Milanović's Presidential Term Opportunity to Improve Croatia-BiH's Relations
ZAGREB, January 12, 2020 - A Croatian member of the European Parliament and its rapporteur on the Western Balkans, Tonino Picula, has said that Croatia's President-elect Zoran Milanović should use his term to improve relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Sarajevo-based Dnevni Avaz daily said on Saturday.
In an interview with the daily, Picula said that relations between the two countries had always been friendly and well-meaning but that it was now time for Milanović to help start resolving outstanding issues in their relations "in a rational way".
He noted that outgoing President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović was partly responsible for the current state of relations between the two countries, which he said was not good. "With occasionally clumsy and unfair statements the outgoing president questioned Croatia's professed policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina and the end of her term was marked by a certain lack of ideas in that regard," said Picula.
Picula stressed that regardless of its problems, Bosnia and Herzegovina remained a partner to EU institutions, which expected of it commitment to long-announced reforms which it had undertaken to implement.
"In doing so it will enjoy unreserved support, primarily from members of the European Parliament," he said, adding that responsibility rested primarily with Bosnia and Herzegovina and that he expected elected officials to responsibly perform their duties.
Picula said that it was high time the Bosnia-EU interparliamentary commission for European integration started functioning.
The commission has not met since 2015 due to the demand by Serb deputies in the national parliament that all decisions in the commission be made by consensus, which departs from the usual practice in relations with other countries.
Serb deputies have been refusing for five years to accept the proposed rules for the work of the commission.
"That is a standard document, adopted by all candidate countries, and that only shows the high level of disfunctionality and general mistrust within the existing system in Bosnia and Herzegovina," said Picula.
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives President Denis Zvizdić said in an interview with the Fena new agency on Saturday that it was high time the two countries' relations started improving, noting that that was one of the things Milanovic's voters had voted for.
He said that relations so far had not been satisfactory. "I'm speaking about (the need for) mutual respect, respect for BiH's sovereignty and integrity, about frequent and unnecessary interference in BiH's internal affairs and an unnatural, condescending attitude with regard to processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region," said Zvizdić.
Zvizdić, who was BiH's prime minister in the past five years, said that his country and Croatia were historically oriented to one another and commended Croatian PM Andrej Plenković's constructive role in strengthening those relations.
He warned, however, that despite that, there were still some issues that remained to be resolved such as the construction of the Pelješac Bridge, the possible construction of a nuclear waste disposal site at Trgovska Gora (on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina), and the status of the property of BiH companies in Croatia.
Those issues should be put on the table and discussed based on facts and international law, he said.
"I expect Zoran Milanović to restore (discussions) to the level of institutions... and his visits to Bosnia and Herzegovina to be at the institutional level and not be party or ethnically-motivated visits."
More news about relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina can be found in the Politics section.
Burnt Down Nursing Home Had More Residents Than Allowed
ZAGREB, January 12, 2020 - The prefect of Krapina-Zagorje County and the head of the county health department said on Saturday, after a fire killed six residents of the "Green Oasis" nursing home, that the home was issued an operating permit for fewer residents than were in the facility during the fire.
Speaking to reporters in Krapina, prefect Željko Kolar said police informed him that 26 residents were in the home in Andraševac at the time of the tragedy.
Martina Gregurović Šanjug, head of the county health department, said the home was issued with a permit in 2012 for eight residents and for another five in 2013.
She said the county was authorised to issue an operating permit when a facility met the minimum technical requirements, while the rest was within the remit of the relevant ministry, including business inspections. She said there had been no complaints about the work of "Green Oasis".
Demography Minister Vesna Bedeković extended her condolences to the families of the victims. Asked by the press in Andraševac if the nursing home had the necessary operating permits, she said this was a private facility and that such facilities obtained such permits from the counties.
Asked if an inspection team from her ministry had ever checked "Green Oasis", she said there had been no complaints about the home.
She announced that her ministry would put present a new social welfare bill "very soon".
Asked about the lack of quality staff in private homes, Bedeković said this was up to the homes.
The chair of the parliamentary Health and Social Policy Committee, Ines Strenja, extended her condolences to the families of the victims and said urgent amendments to regulations and the law on social welfare were necessary for the sake of the tens of thousands of people in nursing homes.
She underlined the importance of decentralising the oversight of such homes, saying in a press release that it was the only way to obtain the real picture of the quality of care and deal with all irregularities in a timely manner.
Strenja said there were over 700 nursing homes in Croatia and that many did not provide adequate care and lacked qualified staff.
She said she had warned the ombudswomen for disabled persons and human rights in a number of reports but that nothing had been done about it.
More news about Krapina-Zagorje County can be found in the Lifestyle section.
Flights to Croatia: Air France Boosts Service between Paris and Zagreb
January 12, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Dubrovnik, and Split.
Ex Yu Aviation reports that Air France announced that it is boosting its service between Paris and Zagreb, adding a second daily flight for this summer. Thus, Air France will operate from Paris to Zagreb in the morning and evening every day this summer out of Charles de Gaulle Airport. The new service will begin in May.
Recall, Croatia Airlines already operates one daily service from Zagreb to Paris.
In other flight news, we should see significant growth between Croatia and Greece this summer. Namely, Ex Yu Aviation reports that this is due to more destinations, higher capacity and three airlines operating between the two countries. This news comes after Aegean Airlines submitted a nonbinding bid to acquire Croatia Airlines. Thus, Aegean will increase capacity on all of its routes to Croatia this summer.
Aegean will run three services per week between Athens and Zagreb, using the Airbus A319 twice per week and the A320 once per week. Aegean will exclusively use the A320 on its five flights to Dubrovnik, while the A319 will service Split four times per week. Aegean has also expanded its codeshare partnership with Air Serbia to include Dubrovnik, Pula, Rijeka, Split, Zadar and Zagreb.
Ex Yu Aviation adds that Croatia Airlines will operate from Zagreb to Athens via Dubrovnik six times per week. This route will be serviced by Dash 8s and Air Nostrum Bombardier CRJ1000 jets.
Spanish low-cost carrier Volotea will operate three flights per week between Athens and Dubrovnik this summer, while a new service between Athens and Split will run twice per week starting April 19, and a new route from Mykonos to Dubrovnik from May 30. As reported earlier, this is the first time Croatia will be linked with a Greek city other than Athens.
“These are very attractive additions for a very dynamic market in which we believe there is still good room for growth,” said Carlos Munoz, CEO and Founder of Volotea.
Over thirty-three thousand Greek tourists visited Croatia in 2018.
To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
Croatian Post Introduces New Service for Faster Parcel Delivery
Croatian Post. The very words are enough to send shivers down the spine of anyone who has attempted to receive a package on time, or even at all, especially when said package is coming from abroad. That being said, could a new service improve things? Apparently.
As Novac writes on the 10th of January, 2020, in order to properly provide its customers with a simple, convenient and fast service, Croatian Post (Hrvatska pošta) has introduced the fast package delivery option in its offer - Paket 24.
Croatian Post's brand new service is one that covers the whole of the Republic of Croatia. It stresses that whether the package is going to city or to one of the country's 67 inhabited islands, and the package is contracted through the web application, at a post office or by calling a contact centre, then it will be covered by the service.
In addition, customers can choose delivery times as well as pick up locations for the package, and the service can also be ordered on Saturdays, too. Each shipment can be secured, and Croatian Post also provides services such as cash on delivery, delivery by return receipt, or requesting that the service be paid by a recipient who can track their package on the Croatian Post website in real time.
The new service is part of Croatian Post's strategy, which aims to further develop its core business, improve existing services and develop and introduc more new ones. As part of this, several months ago, a sorting centre was opened in Velika Gorica near the City of Zagreb, which Croatian Post claims to be the best logistics centre in this part of Europe.
Could Croatian Post finally enter the 21st century and end the senseless and outdated process of running around chasing undelivered packages that vanish into thin air? Hopefully.
Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.
VIDEO: RTL Asks Questions in English to Croatian Politicians
January the 12th, 2020 - Considering the fact that the level of fluency in the English language is incredibly high in Croatia, it's always amazing to see just how many Croatian politicians, ministers, public servants and other officials struggle to get their words out.
Many Croatian politicians do an excellent job of spinning the truth in their native language, so it seems a shame that those who don't understand Croatian can't experience the same level of sheer cringe as the rest of us get to on a daily basis.
English is a difficult language, especially when the rules and the grammar are so different from the rules typical of Slavic languages, so it isn't that absolute perfection should be expected, but one would certainly imagine that Croatian politicians, for all of their bluff and chest pounding, would do their best to learn as much English as they can, especially now that Croatia is holding the rotating presidency of the European Union, placing the EU's newest member state on a pedestal for all and sundry to gawp at.
We've had some funny examples in both English and Croatian, however, and we wouldn't want to come across like we're making fun of fails in one language only. Tihomir Orešković, the former Croatian PM, was from Canada, and one of his funniest linguistic blunders was referring to Croatian citizens as buildings in his speech on how he'll serve them (Služit ću hrvatskim građevinama) as opposed to citizens (građanima).
As for English cock-ups, we've had Ingrid Antičević Marinović and her classic line Pipl mast trast as (People must trust us) which was even remixed into songs.
The list goes on and on, and RTL decided to take it one step further and pretend they were RTL from Germany and approach various Croatian politicians at Markov trg (St. Mark's square) asking them fairly simple questions in English. Some attempted a conversation, others didn't understand the question, some ignored the reporter, and some literally ran away from her. Yes, ran away.
Watch the amusing and extremely uncomfortable video from RTL Direkt below:
Make sure to follow our dedicated politics page for much more on Croatian politicians, politics and the Croatian EU presidency.
Euro 2020: Croatia Handball Moves into Second Round after Win against Belarus
January 11, 2020 - The Croatia handball team defeated Belarus in Graz 31:23 (15:10) in the second match of Group A at the European Championship. After an initial victory against Montenegro (27:21), and with Montenegro’s win against Serbia, the ‘Cowboys’ secured first place in the group and the second round of the tournament in Vienna.
Igor Karacic scored six goals for Croatia, while Luka Stepancic scored five, Domagoj Duvnjak scored four, and Luka Cindric and David Mandic scored three goals. Goalkeeper Marin Sego recorded seven saves. For Belarus, Mikita Vajlopau scored eight goals.
Lino Cervar's side opened the match excellently against Belarus. After the initial score of 1:1, they only increased their lead. After 11 minutes of play, Croatia led 6:2, and in the next minute came a five-goal advantage (7:2). Belarus managed to reduce the gap to two for 7:5. After Belarus came just a goal behind (7:6), Cervar called for a timeout.
With two Karacic goals, Croatia was up by 3 for 11:8 in the 25th minute of the match. Cindric scored for 13:10 with two minutes remaining and Karacic’s new goal put Croatia up by 4 for 14:10. At 113 kilometers per hour, Cindric scored for 15:10. Croatia was then a player up.
Duvnjak scored to open the second half and Croatia led 16:10. A Sego save was followed by Mandic's goal for 17:10. Stepancic increased the lead to +8 (18:10). Two more Stepancic goals followed, first for 20:11, then for 21:12. In the 44th minute, Croatia was up by10 for 24:14. Cervar finished the match by trying new combinations and rested the most important players. Josip Sarac scored two goals and Matej Asanin came in for Sego.
The Montenegro handball team defeated Serbia 22:21 (11:10) in the second game of Group A. With this outcome, Croatia secured first place in the group and will move on to the second round in Vienna, where they will transfer a maximum of two points. Thus, the Croatia-Serbia meeting on Monday is irrelevant.
Group A (Graz):
CROATIA - Belarus 31:23 (15:10)
Montenegro - Serbia 22:21 (11:10)
1. CROATIA 2 2 0 0 58:44 4
2. Belarus 2 1 0 1 58:61 2
3. Montenegro 2 1 0 1 43:48 2
4. Serbia 2 0 0 2 51:57 0
Source: HRT
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
Shooting in Split: Three Shot Dead, Two Arrested
A shooting took place in Split this afternoon in which three people died. Two people have now been arrested. As Index reports on the 11th of January, 2020, one of those arrested is apparently the brother of one of the now dead individuals. There is no information about the other person who has been arrested at the moment, but it could be a second shooter.
Dalmatinski portal announced at 17:15 that the Split shooter had been arrested, however, there was no confirmation of this at the time.
"We cannot confirm this information," the police briefly told Index. "All available forces are out in the field. We're working intensively on the case and taking all the necessary measures," they went on to assure. Not even an Index source close to the police was able to confirm this unofficial information at the time.
One person has definitely arrested, however. He was taken by police van for questioning. As was later learned and as previously stated, this is the brother of one of the victims of the shooting, who is now dead.
The police state that an alert is still in effect and had previously warned Split residents to remain indoors.
"According to the first information from the field, the perpetrator is a man dressed in black, is in possession of a weapon and is heading towards Marjan. We'd like to ask all residents to leave the streets and if they see the person to contact the police immediately. All of our personnel are out there searching for the perpetrator,'' state the police in a warning that was issued earlier on.
Please stay tuned as more will follow as the situation unfolds.
Could Croatian Industrial Hemp Help to Brand Parts of Slavonia?
Slavonia is constantly overlooked in favour of either the rest of continental Croatia, the City of Zagreb, and of course, the glorious Adriatic coast, which, with its glitz, glam and fancy yachts is a far cry from the often harsh and sad realities of life in the Eastern Croatian region of Slavonia. It isn't just tourism that is lacking, but industry. With people abandoning this part of Croatia in their droves, could Croatian industrial hemp perhaps revitalise production in the east?
As Novac writes on the 11th of January, 2020, Marinko Marušić, director and one of the founders and owners of a company from Donji Miholjac which grows and processes Croatian industrial hemp and sells food and cosmetics from this valuable plant stated that his story began ten years ago.
''Our story began a decade ago when Croatia revitalised the cultivation, processing and sale of Croatian industrial hemp, which has long been in disrepute. Initially, we went ahead rather intensively with our research. After seven years of learning in collaboration with the profession, as of last year we began to develop the brand Miholjačka hemp, because, analysing the microclimatic position, we realised that the area along the Drava river is a godsend for growing high quality hemp,'' pointed out Marušić.
In addition to oil, seeds, protein flour and teas sold under the brand Miholjačka hemp, they also sell other products such as chips, candies, chocolates, and other types of snacks.
According to Marusic, who spoke with local portal Glas Slavonije, Miholjačka hemp was created as a project of many years of research by enthusiasts whose goal has been to return top quality products from plant and Croatian industrial hemp seeds to Slavonian fields and to promote both nutritional and health values.
''The profession has been following us from the beginning. We cooperate with the faculties of agriculture in Osijek and Zagreb, the companies Saponia and Kandit in Osijek, Kanaan from Donji Miholjac and Meden from Sveti Đurđ. We can produce top quality raw materials, but food and cosmetics require certain standards,'' he explains.
In addition, their company brings together several subcontractors, with whom they sow Croatian industrial hemp on about thirty hectares of land in the area of Donji Miholjac and its immediate surroundings.
''We're constantly working on developing new products, increasing their quality and expanding our sales here in Croatia. We've also dipped our toes into cooperation with companies from America, Portugal, Spain and Brazil. In addition, Saponia is accompanying us in its research laboratory to develop new formulas for obtaining hemp-containing products.
Generally speaking, our idea is first of all to brand Eastern Croatia as a centre for hemp, which in itself will allow us and all other growers to have a much easier time on foreign markets. I think that hemp can revive neglected land resources in the area,'' concluded Marušić.
Follow our dedicated Made in Croatia and lifestyle pages for more.
HSLS Leader for Forming Liberal Bloc for Parliamentary Election
ZAGREB, January 11, 2020 - Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) president Dario Hrebak on Saturday called on centre parties to unite for the next parliamentary election, saying the HSLS and several liberal centre parties shared a similar political agenda.
"Fighting corruption, increasing transparency, introducing digitisation. That's the political agenda the HSLS shares with... Pametno, Start and Lipa," he told reporters ahead of an HSLS Presidency meeting.
Hrebak said the forming of a coalition for the coming parliamentary election would depend solely on the support other parties showed his party's transparency project, such as the one in Bjelovar.
Asked if he had already contacted those parties, he said intensive talks were under way and that his party was open to collaboration with any political party.
Hrebak said the transparency project in Bjelovar, of which he is the mayor, would be the HSLS trademark and that its message was that citizens had the right to know how their money was spent on the local as well as the state level.
He went on to say that big parties like the HDZ and the SDP had done less about corruption over the past 30 years than the HSLS in Bjelovar over the past year.
He said they "are not the solution, they are the problem. They can't successfully fight against corruption."
Hrebak said corruption must be dealt with and that what was going on in Zagreb must stop, adding that the ruling HDZ's biggest mistake was to cooperate with Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić.
He said the HSLS, which has one MP thanks to a coalition with the HDZ, would no longer unreservedly support anyone. "It's no secret we support the ruling party, but it's no secret either that we are bothered that (Bandić's MPs) still rule in the Croatian parliament."
More politics news can be found in the dedicated section.
Purchase of Military Fighter Jets Delayed Again?
ZAGREB, January 11, 2020 - The purchase of fighter jets for the Croatian Air Force will be decided by the next government, the Jutarnji List daily of Saturday reports, noting that there is no information on the financial framework of the project and that the commission in charge of procuring the jets had still not discussed where pilots would be trained.
On 10 January 2019 the Director-General of the Israeli Defence Ministry, Udi Adam, confirmed officially in Zagreb that Israel could not sell Croatia its F-16 Barak jets as it could not obtain Washington's approval for the deal.
A year later, by all accounts, Croatia is further away from buying a new generation of combat aircraft than it was a year ago, says the daily.
"I don't have the information as to why the selected countries have still not been sent requests for final offers," said the chair of the parliamentary defence committee, Igor Dragovan, who is also a member of the government's interdepartmental commission in charge of procuring the planes.
Anđelko Stričak, another member of the commission, expressed hope that at its next meeting the commission would discuss when to send the request.
Even though the government's spokesman still claims that the decision on which planes will be bought will be known by the middle of the year, a few days ago Dragovan said that the incumbent government would not be the one to decide on the new planes as there was no time for that, says Jutarnji List.
If the commission were to send its request for final offers today, the bidders would need five to six months to compile their offers, which would be followed by an analysis of the bids, to last several months. And that is the time of the campaign for parliamentary elections, when the Andrej Plenković government will be a caretaker government which should not make any crucial decisions such as the purchase of military aircraft.
That means that the process of decision-making and contracting is shifted to the next government and the year 2021, which puts the Air Force in a difficult position, says the daily.
The Air Force has only eight fighter jets, of which four-five are operational. Also, the lifespan of its MiG jets starts to expire in 2023, when their landing will start. That was why the end of 2023 had been announced as the final deadline for the arrival of new planes, which now seems impossible.
It is also very questionable which of the bidders is capable of delivering at least some of the total of 12 planes to be bought, in a period of less than two years, says the daily.
More news about the fighter jets acquisition can be found in the Politics section.
