In an attempt to assist traditional crafts and businesses in the historic Old City of Dubrovnik the Mayor of Dubrovnik has announced a tender for financial grants. Businesses, that are based around traditional local crafts, can apply to the City of Dubrovnik and if successful will receive 2,000 Kuna a month as a subsidiary. A total of 32 subsidies will be granted by the City of Dubrovnik in 2019 and will be organised by the Department for Tourism, Economy and Sea.

The criteria for granting subsidies include the length of the traditional business, the achievements so far, the craftsmen's readiness to transfer the acquired knowledge to heirs and the willingness to periodically organize exhibitions and presentations of their products in order to promote Dubrovnik craftsmanship.

Last year the City of Dubrovnik granted a total of 30 subsidies, of which 13 were inside the Old City Walls, and the businesses varied from goldsmiths, artists, Croatian crafts and even a hairdresser.

The deadline for applications is February 25, 2019, and all other information on the terms of the call for tenders, the criteria for granting the subsidy and the form of the application are available on the website of the City of Dubrovnik.

The once Yugoslav state of Macedonia now has officially a new name, North Macedonia. After an agreement was reached between Greece and Macedonia back in June 2018 the official name change happened yesterday, said the Macedonian government in a press release.

The conditions had been met to implement the constitutional amendments to change the country’s name which parliament adopted on January 11. Macedonia was internationally known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) because of a dispute over the name with Greece, whose northern province carries the same name. The dispute was resolved in the so-called Prespa agreement, opening the door for North Macedonia to become a member of NATO and move towards membership in the European Union.

Starting today, the 13th of February, Croatia Airlines is offering a 30 percent discount on all flights booked online. This special offer is limited and will last until Sunday the 17th of February.

Croatia Airlines stated that “While making a booking, passengers will be required to enter a special promotional code, which will be posted on the company’s website.”

The special offer is not limited to flights inside Croatia but to all the international destinations that the airline flies to. Croatia Airlines will be flying to 30 international destinations (in 24 countries) and 8 Croatian ones, this year and will connect the capital Zagreb to 24 European destinations in 22 countries.

This year, Croatia Airlines is expecting to fly approximately 5 percent more passengers than in 2018, when a record-breaking 2,168,863 passengers were flown (2 percent more than in 2017).

The Dubrovnik pigeons of the Gundulić Square in the heart of the Old City of Dubrovnik are always lively at midday, that’s feeding time. The stone square, which is the location for the market, is the lunch-time restaurant as they are traditionally fed as the bell tower clock strikes 12.

The combination of the cold northerly wind, the bright sunshine and the flocks of pigeons caught the eye of photographer Tonci Plazibat yesterday, and the result is impressive.

Unlike some other European nations Croatia is not facing a recession, at least according to the Minister of Environmental Protection and Energy, Tomislav Ćorić. Speaking to the media today Ćorić stated that the Croatian economy will grow by 2 percent this year and that the negative impact of the slowdown of other economies on Croatian tourism could see an increase in quality in this sector.

When asked about the theory that 2020 could see a recession on a global scale and whether it Croatia should be worried, he said that although there are signs of recession in some countries, primarily in Germany and Italy, he believes that the Croatian economy will continue to grow. "I do not see Croatia facing recession," Ćorić said.

He noted that the slowdown in economic activity in some other countries will affect a very important segment of the economy, tourism, but independently, it is certain that raising the quality of the tourism sector will "somehow address this problem".

With only a few weeks left until the UK leaves the European Union the British Embassy in Zagreb will organise a discussion entitled “Brexit and Citizens’ Rights.” Whether the UK leaves the EU with a deal or without a deal British citizens living in Croatia, and across Europe, need to be aware of their rights.

From practical advice, like changing your UK driving licence and keeping up-to-date with health services, to general advice British citizens living in Croatia, all will be on the table at this first discussion.

On the Facebook page of the British Embassy in Zagreb a post announced “Ambassador Andrew Dalgleish will be hosting an event in late February in Zagreb to meet British nationals living in Croatia for a discussion on Brexit and Citizens’ Rights.” Adding that “If you’re a British national and interested in attending this event please get in touch via email - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

And although this first discussion will be held in the Croatian capital the embassy is also looking to gauge interest to hold similar talks in other parts of the country. They add that British citizens living in Croatia can keep in touch with all future events on the Living in Croatia webpage and can also subscribe to a newsletter.

On the eve of Great Britain leaving the European Union on the 29th of March as Brexit looms ever closer we caught up with the British Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia, Andrew Dalgleish, to discover what the future could bring for the relationship between Croatia and the UK. “Croatian citizens living in the UK needn’t worry if the UK leaves without a deal because the government has foreseen measures to make sure they are looked after,” stated the Ambassador. But the British government “is putting every effort it can into getting a deal.” The Brexit future for the UK has two possible outcomes, at least at this moment in negotiations, a deal or a no deal scenario, which would each bring differing questions and solutions for citizen rights.

After the UK leaves the European Union on the 29th of March with Brexit how, in the case of a “no deal” scenario, will this affect the status of Croatian citizens living in Great Britain?

The Prime Minister has been really clear about this issue right from the start of Brexit negotiations, citizens shouldn’t have to be negotiating pawns, because it’s people’s lives and livelihoods that really matter. And again as we come to the end of the negotiations, the Prime Minister has been clear that whatever happens, Croatians, like other European Union citizens who are resident legally in the UK, can basically expect to be treated exactly the same as they were before the 29th of March. Croatians shouldn’t see any change to the status in the UK immediately. This is a genuine indication of how much the UK values the EU citizens that reside in Great Britain. Irrespective of what other EU members do to reciprocate, the Prime Minister has made her stance clear. After the 29th of March, EU citizens will be able to continue living in the UK with all the social services, health care and education as they had beforehand and then we’ll see which way the negotiations go further. There are processes in place to explain to citizens after Brexit how they continue in the future and to make sure that they are looked after.

It is important to say that there two likely Brexit outcomes at this moment in time, a deal and no deal, and whichever option is adopted will effect what will happen on the 29th of March?

Yes, the British government is absolutely committed and is putting every effort it can into getting a deal. Exactly what that deal looks like we’ll see. But it’s fully clear for the government that leaving with a deal is the best outcome. However, we are also a responsible government which means that we have to prepare for a scenario that we don’t want to see but which might happen. This is why we want to assure Croatian citizens living in the UK that they needn’t worry if the UK leaves without a deal because the government has foreseen measures to make sure they are looked after.

Regardless if there is a deal or no deal how will Brexit affect your role as Ambassador?

Of course, it already has affected my role as Ambassador. I was appointed to my role in Croatia before the referendum had even been held in the UK, in fact I arrived in Zagreb three weeks after the referendum. Of course this meant that all of my preparations changed overnight. But Brexit is a reality and we are facing up and dealing with it. The relationship that the UK and Croatia have has existed longer outside the European Union that it is inside the European Union. Brexit will of course present challenges, because many of the things our two nations do at the moment are done around the table in Brussels. But it also presents opportunities, because a lot of our energy is consumed in the Brussels machinery. Because we won’t be at the table in Brussels anymore, we are going to be making a lot more effort in the future to speak directly between London and Zagreb than perhaps we did in the past, so there are opportunities there.

How are the negotiations with the Croatian government progressing, in the case of a no deal, as far as rights for British citizens living here?

Prime Minister May made it completely clear at the beginning of negotiations that the government would look after the rights of EU citizens living in the UK after the 29th of March and we hope that every other member state will reciprocate. The European Commission have stated that they hope that there will be a generous offer made to British citizens by EU Member States after Brexit, however it is up to each state to figure out their own offer. So these are discussions we are having with not just Croatia but all other Member States. Of course the Croatian government, like the UK government, wants to get to a deal scenario. It is important to understand that in the case of a no deal then there are lots of technical questions that need to be answered, from what it means to be legally resident here to access to health services and so on. All of these things require careful preparation and that’s what we are working on with the Croatian government at the moment.

Do you think that there will be any aftershocks from Brexit for the Croatian tourism industry?

There is no intention on any side of the discussion to make the lives of people more difficult, and going on holiday is a natural thing that people want to do. No government in this discussion is saying that obstacles should be put up to make tourism more difficult in the future. Of course if we have a deal then every party and country knows where they stand. In the event of a no deal situation, we have to make sure that the technical questions are solved so that Brits can come into Croatia on holiday, which is the intention of both the UK and Croatia.. I don’t see any likelihood that there will be any problems in the future as long as we all do our jobs in the meantime.

Petrol prices in Croatia have fallen slightly this morning in what the Ministry of the Economy describes as a “regular price correction.”

From today the price of a litre of petrol is 9.48 Kuna, a drop in the previous price which was 9.50 Kuna per litre.

However, diesel prices are continuing to rise and as of today, with the new price increase, a litre of diesel in Croatia will cost you on average 9.61 Kuna, an increase from the previous price of 9.55 Kuna.