ZAGREB, 28 Sept, 2021 - Compared to other countries, Croatia fares poorly in terms of access to legal and safe abortion, a Croatian member of the European Parliament, Social Democrat Predrag Matić, said on the occasion of International Safe Abortion Day and the presentation of the Abortion Atlas.

"The Abortion Atlas is a new tool that gives an overview of countries according to the availability of abortion, and more importantly, the kind of obstacles women across Europe encounter in terms of access to abortion. Croatia is in the lower section of the ladder in that regard, with the situation considered as poor. Even though abortion in Croatia is legal, we have a problem with practical obstacles to access to abortion," Matić said, as quoted by his office.

The Abortion Atlas, authored by the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, is the first comprehensive interactive map with data on access to abortion in Europe.

It ranks 52 countries in terms of their legislative frameworks, access and availability of abortion, abortion-related medical care and available public information on abortion.

Croatia is in the lower part of the ranking, with a score of 60%, and it belongs among countries with a poor rating concerning legal and safe abortion. Of the EU member-countries, the best-ranked are Sweden and the Netherlands while Malta and Poland are worst-ranked.

"Access to abortion in the EU has been prevented due to a number of administrative and imposed medical obstacles and conditions such as compulsory counselling, compulsory additional medical tests and a compulsory waiting period," said Matić, a member of the EP's Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee and author of an EP resolution on the state of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the EU.

The obstacles are unjustified and most citizens advocate access to abortion, Matić said, citing the latest survey on the topic in Croatia, in which 81% of the respondents supported the right to abortion while as many as 63% said that pregnancy termination must be free of charge, which makes abortion truly available regardless of one's geographical and socioeconomic status, Matić's office said.

Matić also recalled an extremely dangerous trend among gynecologists in Croatia, with 186 or 60% of the 322 gynecologists employed in hospitals across the country refusing to perform abortion.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 28 Sept, 2021 - The Council of the EU on Tuesday approved a fund which will help member states tackle the negative impact of Great Britain's exit and from which Croatia is due €7.2 million.

The fund of €5 billion (in 2018 prices) will support the hardest hit regions, sectors and communities to cover extra costs, compensate losses or counter other adverse economic and social effects resulting directly from the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union.

The largest amount, of €4.5 billion, is shared according to the importance of trade with the UK, €656 million is shared based on the importance of fisheries in the UK's exclusive economic zone, and €273 million is distributed based on the importance of neighbouring links for the maritime border regions with the UK.

Consequently, Ireland will receive the bulk of the money (€1.16bn), followed by the Netherlands (€886m) and France (€735m).

The bulk of the resources, €4.3 billion, will be made available to member-countries as pre-financing in three annual tranches - in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The remaining resources will be made available in 2025, after a review of the expenditure on eligible measures in the previous years, which will also factor in any unused amounts.

Today's approval by the Council is final. The European Parliament voted on it on 15 September. The regulation will enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page

September 25, 2021 - The 2021 European Languages Day was celebrated at the Franciscan square in Varaždin. Pupils presented souvenirs honoring Germany and the German language.

'Gore gore gore gore' (hills burn worse up there) is one of those sentences that show how weird but cool the Croatian language can be. Add interesting phrases to the equation, and you can understand why Croatians are proud and want to preserve their language.

But Croatians also respect other languages too.

As reported by the Varaždinske Vijesti website, September 25 marked the European Day of Languages.

Under the motto "Deutsch ist Nah!" Varaždin's Franciscan square saw five Varaždin elementary schools, the Varaždin high school, and ten schools from Varaždin County celebrate the event with a suitable program.

„Given that we as teachers recognized the importance of multilingual education, we decided to shed light on the German language, which is important for Varaždin County, both because of geography but also for the economy. In teaching, we address communicative approach and active, vocal communication and active usage of the German language which is very significant in our area“, Vidovec Elementary school German language teacher Lea Lesar Dolenc told for Varaždinske Vijesti.

Dolenc is the initiator of the project that is run along with the European Culture Circle EKULT Association for the popularisation of the German language. The program that lasted from 10 AM to 1 PM saw the presentation of souvenirs with symbols of the Federal Republic of Germany made by the pupils from participating schools.

Apart from German, as former British Ambassador Andrew Dalgleish noted for TCN, Croatians speak English very well too.

When it comes to language learning in Croatia, apart from various courses and private schools, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FFZG), part of the University of Zagreb, is the most pristine high-education facility that educates its students to be translators. As well as understand various languages and cultures that tag along with lingual expressions. Additionally, FFZG is the home to Croaticum.

„Croaticum – Centre for Croatian as a Second and Foreign Language is the oldest and largest institution engaged in teaching, research, and description of Croatian as a second and foreign language. It is part of the Department of Croatian Language and Literature at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, the largest Croatian academic institution specializing in social studies and humanities. Croaticum is renowned for its tradition, expertise, and knowledge“, says the Croaticum website, an institution founded back in 1962.

Commemorating the learning of second languages by celebrating the European Day of Languages is now a twenty-year-long tradition, as it was founded in 2001.

„Throughout Europe, 800 million Europeans are represented in the Council of Europe's 47 member states, and all are encouraged to discover more languages at any age, as part of or alongside their studies. This stems from the Council of Europe’s conviction that linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our continent. Therefore, the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg, promotes plurilingualism in the whole of Europe“, explains the European Language Day website.

Learn more about Varaždin in our TC guide.

For more about culture in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

September the 17th, 2021 - One concern for many that comes with Croatian Eurozone accession is price hikes. Just how much will prices rise, and will it be overall or only in regard to certain items?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the controversy over Croatian Eurozone accession, aside from solely political views, boils down to a debate on whether prices will rise, and if so, by how much. According to data obtained by Jutarnji list from the Croarian National Bank (CNB), it can be expected that after the conversion from the kuna to the euro, people will very likely have to slightly higher amounts for some items than they were used to.

This has been shown by the statistics based on the experience of other Eurozone member states that went through the process of introducing the euro at some point in the past, and in which it was shown that the biggest price increases should be expected in the catering sector, more precisely in restaurants and cafes. That said, other service sectors will not be spared a rise in prices either...

As Andrea Pufnik from the CNB explains in her paper “Effects of the introduction of the euro on consumer price movements and the perception of inflation”, the experience of the Netherlands shows that restaurant prices increased by 3.5 percent after the introduction of the euro. In Finland they increased by two percent, while Austria and Greece, slightly smaller increases in the hospitality segment were recorded, from 0.2 to 0.5 percent, as reported by Jutarnji list.

According to experts looking into this, the reason for these price increases has a lot to do with the so-called ''menu-cost model'', more precisely, most restaurants will be forced to print new menus and this cost will spill over to consumers in the shape of price hikes.

Statistics also show how price increases could occur in the segment of cleaning, repairing and renting clothes, as witnessed, for example, by citizens of France, Germany and Estonia. Hair and beauty services in general could also become more expensive following Croatian Eurozone accession, and prices are also expected to rise in the services of IT, audiovisual and photographic equipment.

However, certain products will also become more expensive as a result of the ''rounding up'' of prices, which could be most noticeable in bakery products and newspapers, according to the Pufnik research.

Namely, prices being round up is one of the most common reasons for price increases, which is most pronounced for products that initially had slightly lower prices, which include newspapers and bakery products.

According to CNB projections, it is expected that newspapers and books could become 2.06 percent more expensive in Croatia from 2023, financial services 1.9 percent, accommodation services 1.7 percent, footwear 1.6 percent, sports services 1.5 percent, and catering services 1.2 percent.

Some Eurozone member states, such as Finland, also recorded an increase in fruit prices after the introduction of the euro as its national currency, although it is possible that this also happened due to climatological reasons. In Ireland, the biggest jump in prices was in sports and recreational services, in Slovakia the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose the most, while neighbouring Slovenia recorded higher prices in restaurants and cafes, then in footwear and household appliances, and then in transport services.

In principle, various surveys provide different estimates of the effects of the conversion of national currencies into the euro, and Eurostat finds that growth averaged between 0.1 and 0.3 percent for the Eurozone back in 2000 and 2001, while some other surveys suggest price rises of 0.34 percent.

What is certain is that the effects vary from country to country. For example, the risk of price increases is reduced in countries with subdued consumption growth as well as in those member states that introduce mandatory pricing in both currencies in stores before the introduction of the euro, and then price growth is usually subdued in those markets where competition is higher.

"We don't really expect price increases, but we do expect smaller price increases in accordance with the statistics that were recorded in other then new members of the European Union," said Governor Boris Vujcic in attempt to calm people's worries.

For more on Croatian Eurozone accession, check out our dedicated politics section.

ZAGREB, 15 Sept, 2021 - Europe's industrial production recovered in July 2021 but Croatia was among the EU countries with the largest monthly decreases, an Eurostat report showed on Wednesday.

In July 2021, the seasonally adjusted industrial production rose by 1.5% in the euro area and by 1.4% in the EU, compared with June 2021, when industrial production fell by 0.1% in the euro area and remained stable in the EU.

In the euro area in July 2021, compared with June 2021, production of non-durable consumer goods rose by 3.5%, while in the EU it rose by 2.8%.

Capital goods went up by 2.7% in the euro area and by 2.4% in the EU, and intermediate goods by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU, while energy production was stable in the EU and fell by 0.6% in the euro area.

Among member states for which data are available, the highest monthly increases were registered in Ireland (+7.8%), Belgium (+5%) and Portugal (+3.5%). The largest decreases were observed in Lithuania (-2.0%), Slovenia (-1.8%) and Croatia (-1.6%).

In July 2021 compared with July 2020, industrial production increased by 7.7% in the euro area and by 8.3% in the EU.

In the euro area in July 2021, compared with July 2020, production of intermediate goods rose by 11.2%, nondurable consumer goods by 10.1%, durable consumer goods by 9.8%, capital goods by 5.9% and energy by 1%.

In the EU, production of intermediate goods rose by 11.8%, non-durable consumer goods by 9.4%, durable consumer goods by 8.9%, capital goods by 6.3% and energy by 2.7%. 

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 15 Sept, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday during the national parliament's Question Time that it was reasonable for Croatia that entered the EU in 2013 to switch to the euro nine and a half years after its admission to the Union.

"It seems a reasonable time frame to me for a country that joined the Union on 1 July 2013 to adopt the euro on 1 January 2023, that is nine and a half years," Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in response to the question from Marko Milanović Litre (Croatian Sovereignists) whether the citizens should be asked about the adoption of the euro and renunciation of monetary sovereignty.

"You are a new MP. Your predecessors in this same parliament ratified the EU Accession Treaty by 150 votes in favour. Your colleague, Ruža Tomašić, thanks to whom you are sitting here, was a member of the European Parliament in 2013. Your colleague Ilčić has rushed to the EP where he is paid in euro," Plenković said.

The PM said that the strategic goal of his government was to get Croatia into two deeper integrations - the Schengen passport-free travel zone and the euro area.

"We have made sure to fulfil the Maastricht criteria in the present circumstances of a pandemic, earthquakes and crises and have come close to adopting the euro, and now we listen to this initiative of yours. I don't know if we have all slept through this entire period," the prime minister said.

"Is there anyone who still thinks that EU membership is bad for us, after we have absorbed 44 billion more than we have contributed?" he concluded.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 14 Sept, 2021 - A majority of members of the European Parliament on Tuesday endorsed a draft resolution seeking the recognition of same-sex marriages and registered partnerships in all member states.

The draft was endorsed by 387 MEPs, 161 voted against and 123 abstained.

The resolution says same-sex spouses and partners should be treated equally as heterosexual ones, and that marriages and partnerships concluded in one EU member state should be recognised in all.

Of the Croatian MEPs, the draft was endorsed by Biljana Borzan, Predrag Matić and Tonino Picula of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Valter Flego of the Istrian Democratic Party.

Independent Mislav Kolakušić and conservative Ladislav Ilčić were against, while Sunčana Glavak, Karlo Ressler, Tomislav Sokol and Željana Zovko of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) abstained.

Ivan Vilibor Sinčić (Human Shield) did not vote as he was in Rome, and Romana Jerković (SDP) could not because of technical difficulties, but her office told Hina that she "supports this resolution."

Speaking to Hina, Matić said the adoption of the resolution was a "civilisational achievement", while Flego said it was unacceptable that LGBTIQ rights were being reduced instead of advanced in many countries, and that it was time to "finally give everyone equal rights."

Ilčić told Hina the resolution "is consciously trying to equate the legal status of same-sex couples in all member states, thus negating the right of the states to independently decide which unions they will recognise and which they won't."

"That would mean that the whole EU must follow the most liberal states to avoid alleged discrimination, which is absurd, contrary to the treaties and the subsidiarity principle," he said, adding that the LGBT lobby was exerting enormous pressure on the European institutions.

The resolution also calls on the European Commission to take action against Romania, Hungary and Poland for violating LGBTIQ rights and fundamental EU values.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

September 14, 2021 - The first Croatian STED microscope purchased and owned by the Ruđer Bošković Institute (IRB) in Zagreb offers new opportunities for Croatian scientists and researchers.

The super-resolution microscope (STED) worth 4.5 million kuna has become a new edition to the selection of delicate but useful equipment the Ruđer Bošković Institute (IRB) uses to tackle the hottest questions faced by modern science.

As IRB reported in its press release, the microscope made its way to Iva Tolić's lab with thanks to the European Union funds.

"Stimulated Emission Depletion microscopy (STED) is a super-resolution technic of fluorescent microscopy and one of the methods of overcoming the limitations of visible light microscopes in observing matter structures of incredibly small sizes. German physicist Stefan W Hell received the Nobel Prize for developing STED in 2014,'' informed IRB in its press release. It also stated this is the first microscope of its kind in all of Croatia.

''With the help of this STED microscope, we can see three times the amount of small structures in a cell than we could before with the standard microscopes. We'll use them for observing cell division, more precisely for chromosome division. When it comes to division, it's very important that the chromosomes are well-connected microtubules, which are protein pipes that tie chromosomes and pull them onto separate parts of the cell. With this type of microscopy, we'll be able to determine how microtubules are connected to chromosomes in various phases of spindle formation, which is still a mystery,'' explains Iva Tolić.

As TCN previously reported, Iva Tolić's team already made a significant contribution to cell biology and spindle research when their work led them to new information on microtubule-sliding.

In addition, back in 2014, the then-president of Croatia Ivo Josipović awarded her the Order of the Croatian Danica (the medal which boasts an image of a famous scientist, Ruđer Bošković) for her particular contribution to the promotion of science in Croatia and abroad.

''Tolić earned her international reputation due to her research into complex cellular processes. Namely, not so long ago, in cooperation with her colleagues from the Max Planck Institute, Tolić discovered the first potentially immortal organism – a special kind of yeast, which was isolated from African beer. This type of yeast is very special because it rejuvenates every time it reproduces. In the case of most other yeasts, the mother cell creates a young daughter cell while it ages and eventually dies. Contrary to that, the mother cell of this yeast splits into two equal daughter cells, which remain young throughout their divisions,'' wrote IRB on its website at the time of the ceremony.

With Tolić's international reputation and well-established name, as well as scientific findings found by other scientists at IRB, it is understandable that European Union funds supported the further development of IRB's equipment.

''The outstanding power of STED microscopy allows researchers to discover complicated processes in cell structures. These understandings are the basis for further research on how specific medications, chemical compounds or bacteria and viruses affect processes in a live cell,'' concluded IRB's press release.

Learn more about Croatian inventions and discoveries from Tesla to Rimac on our dedicated TC page.

For more about science in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

September 13, 2021 - The Museum Practicum Project by the Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb (MSU) will teach 30 selected young people aged 15-25 about the professions of curator and other museum jobs, as well as contemporary art while giving them a chance to promote their own work.

With the many good practices of additional education and popularising scientific and educational fields for young people (such as the SCOPE Project by the Višnjan Observatory), the Museum of Contemporary Art (MSU) in Zagreb is also making its contribution in line with their field. Their Museum Practicum project that started on September the 1st and will last until June the 30th, 2022, wants to introduce young people aged 15-25 to contemporary art, and to the basics of curator practices and other types of museum work. Thirty selected people will be mentored by the project team, partners, and hired experts and artists.

''The work with these young people will be held via online platforms, and it will include moderated conversations, mentorships, and co-creating virtual exhibitions from MSU holdings and exhibitions of their own work in the medium of photography created within the project,'' says MSU's website.

In this way, the project wants to provide young people with the opportunity to develop their own creative skills and knowledge through a virtual space and open space for both their expression and self-promotion.

''Even though curriculum reforms have already started, the need for young people interested in developing their social and creative skills is strong, as the education system does not provide that enough. Additionally, there is the insufficiency in regional representation and the limited participation opportunity of young people in art and culture activities due to the lack of extracurricular activities, all of which has been additionally worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic,'' says MSU, addressing the importance of the Museum Practicum Project in light of the many issues faced by Croatian schools.

The further recognition of the importance of the project is evident by the financial support of the EU from the European Social Fund, and the total budget of the project is 201,092.83 kuna.

The Museum Practicum Project and its wider goal of educating young people in preparing virtual exhibitions is similar and in line with the Women and Technology Program at the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum, about which TCN previously wrote. Add in the overall challenges in the Croatian education system, from a lack of extracurricular activities to the previously mentioned problems of the straight A epidemic, and projects like these seem like welcome solutions to help young people recognise their worth and find passion in their lives.

Learn more about Zagreb on our TC page.

For more about education in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

September the 1st, 2021 - We have been receiving many reports of resident Brits in Croatia having their UK passports stamped at the border when entering and/or exiting Croatia. While this shouldn't be happening, these stamps are just a meaningless little souvenir and will not have any effects on your rights under the Withdrawal Agreement (WA).

Brexit has been done and dusted, and while there are still growing pains, the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic has overshadowed most of the infighting and arguing between the bloc and the Northern European island nation. With the economic part of the new relationship between the bloc, of which the UK was a powerful member for 40 years, and the UK still finding its feet, the situation with citizens' rights which plagued those affected for years has all but been cleared up.

There are, just like with everything else, certain issues still. One issue is resident Brits in Croatia having their British passports stamped upon entry and exit. It is important to state that this isn't happening all the time, but it is still happening where it shouldn't be. Here's how you can try to avoid it, and if it does happen, don't sweat it.

If you are a resident Brit in Croatia covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, you'll already (hopefully anyway) have your new ID/residence card which documents that right under Paragraph 4, Article 18 of the Agreement. This protects you and your acquired rights as you had exercised them under the freedom of movement laws which once applied to you as an EU citizen.

When crossing the Croatian border (either entering or exiting), you should always show your Croatian ID/residence card along with your British passport to the border guard in order to avoid any questioning as to your reason for entry/your reason for having been in the country and to showcase your rights.

We've been receiving reports, as stated previously, from Brits who are covered by the WA, some of which had permanent residence before Brexit even happened, who are now having their passports stamped by Croatian border guards. Naturally, this makes them worry for their rights and wonder why they, as legal tax paying residents, are being lumped in with visiting British tourists.

We have investigated why this is happening and have been assured that although it shouldn't be, it isn't anything to be concerned about and it doesn't affect your rights in any way whatsoever. The stamps can be looked upon as a little souvenir which carry no weight. As long as you can evidence that you are a legal resident of Croatia, any stamps you might have collected on your trips in and out of Croatia are meaningless.

Hopefully, as the consequences of Brexit settle and the UK and the EU's new relationship becomes the norm, such situations will stop happening. In any case, there is no need to worry about Croatian passport stamps in the UK passports of resident Brits in Croatia.

If you're a serial stamp collector despite having shown the border guard your ID/residence card and this article fails in easing your concerns, you can contact the British Embassy in Zagreb and voice your worries by clicking here.

For more, make sure to follow our politics section.