Wednesday, 15 January 2020

Anniversaries of International Recognition and Reintegration of Danube Region Marked

ZAGREB, January 15, 2020 - On this day, 28 years ago, the then member-states of the European Union recognised Croatia and on this day 22 years ago, the country completed the peaceful reintegration of its Danube region.

On 15 January 1992, Croatia's independence was recognised by the members of the EU and Germany as well as the Vatican were perceived as protagonists in those developments, while 15 January 1998 saw the completion of the peaceful reintegration of the until then occupied Danube River Region into Croatia's constitutional and legal order.

On 15 January 1992, Croatia was in the midst of the Homeland War and nearly one third of the country was occupied by the former Yugoslav army and Serb insurgents. Croatia's president Franjo Tuđman told his associates in the evening of 15 January 1992: "We have created the internationally recognised Croatia. Let's celebrate tonight and then roll up our sleeves and build a new democratic state."

Croatia's international recognition followed after it declared independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991. On the same day, Slovenia too declared its independence from Yugoslavia and the next day the two newly- created states recognised each other.

At that time, the Soviet Union was disintegrating too, and although they were not internationally recognised yet, several of its former republics recognised Croatia during 1991 - Lithuania on July 30, Ukraine on December 11, Latvia on December 14 and Estonia on December 31.

Iceland - the first internationally recognised state that recognised Croatia

Iceland was the first internationally recognised state that recognised Croatia, on 15 December 1991, followed by Germany on the same day, although it decided that its recognition would go into force on 15 January 1992, together with the other EU member states.

On January 13, Croatia was recognised by the Holy See, which had announced that it would recognise Croatia and Slovenia the previous December 20. On January 14, Croatia was recognised by San Marino.

After being recognised by the EU on 15 January 1992, Croatia was recognised on the same day by Great Britain, Denmark, Malta, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Norway, Bulgaria, Poland, Italy, Canada, France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Luxembourg and Greece. On January 16, Croatia was recognised by Argentina, Australia, the Czech Republic, Chile, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Slovakia Sweden and Uruguay.

By the end of that January, Croatia was recognised by Finland, Romania, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia.

Russia recognised Croatia on 17 February 1992, Japan did so on March 17, the US on April 7, Israel on April 16, however, the two countries established their diplomatic relations five and a half years later, and China on April 27.

The first Asian country that recognised Croatia was Iran on 15 March 1992, while Egypt was the first African country on 16 April 1992.

On 22 May 1992, Croatia joined the UN.

Croatia is observing on Wednesday the 22th anniversary of the peaceful reintegration of its Danube region. The process was completed during the term of the United Nations Transitional Administration of Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES) on 15 January 1998.

It was the Erdut Agreement, which was signed on 12 November 1995, that enabled the peaceful restoration of Croatian sovereignty over the Croatian Danube region which was under the control of Serb paramilitaries and rebels since the launch of the Great Serbian aggression against that part of Croatia in 1991.

The Erdut Agreement on eastern Slavonia, Baranja and western Srijem was signed on 12 November 1995 in Erdut and Zagreb by the then presidential chief-of-staff, Hrvoje Šarinić, the head of the Serb negotiating team, Milan Milanović, and by the then US Ambassador to Croatia, Peter Galbraith, and UN mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg as witnesses. The treaty marked the beginning of the UN's two-year transitional administration in the area during which Croatia restored its sovereignty over the temporarily occupied parts of Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Srijem counties, which enabled reconstruction in the area ravaged in the Great Serbian aggression on Croatia and the return of refugees.

The Erdut agreement was reached by Croatian President Franjo Tuđman and Serbian President Slobodan Milošević at a peace conference in Dayton, Ohio. The 14-point document provided for a two-year transitional period under UN supervision, a transitional administration, formation of a multi-national police force, local elections, and demilitarisation 30 days after the deployment of international peacekeepers. Seven provisions of the agreement dealt with human rights, refugee return, and property restitution or compensation.

The UNTAES mission was created under UN Security Council Resolution 1037 of 15 January 1996 and ended on 15 January 1998.

Two Croatian military operations in 1995 – Operation Flash which was conducted in May that year in western Slavonia and Operation Storm that liberated the largest portion of the occupied territories – paved the way for the Erdut agreement and subsequently for the UNTAES mission.

On 1 January this year, Croatia, which was admitted to the European bloc on 1 July 2013, assumed the rotating six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The presidency over the EU is seen as an opportunity to promote the country-in-chair and making the local society more sensitive to EU-related topics.

"A strong Europe in a world of challenges" is the slogan Croatia has chosen for its presidency. The programme of its EU presidency is based on four themes or pillars - A Europe that develops; A Europe that connects; A Europe that protects; and An influential Europe.

In Croatia, a total of 161 events in relation to the presidency will be held. One of the major events will be a summit meeting between the EU and the Western Balkans, set for 7 May in Zagreb.

Apart from that, eight informal gatherings will take place in Zagreb, three in the biggest Adriatic city of Split and one in the coastal resort of Opatija.

Nine ministerial conferences will be organised in Croatia: five in Zagreb and four outside the capital city. A few expert-level meetings will be held in the eastern city of Osijek.

The accession of Croatia to NATO took place in 2009.

More info about the history of Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

Wednesday, 15 January 2020

HRW: Croatia Bears No Consequences for Pushbacks of Migrants

ZAGREB, January 15, 2020 - The Human Rights Watch (HRW) warns in its latest annual report on human rights' state of affairs worldwide that despite reports "about illegal and violent pushbacks of migrants by Croatian police into Bosnia and Serbia, in breach of EU refugee and human rights law, Croatia faced no consequences from EU institutions."

This New-York based international non-governmental organisation described these reports as credible.

It cited statistics provided by the Croatian Ministry of Interior which show that "in the first eight months of 2019, 11,813 new migrants and asylum seekers were recorded, mainly from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey, an increase of more than 8,600 compared to the same period in 2018."

"In the same period 974 people claimed asylum and authorities approved 71 asylum requests, including 13 from 2018.

"Croatia reported that it blocked entry to 9,487 people at its borders in the first 8 months of the year," reads the HRW report's section headlined " Croatia Events of 2019 - Part of the EU Chapter".

The HRW organisation also reports that "in January, a Europe-wide universities-led Holocaust Remembrance project found historical revisionism in Croatia among the highest in the European Union".

"During a year that saw several violent attacks on Croatian Serbs, Croatia’s ombudswoman and civil society groups expressed concern about the climate of intolerance against minorities.

Between January and September 2019, Documenta, an NGO, registered 39 war crime cases against 59 defendants before courts in Croatia. In the same period, 15 people were convicted for war-related crimes, including one for sexual violence.

In July 2019, Croatia ratified the Safe Schools Declaration pledging to refrain from the military use of schools in wars. According to the Ombudswoman for Children, Roma children were most deprived group in 2019, with limited access to services, reads the report's section on Croatia.

"Despite the consistent recommendations to Croatia from international bodies to facilitate community-based support for all people with disabilities currently in institutions, Croatia persisted with plans to place adults with disabilities in foster care, publishing a draft law in December 2018. In January 2019, the Ministry of Social Policy indicated that 4,216 adults were placed in 1,481 foster care families," reads the report.

More human rights news can be found in the Politics section.

Wednesday, 15 January 2020

Split Modernizes Public Lighting: 88% of Light Poles to Use LED Bulbs by End of 2020

January 15, 2020 - At a press conference held on Tuesday, Mayor Andro Krstulovic Opara and his associates presented the largest project of energy-efficient public lighting in Croatia - "Modernizing public lighting of the City of Split using the energy service model".

The Mayor stressed the excellent cooperation between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) consultants and the City of Split project team, who worked together on a solution that resulted in a major reconstruction project and a proposal for modernizing the public lighting system.

"This is a significant project that will not only improve the quality of life in our city, but will also raise standards in an ecological aspect and increase the level of safety of our citizens. Therefore, ecology, energy savings and security are the guiding principles of all activities in this project,” said Opara. City Development and EU Funds Advisor to the Mayor, Kresimir Budisa, explained that the project covers 15,090 lamps or 88 percent of public lighting, with a total investment value of HRK 62 million. He said that the project includes not only the area of Split but also Slatine, Zrnovnica, Stobrec and Sitno Gornje and Donje.

"Annual energy savings and maintenance of public lighting systems are expected to amount to as much as HRK 6.2 million," Budisa said. According to him, the modernization of public lighting in the city of Split includes, among other things, introducing modern and energy-efficient LED lighting throughout the city area, reducing the cost of public lighting and reducing CO2 emissions. It also includes restoring lighting and raising safety in the Marjan tunnel traffic corridor and modernizing lighting on children's playgrounds and sports and recreational areas for citizens.

Budisa also recalled the EU project CitiEnGov, a smart public lighting pilot project implemented in the GK Bacvice, which has proven to be one of the best examples of modernizing public lighting in Central Europe using the latest technologies with exceptional results in reducing electricity consumption, increasing convenience and safety for citizens and visitors, as well as reducing CO2 emissions. 

The project presented was prepared with the help of free technical assistance provided by the EBRD, and the proposed financing for the said project is through the Energy Services Model (ESCO). The presentation was also attended by Radojka Tomasevic, Head of the International and EU Projects Department, Hrvoje Jazvic, EBRD representative, and Mate Rebić, EBRD consultant.

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

Wednesday, 15 January 2020

Croatia Again in Top 10 Countries with Most Booking.com Awards

January 15, 2020 - Booking.com announced the winners of the Traveler Review Awards 2020. Croatia is once again among the top 10 most awarded countries. 

HRTurizam reports that nearly one million awards (986,449) were awarded across 220 countries and territories. Among the ten countries with the highest award winners was Croatia, which boasts 42,763 winners.

The awards acknowledge these partners for their superior hospitality and for providing travelers with incredible experiences when booking accommodation.

Numerous countries and destinations continue to provide excellent service year after year, and in 2020, the countries with the most awards include Italy (130,253), Spain (66,755), France (61,492), Germany (49,777), Croatia (42,763), the United States (42,112), the United Kingdom (41,848), Poland (36,793), Russia (36,296) and Greece (33,259).

The spectacular increase in the number of award winners continues this year among apartments. This type of accommodation is again at the top of the list, accounting for almost 40% of winners among accommodation facilities globally in 2020.

For the third year in a row, they made up four of the five most awarded types of accommodation: apartments (380,936), hotels (179,869), private accommodation (94,162), weekend homes (82,241) and bed and breakfasts (75,875). In Croatia, the most awarded accommodation types are apartments (33827), private accommodation (3989), weekend homes (1555), villas (933) and hotels (729).

Although hotels are second in awards globally, three-quarters of all award-winning accommodations (75%) are made up of apartments and holiday homes and other unique accommodations, including options from boats and igloos to country lodging. A recent poll conducted by Booking.com on more than 22,000 travelers found that nearly two-fifths (39%) of global travelers prefer to stay in a weekend home or apartment over a hotel.

Dubrovnik, Zagreb, Opatija, Baska, Cavtat, Osijek, Cres, Korenica, Slunj, and Rakovica provided the warmest welcome on the Croatian market. 

On the other hand, the top 10 Croatian accommodations to receive the Traveler Review Awards in 2020 are Apartment Spectre, Zagreb, Embassy Row BnB, Zagreb, Studio Makala, Trogir, Momentum Apartment, Split, Apartments Beso, Makarska, Luxury Apartment Dvor, Split, Apartment Roman Heritage, Split, Neretva Valley Apartments, Metković, Apartmani Nila, Pučišća, and PREMIUM, Osijek.

 

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

Wednesday, 15 January 2020

Ice Skating Rink in Centre of Pula Proves to be Festive Hit

It's amazing to think that after all of the fuss, excitement and preparations that come with the festive period, Christmas, Advent and Croatia's winter tourism - that it's all over in a matter of days. The popular city of Pula in beautiful Istria placed an ice skating rink in the centre of town, and it seems that it was a real hit with both locals and visitors alike.

As Glas Istre/Borka Petrovic writes on the 14th of January, 2020, now the events of Advent are behind us and the traffic in the heart of the City of Pula has returned to normal levels, local portal Glas Istre (the Voice of Istria) asked Pula's local authorities to evaluate the results of the decision to close the city center for two months - whether they thought it was a good idea and whether Pula's festive ice skating rink would be placed in the same location this year?

The portal also asked them to provide a look into the financial parametres of the whole story, that is, how much individual communal utilities lost and indeed how much they earned through this plan.

In the City of Pula, the ice skating rink's location is said to have been a hit, stating that it has become a traditional gathering place for many Pula residents who are more than happy to have another festive facility available to them during the winter months where they can have a good time in the city and enjoy healthy, sporting activities alongside sausages, mulled wine and fritule.

The location was also a huge hit as far as the figures are concerned, too. More than 16,000 visitors passed through the Pula ice skating rink, which is a massive fifty percent more than the year before when the rink was installed on Veruda.

The Pula skating rink's total revenue amounts to 520,000 kuna, while the cost of installing, renting equipment (wooden-metal stand, lighting, bins and containers, transportation and transport costs, manpower, electricity etc) amounted to 518,000 kuna.

''Although the rink was financially self-sustaining, the purpose of the rink was not economic, the rink was set up so that our fellow citizens could be offered additional facilities and a place for entertainment,'' the City of Pula notes.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for more.

Wednesday, 15 January 2020

Vodnjan Company Market Leader in Technology for Smart Ship Concept

A Vodnjan company called Sentinel Marine Solution has signed a contract with the Hanse Group, which entered into the OEM segment and thus opened the door to mass production for shipbuilders.

As Novac/Jozo Vrdoljak/Privredni.hr writes on the 14th of January, 2020, the Vodnjan company Sentinel Marine Solution, with the exception of Vodnjan, has offices in Zagreb and Ljubljana (Slovenia), along with its manufacturing facility. The sixteen employees who work there are focused on development, aided by the 1 million euro venture capital fund of South Central Ventures and the capital of several other partners.

''After five years of development, we've been recognised by the world's largest players such as the Hanse Group, the second largest yacht and motorboat manufacturer in the world. Each of their ships will have a Sentinel system and will be on the Sentinel platform. In addition to them, we collaborate with the brands Fjord, Sealine, Privilege, Dehler, Moody... Our system is also used by Beneteau First and many well-known shipbuilders from Australia to America.

Sentinel also successfully integrates partner technologies such as Torqeedo's electric motors or CZone's most famous digital switching and monitoring provider. Even the great Garmin Marine has chosen Sentinel for its own product range as a telematics solution for business clients, shipbuilders. What we do with shipyards involves a lengthy process, and the results of collaborating with big names are now visible. We've developed into an independent company that operates well,'' explained Draško Andrić, sales and development manager of the Vodnjan company.

Sentinel Marine Solution was launched as a Slovenian-Croatian startup, initially as a basic monitoring model for all ship's devices and a provider of marine internet for private users and charter fleets. In just a few years, Sentinel has become the market leader in developing technologies for smart ships. One of Sentinel's first clients was Jack Shuri, a pioneer of the charter industry in the Croatian part of the Adriatic sea, which he supported at an early stage of development.

''In addition to Surija, the first users were the pioneers of the charter industry in Croatia, such as Ivica Buble, the owner of Dalmatia charter from Trogir. The Sentinel Boat Monitor is actually a gateway that collects all the data on all instruments on board that are connected to the NMEA 2000 network. The read condition communicates with our main gateway, after which any warnings are sent to the shipowner or someone who maintains it.

It's a standard that sets itself as the future of all nautics. Shipbuilders are now our focus. It's a platform that enables the communication of all of the ship's devices and the ship, that is, its users for the purpose of a better navigation experience and easier and cheaper maintenance of the vessel. Due to complete control of our own system, we have our own production of hardware and software, which is a great advantage for us, but it's also necessary if you want to work with the Tier 1 sector,'' stated Andrić.

According to Draško Andrić, today, the Sentinel Marine Solution (in-house solution) is a leader in the market for connected vessel technology, a huge title for this Vodnjan company.

''The service is completely in-house, which means that every aspect of it has been developed in Sentinel. This gives us stability and a system independent of external partnership development. Sentinel's advantage and strength lies in the fact that it can connect to all ship systems and interact with almost all instruments on board, read them and understand what happens on board when no one is aboard,'' he explained.

In the last four to five years, Sentinel has, according to this Vodnjan company's managers, become a leading provider of monitoring services in the Adriatic and worldwide.

Make sure to follow our dedicated Made in Croatia page for much more.

Wednesday, 15 January 2020

Will Croatia Fulfil All Conditions for Eurozone Entry by April 2020?

As Marina Klepo/Novac writes on the 14th of January, 2020, in the second half of this year, with parliamentary elections expected, the Croatian Government hopes to receive a call from the competent European institutions that Croatia can enter the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM2), a so-called ''waiting room'' in which each EU member state must spend at least two years before Eurozone entry and the adoption of the euro as an official currency.

If Croatia implements all of the measures it has committed itself to, at least according to the European Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis, Croatia could achieve this goal "as early as the second half of 2020".

Along with the letter of intent, in July last year, the Croatian Government also sent a detailed follow-up action plan of nineteen measures and activities it intends to implement in order to enter ERM2, and thus be granted Eurozone entry eventually. It seems that the passage of time in fulfilling these obligations is quite solid.

According to Zvonimir Savic, coordinator of activities related to Croatia's Eurozone entry, the pace of implementation of the listed measures is "quite good". Of the nineteen measures that involved nine institutions, just over four have been fully implemented so far. The implementation of twelve of them is underway, ie, they're all at some stage of implementation.

''Given that several of them are related to the passing of legislation in Parliament, it takes a little more time. But if all goes to plan we expect that all measures will be fulfilled in April, and in May at the latest,'' says Savic. He explains that Croatia is expected to inform the European Commission when it fulfills all nineteen measures.

It has been agreed with institutions such as the European Commission (EC), Eurostat and the European Central Bank (ECB) that what the government proposes in the action plan must absolutely be fulfilled for the country's future Eurozone entry. Although these promises don't really seem particularly demanding, because many measures, such as the law on the rights of officials, were already on the agenda, Savic added that some of them were quite complex. In any case, their timely implementation is of paramount importance for the government at this point.

When it has completed its ''homework'', the government will inform the Eurogroup, the representatives of all existing Eurozone member states, and thereby request participation in the exchange rate mechanism. However, the decision is up to them, and they will consider Croatia's application and decide when Croatia can enter ERM2.

''It's realistic to expect a response from the Eurogroup in the second half of next year. They need to confirm that we've fulfilled the measures and that, for example, from January the 1st, 2021, Croatia enters ERM2,'' Savic notes.

Finance Minister Zdravko Maric also stresses that he expects that all measures included in the action plan will be fulfilled on time, and the Croatian National Bank's Governor Boris Vujcic is also satisfied with the way things are going so far when it comes to preparations and fulfilling obligations for this step of Eurozone entry approval.

The action plan consists of six areas: bank rehabilitation, the macroprudential framework, anti-money laundering, statistics, public sector management, and Croatia's business environment. In the past month, many of the laws that need to be passed have come under public scrutiny. Among these are the Law on Official Statistics, the Law on Credit Institutions, the Law on the Recovery of Credit Institutions, the Law on the Croatian National Bank (CNB/HNB), the Law on Confirmation of Agreements and the Unification of Contributions to the Single Resolution Fund, and so on.

Among other things, these legal changes imply that the CNB, for example, will have additional macro-prudential measures and, where necessary, be able to prescribe them to preserve the stability of the financial system.

The amendments to the law on credit institutions also regulate the exchange of information on the creditworthiness of retail clients. The Croatian Registry of Credit Obligations (HROK), established by banks fifteen years ago, ceased to operate in mid-2018 due to the application of a general data protection (GDPR) regulation in the European Union. In line with the new legal provisions, it is now expected that the exchange of data will start again in the middle of this year.

Additionally, the NRS benchmark interest rate, which serves as an index for determining the variable portion of interest rate on consumer loans, will be calculated and published by the CNB in ​​the future, and not by the Croatian Banking Association.

Much like the Ministry of Finance and the CNB, who have been very up-to-date on the work of preparing for Croatia's eventual Eurozone entry, the Ministry of Economy, for example, has introduced an electronic start-up business, and by March it must present a plan to reduce the massive, draconian administrative burdens placed on businesses in Croatia. The government should then adopt it.

Greater activity is also expected from the Ministry of State Property, which by April must define possible fluctuations and announce tenders for the sale of state shares in at least 90 companies. One tender has now been announced and regards the sale of stakes in as many as thirty companies.

If Croatia joins ERM2 early next year, the national currency will be pegged to the euro, a mid-exchange rate will be established and the Maastricht criteria will all be met.

Member states' experiences and length of stay within the ERM2 mechanism have tended to all be very different, ranging from 2.5 years (Slovenia) to over ten years (Lithuania), indicating that joining the ERM2 does not have to lead to the introduction of the euro in the short term. Only the United Kingdom has an opt-out from Eurozone entry.

Make sure to follow our dedicated politics and lifestyle pages for much more.

Tuesday, 14 January 2020

Croatian Nursing Council Condemns Grabar-Kitarović's Statement about Corruption

ZAGREB, January 14, 2020 - The Croatian Nursing Council (HKMS) on Tuesday condemned a statement made by President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović in which she mentioned nurses in the context of corruption.

Talking about corruption in Croatian society, Grabar-Kitarović said that "friends asked her why she did not take anything to the hospital, because nurses expect that." The President insinuated that nurses "expect gifts" from their patients, HKMS stated.

"Nurses and medical technicians do their jobs in a professional and ethical manner, and they are wholeheartedly committed to their patients' well-being. We find linking this humane profession with corruptive actions unacceptable," they stated.

"Every concerned citizen who knows of or suspects a crime is being committed has the duty to report it, indicating the full name of the suspected person. Labelling nursing as a corrupt profession is unacceptable," said the president of the Croatian Nursing Council (HKMS) Mario Gazić.

The Croatian Nursing Council expects the government to finally start addressing the many burning issues in nursing, such as the shortage of nurses, non-recognition of nursing college degrees, poor organization and unsustainable working conditions in nursing, underpayment, injustices in promotions, irregular distribution of the workload, unclear systematization of work positions, and increasingly frequent cases of verbal and physical violence, HKMS said in a press release.

More health news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

Tuesday, 14 January 2020

550 Croatian Scientists Sign Climate Action Appeal

ZAGREB, January 14, 2020 - Representatives of 550 Croatian scientists who signed the Appeal for Systematic Climate Action on Tuesday presented it to the government, parliament and Ministry of Environment and Energy.

The scientists claim that the current climate change is an emergency and the most serious and most complex crisis that mankind has ever been exposed to. That is why, with this appeal, they call on the relevant institutions to launch concrete and ambitious measures to deal with the problem.

All the graphs we get indicate that we are close to the dangerous limit of climate change when there won't be any chance of going back, Nikola Biliškov from the Ruđer Bošković Institute told a press conference outside Government House.

Scientists have pointed out very ambitious action on a global level with concrete objectives: to radically reduce carbon dioxide emissions so that this year they reach their maximum and then be reduced by 45% by 2030, while emissions should be entirely eliminated by 2050, Biliškov explained.

The appeal is a call on the legislative and executive authorities to adopt and implement ambitious policies as a precondition for systematically dealing with the climate crisis. Those policies need to be based on scientific research and lead to the development of efficient technical solutions to alleviate and adapt to climate change.

More science news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

Tuesday, 14 January 2020

Euro 2020: Croatia Water Polo Opens with Big Win against Germany

January 14, 2020 - The Croatia water polo team opened their European Championship campaign against Germany in Budapest on Tuesday. 

After difficult preparations, the ‘Barakudas’ opened the European Championship against Germany, the national team they last met in the World Cup in Gwangju. 

“It's important to open the tournament properly. We have a solid and strong opponent at the start, Germany is all but a harmless team,” the Croatia coach said in an interview before the game. 

“Germany is a good team and it is certain that we will have to be at our maximum to win,” said Croatia goalkeeper Marko Bijac.

“We know them well, they are unpredictable, as they showed at the World Cup. We must not enter the game relaxed and easy. I expect a physically difficult match,” added Maro Jokovic.

And Croatia made sure they stuck to their word. 

Germany, however, was the first to score thanks to a Maurice Juengling goal. Croatia finally equalized after almost seven minutes when Josip Vrlic scored for 1:1. Marin Restovic brought Germany back into the lead for 2:1, which is how the first quarter ended. 

At the opening of the second quarter, Lovre Milos made it 2:2. Denis Strelezkij returned Germany to the lead, though Andro Buslje scored the equalizer for 3:3. Milos' second goal finally gave Croatia the 3:4 lead and Hrvoje Benic gave Croatia a two-goal advantage (3:5). Ante Vukicevic scored for 4:6 and Luka Bukic for 4:7. 

Thirty seconds into the third quarter, Croatia was up by four (4:8) thanks to Buslje’s second goal. The 'Barakudas' then became unstoppable, and Vukicevic scored for 4:9. Milos scores his third goal of the game for 5:11, while Loren Fatovic increased the lead to +7 (5:12). Fatovic closed the third quarter with another goal and a 5:13 advantage for Croatia.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Luka Loncar increased Croatia’s lead to 5:14, while Fatovic scored again for 6:15, and Bukic scored his third goal of the game for 7:16. Josip Vrlic made it 9:17 with one minute to go.

In the second round on January 16 (8:30 pm), Croatia will play against Montenegro. In the final match of Group A on January 18 (4 pm), Croatia will play against Slovakia.

Source: HRT

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

Search