CONSTITUTION ISSUES WILL NOT AFFECT EU ENLARGEMENT PROCESS
The EU Constitution ratification process will not affect the start of planned negotiations with Croatia and Turkey to join the Union. Following France's rejection to the proposed EU Constitution, the European Commission said yesterday that the ratification process and the enlargement process were two separate processes. EU Commission spokesperson Francoise Le Bail pointed out that the EU Council decides on all new memberships, including that of Turkey and Croatia.
Commenting on France's 'no' to the proposed European Constitution, President Stjepan Mesic addressed the nation yesterday, stressing that the project of European unification would and could not be questioned and that full EU membership remains Croatia's goal. "The fact that French citizens rejected the proposed EU Constitution yesterday will have no effect on Croatia. Our primary aim remains, and must remain, to join the EU as a full members", Mesic said, adding that he would personally contribute to discussions on how to continue and complete the great European project

New flights from Gatwick to Split
http://www.xl.com/?AID=10360381&PID=632459

Croatia cuts VAT in tourism sector
http://tinyurl.com/brzjh

Peljesac Bridge ready by the Summer 2009 according to local Press

BRIDGE'S PILLARS ARE HIGHER THAN ZAGREB CATHEDRAL

The first meeting of Croatian bridge-builders, met yesterday on Brijuni islands, it was presented, amongst other things discussed was mainland-peninsula Peljesa bridge project . Discussing this were Jure Radic, together with, Zlatko Savor and Ana Mandic, designer of bridge.

INVESTIGATING SOIL

"This final design of "Bridge Klek - Peljesac" has been created after detailed studies of about 20 variations. We believe that the building of this bridge is going to be the biggest example of Croatian bridge building. It will be similar to Greece's Rion - Antirion Bridge but ours with 2.5 km length is bigger. It can be compared with bridge Millau in France, which cost of about 320 million euros but ours is more challenging, as Millau wasn't build over the sea. Jure Radic is saying also that the investor, Croatian Roads, was presented 10 solutions and the chosen one is economically most favourable. The cost of any of these solutions were somewhere between 200 and 450 million euros, the actual one will cost 250 million. The Director of building will be Dominik Brigovic, who was director of Tudman bridge over Rijeka dubrovacka. (From that one parts are falling off.!) The biggest problem might be bad base soil that is now in process of investigation, and also difficulties of working under sea. Every pillar will be approximately as high as the Zagreb cathedral."

13 PILLARS

13 pillars each higher then 100 metres will hold the bridge. Two thirds of the complete cost of building incurred by the challenging work under the sea, says Radic. The Contract for building is signed and should be with investors before Christmas. Beginning of works is scheduled for spring and would last for 3 to 4 years. This bridge will affirm the reputation of Croatian bridge building. Croatia is famous in the world with Krk bridge due to its concrete arch, there are 20 of these type in the world, and six of them are in Croatia, says Radic.

Translation from Dogadaji newspaper-July 2005
Important news for property purchasers in Dalmatia-this bridge built as part of the new motorway system will invigorate this entire area. Both Split and Dubrovnik airports will be easily commutable. This will make the Peljesac Peninsula even more popular and open up the island of Korcula .

Newsweek International - Extract By Rana Foroohar
The British, perhaps more than any other group, have come to epitomize the new embedded tourist. A strong currency, dismal climate and exorbitant domestic home prices make them more likely to buy their second homes abroad. Mortgage brokers say Britons already own some 700,000 properties in Spain and an additional 500,000 in France, the two most popular locations. The U.K. government pays pensions to nearly 1 million Britons abroad, a 22 percent increase in the last five years. The London-based Centre for Future Studies estimates that one in five Britons older than 55 will emigrate between now and 2020, creating a global market for goods and services in excess of £100 billion. While much of that money will flow into the usual resorts in the Alps and the Cote d'Azur, a lot of it will also find its way to more-far-flung destinations like Turkey, Croatia, Iceland, Dubai, Cape Verde, Thailand and Malaysia-all of which are increasingly popular second-home destinations.

INTERIOR MINISTRY ON EFFECTS OF ZERO ALCOHOL TOLERANCE
In the first three months of this year, the Interior Ministry recorded some 20 percent fewer deaths and injuries, as well as fewer accidents, which proves that the introduction of zero alcohol tolerance for drivers constitutes a move in the right direction. The overall number of traffic accidents has been reduced by 40 percent. According to the Ministry, statistical data are in stark disparity to most media reports that falsely claim that the situation on Croatian roads proved the zero alcohol tolerance law inefficient.

Orco Property Group Wins "Suncani Hvar" Tender in Croatia
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050404/ukm002.html?.v=4

SANADER: EU ACCESSION TALKS SHOULD START BY JUNE (www.hic.hr 15/04/05)
Yesterday's plenary session, which discussed the expansion of the European Union in 2007, was the central event of the second day of the Crans Montana Forum in Zagreb. PM Ivo Sanader who attended the session stressed that he hoped Croatia would start negotiations on membership in June, while in 2009 it would participate in elections for the EU parliament. Sanader once again stated that his government was fully cooperating with the ICTY and that now the EU should make a political decision to confirm this. Fabrizio Barbaso, the head of the negotiating team for Croatia agreed that the expansion process had to continue and said that the only obstacle Croatia had to overcome at the moment was the lack of cooperation with the ICTY. The new OSCE head of mission in Croatia Jorge Fentes Monzonis-Villalonga said that it would be ideal for five Balkan countries to enter the EU together, but since this is not probable, they would be entering one after another, headed by Croatia. He said he believed Croatia would become a full member of the EU in 2008 or 2009.

Peljesac Bridge
This is the bridge from Ploce to the peninsula that circumvents BiH and will bring the areas travel times closer to Dubrovnik and Split airports. I am reliably informed that the seabed survey completed successfully and that the pilings will start to go in early next year. This should all fit in with the south of the country plugging into the national motorway infrastructure by 2008.

Newly recommended Croatian language books
http://www.croatia-holidayandhome.co.uk/speak-language.html

European Hotel Transactions 2004
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4022572.html

Croatia Ventures enjoyed a successful Aim debut, closing at 4p, a 33.3 per cent premium to the offer price. The cash shell, which plans to invest in Croatian businesses, particularly in the tourism sector, raised £600,000 in a placing of 20m shares at 3p each via Beaumont Cornish and ended with a market value of £1.8m

EU membership stalling?
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/131245fa-95c0-11d9-bc72-00000e2511c8.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=avNlGBIL6mjk
&refer=top_world_news

US Flights
Airline Company Trans Meridian Airlines from June will be connecting Croatia and the US.As of June 1st till September 5th 2005 every Friday of every week flights from Chicago to Zagreb, thus Sundays to Split, while the return will be following day. From New York, JFK airport, flights for Split will be every Friday, while for Zagreb every Sunday. The return will also be the following day. These will be the first direct flights from the United States to Split and since Croatian independence

Fancy becoming a Croatian landlord?
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9556-1512184_1,00.html

Motor Insurance
A customer tells me that the AA now offer a 12 month motor insurance cover for Croatia-the majority of companies set a maximum of 3 months, so this is a welcome addition.
You need to physically return after the year to renew, but you would need to redo your MOT and Tax if it was a British car anyway. Telephone 08706061614

Second home seekers look further afield
In a recent report, international property agents Knight Frank provided evidence of the shifting appeal of the European market and new opportunities for investors. It found a typical €250,000 (£170,000) apartment in south west France did not go up in value over a 12 month period from 2003 to 2004, bucking the national trend, although it had 4 per cent rise in rental yields over the period. This compared with a €300,000 apartment in Croatia, which grew 20 per cent in value over the same 12 months and produced a 20 per cent rise in rental yields.

The Croatian Privatisation Fund has announced some new tender offers for interesting tourist developments in Croatia.
http://tinyurl.com/7qeev
http://tinyurl.com/aew3y

Property investors gunning for emerging markets
http://www.myfinances.co.uk/property/housing-market/buying-overseas-
property/property-investors-gunning-emerging-markets-$7817627.htm

EUR26.5 Million For Modernisation Of Dubrovnik Port
http://www.harolddoan.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=619

Annual Lonely Planet Travellers’ Pulse Survey
Lonely Planet staff in its Melbourne, London and Oakland (USA) offices voted on their 'hot' destination predictions for 2005. Croatia came out on top, followed by China, Argentina and USA.

Adriatic pearl recovers its lustre
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4223859.stm

Cheap flights from Cologne and Hanover to Rijeka
http://book.hlx.com/en/index.html

Dubrovnik Airport 2004 figures up 23% on 2003
http://www.airport-dubrovnik.hr/statistika_gl_eng.htm

Croatian National Tourist Board announced recently that this year 180.000 British tourists visited Croatia. They are expecting 10% increase in 2005.

Obituary of Fitzroy MacLean's widow
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/
2005/01/12/db1201.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/01/12/ixportal.html

Croatia Tourism
The Croatian National Tourist Board announced that it would spend 187.5 million Kunas (about £18m/$33m) on promoting Croatian tourism this year. Most of this money will be spent on promotions at travel fairs and exhibitions. The aim of this campaign is to bring 9.5 million tourists to Croatia this year.

Plitvice Lakes on BBC2 - January 5th 2005
The BBC2 programme Natural World devoted 50 minutes to Plitvice Lakes National Park, the oldest national park in Europe.
The stunning programme, concentrated on the animals that live in the park, including wolves, brown bears, lynx, wild boars, deer, birds and salamander, amongst others.

Dubrovnik Airport 2004 figures up 23% on 2003 - January 2005
http://www.airport-dubrovnik.hr/statistika_gl_eng.htm

Croatian National Tourist Board announced that in 2004 180,000 British tourists visited Croatia. They are expecting 10% increase in 2005.

Croatia says no to "hamburgerisation"! From the Observer (4/12/04)
The Croatian government has banned the building of large hotels and is encouraging small family run hotels more in tune with the environment.
Because they want to avoid the "hamburgerisation" of the Mediterranean where huge developments have diminished the local character. It also stated the latest tourism figures-over 190,000 Brits are expected to have visited the country this year, up 37% on last year!

Croatia to begin EU accession talks in March
Croatia will begin negotiations to join the European Union on March 17, 2005, a month sooner then expected, provided that the country fully cooperates with the UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
During the two-day Brussels summit dominated by the possible Union membership for Turkey, EU leaders also voted to launch accession negations with Croatia in March.
Earlier in the week EU foreign ministers drafted the statement, which was to be submitted to the EU summit for approval, outlining that the launch of negotiations with Croatia would be conditional on the country's "full co-operation" with The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague, but reportedly omitting the details of how Croatia's co-operation would be confirmed. It was though that the negotiations would be scheduled to begin in April.
Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader flew to Brussels prior to the summit in the hope to lobby for an unconditional opening of accession talks. Speaking to reporters he said Croatia was already fully cooperating with the tribunal and it was committed to that cooperation.
Croatia's government has said it hopes the country would join the EU in 2007 with Bulgaria and Romania. During the summit it was decided that both countries would sign their accession treaties, the documents outlining the final terms of their memberships, in April 2005 - a green light for EU membership in 2007. However, EU diplomats say 2009 is a more realistic target date for Croatia.

Opening of the first Hilton in Croatia
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4020800.html

Financial Times 11th September 2004
According to a new govt survey nearly half a million homes in England have second homes in either England or abroad with homes overseas rising by more than 14% on last year. 60% of those are in France and Spain but according to Liam Bailey of Knight Frank "the big growth is happening in Croatia and eastern Europe"

Bridge from the mainland to Peljesac Peninsula-August 2004
The Croatian government publicly declared again it's determination to construct a bridge to the Peljesac peninsula, therefore by-passing the Neum Corridor in Bosnia.
A lot of scepticism has been expressed whether this is likely, however if Croatia enter the EU before the BiH, which is fairly certain, then it we be very difficult for Croatia to manage a non EU border crossing in the middle of its country. If Croatia then signed up for the Schengen zone things would get even more complicated. A bridge solves these problems.

Low budget airlines
http://www.iht.com/articles/535179.htm

Croatian Tourism booming
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=25124

New tough drink driving laws
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&Id
Publication=4&NrIssue=78&NrSection=3&NrArticle=12756

EU aid agreed for Croatia
http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/040719173627.1jht60du

Walking holidays in Croatia
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2004/08/07/
etcroatiawalk070804.xml&sSheet=/travel/2004/08/06/ixtrvhome.html

The end of package holidays in Spain?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1282175,00.html

Financial Times - July 14th 2004
Strong economic growth and improved relations with the European Union are putting the Republic of Croatia more than a step ahead of other Balkan countries. With neighbouring Slovenia joining the EU, the way forward looks clear for Ivo Sanader, the new prime minister, and his government. Positive signals from Brussels suggest the country may be ready to join the bloc as early as 2007.

Flights to Sarajevo
Fly Bosnia is backed by a British consortium and endorsed by a high-level Government campaign from Bosnia's High Representative Paddy Ashdown and Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic. Fly Bosnia has managed to get slots from London-Gatwick and Manchester; and are now in the phase of gaining their CAA Certification.
http://www.flybosnia.com/

Golf courses in Croatia?
http://www.budapestsun.com/full_story.asp?
ArticleId=%7B3B4171EA38C34572806A23D7508AC431%7D&From=Business

Balmy days along Croatian Riviera
Adriatic isles have flavor of Greece, Italy
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/
chronicle/archive/2004/06/20/TRGQO773MA1.TMP

Hotels for sale
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4019882.html