Croatia in Focus, br. 15/16, May/June 2006

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Government of the Republic of Croatia, Office for Public Relations10000 Zagreb, Trg sv Marka 2; tel: +385 1 63 03 050, 45 69 248,fax: +385 1 63 03 446, 63 03 [email protected]; http://www.vlada.hrTomislav MazalSandra PuhovskiSanja Milinović, Suzana Kovačević, Jasna Sruk Vlah, Dubravka Belas,Ida Ćosić, Igor Žarković, Nataša Hison, Paula Popravak, Vera ZebićMassol design&marketing, www.massol.hrKersch Offset1500

Croatia In Focus, Croatian Government Bulletin

Croatia In Focus No. 15/16 May/June 2006

NEWS FLASH

DIPLOMATIC TOUR

EPP-ED MEETING IN SPLIT

CHENEY IN DUBROVNIK

A MAJOR ANNIVERSARY

INTERVIEW: MARTINA DALIĆ

THE 2006 TOURIST SEASON

VUKOVAR CITY

THE NORTHERN VELEBIT NATIONAL PARK

OLIVE GROWING

CULTURE

SPORT

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NEWS FLASH

“Golden Share” for Dalekovod

The Zagreb-based company Dalekovod, whichdesigns and builds transmission lines and substations,suspension and jointing materials, and lighting and

floodlighting poles, is the winner of the “Golden Share(Zlatna Dionica)” award for 2005. The award was givenat a ceremony organised this month by the CroatianTelevision broadcast Business Club, the Lider businessweekly and the Kapital Klub company.

Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader presented theawards to Dalekovod CEO Luka Milicic. Accordingto Milicic, 60 percent of the company’s revenues areearned on the foreign market. In the first five monthsthis year, the company’s exports were 30 percent higher

than the entire export last year. The awards “ZlatnaDionica” and “Zlatni Udjel” have been conferred for nine years according to the performance of nominatedcompanies whose shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Zagreb and Varazdin.

This year, 42 shares were nominated for the awards.The Croatian Postal Bank (Hrvatska Postanska Banka)was given a special award for its contribution to thedevelopment of the Croatian capital market. A majorityof the Zlatni Udjel awards went to the funds of RaiffeisenInvest, which was proclaimed the best society in the

management of investment funds in 2005.

Coreper greenlights opening

of negotiations with Croatia

on science, research

The Committee of PermanentRepresentatives in the European Union(COREPER) in Brussels greenlighted thelaunching of negotiations with Croatiaon science and research, the first of 35chapters in the accession negotiations.

The ambassadors have just greenlighted theopening and probably closing of the first

chapter with Croatia. The joint position of all 25 EU member countries was that thenegotiations should be launched on June12th this year. They are expected to beclosed on the same day.

49 million euros for Mostar University

Croatian Science and Education Minister DraganPrimorac and the heads of the six Croatian universities

visited the southern city of Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina and held talks with the head of the localuniversity, Frano Ljubic, on funds which the Croatiangovernment is planning to donate to that institution.Minister Primorac told the press that the CroatianGovernment had decided to earmark 360 million kunafor the construction of a university campus in Mostar.

The first stage of construction works, which should be completed in the next three years, will be financedwith 183 million kuna granted by the authorities in

Zagreb.The minister described this as a historic eventfor Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as for the Croatsliving in the country. He said that Mostar Universitywas the only institution of tertiary education in Bosniawith lectures in Croatian and that it could not functionwithout assistance from Croatia.

Primorac added that the financing of the entire projectwould be transparent, with the Croatian Science andEducation Ministry supervising its implementationin compliance with Bosnian legislation. Of the 865

professors and lecturers working at the university, 250

are visiting professors from Croatia.



Foreign nationals buying real estate in

Croatia will need approval only from

Ministry of Justice

The Croatian government sent to parliament a final bill on changes to the Law on Ownership and other Proprietary Rights under which foreign nationalswishing to buy real estate in Croatia will need onlythe approval of the Justice Ministry, and the ForeignMinistry will no longer be involved in the procedure.The proposed changes remove administrative obstaclesand shorten the procedure. Under the existing law, theForeign Ministry receives requests by foreign nationals

for the purchase of real estate and forwards them tothe Justice Ministry, which in turn informs the ForeignMinistry of its opinion. Croatia has never discriminatedagainst citizens of any country and has always acted inline with the principle of reciprocity in issues relatingto the acquisition of real estate, foreign minister Grabar Kitarovic said. There are currently around 4,000outstanding requests for the purchase of real estate byforeign nationals, the minister said. The proposed bill

also enables local government units to sell their realestate without a public tender if this is in the general

economic and social interest of the public.

Highest U.S. military award presented

to descendant of Peter Tomich

A Congressional Medal of Honour, the highest USaward, was presented on Thursday to a family member of Croatian American Peter Tomich on board theaircraft carrier USS Enterprise, which is anchored off the southern Adriatic seaport of Split.Tomich was decorated posthumously 64 years ago by US

President Franklin Roosevelt for courage demonstratedduring the Japanese attack on Pear Harbour in 1941,when he risked his life to save the crew of the USSUtah. The award was presented to retired CroatianArmy Colonel Srecko Herceg by the commander of US Naval Forces Europe, Admiral Henry Elrich, inthe presence of Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Damir Polancec, Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic, and USAmbassador Ralph Frank.



Poland

The conclusion of the talks between the CroatianPrime Minister Sanader and the Polish Prime Minister Kazmierz Marcinkiewicz in Warsaw was that Croatiahas Poland’s support to join the EU and NATO andPoland’s experience in the accession negotiations willhelp Croatia on its road to Euro-Atlantic integration.At the end of the meeting, the Polish Prime Minister said that the mood in Poland had swung in favour of the EU since it became a member in 2004, as the

benefits for Polish society were already visible andhe offered Croatia assistance and to pass on their experience in negotiations with the EU and NATO.Prime Minister Sanader said that Croatia and Polandhave traditionally good relations, there were nounresolved political issues between them, and headded that Karol Woytila was also to thank for this, ashe visited Croatia three times as Pope John Paul II.He expressed his satisfaction with the position of thePolish government that the EU could not be completewithout Croatia and the countries of Southeast Europe.

“If we want the future of Europe to be different fromits past, then there is no alternative to the EU and the

unification of all its peoples”, Sanader said.He stated that he expects quick and good quality

negotiations with the EU, since both the previous andthe present Government had already done a great dealin adopting European legislation, and he expected thenegotiations to be completed in 2008 and that in 2009the citizens of Croatia would take part in elections for the European Parliament.

During the official visit to Poland, the Croatian PrimeMinister, dr. sc. Ivo Sanader, opened the new buildingof the Croatian embassy in Warsaw. In his speech onthat occasion, he pointed out that Croatia needed thesupport of friendly countries to join the EU and NATO.

“In order to join the EU and NATO Croatia needs thesupport of its friends and it expects it from Poland”he said. He also emphasized that all the countries of Southeast Europe deserved a European perspectiveand that Europe would only be complete when all thecountries were united in the EU.

During his stay in Poland, Prime Minister Sanader met with the Polish President Lech Kaczynski, andvisited the Polish parliament Sejm and the Senate.

DIPLOMATIC TOUR



Macedonia

The Prime Minister of the Republic of CroatiaIvo Sanader and the Prime Minister of theRepublic of Macedonia Vlado Bučovski agreedthat there are no open issues in the relations

between Croatia and Macedonia and that theyare improving constantly, especially in the areaof moving towards Euro-Atlantic integration.

Prime Minister Sanader, who was on a one-dayvisit to Macedonia, said that the European Unioncould not stop enlargement with the inclusion of

Romania and Bulgaria, nor even Croatia, sinceif we want a new, more prosperous Europewithout bloody wars from the past, then thereis no alternative to European integration, andit must include Macedonia as well as the other countries in the region.

Prime Ministers Sanader and Bučovski weretaking part in the foundation of the Macedonia-Croatia Business Club in the Chamber of Commerce, which includes all major Macedonian companies and 30 branches of

Croatian companies in Macedonia. The foundingof the club is expected to increase trade exchange

between the two countries, which now amountsto 220 million euros a year.

During his visit to Macedonia, Prime Minister Sanader met with the leaders of the Croatiancommunity in that country who told him abouttheir activities to preserve and promote the Croatiannational and cultural identity.

Slovakia

Fair accession to the European Union is individualaccession, and we will always try to ensure that onCroatia’s road there are not too many hurdles or toomany brakes, said the Slovak Prime Minister MikulašDzurinda at the end of his meeting with the CroatianPrime Minister Ivo Sanader, who was on a workingvisit to the Republic of Slovakia.

The two Prime Ministers emphasized the “excellentrelations” between the two countries and the frequentexchange of visits between Croatian and Slovak

officials. They also expressed their satisfaction withthe growth in the number of tourists.

Prime Minister Sanader commented how the openingof the branch office of Slovakia Export in Rijeka gave

added importance to the Port of Rijeka for CentralEuropean Countries, and the improved transport links

between Central Europe and Rijeka would encouragedevelopment even more strongly.

During his visit to Slovakia, Prime Minister Sanader officially unveiled a bust of Marko Marulić at theCroatian Cultural Centre in Devinsko Novo Selo, theseat of the Slovak Croats, where the launch was heldof the Croatian edition of the autobiography of theSlovak Prime Minister, Mikulaš Dzurinda, “Where

there is a will, there is a way”, with a preface written by Prime Minister Sanader.





EPP-ED MEETING IN SPLIT

EPP-ED parliamentary

group’s meeting in Split

The European People’s Party(EPP) is the largest political partyin Europe. It was founded in 1976and it includes member ChristianDemocratic national parties andother likeminded national partiesfrom throughout Europe. Party’s

president is Mr. Wilfried Martens.

According to its website the

EPP “is committed to a federalEurope, based on the principleof subsidiarity – a democratic,transparent and efficient Europe.”The vision of the Party is one of “mutual respect, of inclusion of allfree citizens, encompassing all European countries andregions, no matter how diverse – a Europe for all.”

In the European Parliament the EPP cooperates withEuropean Democrats faction to form the EPP-EDGroup.

The EPP has a youth political party called the Youthof the European People’s Party (YEPP).

In the southern Croatian town Split, on May 11thand 12th, European People’s Party and EuropeanDemocratic Christians (EPP-ED Group) held a two-day meeting. The main topics were those ones of great importance for the Southeast Europe as wellas the presentation of Croatia’s way towards EUaccession.

The meeting was opened by Hans-Gert Poettering,chairman of the EPP-ED group in the EuropeanParliament, who complimented Croatian Governmentand underlined the big friendship between Croatiaand the strongest European Parliament’s group.

“Croatia’s example is also a test for the European policies in this region which should be focusedon establishing peace and stability in the Balkans,which will primarily be based on the rule of law anddemocracy, and the countries in Southeast Europe

should base their future on it, as their accession tothe European Union will depend on that” said Hans-

Gert Poettering and promised that Croatia, whichis thought of being the leading factor of peace andstability in the region, would be evaluated exclusivelyon the basis of its own merits, independently fromany other country or any other process.

In his address, Croatia’s PM Ivo Sanader welcomedthe parliamentarians from all over Europe and statedthe importance of this meeting for Croatia. “Europecan create a peaceful future for all its citizens andEuropean unification project is important for allcitizens of the continent. Croatia serves as the EU’s

bridge to Southeast Europe and it is very importantthat Croatia, as well as other countries, become EUmembers as soon as possible” said PM Sanader.

EPP-ED parliamentarians reiterated their supportfor Croatian Government’s plan for the admission

of Croatia to the EU in 2009. Parliamentariansstated that Croatia must not be a hostage of other southeastern European countries, because Croatiais the most developed country in the region and aguarantee for the stability of this part of Europe. Theyhad expressed conviction that Croatia would enter theEU soon after Bulgaria and Romania.

Croatia is the leader of the entire region in the processof accession to EU, while the treatment of Croatia is atest and an example for the neighboring countries with

the same aspirations, was one of the main conclusionsof EPP-ED Group meeting.



US Vice-president

Cheney in Dubrovnik

The Vice-president of the United States of America,Richard B. Cheney, visited Dubrovnik where he metwith the Croatian President Stjepan Mesić and PrimeMinister Ivo Sanader, and took part in a meeting of the American-Adriatic Charter with Prime Ministersof Croatia, Macedonia and Albania.

The main subjects of the discussion between Vice- president Cheney and President Mesić were thegeneral relationship between Croatia and the USA,

the situation in the region, the reforms Croatia isimplementing on its road to the EU and NATO andCroatia’s contribution to the fight against terrorism.

Just before the meeting with the American Vice- president Cheney, the Prime Minister of Croatia, dr.sc. Sanader said that the visit by American Vice-presidentRichard B. Cheney to Croatia was a major step forwardin the bilateral relations between the two countries.

“The visit by Vice-president Cheney is a major stepforward in our relations. After President Bill Clinton,

he is the first visitor on such a high level, now onlyPresident George W. Bush could come”, Prime

Minister Sanader said.

Speaking of Croatia’s interest in developing manysided relations with the United States, Prime Minister Sanader said that the USA in recent history, especiallyin the 20th century, had shown that there was noalternative to transatlantic cooperation.In all crisis situations, from the First and SecondWorld Wars, to the war in this region, Americanshave been with Europe and tried to solve problemstogether, Prime Minister Sanader said.

The United States strongly support Croatia becominga full member of NATO and the European Union andappreciates its involvement in Afghanistan, AmericanVice-president Cheney said at the beginning of theworking dinner with Croatian Prime Minister Sanader.

“We, the Americans, have been tremendouslyimpressed with how far Croatia has come over the past few years. We are strongly supportive of Croatia becoming a full member of the trans-Atlanticcommunity, both NATO and the European Union,”

CHENEY IN DUBROVNIK



said Vice-president Cheney, “We also are deeplyappreciative of the present engagement of Croatia inAfghanistan, in a very difficult situation in that part of the world,” Vice-president Cheney added.

Prime Minister Sanader emphasized that the visit by Vice-president Cheney was considered by theGovernment as an expression of friendship andsupport for Croatia, and also a major step forward in

bilateral relations.

“We are looking forward to closely cooperating withthe United States in the future. Croatia is preparingitself for full membership of the EU and NATO andwe know we can count on the US’s support” PrimeMinister Sanader said. He expressed strong belief inthe trans-Atlantic partnership of the USA and Europeand the necessity for it to deepen in the future.

On the second day of the visit by Vice-presidentCheney to Dubrovnik, a meeting of member states of the American-Adriatic Charter was held.

The American-Adriatic Charter is an Americaninitiative launched in May 2004, with the aim of

speeding up, through mutual cooperation, preparationsfor membership by the three countries aspiring tomembership of NATO, the implementation of militaryand political reforms and attainment of the necessarycriteria and standards.

Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, who hosted the meeting,expressed gratitude, in his opening speech, to theUSA for its leadership in the region of SoutheastEurope and the launch of the American-AdriaticCharter, which has been very useful for Croatia in

joining NATO.

“Membership of NATO is Croatia’s strategic goal,as we are aware that peace and security cannot beachieved in isolation. In NATO we recognize a uniquelyeffective political and defence alliance founded on thevalues of peace, freedom, democracy and the free marketeconomy” Prime Minister Sanader pointed out.

Vice-president Cheney expressed “strong supportof the desires of the three members of the American

Adriatic Charter to join the Euro-Atlantic community,adding that great progress had been made.



“We deeply appreciate the fact that all the threecountries are already engaged alongside the NATO

and US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Vice- president Cheney emphasized, believing the meetingin Dubrovnik to be “an important opportunity toevaluate the progress in terms of becoming eligiblefor NATO membership”. Prime Minister Sanader expressed the readiness and determination of Croatiato overcome the difficulties and challenges that occur on the road to NATO and to move forward with the

process of reform, cooperating with the USA and other partners from NATO. He expressed the hope that thenext NATO Summit in Riga would give a strong signalfor future membership in the Alliance and a clear

timeframe set for negotiations. The Prime Ministersof Albania and Macedonia Sali Berisha and VladoBučkovski also expressed the strong aspirations of their countries for membership of NATO and their readiness to engage their forces anywhere in the worldwhere NATO and US forces are stationed. They stressedthat they expect a strong signal from the Riga Summitabout their chances for full membership of NATO.At the end of the meeting the three Prime Ministersrepeated their readiness to be part of the anti-terroristcoalition and each said on behalf of his country how much

both the UN and NATO are contributing to the peaceoperations in the world from Afghanistan to Kosovo.

“Global terrorism is a problem that concerns everyone in theworld and demands a united struggle,” PM Sanader said.

The Albanian Prime Minister Berisha stressed at themeeting that Albania was and will be participating

wherever NATO and United States forces are in thedefence of freedom and common values and that itwas ready and determined to pay any price to meetthe conditions for membership in NATO.

“Membership of NATO will best secure the process of the transformation of this region of conflicts into a leader in peace and stability”, said Prime Minister Berisha The Macedonian Prime Minister Bučkovski assessedthat the American Adriatic Charter “had succeeded inarticulating the aspirations of the three countries for

membership of NATO” and that he expects them toreceive invitations in 2008.

During his visit to Dubrovnik, Vice-president Cheneyand his wife Lynn used the time to tour the culturaland historical sites of the Old City of Dubrovnik.

In the library of the Franciscan monastery, the Mayor of Dubrovnik, Dubravka Šuica, gave Vice-presidentCheney a reprint of a contract from 1783 signed

by a delegation from the USA and an envoy of the

Dubrovnik Republic, and his wife a statue of St.Blaise (sv. Vlaho).

According to a source from the American delegation,the Cheneys were enthralled by Dubrovnik.



Eight decades of Croatian radio and

half a century of television

Congratulating the staff of Croatian Radio andTelevision on their major anniversary, the PrimeMinister dr. sc. Ivo Sanader recalled HRT’s beginnings,its technical development, itssuccessful programs and the vitalcontribution made by HRT in theHomeland War. Welcoming HRT’s

enormous contribution to the developmentand transparency of public authority in the Republicof Croatia, he promised further Government support,alignment of media legislation with European standards,emphasizing the exceptional role of the professional mediain building and preserving democracy.

Croatia Radio and Television recently marked animportant anniversary – 80 years of Croatian radio and50 years of television. In the same year when the BBC

began work, the beginning of the life of Croatian radiowas marked by the voice of Božena Begović.

It all started two years earlier, in March 1924, whenmany people in the world considered radio to bemerely a modern invention without a future, a group of

prominent intellectuals and business people in Croatia,led by the astronomer and physicists dr. Oton Kučer,founded the Zagreb Radio Club, which established thefoundations of Croatian radio broadcasting.Through tireless work, keeping up with technologicaland technical development, thirty years later, theCroatian media world was enriched by television.From then until now, Croatian radio and television has

become a modern, increasingly advanced and, in termsof programming, ever richer broadcasting company,which is now a public service to Croatian citizens,endeavouring to meet in the best possible way the needof the Croatian public for precise, objective, and quick information, for cultural and educational content, but alsofor entertainment and coverage of sporting events.Today Croatian Radio and Television is one of the mostrespected public television companies in Europe, and thisyear’s anniversary marked the beginning of the use of digital technology in the creation of its news broadcasts.The significant successes which we would like to recall

on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of radio and the50th anniversary of television include major projects

such as the European skatingchampionships in 1974

in Zagreb, theMediterraneanGames in

Split in 1979,the Gymnastics World

Cup in 1982, the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo in 1984,

the World Student Games in Zagreb in1987, the European Basketball Championship

in 1988, the Eurovision Song Contest in 1990,the European Athletics Championships in 1990,the visits by the Pope to Croatia in 1994, 1998 and2003, two summit meetings of leaders from Centraland Southeast Europe in Zagreb in 2000 and 2005and two World Cup skiing competitions on Sljeme in2005 and 2006.The successful programs have been many, and therehave also been an especially large number of internationalradio and television awards. Over the years, the Dramasection of Croatian radio alone has succeeded in winning30 awards at respected festivals such as the PRIXITALIA, PRIX FUTURA, PRIX JAPON, PREMIOONDAS, PRIX CIRCOM and the international festival/

competition held in Croatia, the PRIX MARULIC.In marking this anniversary, we are obliged to remember the role of Croatian Radio and Television and all itsemployees during the Homeland War. Despite thesystematic destruction of radio and television masts

by the enemy, courageous journalists, cameramen andtechnicians brought the truth about Croatia and the war imposed on us to the world. With pride we mentionthe names of Gordan Lederer, who with his camerain his hand, died from sniper fire, Siniša Glavašević,who, seriously injured, broadcast right up to the verylast minute from the ruins of Vukovar hospital, butalso Branimir Polovina, Željko Ružičić, Đuro Podboj,Žarko Kaićand Nikola Stojanac. Their contribution wasimmeasurable and their involvement in the HomelandWar honourable.An impressive fact from recent research shows thatCroatian Radio and Television is high on the list of institutions most trusted by citizens. In recognition of the need for media freedom and variety the Governmentof the Republic of Croatia, will support HRT in itscontribution to the development of the economy, thecreation of a stable political system, the fight against

corruption and to build completely transparent publicauthorities in the Republic of Croatia.

A MAJOR ANNIVERSARY



INTERVIEW

Interview with Martina Dalić,

State Secretary of the Central State

Office for Development Strategy.

After Hitro.hr began work and public information

services opened, such as the electronic land registry,

the third successful step towards the complete

computerization of administration is the foundation

of the Agency for Support of Information Systems

and Information Technology (APIS IT) What is this?

APIS IT is being formed through the reorganizationof the City Institute for Automatic Data Processing of

the City of Zagreb, with the aim of performing tasksthat are part of the implementation of the e-Croatia

program for 2007, and offering additional staffing andinfrastructure support to improve the implementationof the Hitro.hr project, which has already started. By

bringing together the best quality technological baseand IT personnel in the Republic of Croatia and theCity of Zagreb, we obtain the more efficient and cost-effective application of information technology and newinfrastructure, equivalent to the systems in the EuropeanUnion. Computerization is only one of the examples of

how we should be preparing to join the European Unionand to accept European standards, both for the needs

of the state administration and for the needs of localgovernment.

Croatia has so far gone through the most demanding

preparation for the pre-accession funds. Apart from

Turkey, Croatia is the only candidate for membership

of the European Union who has been requested to

provide detailed procedures for preparation for use

of funding from the Union’s pre-accession funds.

Yes, having gained the status of candidate the doorswere opened for Croatia to the Union’s pre-accessionfunds – PHARE, ISPA and SAPARD, but it was

necessary to go through a demanding accreditation process. This is in fact the procedure for making use of the Union’s structural funds, aimed at the members of the integration. This kind of detailed procedure was notdemanded of the countries that joined the EU in 2004,

but the Union decided to tighten the conditions for theremaining candidates for use of the money from the

pre-accession funds, even asking for confirmation fromexternal auditors. Croatia at this moment is managingas many as five Union funds. The first money from thePHARE and ISPA funds is expected soon, whilst the

process of accreditation for SAPARD is still pending.

For which projects have you earmarked the first

funds received?

The ISPA program planned 60 million euros for Croatiafor 2005 and 2006, aimed at transport and environment

protection projects. The National Fund has received thefirst five million euros from the European pre-accessionfund ISPA. So far two projects have been approved

– reconstruction of the Vinkovci-Tovarnik-state border railway line, and a water supply and sewer project

for the City of Karlovac. We are expecting any daynow EU approval for a waste disposal site at Bikarac.For all three projects national funding has also been

provided, and the line ministries and end users, such asCroatian Railways, must be alert to ensure that duringthe implementation of the projects all agreements arehonoured, since any irregularities in procedures mayresult in having to return the money.

You mentioned that the Republic of Croatia is also

involved in co-financing all these projects from its

budget funds. Could you explain the financingmethod in more detail?





Croatia has become one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in Europe for holidays. The rocky

coastline with its beautiful beaches and bays, and 1185islands has, by its beauty, grabbed the attention of manyvisitors, whose numbers are increasing from year to year.This is borne out by the fact that as many as aboutforty thousand touristsflooded the Adriaticat Easter. Although itis still the pre-season

period, the increasein comparison with2005 is clear (3-4%)and is a foretaste of

yet another successfulyear of tourism aheadof us. According to

predictions, a recordnumber of visitors isexpected this season.For the first time thereis talk of numbers above10 million visitors.Destinations such asDubrovnik, Istria,

Kvarner and Dalmatiaare already recordinga huge growth inorganized travel.Therefore, the 2006tourist season presentsa challenge, not onlyin terms of the number of visitors, but also inthe realization of thegreatest investment sofar in tourist structures,

and municipal andtransport infrastructure.According to estimates

by the Ministry of theSea, Tourism, Transportand Development, theseinvestments amount to5.8 billion kunas, or 800million euros, of which3.2 billion kunas is ear-marked for investment

in reconstruction of existing or building new

buildings, mainly hotels and apartment complexes.In this way Croatia will gain about twenty new four-

star hotels and for the first time have more than onemillion beds available. The trend is also for buildingwellness centres, indoor swimming pools, and larger rooms and bathrooms.

THE 2006 TOURIST SEASON



The fact that Croatia is recognized in Europe preciselyfor its hotel business is seen in the nomination of the

Dubrovnik Palace Hotel. That is to say, the Dubrovnik Hotel was the first Croatian hotel to be nominated for an award by the prestigious World Travel Awards.

This is the “tourism Oscar” award in the category of the best resort hotel in Europe, where it has to compete

with tough competition from 19 luxury hotels fromSpain, Italy, France, Greece and many others. Thisis only one of the factors, which should result in anincrease in the number of tourists this season.

An enormous influx of visitors is expected fromGermany, Italy, Slovenia,Austria, Poland, France andthe USA. The best-knownAmerican tourist guide, Arthur Frommer’s, has issued its first

independent guide to Croatia,with 340 pages includingall destinations in Croatia,from Dubrovnik, Dalmatia,Istria, continental Croatia,Zagreb and the surroundingarea, Zagorje, Slavonia andPodravina.

There is a great deal of interest being shown in the

USA in terms of cruisingtourism in Croatia, primarilyin Dubrovnik, which isone of the world’s elitedestinations. This year 17cruising companies from theUSA are bringing 30 floatinghotels to the Adriatic coast,in package arrangementsfrom Rovinj to Dubrovnik.As many as 290 visits bymini cruisers are planned to

15 Croatian towns.

So the potential of Croatiantourism is enormous andto a large extent can beexploited.Beyond its rich andrecognizable scenery,Croatia has a fascinatinghistory and culture, whicheach year, in terms of the number of interested

visitors, is rated ever higher on the international market.



Vukovar is situated in North-east part of Croatia andit is the centre of Vukovarsko-srijemska County. Itlies on mouth of river Vuka in Danube. Thanks tothe specificity of its geographical position, which is

primarily noted by international navigable line – river Danube, Vukovar presents significant traffic node of

backbone directions. It has good traffic connectionswith neighbouring countries Bosnia and Herzegovina,Hungary and Serbia and Monte Negro.

Vukovar is 16 kilometres away from City of Vinkovci,the biggest railway node in Croatia. By building airportKlisa, this area was also included in air traffic. Planedmultipurpose canal Danube-Sava, which will connectthose two rivers between Vukovar and BosanskiŠamac, is a part of the future Danube valley-Adriaticcombined river-railway traffic corridor. Starting pointof the canal is placed in the area of today’s Port Vukovar.By this canal Vukovar will gain traffic and strategicimportance for the transit of goods through this partof Europe. Vukovar is expected to be main Croatianriver port with the characteristics of big international

commercial, merchant and production zone.

All this places Vukovar among most significant pointsof backbone traffic routes of Croatia, and especially of international goods transit.

Inhabitation of Vukovar area is traced continuouslythroughout 5 thousand years by numerousarchaeological sites. Dove of Vučedol (Vučedolskagolubica) is an archaeological find from the era of Vučedol culture, which lasted from 3000 year B.C. to

2200 year B.C. This culture originated on the area of East Slavonija and Srijem, with the main finding site

in Vučedol, Sarvaš and Srijem, and it had spread towide European areas. Ritual pot Vučedolska golubicais considered to be one of the symbols of Vukovar.

Vučedol is also a well known excursion site, paradisefor fishermen with marvellous sand beach on Eagle’sIsland. Attractive mouth of river Vuka in Danube,

boulevards along Danube and arranged beaches enablessports and recreation activities throughout the year.

Complete progress of Vukovar area till 1945 is narrowlytied to Vukovar manor of Eltz Counts.

In 1867 Vukovar founded a printing house, which printed the first Vukovar papers in German “Der Syrmier Bote”. The oldest literature pieces from thisarea originate from Vukovar and Srijem Franciscans.The most famous writers from Vukovar area are NikolaAndrić, Julije Benešić and Antun Gustav Matoš.

Vukovar has its own Nobel prise winner Lavoslav Ružička,who won the Nobel prise for chemistry in 1939.

Castle of family Eltz from 18th century, baroque buildingsin the towns centre, Franciscan monastery, St. Jakovchurch, orthodoxy church of St. Nikolaj and many other constructions, are excerpted among numerous attractivestructures, unfortunately ruined during the war.

Issues of Vukovar economy are exceptionally complexand need to be seen within consequences of war.Till 1991 Vukovar was one of the main carriers of economy progress of all Croatia, and ex Yugoslavia.

Numerous facilities of the town till the beginning of thewar are still even today’s unrealized wishes to many other

VUKOVAR CITY



Croatian cities. For example, just BorovoCombine halls and shops employed morethan 22 000 workers. In addition to those

facts, there was big number of employeesin VUPIK, VUTEKS, as well as in manysmall economies, which placed Vukovar onthe top of economy statistic lists.

Vukovar has a huge potential definitely,and among many other advantages thereis Port Vukovar, which could be the baseof the future progress of town and this

part of Croatia. Construction beginning of a new part of the Port has been announced

and 40 million euros will be invested inthis project in next five years.

In spite of many problems Vukovar economy wins better and better resultseach year, which are the consequence of the great effort of domestic people. For further growth it is necessary to haveinvestments from other parts of Croatia,as well as from abroad. Precondition of the progress is definitely privatisation. InCroatian economy chamber developmentof new productions is considered to benecessary for further progress.

Today, Vukovar is peculiar for numerous benefits which can be gained only here.Besides Law of reconstruction of Vukovar andLaw of the areas of special State’s care, localmunicipality offers many conveniences.

Entrepreneur Zone Priljevo, whichcontains 18 parcels for entrepreneurs,

opens this December, and opening of Economic and Free Zones is also in

preparation. If we add to the Zones other advantages like Danube, Port Vukovar,road corridors, railway nodes in Vinkovci,geographic position and nearness of the

borders, it is clear that Vukovar economyhas a bright future.

At the end, let us stress that Vukovar isnot and can never be just a fact. It is way

beyond any fact or any memory, weather it is beautiful or painful.

Dunav – Sava Canal

Croatian government will start a new process of investment ininfrastructure, by the end of this year. In explanation, constructionof Dunav-Sava Canal, by its size, importance and value, surpasses

previous projects, including actual construction of highways. Thismega-project of Croatian government is based on exploitation of

potential of Vukovar Port, as one of the most perspective Croatianriver ports. Over 4.5 billion kuna is invested in the realization of thisconstruction project. Construction is planned to be ended by 2013.

Goal of the whole project is to transfer the majority of cargo traffic,from Asia to middle Europe, to Croatian river traffic corridor.

Dunav- Sava Canal will be used for agriculture, traffic and water management,from Vukovar to Šamac. Its three main purposes are: watering, navigationand drainage. Canal also represents the shortest navigable connectiontowards Western and Eastern Europe. By its construction, navigable journeyis shortened for 417 km towards west and 85 km towards east. Accordingto construction plans, Canal is supposed to intersect Slavonija till Vukovar.The bottom of the Canal is 34 meters wide, (vodno lice?) is 58 meters wideand the depth is 4 meters. The dug up material from the Canal will be usedto fill the highway of Corridor Vc.

Furthermore, this Canal will enable watering of 30 percent of allanticipated surfaces, according to the National program of watering for all Croatia. By its construction, structure of agriculture in Slavonija will

be significantly changed. Farmers will pass over to breeding culturessuch as fruit and vegetables, instead of current extensive cultures which

brings small profit pro hectare.

Traffic capacity through the Canal will be 12 million tons of cargoannually, and it will have the same flotation as Sava has. This wayCanal enables continuation of cargo traffic without trans-shipment.

Economic validity of the Canal construction is clear, it opens newworkplaces, continues construction employment even after theconstruction of highways and accents the importance of Vukovar Port,which will completely use its potential and become important node of traffic connection between North and Black Sea.

By construction of the Canal and development of Vukovar Port,development of ports of Sisak, Slavonski brod and Osijek will beactivated like “domino effect”.

Traffic experts of European Union and traffic management in generaltend to shift the traffic from roads to rivers. Besides being cheaper andecologically more acceptable than road traffic, other advantages areincomparable: longer objects lifetime, smaller energy usage, higher safety, smaller transport costs, and competitiveness and placement of Croatian products in world market.Canal construction and Vukovar Port development project hasexceptionally big economic importance for Croatia, and its realization

will leave the mark, not only on European market, but also on processof accession negotiations with European Union.



THE NORTHERN VELEBIT NATIONAL PARK



The Northern Velebit National Park

The whole Velebit mountain was designated a nature park in 1981, and today it embeds two national parks- Paklenica in the south and Northern Velebit (SjeverniVelebit) in the northern part of the mountain. The

Northern Velebit National Park is the youngest Croatian park, founded in 1999. The area was designated anational park due to its richness of karst phenomena,outstanding biodiversity and exquisitely beautifulnature on a relatively small area.

The Park’s surface is approximately 109 km2, and

inside there is the Hajdučki & Rožanski LedgesStrict Reserve, founded in 1969, famous for itsgeomorphologic phenomena - the pits. Until now,there are more than 200 pits discovered, out of whichthe most famous is Luke’s pit, 1392 meters deep,discovered in 1992.

It is forbidden to tread through the reserve (except passing through the Premuži ć’s trail), and only scientificresearches and educational visits are allowed. As partsof the park, there are the “Visibaba botanical reserve”,

famous for its endemic plant Croatian Sibiraea (Sibiraeaaltaiensis ssp. croatica), and the “Zavižan-Balinovac-Velika kosa botanical reserve”, which is a collection of species of the mountain flora. Inside the reserve thereis a widely known Velebit Botanical Garden, founded

by the pharmacology professor Fran Kušan in 1967.

The Park is striped with a dense net of mountaineeringtrails. The most famous and widely known is thePremužić’s trail, named after its constructor, forester Ante Premužić, who built it in the period between

1930-1933. The trail runs through the most beautifuland the most interesting parts of the Park (the strictreserve). From the numerous peaks in the surroundingsyou can enjoy a magnificent view to the Adriatic Seaand its islands, as well as to the continental side filledwith vast karst fields and numerous mountain peaks.The Park’s cultural value is present in a form of a largenumber of ruins of the so-called “summer lodges”,which witness of the ages passed and long forgotten,when Velebit was inhabited by the numerous populationof shepherds and cattle-owners. On its coastal banksthere are many ruined houses, lodges and stonewallswhich once marked the specific lifestyle of the local

population who scattered all around the globe in thedays to come, leaving nothing but traces of their presenceon this remarkably beautiful and exquisite land.

The greatest wealth of the Park’s natural values liein the karst phenomena and the biodiversity of themountain flora, which owes its existence to the factthat the mountain is actually a border between the

two huge climatic regions - the Mediterranean and thecontinental. There are more than 1500 plant speciesinside the park, and many of those are endemic. The

presence of all four large carnivores which inhabitCroatia (brown bear, wolf, lynx and wild cat) provesthe stabile and sound ecosystem, still undamaged bygeneric pollution or the influence of men - the fact isthat there are no permanent tenants inside the Park.

The karst phenomena - pits, first of all, together withnumerous karrens, sinkholes, valleys etc. are a result of

the joint influence of water, wind, composition of rocksand tectonics. The rainfall gets more or less acidic while

21



passing through the atmosphere, thus causing meltingof the softer part of rocks (i.e., calcium carbonate) and

the genesis of a variety of surface and subterranean karstformations, the Park’s most important natural wealth.

Offer to the visitors

Inside the headquarters of the Public Institution whichruns the Park, situated in the village Krasno, visitorscan have all the necessary information they needregarding trails, paths and the most recent info aboutthe conditons on the main access roads, as well asthe multimedia presentation. It is also possible to hire

a guide for a half-day or a whole-day period, whichincludes guidance to the Zavižan weather station, theVelebit Botanical Garden and some parts of the famous

Premužić’s trail. The newly-opened visitors’ centre inSenj also offers all these information to the visitors

coming from the Adriatic coast, as well as the largecollection of souvenirs, posters, brochures etc, whileon-line touch-screen info-kiosk provides an enjoyableand easy linkage to the entire world.

In the Northern Velebit National Park the visitors canenjoy not only the pristine, intact wilderness and themagnificent views to the sea and the inland, but alsoexperience the very intimate contact with nature andthe times long ago passed beyond the horizon of time- the Park is far away from any large industrial objects

or huge settlements, its remarkable features offer peace and consolation to anyone who is bold enoughto tread its paths.



The olive is thought to be one of the oldest foods,originating in Crete. It is mentioned in the Bible, inworks of ancient Egyptian civilization, and it played amajor role in Greek mythology, where it is mentionedthat the olive was created when the goddess Athena, ina contest with Poseidon, threw a drop of water onto arock, from where an olive tree grew. From ancient timesthe olive tree has provided food, been used for fuel and

building material, and its fruit for treating illnesses. Itwas considered to be a symbol of peace and wisdom.Olives are a kind of fruit from the Olea europaeatree. Due to their high fat content (15-35%) oliveswere named from the Latin word olea, which meansoil. They blossom in April and May and their fruit isharvested in the Autumn.In the time when the technology of processing hadnot yet been developed, some of the unripe oliveswere picked in September and soaked for a while insea water, after which they were washed and storedin stone or glass jars, and covered in sea water withthe addition of sprigs of fennel. Prepared in this way,they could be eaten right up to the following Spring.

Black, completely ripe olives were salted and storedin permeable jars or woven baskets.Today, olives are picked in October and November.Some are picked while they are still green and notyet ripe, and others are left to ripen completely and

become black. However, the black colour may beattained it the unripe green olives are left out in the air,and they turn a darker colour by further oxidation.Olives were processed in two ways. In the old days,olives were crushed by foot, and even by hand, wherehot water was poured onto them in specially madewoolen sacks. More recently olives were ground andthe flesh strained in special presses, also using hot

water. The first presses were exclusively hand driven,using human muscle power, later hydraulics, motors,and then electricity. Today olive growing is consideredto be a branch of agriculture, which for several yearsnow has seen significant advances in the increasingnumber of fruit-bearing trees and an increase in the

production of olive oil. The reason for this is the high price of olive oil. Due to the exceptionally favourablenatural conditions, the long tradition in production andespecially because this work is a supplement to work in tourism and other work, there is a great possibilitythat the number of olive trees will increase, along withthe production of olive oil.The fact is that the natural conditions exist for planting

a much larger number of olive trees and producingolive oil than we have at present and the potentialhas not been fully exploited. It is thought that about40,000 olive growers are involved in this work today,with a very high average age (about 65 years). Thereare 100 oil works for processing olives. According tofigures from the Central State Statistical Bureau, thelargest number of olive trees is in the Split-DalmatiaCounty (34%), then the Dubrovnik-Neretva County(20%), the Šibenik County (5%) and the Zadar County(15%), Istrian County (11%), the Primorsko-goranskaCounty (4%) and Lika-Senj County (1%). About30,000 tons of olives are picked each year in Croatia(in 2002 a record 45,000 tons were processed) andfrom this about 4,500,000 kg of olive oil is produced.According to figures from the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, in 2002 Croatia imported about 1,400 tonsof oil from EU countries, and exported about 350 tons.In the planting season in 2003/04, according to figuresfrom the Institute for Seed and Seedlings, 211,000olive tree seedlings were produced in Croatia in 11nurseries. It is thought that about 40,000 seedlingswill be imported, and about 50,000 seedlings will be

produced outside the Institute.The aims of the Operative Program for the four year period (2004 to 2007) are: to plant at least 5,500hectares of new olive groves and become self-sufficientin the production of olive oil, being self-sufficient inthe production of seedlings, providing all conditions(land, the production of seed material, subsidies, loans)vital for the continuous planting of new olive groves.The operative program to raise new plantationsof olive groves to cover 5,500 hectares which has

been adopted is considered to be most realistic in itsimplementation since it means raising 1,500 hectaresa year, which has been achieved so far.

OLIVE GROWING



The Schwarzoplan or the sad

story of Mr. Schwarz

You probably have never heard of David Schwarz,a wood merchant from Zagreb, but also a giftedvisionary, a self-taught builder and inventor of thecontrollable aluminium airship, with whom fate playedcruel tricks.

Count Zeppelin, of whom in contrast everyone hasheard, apart from being a general in the Germancavalry, was President of the Society for the Promotionof Air Travel and after determined efforts managed to

buy all David Schwarz’s plans and patents.

Schwarz today is claimed by the Hungarians - he has been proclaimed a Hungarian inventor since he was born somewhere near Lake Balaton. He is also claimed by the Austrians, who consider him to be an Austrianinventor since he worked in Croatia, which was atthat time only a province of the Austro-HungarianEmpire, and he died in Vienna. Unfortunately, neither of them, and not even Croatia, the country he called hishomeland and with which all his life and creative work

were linked, did not understand him at that time, nor recognize his value.

So not even in Zagreb did he find much understanding for his inventions, a lack of money determined his destinyon more than one occasion, along with the destiny of his inventions, and the indifference of those aroundhim could be called the “story of his life”. After severalattempts to interest investors in building an airship,he signed a contract with the Prussian government on

building his flying machine. The German government,

which hoped to find a new and powerful weapon inthis airship, gave him a workshop with workmen atBerlin Templehof. The ironworks owner Karl Berg,Schwarz’s future partner, also became involved in thework. With Berg he was to perfect the aluminium alloydural known as “Schwarz’s aluminium”, which wasmuch stronger than ordinary aluminium, from whichhe built the framework of the airship.

It was precisely this framework that was one of thespecial features of Schwarz’s invention, in comparisonwith previous airship constructors, since the new alloymade it possible to reduce the weight and create the all

important solution – the use of a metal construction for a flying machine. Moreover, Schwarz introduced a newstrengthening system based on the equal distributionof pressure throughout the shape and a firm systemof clamps by which the gondola was connected to theframe of the ship.

A major innovation was the possibility of steeringthe ship both vertically and horizontally. The entire

construction was covered in a metal covering made of dural, thereby the idea of a balloon made of silk andwood was completely abandoned.

With a great deal of difficulty, it was finished in thesummer of 1896. It was 48 meters long, weighing threeand a half tons, and 12 m in diameter. On the aluminiumconstruction a gondola was fixed with a Daimler 16horsepower engine, with a propeller almost threemeters in diameter and two side propellers. The side

propellers were Schwarz’s original invention: he used

them like rudders, with the possibility of individuallyaltering the number of revolutions. The airship was

CULTURE

p h o t o

c o u r t e s y o f t h e T e c h n i c a l M u s e u m ,

Z a g r e b



covered in aluminium foil 0.2 mm thick, could travelat a speed of 25 km/h with the possibility of rising to

a height of 250 m. An unofficial flight took place on8th October 1896. The airship was flown by Schwarzhimself, rising above the ground with the engine and

propellers working correctly. Despite problems withfuel, Schwarz was overjoyed, and already had visionsof increasing the power of the engine, which wouldmake it possible to transport larger weights and more

passengers. But the experiment remained unofficial andunknown to the wider public, since only those taking

part in it were present at the time, and so they were notcompetent to confirm the authenticity of the flight.

A new test flight was planned officially for 15thJanuary 1897 before Kaiser Wilhelm II and a militarycommission. General Ferdinand von Zeppelin was alsoextremely interested in the experiment; in fact he offeredto cooperate in the work, which Schwarz determinedlyrejected, believing the idea of a controllable aluminiumairship to be solely his.

A few days before the flight, Schwarz, who was mockedfor having creating a flying cigar, said goodbye to hisfamily in Zagreb with the fatal words, “They don’t

believe me now, but they will when I am dead!” Hisfirst stop on his way to Berlin was in Vienna, where hespent the night, sending a telegram to the organizingcommittee announcing his arrival and asking them to

begin filling the ship with hydrogen. On the followingday, at lunch, he was suddenly taken ill and, suffering a

stroke, he fell dead to the floor. The flight was naturallycancelled, and his unhappy widow, who at first refused

to talk to Count Zeppelin, gave in after several yearsand signed a contract handing all the plans for theairship over to him under title Schwarz II.The contract did not deny the fact that the controllableairship was the invention of David Schwarz, but withthe building of successive airships it was gradually andunjustly kept quiet. Major Gross, although he was aGerman officer, led by a feeling for justice, exposed theCount however, publicly stating that he was wearing

borrowed plumes, for which Zepplin challenged himto a duel. Kaiser Wilhelm II himself prevented the

duel and adjudicated predictably: the controllableairship was to be a German invention. Major Gross didnot dare confront the Kaiser, and the name of DavidSchwarz, the creator of the first controllable airshipwith a metal construction and a built-in petrol engine,gradually faded into obscurity.The airship LZ-129 even flew around the world, butthe development of the Schwarzoplan was halted withthe crash of the most perfect airship of its kind, the“Hindenburg”, in 1937 exactly 40 years after the deathof the inventor, David Schwarz.His premature death and the influence and position of Count Zeppelin contributed to the fact that the historyof inventions records the would-be Schwarzoplan asthe Zeppelin. Right up until the present day, Schwarz’scontribution to the world history of air travel has not

been truly appreciated.

photo courtesy of Mr. Drago Krajcer

Some Croatian families still keep antique Christmass tree ornaments in shape of the first zeppelin model



The Snow Queen of the

World’s Ski Slopes

Croatia is a small country, but a small country withgreat sporting achievements! We can say with completeassurance, that Croatian sportsmen and women haveleft their clear mark on a world scale. But one nameamongst them stands out in particular. The name of theCroatian Snow Queen of the slalom and giant slalom,the name of Janica Kostelić! A girl, whose appearanceand presence evoke fear and respect on the icy slopesof the world.

She has now modestly added one more title to all her sporting achievements. Simply: the best sportswomanin the World!That is to say, in the Barcelona Forum, at a glamorousdinner at the Laureus Academy, 42 retired sportinglegends of all time, such as Pele, Becker, McEnroe,Jordan, Navratilova, Moses… in tough competition,

and in seven categories, selected the inner circle of thesporting elite – for the title of the best of the best.

Although this was not the first, but the fourth nominationfor Croatia, only Goran Ivanišević received the awardin 2002. His magnificent victory at Wimbledon in 2001made him the Comeback of the Year. Janica Kostelić had been nominated as many as three times. But shefinally attained the Laureus statuette, regardless of theepic victories she had been collecting, only on her fourthattempt. She succeeded after two nominations for theComeback of the Year and her second nomination for the sportswoman of the year.

Finally the Croatian snow queen became the world’ssnow queen of the ski slopes, on 22nd May 2006. JanicaKostelić walked down the red carpet of the BarcelonaForum, as the best sportswoman on earth.For the first time a Croatian woman deservedly walkedin amongst the world’s sporting legends!

SPORT



But after receiving the award, after the mostglamorous sporting election in the world,recognition for all her effort did not end there. Thesewere definitely days of gathering in a harvest for Janica Kostelić, in the course of only two days.For after the dazzle of Barcelona, Janica Kostelić shone once again on 24th May 2006 in Paris. Thistime it was the award by the French SportingAcademy known as Monique Berlioux. It isawarded to the sportswoman who is outstanding in

the year by her results and personality. The threegold medals won by our Janica Kostelić at theworld championships in 2005 were the winningcombination, raising her up onto the pedestal in thecity of lights.

However this is only one of her exceptional sportingachievements, there is no end to our Janica Kostelić!She is unstoppable, indestructible, unbreakable andsimply unbeatable. She is definitely the Croatian

but also the world’s snow queen of the ski slope.



Documents

Croatia in Focus, br. 15/16, May/June 2006