, 2020 - The Secretary General of the Muslim World League, Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa, said at a conference in Zagreb on inter-religious relations that he was pleased that Croatia had decided to promote living together and not some abstract coexistence.

The leadership of the Islamic community in Croatia and the Muslim World League in cooperation with the Croatian Conference of Bishops have organised the international conference focusing on the topic of human fraternity for world peace and living together, which was opened on Tuesday by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and the League's Secretary General Muhammad bin Abdul.

The two-day conference will present some 30 lectures of various aspects related to peace and security.

All the speakers underscore that the conference is being held during Croatia's presidency of the Council of the European Union hence Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is certain that it will enhance Croatia's activities during its chairmanship recalling that the promotion of open and transparent inter-religious dialogue is a constituent part of European Union Treaty.

The grand mufti of Croatia's Islamic community, Mufti Aziz Hasanović, said that there was no alternative to religious dialogue, as evident in the systematic dialogue between the Islamic community and Catholic Church, which confirms that in Croatia they are living together and not just existing side by side.

President Grabar-Kitarović said that "at the moment, Croatia is the heart of Europe," underscoring that this valuable initiative is an opportunity for Croatia to present itself as a country that promotes the highest standards of religious rights and dialogue.

The conference - Human Fraternity as the Foundation of Peace and Security in the World - is being held under the auspices of Croatia's President, Prime Minister and Parliament Speaker.

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