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November 2017 | ISSUE No. 01 | Price 35 KN

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NICOLAS BARON ADAMOVICH

President of the German-Croatian Chamber of Commerce (GCC)

"CROATIA FULL OF LIFE" – AN IDEAL TOURIST DESTINATION

18 OCT page 38

FIESTA NACIONAL DE ESPAÑA

Spanish National Day

CROATIAN DIPLOMACY FOR THE NEW ERA MARIJA PEJČINOVIĆ BURIĆ

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia

CROATIA – AN ATTRACTIVE INVESTMENT DESTINATION

KRISTIJAN STANČIĆ

Director of Croatian National Tourist Board

HIGH ARTISTIC QUALITY THAT TOUCHES SENSIBILITY

MLADEN FOGEC

President of the Foreign Investors Council in Croatia

Great Britain

Germany

IN FOCUS

DUBRAVKA VRGOC

Director of the Croatian National Theatre (CNT)

H.E. THOMAS E. SCHULTZE

German Ambassador to Croatia

H.E. ANDREW DALGLEISH

British Ambassador to Croatia

ED ITO RI AL

CO N T E N T S

New Challenge Dear readers, Finally, the first issue of Diplomacy&Commerce magazine in Croatia is launched! This is a product of years of expertise and local knowledge, supported by an exclusive syndication of The Economist magazine from London. In this very first issue, we are bringing you the latest news, comments and analyses from the Croatian economic, political and diplomatic community. With every issue of D&C, our readers will also have an exclusive opportunity to read integral articles from The Economist, written by its prominent foreign affairs, industry, business and finance columnists. D&C aims and will serve as a reliable and efficient information platform offering diverse and useful information about local, regional and foreign investment opportunities, trends, legislation updates and researches. Every issue of Diplomacy&Commerce will also contain a special supplement dedicated to various investor groups. This supplement is called In Focus and will cover values, bilateral relations,economy, culture, tourism, and companies from different countries gathered in business associations in Croatia. In this issue, we are presenting the bilateral and economic cooperation between Croatia and Germany, as well as the one between Croatia and the UK. You will also find latest news and events relating to the Croatian diplomatic and business community on our website - www.diplomacyandcommerce.hr . Every month, Diplomacy&Commerce magazine will be delivered directly to your desk. We hope that you will enjoy reading it as much as we have enjoyed creating it for you.

CROATIAN DIPLOMACY FOR THE NEW ERA MARIJA PEJČINOVIĆ BURIĆ

Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia

THE MITTELEUROPEAN CONSERVATIVISM The core of tradition

EUROPEAN SAFETY DEPENDS ON BRUSSELS’ INFLUENCE TONINO PICULA

ROBERT ČOBAN

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NIKICA MILOŠ

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CROATIA – AN ATTRACTIVE INVESTMENT DESTINATION www.diplomacyandcommerce.hr

MLADEN FOGEC

Foreign Investors Council

"CROATIA FULL OF LIFE" – AN IDEAL TOURIST DESTINATION KRISTIJAN STANČIĆ

Director of Croatian National Tourist Board

Director of the Croatian National Theatre (CNT)

WRITTEN WORD – THE FOUNDATION OF DEMOCRACY SEID SERDAREVIĆ

Program Director, World Literature Festival

BRAND PERCEPTION – STRENGTH OF THE STATE DANIJEL KOLETIĆ

CH A RL E M A G N E

How Macron and Merkel Will Shape the European Union One plodding, one striding, the French and German leaders will have to deal with each other

What a study in contrasts. To the strains of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, the anthem of the European Union, Emmanuel Macron strides manfully across the courtyard of the Louvre to deliver his victory speech. France’s new president vows to defend the EU, “the common destiny the peoples of our continent have given ourselves”. A few months later, after a bruising election result, Angela Merkel gives a plodding press conference in a functional room in Berlin, tentatively extending a hand to the parties her wounded Christian Democrats must woo into coalition. As for Europe, do not get your hopes up. “Today,” she says, “isn’t the day to say what will work and what won’t.” The future of the EU lies somewhere in the gap between a bold young president whose ambitions extend far beyond France’s borders, and a cautious chancellor approaching her political end, running a country not yet ready to accept the mantle of leadership many would like to thrust upon it. Mr Macron campaigned on a promise to shake up France and to do his best to repeat the trick in the EU. But during Germany’s pedestrian election campaign Mrs Merkel neither sought nor obtained a mandate for a European overhaul. Many of her voters see no reason for it. This week Mr Macron’s vision for Europe found its fullest expression yet, with a sweeping 100-minute address at the Sorbonne that took in everything from defence co-operation to agricultural subsidies—the third rail of French politics—and culminated in a plan for a fiveyear “transformation” of the EU between 2019 and 2024, the year in which, not coincidentally, Paris will host the Olympic Games. His riposte to those who found all this a little hasty was delivered in full Macronese: “Procrastination”, the president proclaimed, “is the cousin of languor.” It was stirring stuff, if a little dirigiste for many: Mr Macron’s calls for corporate-tax harmonisation, or for a single market based on “convergence rather than competition”, will jangle nerves in liberal-minded corners of Europe. Still, Mr Macron’s proposals may now form the starting-point for discussion among the EU’s leaders, who were preparing to meet in Estonia as The Economist went to press. “Mr Macron”, says one EU official, “has stolen the show.” It is impossible to imagine Mrs Merkel making this speech. The chancellor has dominated the EU not by pursuing anything so marvellous

current EU budget is just 1.2%). Advancing these claims just as Germany’s parties were beginning to jostle for position in coalition talks would have backfired spectacularly; immediately after the election Christian Lindner, the FDP’s leader, ruled out signing up to a big euro-zone budget. No doubt Mr Macron remains convinced that the currency area needs the overhaul he promised during his presidential campaign. But even Jupiter knows when to stay his hand.

THIS ONE WEIRD TRICK COULD FIX THE EURO ZONE

AS FOR EUROPE, DO NOT GET YOUR HOPES UP as a vision, but by placing herself, and the clout of the large country she runs, at the heart of each of the crises the EU has battled, while other leaders, including successive French presidents, have retired hurt. Do not expect this to change. The notion that Germany’s election result makes Mr Macron’s life much harder is an overstatement—but that is because there was no conceivable coalition that would have bowed before his demands. Still, his room for operation is even less than it was. Having successfully carved out a mildly Eurosceptic niche, the pro-market Free Democrats (FDP), one of Mrs Merkel’s expected partners, will exact a price on EU policy during the coalition talks. That does not mean Mr Macron is doomed to achieve nothing at all. He urged renewal of the Élysée Treaty, the compact that has governed Franco-German relations for over half a century, and had lots to say on migration and security, preoccupations in Berlin that might form the basis for an early Franco-German deal (though a stitch-up risks alienating other members). Some details will rankle, but Mr Macron’s overarching vision, of a Europe that defangs populists by protecting its citizens from the rougher edges of globalisation, is not unpopular in Germany, and will face weaker opposition inside the EU once Britain leaves. Sensibly, Mr Macron chose not to press his argument that the euro zone needs rebuilding from the ground up, including a vast budget that he has previously suggested should be worth several percentage points of euro-zone GDP (the

Mr Macron will still hope to obtain a foothold for prototypes of his lesser ideas: a small budget for investments; a (rather titular) “finance minister” for the euro zone; a tweak to its bailout fund. The European Commission, which has plans of its own, will test the waters with proposals in December; the euro-zone’s 19 leaders will chew them over at a summit soon afterwards. But the real action may lie elsewhere. Five years ago the euro zone agreed to establish a banking union. The results were impressive, but governments have failed to agree on all the scheme’s elements, including a European fiscal backstop to rescue troubled banks and a common insurance scheme for deposits. Breaking this logjam, rather than any institutional jiggery-pokery, will be the first, and best, test of whether France and Germany can overcome their differences to put the single currency on a more stable footing. Along with plans to deepen Europe’s capital markets, spreading financial risk and breaking the “doom-loop” between governments and banks overburdened with sovereign debt may do much more for the euro’s resilience than a modest budget or a toothless finance minister. Mr Macron did not mention the banking union this week: he was seeking to inspire his listeners, not put them to sleep. But he knows well that it will take more than fine words to overcome German suspicions that the French (and other budget-busters) simply want their fiscal recklessness subsidised by the more frugal. The scene is set: after a long winter of crisis, the political and economic winds for Europe are now fair. Mr Macron and Mrs Merkel will not get a better chance. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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I NTERVIEW

Croatian Diplomacy for the New Era Over the last 25 years following its international recognition Croatia established diplomatic relations with a vast majority of the countries in the world MARIJA PEJČINOVIĆ BURIĆ Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia

We have become a member of the most prominent international organizations such as UN, NATO, EU and many others. This is an impetus/motivation for further work, building and strengthening our foreign policy standing and for our diplomacy/ diplomatic service to be able to take up a more global role and better respond to challenges of a very complex and constantly changing international environment, says Marija Pejčinović Burić, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, says for Diplomacy & Commerce magazine.

This year Croatia marked 25 years of its international recognition. How do you see its present foreign policy position and the challenges that complex geopolitical and geostrategic trends place before the Croatian diplomacy?

— Today we live in an age of insecurity, unpredictability and complexity. Crises are everywhere,

stances, we are bound to each other and to cooperation. Nobody has enough resources and capabilities to cope with the current challenges and threats alone. What we have learned is that we are better off if we act together, that we need to take global responsibility and global action and that we need to deliver. Our citizens expect us to deliver on their needs and concerns, their

THE DEGRADATION OF THE GLOBAL SECURITY ENVIRONMENT CALLS FOR A STRONGER AND MORE RESILIENT EU. BECAUSE OF THAT THE EU WILL NEED MORE UNITY, SOLIDARITY AND LEADERSHIP internally and externally. The outside factors are having more impact on our inside, like it is the case with terrorism, migration or climate, to name but a few. Our European security order has been challenged. Under such circum-

needs for peace, security, better jobs, way of life, energy. In this sense Croatia sees itself at a specific geopolitical position, where it can advance cooperation Europe-wide with our friends in Central Europe and the Mediterra-

nean and on to the Baltic, as well as with our friends in South East Europe and beyond. We want to further our interests and priorities in concentric circles to our wider neighbourhood to the east and south of Europe. We also continue to lay emphasis on fostering the transatlantic relationship as one of the most important pillars of stability and security in the international system and Europe, which helps us strengthen resilience, stimulate economic growth and address conflicts. In this regard, Croatia naturally puts particular emphasis on Southeast Europe and on promoting advancement of the enlargement process in the immediate neighbourhood of the EU. Here we always stress the importance of the transformative power of enlargement and our investment in the reform agenda of those countries through continuation of the strict and fair enlargement policy, where

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moving forward on the EU path is directly linked to delivery in terms of reforms, fulfilment of criteria and conditions that we have set out and respecting European values of democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law. Croatia will continue to be firmest supporter and promoter of enlargement, under the framework of our Presidency of the EU in 2020. We see the continuation of enlargement also important for the EU. I would like to remind here that enlargement has changed our continent. It has turned Europe into a continent of peace, democracy, respect for the rule of law and human rights. The EU is still attractive today. And it is an investment into our own stability and security and security and resilience of our neighbours. Today, the Croatian Foreign Service is facing a very intense period of change. We shall continue to operate in a very complex, interconnected and contradictory international environment and rapid changes to which constantly we have to adapt. We are going to strive to do our best to serve our interests as a credible and reliable European and global partner and the UN, EU and NATO member. Our path and action so far are a testament to our credibility and responsibility where we place peace, stability, human rights and democracy, multilateralism and international law at the core of what we do.

sponsible, more credible and more efficient. To be better and closer to our citizens. For that to happen we have realised we need to reform. We in the EU know the value of both unity and diversity. The EU needs to face up to its difficulties in order to overcome them. Over the course of history we have learned how to transcend divisions and differences through forging consensus and building partnerships. We have to be able to shape history, set the agenda and lead by example, and not let the developments and events take over. In other words we need a true European spirit and approach.

jobs, further strengthening of the global role and influence of the EU, advocating the continuation of the enlargement policy as well as promoting common European values. From its own position, Croatia has always strongly believed in the European project. Our membership in the EU was a realisation of our most important foreign policy goal. Peace, freedom, security and prosperity have been and will remain important anchors of our EU membership. We are therefore determined to take good care this project continues. We shall contribute our share to the development of the EU, its unity, to advancing its stability

OUR LONG TERM GOAL IS TO ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSES OF MIGRATION THROUGH SEARCHING FOR SUSTAINABLE AND LASTING SOLUTIONS FOR CONFLICTS AND CRISES AND FOCUSING ON STABILISATION EFFORTS

Thus, joining the Schengen Area and preparing for the introduction of the Euro are the current Government's goals on which we wish to work with great commitment. Just before the Catalan referendum Spain, as well as some other European countries, was swept by a wave of terrorist attacks. How efficient was the European joint response against terrorism? What future actions will official Zagreb be taking in this field in coordination with Brussels?

— The series of terrorist attacks on the European soil that we have been witnessing over the last period has demonstrated the whole complexity of the challenges of terrorism, radicalization and violent extremism. It has shown that the challenge will not go away and that we have to remain committed to fighting it. It has also pointed to

What is your opinion on the development of relations in the EU after Brexit and Catalan independence referendum, and how does Croatia see its future in the EU? What are the greatest foreign policy challenges for Croatia, and what are its goals?

— This year we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome. It was a good opportunity for us in the EU to reflect on our achievements so far and to look into how we intend to move our European project forward. The EU has over the last six decades brought peace and prosperity to Europe. This makes us both responsible and credible to work for a world to become better, to promote our values and democracy and to continue to bring stability to the outer world. Various internal and external crises and challenges tend to resonate as a decline of Europe. Under such circumstances we have to make sure that the EU will work so as to be more responsive, more re-

These are all pointers advocating for a dynamic EU, an assertive and engaged EU. An EU that would take the lead within the international community and advance our interests. An EU that would nurture finding common solutions, collective and coordinated approaches. An EU that would deliver. An EU that would get closer to its citizens. It is important for all Member States to renew their trust in the European project. In this time and age, the EU does not need new divisions. This means strengthening of our internal cohesion and convergence, economic growth and a more balanced development of Member States, the creation of new

and prosperity and to promoting our values outside the EU. For Croatia the EU is about democratic values and the rule of law. This justifies our voice to be heard abroad. In this regard, we need to lead by example and focus our action on responding to growing global threats; keeping the promise to the countries with a clear European perspective; engaging our wider neighbourhood – to the South and to the East; building our capacities to respond to crises; showing solidarity with and helping those living in precarious conditions; and addressing common issues concerning our planet. These are all goals that Croatia will be working on with its partners within the EU.

the importance of a common, comprehensive and more coordinated action not only within the EU but also globally. Security of our citizens is our utmost priority. They expect us to act responsibly and with determination in protecting our common values and interests. Over the last two years we have made important progress in addressing this challenge. Croatia has so far insisted on a common European response - the one that would be based on an integrated and comprehensive approach and better linking our internal and external action. This means strengthening our internal security while at the same time working with our international partners to en-

hance their capabilities to respond to security threats and challenges. In this regard we put emphasis on prevention and proactive engagement, in particular in addressing the drivers and situations of conflict and fragility that provide an environment for violent extremism to take hold and expand. Further attention is needed on reducing the threat of foreign fighters and returnees, disrupting potential convergence between terrorist and organized crime networks, as well as preventing radicalization online and in prisons. The key to success is efficient cooperation between and among intelligence and law enforcement services, especially in information sharing but also in putting such information to concrete use. Long term our focus should be on addressing underlying socio-economic root causes of terrorism that give rise to radical and extremist ideologies, engaging with young people and responding to their concerns and creating opportunities for their active participation in their societies and communities. In this regard Croatia will continue to call for attention to its immediate neighbourhood in southeast Europe, where we are engaged bilaterally and in the frameworks of EU and NATO. We shall work on strengthening of efforts that would enable those countries to be more resilient against terrorist activities and from being a transit route of foreign fighters or even a terrorist recruiting/training safe heaven. All those efforts are important investment in protecting our external borders and the whole of the EU.

A SAFER AND A MORE STABLE CROATIA What is your opinion on the role of Croatia in NATO, especially regarding the joint exercises in the East (in Poland, on the border with Russia)?? — Thus, if I am to summarise the primary goal of Croatia’s membership in NATO, I would highlight a multiple-factor combination such as the political stabilisation and a lasting security consolidation in Europe – from our nextdoor neighbours, to other countries of South-East Europe, all the way to Poland and the Baltic region. NATO, as a political and security multilateral arrangement with a defensive purpose, also shares this vision of a free, peaceful and prosperous Europe.

in Southeast Europe, but also the southern Mediterranean, Africa, Middle East and Asia. The Eastern Mediterranean/Western Balkans route remains closed, however, we all need to remain vigilant on that and other routes as the pressure still continues. This is particularly the case in the Mediterranean, where we are witnessing an increased pressure from Libya as the main point of departure of migrants from Africa to Europe. Within the EU we have worked on a comprehensive set of activities and adopted a series of legislative documents in response to the crisis. The cooperation with

sion, development cooperation, trade measures, facilitating reintegration and work on capacity building of partner countries to deal with migration, in particular on border management. What is your view, in the framework of internal relations in the EU, of the current dispute between Croatia and Slovenia and Hungary blocking Croatia's entry into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)?

— The open border issue between Croatia and Slovenia is a bilateral issue that the two states can and

Terrorism and the migration crisis have proven to be very important factors playing decisive roles in the political choices of electors in Europe. Where does the question of migrants stand on today’s political ladder in Croatia now that the Balkan route is more or less closed?

BEING MEMBERS OF EU AND NATO, AND CONSIDERING CROATIA’S TRADITIONALLY ALLYING WITH HUNGARY AND SLOVENIA, WE HOPE THAT OUR OPEN BILATERAL ISSUES WILL BE RESOLVED IN THE SPIRIT OF GOOD NEIGHBOURLY RELATIONS

— Migration is not exclusively European but a global challenge. As with all global challenges, neither the EU nor individual Member States are able to tackle it on their own. Solutions can only be found through a stronger cooperation and coordinated action at the national, regional and global level. From the very beginning of the migration and refugee crisis Croatia has been advocating a common and European response as well as a stronger coordination and cooperation with partners outside the EU,

the countries along the Western Balkans route has been reinforced, we have agreed on a migration deal with Turkey, we are working systematically to combat migrant smuggling and human trafficking, and cooperation with key countries of origin and transit on migration file has been significantly improved. The EU has a unique toolbox of diplomatic, economic, development and security instruments that can be used to this end. Efforts are needed on return and readmis-

should resolve through mutual dialogue. The irretrievably compromised arbitration did not yield a solution to the open border issue so it is up to the two states to determine their common border by mutual agreement. Contrary to the generally accepted practice of OECD, according to which it is necessary to meet the prescribed membership criteria and not to politicise the process of membership, contrary to the common position of EU Member States adopted in 2007 and the current

call of the European Commission to maintain the expressed unity of the Member States as well as to provide solid support to the OECD enlargement package – Slovenia and Hungary have underlined that they would not support Croatia's entry into OECD because of exclusively bilateral issues: Slovenia due to the open border issue and Hungary due to issues related to the company MOL. Being members of the EU and NATO, and considering Croatia’s traditionally allying with Hungary and Slovenia, we hope that our open bilateral issues will be resolved in the spirit of good neighbourly relations. Regarding the OECD membership, we intend to continue our committed work on meeting the membership criteria. Recently you said that in the years to come South-East Europe has the potential to become a very dynamic region. However, the recent news has not been predominantly good, that is strained relations in the region, primarily between Serbia and Croatia, and then those related to the functioning of Bosnia and Herzegovina. How do you assess the future dynamics of foreign policy relations in the region?

— Quite to the point: I see no reason for South-East Europe not to become a successful region in every possible sense if it directs its energy and potential towards accomplishing the necessary reforms and transformation processes. This refers mainly to Euro-Atlantic integrations which are of strategic importance to Croatia. Hence we strongly advocate the continuation of enlargement of the European Union and NATO to include countries in South-East Europe which wish to do so and assist them in the process. This is important for the internal stabilisation of the countries in South-East Europe, for institutional development, strengthening of the rule of law, economic management, respect of fundamental rights and freedoms as well as respect of minority rights, in addition to the development of good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation. In this context, regional cooperation initiatives encouraging countries to cooperate in diverse areas are essential, which is especially important in order to achieve infrastructural, transportation and energy development and mutual interconnection, as well as to approach EU standards and policies.

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PO LI TI C S Text: NIKICA MILOŠ

The Mitteleuropean Conservativism The core of tradition

Even Bill Bryson said once that the most conservative people in the 1970s in Europe were somewhere in the Austrian Alps, and it was in the times when even the American Midwest was hippyand-loose. There is a legend that there is a conservative core of Europe, called Mitteleuropa, stretching from Eastern France over Catholic Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Northern Italy, up to Western Ukraine, Romania, Croatia and Serbia in the South. Unsuprisingly, this is where all the conservative “rebellions” seem to happen, the last among them being Kurz & Strache. EUROPE STRONGER IN THE WEST, WEAKER IN THE EAST

After Brexit, there were some grim predictions in the world. The first was that the Old EU (i. e. The Western EU) is sick and tired of Europe, of immigration, of the backlash from their colonies and the backlash from the Eastern European immigrants. Yeah, maybe you liked the fact that the streets and pubs of Birmingham are full of pretty girls from Poland and Lithuania working hard for their salaries, but, hey, the “Polish plummer” is stealing your job! The first logical step was the vulneralbe far West of the EU, where there were two countries where popilist were strong, the Netherlands and France. And precisely those two countries were against the “European Constitution” during their referenda in 2005. So, they were perceived as “the next targets” of

the populist wave. But, in a twist and turn of events, it did not happen. France elected Emmanuel Macron, a liberal and a pro-European politician, and the Netherlands equally turned its back to Geert Wilders. It seemed that the Brexit could only strenghten the ties between the remaining EU-members. But, it did not actually happen. The easternmost members of the European Union, so-called Viseg-

values that supposedly belong to Europe and we know better what Europe is. They are simply arrogant.” Almost unnoticed went the move of Sebastian Kurz to stop the Balkan Migrant Route and face Angela Merkel's “Open Door Policy”. Simultanously, Putin intevened in Syria, Iran joined, and the United States finally stepped in so socalled Islamic State is pretty much doomed. Territorially at least. The source of migrants is closed, the people don't flee Syria, some of them are coming back. AFD, KURZ AND BABIŠ

And after the presidential elections in Austria when Van der Bellen won the race, it seemed that the Greens are on the rise, Austria is “felix” and liberal again, and the FPÖ is losing ground. But, again,

THE WHOLE OF MITTELEUROPA IS STONGLY POSITIONING AS A CONSERVATIVE PLACE, FROM GERMANY AND SWITZERLAND TO THE BORDERS OF RUSSIA. OR TO VLADIVOSTOK rád Four, were adamant in their refusal of the Western European standards. The Polish clash over judicial powers, the Hungarian clash with the Soros-backed Central European University, and constant refusal of the four countries to accept refugees/migrants have shown the Eastern firmness to remain in their way. As one of the Eastern European (but EU!) girls told me “They are teaching us the culture and the

in a strange twist of events, the Greens fell apart, Kurz won the parliamentary elections and the goverment is going to be formed between him and Hans-Christian Strache. It is said that Kurz did the clever game changing the colours of his party from black to turquoise, but he stole the ideology from the rightist FPÖ, so in fact the party is blacker than ever before. Strache will jump

into the waggon and promulgate all the ideas they seem to sherish together: immigration is cool, Austria is traditionally country where genetically Germans meet Czech, Hungarians, Serbs, Italians, Poles, Croats and Slovenians, so who said Austria is ethnically nationalistic? It is different that pretty monoethnic Germany. But, the idea is that you can accept the people who are similar to you. That is precisely the ground on which AfD, the right-wing party in Germany used to win the votes. And it was not in the East! More votes were won in former West Germany, which became the stronghold of another formerly East party, The Left (Die Linke). Angela Merkel is still Die Mutti, the Mother, but her policy of open doors and stronger European intergrations is now, with Kurz as the leader of Austria and with AfD breathing down her neck, is going to be tougher than before. And the situation in Czechia is even more illustrative: Andrej Babiš is an ethnic Slovak tycoon, and the prominent place was taken by Tomio Okamura, a guy who is Japanese by name, and one-quarter Korean, at the same time a strong opponent of immigration. It might sound ridiculous to the Westerners but the Mitteleuropeans know that the racism here is mainly targetted towards the Romani people, Middle East and African immigrant, but not towards Japanese and Koreans, Chinese and alike (the Chinese being in fact most vulnerable).

EUROPE FROM STRASBOURG TO VLADIVOSTOK Having in mind that Orban's rule in Hungary is not shaking, that the far-right nationalists are marching in Kiev, that Simon Petliura has his monuments everywhere (even infamous Stepan Bandera has them!), in Croatia there is an endless discussion about the “Za Dom spremni” plaque, and Serbia is rehabilitating Draža Mihailović, well, the whole of Mitteleuropa is stongly positioning as a conservative place, from Germany and Switzerland to the borders of Russia. Or to Vladivostok. For the good of the EU, it will be good to sit and negotiate again how to preserve this precious and fragile achievement. Yes, the EU itself.

I NTERVIEW

European Safety Depends on Brussels’ Influence In an effort to improve the lives of ordinary citizens, even though European Parliament de jure does not have the right to conduct a legal initiative, representatives can ask the Commission to prepare legislative proposals which they will amend through parliamentary procedure, which means that the Parliament de facto does have a legislative function as well TONINO PICULA Croatian representative at the European Parliament, former Minister of Foreign Affairs

As one of Croatia’s representatives at the European Parliament, and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tonino Picula reveals for Diplomacy&Commerce to what extent the Croats are using the mechanisms of European policy, what are the challenges in the region and entire continent, and the relevant solutions. What has essentially changed between Croatia and Europe over these four years since Croatia became a member of the EU?

— It is good to be reminded that actually Croatia is the first country to apply for membership in the EU in the 21st century. When it finally became a full-time member of the European Union, this was the eighth enlargement in the history of EU, and only the second one where only one country became a member. By entering

the possibility of employment in the EU without any special work permits. Opening of the labour market for Croatian entrepreneurs has expanded business opportunities on EU’s internal market with more than 500 million consumers, and on markets of countries with which the EU has concluded trade agreements. The core of changes

BY ENTERING THE UNION, CROATIA DIDN’T CHANGE ITS GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, AND IT DIDN’T CUT DEEP TIES WITH THEIR NEIGHBOURS AND THE REGION IN WHOLE the EU, Croatia gained a direct possibility to take part in Union’s policies, in making decisions that directly affect the everyday life of Croatian citizens. We should certainly underline the possibility of traveling without passports and

reflected in Croatia’s position at the European table, where Croatian representatives today sit as equal interlocutors with all the negotiating and voting rights. To summarize, four years after the entry we can see that temptations relating

to to negotiations have continued through the challenges of consuming membership in the EU. Is Croatia more occupied today by the problems it shares with the rest of the Europe, like terrorism, the migrant crisis or challenges arising from relations in the region?

— Four years after Croatia’s official entry into the EU, neither Europhiles nor Eurosceptics don’t doubt that the Block is going through the period of the most serious re-examination since its foundation. Of course that regional countries are part of the European space, not only geographically, but also through its own dedication to European integrations and because of Union’s willingness to keep the doors to membership open after all. For me, there is no “or” when we talk about the challenges of

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European space, as you stated it, or challenges arising from relations in the region which are still burdened by closer and further historical events. How strong is European Parliament’s influence on EU policy changes, and what you consider to be your greatest contribution in that sense?

— In 2009, the European Parliament was granted extended powers which made it more equal with the Commission and the Council, which drafts they can change in parliamentary boards. The European Parliament is a big forum with 751 representatives where good ideas, clearly articulated plans and objectives are recognized quickly, and initiatives are supported. For example, I worked together with colleagues from the Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas Intergroup, which I co-founded and am VP for Islands, on a parliamentary Resolution on the special situation on islands, which was voted on last year in February. With this, the islands were placed on the European agenda for the first time as a separate entity, and we can expect important changes in the cohesion policy that will facilitate access to all European, as well as Croatian islands. How do you interpret Mr Juncker’s recent statement that EU won’t receive new members any time soon, but will pay more attention to the Western Balkan countries?

— With this, Juncker somewhat adjusted his well-known statement from 2014 when he said that there would be no new enlargement during the term of his Commission. Of course, it didn’t occur to him then that the EU would decrease for the first time in its history, and during his term! Considering this fact that left consequences in countries that aspire to become members, it is necessary to find a form that guarantees the political future of Western Balkan countries in the European Union. However,

we ought to say that “paying more attention” significantly depends on the countries that are on their road to membership. They have to cross the road from promises to results. Also, after a while, the Balkan is again becoming the space that’s making European politicians raise eyebrows. It’s no secret that Russia and Turkey have their geopolitical agendas in the Western Balkan. If EU stops being a reachable goal for Western Balkans countries,

terest in safety and defence issues. I am a member of the Supervisory Board. I organized a conference on European Defence Union on 22 and 23 June 2017 in Dubrovnik. One of the more important panels at this conference, with participation of defence ministers from three regional countries, was dedicated to safety challenges in Southeast Europe. It was also concluded, and in my opinion that is the only long-term sustainable solution,

IN 2009, THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT HAS RECEIVED EXTENDED POWERS WHICH MADE IT MORE EQUAL WITH THE COMMISSION AND THE COUNCIL, WHOSE DRAFTS THEY CAN CHANGE IN PARLIAMENTARY BOARDS then these orders might crash. The Western Balkans is not an EU neighbourhood, but its inner yard and we cannot allow it to become a form of EU’s political subcontinent, because that can be very dangerous. How do you rate the safety challenges in the region from Croatia’s position, and what, in your opinion, are the modalities for resolving these open issues?

— As a representative at the European Parliament, I take special in-

that a credible process of accession to EU – based on extensive and proper conditioning – remains an important tool for promoting safety and increase of resistance of countries in Southeast Europe. We should not close our eyes before the fact that there are a number of open bilateral issues between the regional countries, which could be a source of new uncertainties, but I believe that we learned from our recent past that open issues must be resolved diplomatically, wheth-

er bilaterally or through mediation of third parties. And last, internal democratization, reduction of radical tendencies and spreading the European values within the societies of countries in the region, could be the stabilizing factors. We also expect stronger dedication of political leaders here, who have to forget about particular interests and remove unnecessary creation of tensions from daily politics. As Croatian representative in the European Parliament, how much can you do for resolution of practical problems of citizens and the economy?

— The citizens elected me twice to sit at the European Parliament with the highest number of preferential votes, and my biggest responsibility is to justify their trust. Nothing is set in stone, which is seen on the example of small-scale fishing in Croatia. But, it’s important that there’s a will to fix things primarily on a national level. That is when I, as the representative, must cooperate with the relevant Ministry department and change things on a European level. Last year, small-scale fishing was declared a cultural property, which is a step forward and proof that things can change over and over again. Then there’s the protection of autochthonous products – the region where Croatia, as the newest member of the European Union, is located is yet to be branded. At the moment we have 15 protected products, and 8 others that are in the process of protection. Aside from the fact that this will makes us recognizable in European and in the world for our quality prosciutto, cheese, honey, olive oil, wines, etc., another reason is certainly that the price of products with protected designation of origin is almost 2.5 times higher than for products not protected by the European protected designation of origin. These are merely some of the specific examples where I am trying to move things forward.

INCREASINGLY MORE QUERIES FROM CITIZENS Are Croatian citizens sufficiently using the opportunity to ask questions to the European Commission, with your assistance? — It took a while for Croatian citizens to realize that more than 50% of laws that directly affect their everyday lives are passed in the European Parliament, but as time passes, there are increasingly more queries from citizens, as well as results. My Office is regularly contacted by Croatian entrepreneurs and associations that present their problems to us and propose solutions that can be carried out on a European level. As a representative, I then react towards the Commission, submit amendments and actively work in the European Parliament in accordance with Croatian interests.

NATIONAL DAYS

ARRI VALS & D EPAR T UR E S

in November

GIUSEPPE PINTO New Apostolic Nuncio to the Republic of Croatia

ALGERIA

Revolution Day

He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on May 1, 1984, and served the diplomatic service in the Apostolic Nuncioe: Papua New Guinea, Argentina, and in the State Secretariat of the Holy See - in the State Relations Department. Mr. Pinto was appointed the Apostolic Nuncio in Senegal and the Apostolic Delegate in Mauritania on December 4, 2001. At the same time he was appointed head archbishop of England. On February 5, 2002, he was also named an apostolic

nuncio for Mali, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissao. Pope John Paul II appointed him the bishop of St. Basil's at the Vatican. On January 6, 2002 Pope Benedict XVI named him an apostolic nuncio for Chile on December 6, 2007. The same pope named him for the Apostolic Nuncio in the Philippines on May 10, 2011. Pope Francis appointed him by the apostolic nuncio in the Republic of Croatia on July 1, 2017. He was the fifth nuncio in the independent Croatian state.

ANGOLA

Independence Day

POLAND

Independence Day

BELGIUM King's Day

LEBANON

ational Day N (Independence Day)

GUNTHER NEUBERT Ex director of German-Croatian Industry and Trade Chamber

The June’s “jour fix” German-Croatian Industry and Trade Chamber which took place on 28 June was marked by the imminent departure of Director of the German-Croatian Industry and Trade Chamber Gunther Neubert. Neubert spent almost five years in Croatia, he returned to Latin America, where he will open and lead an office of the Delegation of German Economy in the capital of Cuba – Havana. During his stay in Croatia,

Gunther Neubert made a significant contribution to German-Croatian economic relations, stated German Ambassador to Croatia Thomas E. Schultze. President of the German-Croatian Industry and Trade Chamber Nicolas Baron Adamovich thanked on behalf of the Chamber to Director Neubert for the good cooperation and the development of German-Croatian Industry and Trade Chamber, which has experienced strong growth in the past five years.

ALBANIA

Independence Day

CHRISTIAN THORNINGIS New Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark

12 NEW CROATIAN AMBASSADORS APPOINTED AROUND THE WORLD

President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović handed credentials to twelve new Croatian ambassadors on Thursday in Zagreb.The twelve new Croatian ambassadors handed credentials yesterday were Mladen Andrlić, who will take up his post in Hungary, Gordan Bakota to Serbia, Gordan Grlić Radman to Germany, Aleksandar

Heina to Slovakia, Petar Ljubičić to India, Jasna Mileta goes to the Kingdom of Morocco, Igor Pokaz to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Aleksandar Sunko to the Hellenic Republic, Pjer Šimunović to the United States, Filip Vučak to France, Jasen Mesic to Italy, and Mario Nobilo to NATO.

New Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark Christian Thorningis is 48 years old. He has a long career. He worked as Head of Department, EU Law and International Litigation, Chief Advisor, Counselor, Royal Danish Embassy in London, Head of Section (including brief secondment to French Prime Minister's EU Coordination Secretariat, Paris), First Secretary, Royal Danish Embassy, New Delhi and above all as Head of Section Prior Employment. 1994 was engaged in UNHCR, Geneva

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I NTERVIEW

Croatia – an Attractive Investment Destination

Foreign investors take Croatia as an example in the “work-life balance” category, which is not negligible

MLADEN FOGEC President of the Foreign Investors Council in Croatia

than in other parts of Croatia. Exception to this is tourism, which is, of course, tied to the Adriatic coast. What are your most important recommendations for improving of the business climate?

By joining the EU and by accepting all the laws and norms of behaviour and business, Croatia has become a part of culture of the wider European circle, which thus brought the mechanisms of legal and financial protection of foreign investors to an EU level. How attractive investment destination is Croatia today?

— Croatia has always been an attractive investment destination, however, its potentials were not sufficiently recognized or used. Croatia has a very good geographic standing in terms of position and connectivity, as well as an excellent road infrastructure, and what is most important – the quality of available human potentials in a wide range of expert knowledge is at a very high level. There are a number of foreign investments that have already been implemented in Croatia, and whose business operations are very successful, but their success was not promoted to the general public. Like every country, Croatia also has its diversities, which when it comes to investments, reflects in the different approach to investors in different parts of the country. The result of this is that concentration of implemented foreign investments is much higher in northern parts

— For several years already, the Foreign Investors Council has been pointing to relevant obstacles, i.e. we give recommendations to improve the business climate. These recommendations are: Legal uncertainty – changes in

cedures, sometimes completely different treatment on local levels compared to the national level Labour issues – rigid and inadequate labour law How prepared is the Croatian Government to implement the changes that you suggested?

— At the beginning of its term, the current Croatian Government showed determination to start the reforms and to improve conditions for development of the economy, including foreign investments, which was visible by the adoption of the new tax law.

ALL THE COMPANIES REGISTERED IN CROATIA AND CROATIAN COMPANIES, AND THEY PAY TAXES IN CROATIA REGARDLESS WHERE THE INVESTOR IS COMING FROM the legal environment, changing the rules, inappropriate implementation of EU regulations, Tax liabilities – amendments to tax law, unequal solutions of different levels of tax authorities, Parafiscal charges – number of additional expenses that must be settled, without clear connection to business operations Public administration and judiciary – duration of court pro-

Despite many difficulties, the current Government showed that it wants to persevere on that path, and the moves that they announced are promising. We hope that it won’t end like so many times in the past, where everything remained at a declarative level, and very little of what was promised was actually carried out. Considering the very good economic indicators this year, we

believe that there will be a general political consensus in Croatia, which will contribute to growth and development of the economy, and thus to the possibility of arrival of major global investors. What will be the Foreign Investors Council’s key areas of action in the following period?

— Foreign Investors Council is regularly issuing its “White Book”, and we will continue to do so in the future. Our activities are always tied to learning from the best, and on two occasions we organized conferences and brought in representatives of countries with the highest percentage of foreign investors, as well as representatives of countries in the region where foreign investments are on a high level, who shared their experiences and practice in these conferences. We will continue to do so in the future, and our first next event is the presentation of the 2017 White Book in November. I would also like to point out that aside from the economic and financial aspect, I am receiving a strong message from the present foreign investors that Croatia is an extraordinary destination when it comes to the “work-life balance” category, which is not negligible.

LEGAL PROTECTION ON EU LEVEL How much has Croatia’s entry to EU contributed to strengthening of a legal state and to building a politically and economically predictable ambiance for long-term investments? — By joining the EU and by accepting all the laws and norms of behaviour and business, Croatia has become a part of culture of the wider European circle, which thus brought the mechanisms of legal and financial protection of foreign investors to an EU level. That is as far as normative acts are concerned. However, we must be aware that in real life, their application is not always ideal and efficient. Croatia as a young country with a young democracy in part has a mentality that originates from past times, so the process to change the common attitude that “foreign investors” aren’t that desirable and especially if they make profit in our country, takes time and adjustment.

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RA IN IN G O N A M A Z O N

After a Bite of Apple, Margrethe Vestager Targets Another Tech Giant Luxembourg’s “comfort letter” to Amazon was illegal, says the EU

Margrethe Vestager’s assault on technology firms she deems to have improperly massaged down their tax bills continued this week with a tilt at Amazon. The internet retailer faces a bill of €250m ($293m) for back taxes over what the European Union’s competition commissioner considers to have been an illegal sweetheart deal with Luxembourg. The order requiring the Grand Duchy to recover the money follows a well-publicised three-year investigation. It is the latest in a series of tax-avoidance cases brought by the European Commission against multinationals, most of them American. Last year, Ireland was ordered to recover €13bn from Apple—smashing all past records for EU corporate-tax cases. As with Apple, the commission concluded that Amazon received illegal state aid—in the retailer’s case between 2006 and 2014—through a tax-cutting arrangement that was unavailable to its rivals. This came in the form of a ruling from Luxembourg’s tax authority, known as a “comfort letter”. Amazon accordingly moved intellectual property of various types into a Luxembourg partnership that served as an intermediary between Amazon’s European operations—whose headquarters was a separate Luxembourg entity—and its American parent. As a partnership, the go-between was not subject to tax under Luxembourg law (the statutory corporate rate is 29.22%). The European operating company was. The operating company was required to pay to the partnership substantial royalties for, among other things, the right to use the Amazon name, thereby shifting lots of profit to the untaxed entity. The commission argues that the level of royalty payments was inflated and did not reflect economic reality. It says the arrangement allowed Amazon to avoid tax on three-quarters of all profits on its sales in the EU (which the company does not disclose). Both Luxembourg and Amazon deny wrongdoing. Luxembourg’s authorities have said before that Amazon chose to put its main European operations in the tiny landlocked country for a variety of reasons, tax not being the main one. They have also pointed out that its operations in Luxembourg are hardly empty shell companies: the company employs over 1,500 people there (though the IP-holding partnership, which no longer exists, had no employees or offices). Amazon says it did not receive special treatment and is considering an appeal.

This week’s order could stoke transatlantic tensions. After the Apple ruling last year, American politicians queued up to echo the sentiments of Tim Cook, the firm’s boss, who derided Ms Vestager’s action as “total political crap”. Many of them saw Brussels’s tax probes as being driven by tech-envy, not sound economics. Washington hinted at retaliation, though nothing specific has been tabled.

AFTER THE APPLE RULING LAST YEAR, AMERICAN POLITICIANS QUEUED UP TO ECHO THE SENTIMENTS OF TIM COOK, THE FIRM’S BOSS, WHO DERIDED MS VESTAGER’S ACTION AS “TOTAL POLITICAL CRAP” The commission’s critics have a point. The details of the case are complex, and tax experts will disagree about the legality of the arrangements under the spotlight, just as they did with Apple. Few would deny that the frayed patchwork of international corporate-tax rules need reforming; one proposal, espoused by President Emmanuel Macron of France and supported by several other EU countries, would see multinationals taxed on revenues in particular territories instead of on profits. However, punishing a company for a 14-year-old ruling from a national government, happily accepted by both sides at the time, looks harsh. The uncertainty

it stokes may also dampen foreign investors’ interest in Europe. Ms Vestager’s ruling will add to the discomfort felt by Jean-Claude Juncker, the commission’s president, who was prime minister of Luxembourg when the tax arrangement in question was hammered out. Mr Juncker has been widely pilloried for having run a government that sucked tax revenue from neighbouring countries through behind-closed-doors deals with big companies. He has been on the back foot since the “LuxLeaks” revelations in 2014, which exposed hundreds of cushy deals with multinationals. In the wake of that data breach, Luxembourg and other EU member states agreed to start systematically providing each other with detailed information about such arrangements. American firms should brace for further scrutiny of past tax deals. The commission is also looking into the tax affairs of McDonald’s and FiatChrysler in Luxembourg, and those of Starbucks in the Netherlands. The only non-American firm known to be in its sights on tax is Engie, a French utility. The Apple case is likely to produce plenty more drama, too. The company and Ireland are both appealing. The commission, meanwhile, is taking Ireland to the European Court of Justice over its failure to collect the €13bn that it has been told it is owed but clearly does not want. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

I NTERVIEW

"Croatia Full of Life" – An Ideal Tourist Destination Contribution of tourism to GDP almost 20%

Director of Croatian National Tourist Board

2017 is record-breaking in the number of visits and in profit from tourism. Our goal is to annually generate 14 to 15 billion euros in revenue from tourism by 2020, states the Director of Croatian National Tourist Board Kristijan Stancic for Dipomacy&Commerce After last year’s record breaking season, Croatian tourism is again breaking all the records. According to your assessment, how many tourists will come to Croatia this year, and how much could foreign exchange

income amount? What do the numbers say up to this moment based on the perspective on an annual level?

— Even our estimates confirm that this really is a record-breaking tourist year, and according to them we will get close to the figure of 100 million of overnight stays by the end of this year, and we might even top that figure. Namely, we already went over the 80 million overnight stays, which is an increase of about 13 per cent compared to the same period last year. Regarding the revenue, i.e. tourist consumption, it is certainly growing in parallel with the increase of tourist traffic, and this is definitively one of the most

Photo: Davor Kovačević

KRISTIJAN STANČIĆ

important indicators of success of the tourist sector. According to records of the Croatian National Bank (HNB), during 2016, revenues from foreign guests in the tourist sector amounted to 8.635 billion euros, which is an 8.5% growth compared to 2015. When we add domestic consumption to this, the figure exceeds 10 billion euros in revenue.

CROATIA HAS CONTINUOUSLY ACHIEVED GOOD RESULTS, I.E. INCREASE IN TOURIST TRAFFIC HIGHER THAN THE EUROPEAN AVERAGE, WHICH AMOUNTS TO AROUND 3 PER CENT PER YEAR

In order for Croatia to achieve the Development Strategy by 2020, each next year would have to be a record-breaking one. Do you believe that this goal can be met? What specifically is HTZ doing to that end? Who are the most frequent guests in Croatia?

— Over the past several years, Croatia has continuously achieved good results, i.e. increase in tourist traffic higher than the European average, which amounts to around 3 per cent per year. Therefore, our growth rates are higher than the given percentages, and we believe that we will continue with these positive trends. We are successful in this because of continuous investments in promotion, marketing, PR and all other projects aimed at strengthening the power of the national tourist brand. These activities are focused on prolonging the season, establishing more airline lines and the promotion and development of special forms of tourism, like health, congressional or nautical tourism. Our activities provide very measurable and visible results in a number of European, and even global markets. Still, our traditionally strong markets from where the most tourists come to visit us are Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy and Poland. We are also extremely pleased to have increasingly better results on the markets of Scandinavia, United Kingdom or France,

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CROATIA’S TOURIST SECTOR IS STABLE, AND CROATIA IS PERCEIVED AS A SAFE DESTINATION which generate an increasing share in total tourist traffic each year. Is it possible to plan in long-term when we know that political turbulences have jeopardized seasons of many developed tourist industries?

— Croatia’s tourist sector is stable, and Croatia is perceived as a safe destination. However, it is a familiar fact that some destinations are facing the problems you are stating. We hope for a fair market competition, and we don’t count on benefits that would be the result of hardship that some of our competitive destinations are facing. It is important to emphasize that Croatian National Tourist Board, together with its stakeholders, has a clear promotional strategy and goals that we will continue to work on. One of the issues to be considered is certainly the lack of workforce. Does Croatia have a systemic solution for this situation?

— The lack of workforce is not an issue reserved only for Croatia, but many other countries like Hungary, Austria or Germany are facing this issue as well. This is a segment that can be affected the lost by relevant Croatian ministry departments, as well as all the participants in the tourist system, especially employers in the tourist industry who have to provide good quality and adequate working conditions for their employees. I believe that all the necessary measures will be taken, and they will have a positive effect on employment in tourism, and the Ministry of Tourism is already conducting a number of projects to that end. We have Days of Jobs

in Tourism, which are aimed at activating the domestic work force. There are also grant programs, as well as implementation of regional competence centres for catering and tourism, which would offer the necessary professional knowledge and skills, and the possibility of requalification.

To what extent is the success of tourism in Croatia connected to the growth of other industries?

— I would say that tourism is the tourist sector that has a positive effect on other industry branches, especially in Croatia’s case, because contribution of tourism to country’s GDP is posting a very

high share of almost 20%. I would like to see this share slowly dropping over the next 4 to 5 years. This won’t mean that Croatian tourism is weakening, but that the entire Croatian economy is growing stronger. I am quite optimistic and certain that a very beautiful future lies ahead for Croatia.

CROATIA AS AN ALL YEAR ROUND DESTINATION What kind of image does Croatia as a tourist destination need on the long run? — On the long run, I see Croatia as an all-year round tourist destination that is very well connected by traffic and one that offers an array of quality tourist products and experiences for its guests. In that sense, we will work intensively on promotion of Croatia as an airline destination with a quality offer in pre-season and post-season period, but also on promotion of selective forms of tourism such as health, congressional, nautical or cyclotourism. We will especially pay attention to promotion of our continental tourism, which might be one of the main pillars for prolonging the season.

C O RPO RATE

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COLUMN

Jagoda Poropat Darrer, Business Communications Professional

ACHIEVING THE AUTHENTICITY IN PUBLIC SPEAKING:

THE BIG DATA APPROACH Better communication strategy relying on our own authentic behaviour will increase our followers and consequently benefit our business

Rhetoricians agree: when you are speaking in public, no matter what your media is it’s critical to evoke trustworthiness – if your audience doesn't believe you are confident and credible, they won't even consider what you are actually saying. Vitals will assure you the authenticity. Are we in a global authenticity crisis? Seems like this question pops up from everywhere these days - news portals, PR agencies, scholar articles, and marketers’ polls. In the era of digitalization where every “like” counts as acceptance and acquisitions, are we really losing our genuine being in order to sell our products, services or ourselves? Apparently we do, but here is why it is crucial to remain consistent and sincere to win and maintain the trust of our audience, and how to achieve it. Global authenticity crisis report conducted by US PR firm Splendid Communication and One Poll, based on 2000 respondents states that a lack of trust in influence marketing has sparked an authenticity crisis, generating ineffective adds or even counter-productive communications. Only 5% feel that influencers are genuine in promoting brands and products they truly believe in. Forbes predicts that 84% of marketers will release at least one Influencer Marketing (IM) campaign in 2017. What exactly is IM? It is a form of advertising technique that focuses on influential people such as public figures, celebrities and bloggers, rather than a target market as a whole. PR Week finds that 89% of marketers believe the top benefit for influencer marketing is the ability to create authentic content about their brand. But it turned out that many influencers, agencies and brands are placing reach and profit over storytelling and personal authenticity. Low level of trust in overwhelming public testimonials makes people tired and exhaust-

ed. Your job as a public speaker is to engage your audience and keep people’s attention. It is time to restore the lost trust of your audience and followers. BIG DATA APPROACH

The solution dates back to ancient time: from both ancient Roman and Greek rhetoricians all the way to the rhetoricians of our time have explored that issue. Just few things are new, such as methods and tools to measure, evaluate, and improve commu-

New findings based on big data analysis conducted by scientists from Quantified Communications, imply that besides wellknown parameters of outstanding speech performance (Verbal, Vocal, and Visual-nonverbal) – Vitals started playing a crucial role. Scientists analysed more than 100.000 presentation from corporate executives, politicians, and keynote speakers. They examined behaviours ranging from word choices and vocal cues to facial expressions and gesture fre-

84% OF MARKETERS WILL RELEASE AT LEAST ONE INFLUENCER MARKETING nication skills helping leaders, professionals and organizations dramatically improve the impression they make on audiences. Big data are studied widely within various study programs, such as Business Mathematics and Economics at Zagreb School of Economics and Management in order to prepare the students for the years to come, to use predictive analytics and user behaviour analytics to extract value from data and use them wisely in the area they will operate.

quency using this data to rate and rank important communication variables such as persuasiveness, confidence, warmth, and clarity. Well known Mehrabian’s rate of Verbal impact of 7%, Vocal impact of 38% and Nonverbal cues impact of 55% slightly changed in Zandans’ results that are for Verbal language impact up to 2,5%, Vocal, including volume rate and cadence 10% and Visual – nonverbal cues 83%. The new element emerged - 5% impact of so-called Vitals.

OW TO WIN BACK H TRUSTWORTHINESS?

Vital elements capture a speaker's true nature – authenticity - for which, Zandan's team has found that the top 10% of authentic speakers were considered to be 1.3 times more persuasive than the average communicator. Authenticity is made up of the passion and warmth that people have when presenting. Passion comes from exuding energy and enthusiasm. For all those far less expressive speakers, rhetoricians suggest using emotional words to evoke passion, such as “excited“, “valuable“, and “challenging“, so when speaking you automatically inflect your voice to reflect the meaning of these words. Stanford scholar Matt Abrahams suggests that warmth is a combination of understanding your audience's needs and showing that understanding through your word and actions. To be seen as warm, you should acknowledge your audience's needs by verbally echoing them and by telling stories that convey your understanding of their needs. Similarly, in his book The Art of Public Speaking, US professor Stephen Lucas quotes US President Harry Truman that said “in speaking, sincerity, honesty, and straightforwardness are more important than special talent or polish”. Your spirit, enthusiasm, and conviction will carry over to your listeners, implying that authenticity is your currency. Rhetoricians agree: when you are giving a public speech, no matter what your media is - it’s critical to evoke trustworthiness – if your audience doesn't believe you are confident and credible, they won't even consider what you are actually saying. Vitals will assure you the authenticity. Do not be afraid to be yourself. Salt is vital in small amounts, and Vitals are the salt in you public performance.

PEO PLE & EVENT S

28 FAREWELL FOR THE DIRECTOR

OF THE GERMAN – CROATIAN INDUSTRY AND TRADE CHAMBER GUNTHER NEUBERT JUN

The June’s “jour fix” German-Croatian Industry and Trade Chamber which took place on 28 June was marked by the imminent departure of Director of the German-Croatian Industry and Trade

Chamber Gunther Neubert. Neubert spent almost five years in Croatia, he returned to Latin America, where he will open and lead an office of the Delegation of German Economy in the capital of Cuba – Havana.

Gunter Neubert, Director of German-Croatian Industry and Trade Chamber, Andreas Krauss, Head of the Department of Economic Affairs of the Embassy of FRG and Permanent Deputy Ambassador, Nicolas Baron Adamovich, CEO of the German-Croatian Industry and Trade Chamber and H.E. Thomas E. Schultze, Ambassador of FRG to Croatia

14 THE FRENCH EMBASSY CELEBRATED JUL

THE NATIONAL HOLIDAY

The French Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia, Corinne Meunier, and her husband, Philippe Meunier, hosted a reception held in Zagreb on the occasion of the celebration of the French national holiday. Numerous guests from various areas attended the reception.The Ambassador spoke fondly of the friendship between France and Croatia, countries that have a lot in common: the richness of the Mediterranean, gastronomy, sport, love for art and culture, and much more.

H.E. Philippe Benoit, Belgian Ambassador

Antonio Garcia Postigo, Economic and Commercial Attaché at Brussels Invest&Export Croatia

H.E. Corinne Meunier, French Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia with husband

21 CELEBRATION OF THE BELGIAN JUL

NATIONAL DAY AT THE AMBASSADOR’S RESIDENCE

As every year, the ambassador organized a reception in honour of the Belgian national day at his residence. In his speech, Ambassador Benoit emphasized the excellent bilateral relations between Belgia and Croatia, illustrated by the stronger economic relations, and announced the opening of Belgian Honorary Consulates in Opatija and Split.The warm summer evening was the ideal setting in which the beautiful selection of Belgian beers and excellent snacks were enjoyed by the guests.

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30 EMBASSY OF THE KINGDOM OF JUL

MOROCCO MARKED THE NATIONAL DAY

Celebration of the Day of the National Kingdom of Morocco – the 18th anniversary of the advent of the throne of His Majesty King Morocco Mohammed VI was held at Hotel Westin in Zagreb. The host of the celebration was Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the Croatia, H.E. Nour El Houda Marrakchi. Celebration was attended by a large number of cultural and public life in Croatia and members of the diplomatic corps.

H.E. Sandeep Kumar, Ambassador of India to Croatia

H.E. Nour El Houda Marrakchi with guests

15 EMBASSY OF INDIA MARKED 75th AUG

ANNIVERSARY OF INDIA'S INDEPENDENCE

India@70 to mark 75th Anniversary of India's Independence on 15 August 2017. Several events were organized apart from the formal function at the Embassy. The main attractions were the release of pigeons for peace, the lighting of Chancery building in national tricolour, 3D projection of Indian flags at iconic Museum of Contemporary Arts, turning of public fountain at Hrvatske Bratske Zajednice into colours of Indian flag, and line up of guests in the formation of vibrant symbol of the nation.

25 ANNUAL CONFERENCE AUG

OF AMBASSADORS, CONSULS GENERAL AND CHARGÉS D'AFFAIRES IN CROATIA

Organized by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, hosted the annual conference of ambassadors, consuls general and chargés d'affaires in Croatia. Addresses were delivered by Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, deputy prime minister and government members, representatives of state institutions, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Marija Pejčinović Burić as the conference’s host. The conference focused on priority goals and activities of Croatia’s foreign policy and foreign affairs service.

Marija Pejčinović Burić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Croatian President, Gordan Jandroković, Parliament Speaker and other representatives of state institutions

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PEO PLE & EVENT S th 09 5 FESTIVAL

SEP

OF WORLD LITERATURE

The Fifth Festival of World Literature was closed on Saturday, September 9th. The festival welcomed more than 50 guests from 17 countries around nearly 60 differetnt festival programmes in two cities, Zagreb and Split. In seven days, the festival programs in Zagreb saw more than 7,000 visitors, and almost 1,000 in Split. The films of German authors created by literary works were viewed by more than 2,000 people.

12 THE EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SEP

MACEDONIA CELEBRATED INDEPENDENCE DAY

The Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia in the Republic of Croatia organized a reception on the occasion of the Independence Day of the Republic of Macedonia on September 12, 2017 in Dverce Palace. The reception was attended by representatives of the Diplomatic Corps of Republic of Croatia, politicians as well as honorable Croatian citizens and Macedonian citizens who live and work in Croatia. After the official part the guests enjoyed in Macedonian specialties and wines from different Macedonian wineries.

H.E. Thomas E. Schultze, German Ambassador, Nicolas Baron Adamovich, President of the German-Croatian Chamber of Commerce (GCC) and H.E Stefan Esteramann, Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation

Edmond Ademi, Minister without a portfolio of the Republic of Macedonia and Željko Reiner, Vice-President of the Croatian Parliament

Evelyn Knez, PiriKom, Nuša Lazar, DOBA Faculty, Boban Spasojević, Diplomacy&Commerce and Verica Bjelan, Croatia Airlines

13 SUMMER CELEBRATION OF THE SEP

GERMAN-CROATIAN INDUSTRIAL AND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

More than 150 members and guests gathered at this year's Summer Celebration of the Chamber on Tuesday, September 12th.Welcoming words to guests, including German Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia Thomas E. Schultze and Swiss Ambassador Stefan Estermann, addressed the president of AHK Kroatien, Nicolas Baron Adamovich. On that occasion, he announced the upcoming events organized by the Chamber and reminded of his dual education project.

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28 TRADITIONAL “JOUR FIX” SEP

ORGANIZED BY AHK

The event, traditionally organized by the exclusive member of Chamber Auto Croatia, marks the opening of the new Ford Trucks sales and service center, as well as the 25th anniversary of the Humanitarian Association SOS Children’s Village Croatia. Many guests, more than 80, were welcomed by the Board of Directors of the German-Croatian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Dorotea Effenberger, and the Chief Executive Officer of Auto Group, Bogdan Tihava. Effenberger, special congratulations to SOS Children’s Village Croatia, members of the Chamber that celebrates this year 25 anniversary of action.

H.E. Thomas E. Schultze, German Ambassador

Davor Okičić, AHK, Marijana Ladan-Pelivanović, AHK, Marko Bašić, AHK, Danijela Kovačević, Children’s Village, Honorina Bekavac, AHK, Dorotea Effenberger, Vice President of AHK, Ljiljana Varga, Head of the Corporate Partnership of the Children’s Village and Bogdan Tihava, Chief Executive Officer of Auto Group.

Prof. Dragan Primorac, former Minister of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, prof.dr.sc. Milan Kujundžić, Minister of Health of the Republic of Croatia, Renata Paškalj, Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Republic of Croatia, prof.dr.sc. Željko Reiner, Vice-President of the Croatian Parliament, H.E. Thomas E. Schultze, German Ambassador, H.E. Corinne Brunon-Meunier, French Ambassador, Katja Heusel, the wife of Ambassador Schultze

03 GERMAN UNITY DAY – RECEPTION AT OCT

THE FRENCH PAVILION

The Day of German Unity, the German national holiday celebrating the reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990, is celebrated in Croatia by the welcome of German Ambassador Thomas E. Schultze on October. The event was attended by a large number of politicians, economists, diplomats, cultures, etc. On the occasion of this event, Ambassador Schultze said: “The celebration in the French Pavilion should be a symbol of what we have achieved in Europe. German reunification is largely linked to Europe: reconciliation in Europe, between people of different countries, with our neighbors, and of course with our French friends."

Branko Baričević, Head of EU Representation, Jean-Eric Paquet, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the European Commission's General Secretariat, Marko Pavić, Minister of Labor and Pension Insurance, prof.dr. Blaženka Divjak, Minister of Science and Education, Mladen Fogec, President of the Association of Foreign Investors in Croatia and lgor Zgrabljić, Secretary-GeneraL of the Association of Foreign Investors in Croatia

10 INTERNATIONAL

CONFERENCE " INVESTING IN HUMAN CAPITAL FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH" OCT

The International Conference was held in organization of the Association of Foreign Investors and the Representative Office of the European Commission in Croatia. The purpose of the conference was to bring together experts from these areas to discuss the current labour market situation and assess the need for adequate

workforce in the light of possible investments and accelerating economic growth.With the representatives of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, state institutions and leading investors, the conference attracted a large number of representatives of the diplomatic corps, media and business community from Croatia and abroad.

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

12 BBCC LAUNCHED THE OCT

BRITISH TRAVEL 2017/18 PROJECT

This was the first of four panels to be held in the British project Travel 2017/2018, which culminates at the British Travel conference in October 2018. The purpose of this project is to introduce British tourists to their tourism sector and their habits and trends in tourism sector of the United Kingdom. The remaining events cover a number of topics - from congress, health, gastro, cruising, cultural tourism to increasingly popular city break and continental tourism. Vedrana Likan, president of the British Business Chamber in Croatia Ante Dabo, Mayor of Novalja

Dan Vidošević, BTravel Corporate Director and Board Chairman Davor Kršul, direktor Visa Croatia for the British Business Chamber of Tourism

18 SPANISH OCT

H.E. Eduardo Aznar, Ambassador of Spain and Jadranka Kosor, the former prime minister of Croatia H.E. Eduardo Aznar, Ambassador of Spain

H.E. Eduardo Aznar, Ambassador of Spain, Davor Bobić, Director of Varaždin Baroque Evenings and Raymond Rojnik, Director of the Concert Agency of Varaždin

NATIONAL DAY

The Spanish National Day was opened by a welcome address of H.E. Eduardo Aznar, Ambassador of Spain, at the reception given at Mimara Museum in Zagreb. The diplomatic reception was attended by the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia, H. E. Željko Reiner, honorable representatives of the Government of the Republic of Croacia, Minister of Environmental Protection and Energy, H.E. Tomislav Ćorić, Minister of State Property, H.E. Goran Marić, the Mayor of Zagreb, H.E. Milan Bandić, fellow diplomats, members of culture, education, business, media, public life and friends of Spain.

H.E. Eduardo Aznar, Ambassador of Spain and Željko Reiner, deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia

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B USINESS NEWS Eurostat

Valamar Riviera

THE WINNER OF THE SJAJ AWARD

The Sjaj Award jury selected 10 best companies, including Valamar Riviera, out of the 203 involved in the national survey, as the recipients of the award for their good practices, socially responsible operations and sustainability. The aim of this survey and awards is to encourage other companies to make a more prominent presentation of CSR activities and to raise awareness about the importance of socially responsible business and sustainable development in which Valamar Riviera has been the leader in its segment. The SJAJ Award is given for the overall visibility and visibility of the presentation of socially responsible business activities and includes the impression that the company’s website leaves when it comes to the presentation of CSR activities. The main award criteria are the communication of social responsibility and sustainability, ie visibility of CSR practices in the official digital media, while additional company portfolios, are also taken into account. Other standards observed in the survey are visibility, richness and variety of content, the frequency of new revelations, and the use of innovative tools in the presentation of social responsibility activities.

On behalf of Valamar Riviera, Deana Stipanović, head of corporate affairs, said: “As a leading tourist company in Croatia we are aware of our roles in the development of socially responsible business, creating a new value for all stakeholders. At the annual level, Valamar Riviera allocates a minimum of 2.5% of revenues to a range of projects and initiatives structured in the 9th COP program. This award is also a recognition and great motivation for our business to continue to develop in that direction. “

CROATIA'S PUBLIC DEBT FELL TO 81.9 PERCENT OF GDP

According to the latest Eurostat report, Croatia's public debt stood at HRK 287.25 billion or 81.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), down by 12.8 billion or 4.5 percentage points less than in the first quarter. Following a drop in public debt at a quarterly level, Croatia, according to a European Statistics Bureau in a report released on Tuesday, found it at the top spot among all EU member states. Following is Slovakia, with a fall of GDP in the quarterly level by 1.6 percentage points, followed by Malta, with a fall of 1.4 percentage points.

FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL CREDITS 200 MILLION EUROS; HALF OF EU FUNDS

IMF

GDP GROWTH IN CROATIA TO 3.1 PERCENT The IMF mission, which has spent the past ten days in Croatia, in its closing statement raised the GDP growth estimates this year from 2.9 percent to 3.1 percent, but warned that growth in the medium term slow down by 2 percent if key structural reforms are not implemented. It is also expected that the budget deficit of the general government in 2017 will amount to approximately 0.9 percent of GDP, but also state that "it is necessary to make every effort to rationalize expenditure in the remainder of the year".

Representatives of the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), Erste & Steiermerkische Bank (ESB), Privredna banka Zagreb (PBZ) and Zagrebačka banka (Zaba) signed a financing agreement for the implementation of the financial instrument "ESIF Growth and Development Loans" , which makes available to small and medium-sized entrepreneurs around 200 million euros at an interest rate of between one and two percent.Credits will be approved for a period of 12 years with 2 years of grace, or 17 years with 4 years of grace for the tourism sector, in the amount of 100 thousand to 3 million euros, or 10 million euros for tourism sector projects.

Vipnet

THE BIGGEST GROWTH IN PROFITABILITY IN THE DECADE The excellent quarterly results of large telecoms in Croatia continue to grow. After the Swedish MBA announced that local Tele2 had the highest operating profit since its inception in the summer, Telekom Austria now announces that Vipnet in Croatia recorded the highest operating profit in the last five years and the biggest jump in profitability over the decade. Vipnet's operating profit

jumped 20.1 percent to EUR 41.7 million in the third quarter. For comparison, it is half of the operating profit of the operator in the first nine months of this year, or 88.4 million euros. The growth in profitability is the result of the growth of tourism in Croatia and happened despite the fact that this is the first summer without high roaming prices. Termination of roaming has caused a positive effect.

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Microsoft

REVENUES GREW 12, AND PROFIT 16 PERCENT In the third quarter, Microsoft generated revenue of $ 24.5 billion, 12 percent higher than in the same period last year, while the profits of this software bucket jumped even more. According to Microsoft's business report, released on Thursday, company's clean profit reached $ 6.58 billion in the previous quarter, up 16 percent over the same period last year. Strong growth in financial performance is largely due to continued positive trends in Microsoft's cloud business, including products such as Office 365, Dynamic 365, and the Azure platform. On the other hand, Microsoft's revenue continues to slide in the field of personal computing, which includes Windows software, Xbox console gaming, online advertising, and Surface devices. In the previous quarter, they dropped by 0.2 percent year-on-year to $ 9.4 billion.

DHL

GREAT PLACE TO WORK DHL Express, the world leader in logistics and express delivery, has been recognized as the eighth best place to work globally in a 2017 employer ranking from Great Place to Work® and FORTUNE. The 25 World’s Best Workplaces showcases how the world’s leading employers invest in their employees, create a motivating and engaging culture globally and provide attractive development opportunities for talent. “To be recognized as one of the world’s greatest workplaces is a huge source of pride for everyone at DHL Express. It is the perfect acknowledgment of our commitment to creating the conditions for the world’s most engaged employees to develop and thrive at the world’s most international company,” said Ken Allen, CEO, DHL Express. “Great Place to Work® is one of the most rigorous accreditation bodies, and the ranking is also based on anonymous survey response from thousands of

employees, so we are particularly thrilled to see our investments in our people and in world-class HR programs pay off with this accolade.”The 25 World’s Best Workplaces ranking credited DHL in particular for three notable strengths: Impartiality – awarding promotions on merit, to those who best deserve them; Participation – involving people in management decisions that affect their jobs or work environment; Information – keeping employees informed about important issues and changes. DHL Express also runs an award-winning engagement program – Certified International Specialist (CIS) – which enables staff empowerment through knowledge and development. Over 100,000 people have participated in CIS to date, and the global board of management of DHL Express regularly contributes time toward personally facilitating CIS learning sessions for employees of all levels around the world.

Google

THE ADVERTISEMENT BROUGHT A GREAT PROFIT TO ALPHABETS Google's major company, Alphabet, reported that its profits jumped by a third in the previous quarter thanks to higher revenue from Internet ads, but also a jump in the segment of 'other innovative projects'.In the quarterly period of September, Alpha's profit reached $ 6.7 billion. Alphabet has emerged two years ago by reorganizing business and now with the 'golden cock' Google also includes projects such as the development of Autonomous Cars Waymo and Loon for Internet access via balloons floating high above Earth's surface. All of these business segments - apart from Google - were deployed in the "Other Innovative Projects" group, which saw a 53.3 percent increase in revenue in the fourth quarter, up from $ 302 million. Alpha identified an almost unheard of geothermal energy Dandelion, an independent company that will soon start delivering energy to households. Alphabet is also owned Nest, which has recently included in the offer of smart home appliances and the security system.

The Podravka Group

REALIZED NEARLY HRK 3 BILLION OF SALES REVENUE IN 2017 Podravka Group sales revenue for the nine months ended in 2017 amounted to HRK 2,983.1 million, of which 66 percent of revenues were realized in foreign markets. The turnover of sales revenues was significantly influenced by the absence of a year before the invested Pić program. Without this impact, Podravka Group revenues would grow by about 1 percent compared to the same period last year. When it comes to the realization of sales revenues on foreign markets, it is particularly worth mentioning the growth of the above mentioned revenues in the region of Western Europe and the overseas countries in the amount of 6.5 percent and in the Eastern Europe region by 7.5 percent. Gross profit for the Podravka Group amounted to HRK 1,059.4 million in the stated period, while net profit amounted to HRK 54.1 million. Significant

impact on Podravka Group's profitability arises from increased severance and realized share options and the absence of return on disposable income in the comparative period. Lower profitability was also affected by the fixed costs of the new Belupa drugstore, where successively the transfer of technology is in line with the regulatory requirements.

REPO RTAGE

The Weekend Media Festival Celebrates its 10th Anniversary The jubilee gathering in Rovinj from 21st to 24th September

In three days, around 4,000 people from 12 regional countries, Europe and the world attended the WMF's lectures, panel discussions, presentations, workshops and parties. „This was the biggest, the most popuar and the most exciting Weekend Media Festival so far”, said the Festival’s Director, Tomo Ricov.

here to acquire very specific knowledge that they can immediately use in their businesses. We are going to copy all of the good experiences from this year's festival into the next year's, as well as introduce various novelties because the Weekend Media Fetival is all about constant innovation“, said the Festival's Programme Director, Nikola Vrdoljak. One of the panel discussions,

Boris Jokić

Boris Trupčević

Jonathan Calvert

Mia Dimšić

OVER 50 LECTURERS, PANEL DISCUSSIONS, PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS TOOK PLACE IN THE COURSE OF THE TWO FESTIVAL DAYS At the festival, the participants discussed various business and media-related projects, while several new projects were presented and foreign lecturers talked about the latest trends in communications. The WMF assembled the entire regional communications industry in one place, broadened its reach to include other business sectors, and substantially prolonged the tourist season in Rovinj Introducing an additional festival workshop hall proved to be a real hit among the participants. „The workshops were full, and I believe that many people from Rovinj came

that was very popular among the audiences, covered the topic of magazine licenses in the region. The following professionals participated in the discussion, titled „Global, Yet Ours“ – President of Color Press Group and the panel moderator, Robert Čoban, Editor-in-Chief of the Serbian edition of Elle magazine, Duška Jovanović, Business Media Director of Adria Media Ljubljana, Dušan Lukič, Editor-in-Chief of Beauty and Health Magazine in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jelena Joksimović, and Editor-in-Chief of Place2Go magazine from Zagreb, Damjana Domanovac.

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CO RPO RATE KRKA NATIONAL PARK

The Rich Cultural and Historical Heritage The Krka National Park, in addition to its enchanting natural diversity, abounds in valuable cultural and historical monuments from various chronological periods along the entire course of the Krka River

state of preservation representing one of the most imposing fortified structures in Croatia. The island of Visovac is one of the most important natural and cultural features of the Republic of Croatia. It is located between the Roški slap waterfall and the Skradinski buk waterfall. In the middle of the 14th century, Visovac was settled by hermits of the Order of St. Augustine, who built a small

demolished and rebuilt, and the present ones were built at the end of the 19th century. Watermills are monuments of rural architecture and economic history, as well as ethnological and ethnographic monuments of this area. The sheer power of the Krka River waters attracted many industrialists who wished to build hydroelectric power plants along it. The remains of the earliest plant, HE Krka, is located at the Skradinski buk waterfall. It was built and commenced work in 1895, only two days after Tesla’s hydroelectric plant at Niagara Falls. At the same time, an 11 km long electricity transmission line was built, along with an urban lighting network – the first complete electric power system in Croatia. In this manner, Šibenik received electric lighting before numerous other European cities. www.np-krka.hr

Photo archive of Public Institution „NP Krka“, Authors: Mario Romulić & Dražen Stojčić

The earliest traces of life in the area of the Krka National Park were discovered in the Oziđana pećina cave above the Roški slap waterfall, where traces of all the Neolithic cultures of the Adriatic region were found, today featuring an archeological collection in situ. A jewel of ancient history, the Roman military camp of Burnum was built in the 1st century

Monastery (Holy Archangel) is located in Carigradska draga on the Krka River. Raised on the foundations of an earlier monastery founded by hermits, it was mentioned in written documents for the first time in 1402. According to legend, the Krka Monastery was built at the site where the apostle Paul preached of Christ's faith in the sixties of the 1st century AD. Below the church, built in the Byzantine style, old Roman catacombs exist that are open to visitors. The monastery treasury contains valuable icons and arts and crafts objects preserved from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Six waterfalls of the Krka National Park have watermills and washing stalls that testify to ancient human presence and the many ways of utilizing the river. During the turbulent history of the region, the watermills were often

WATERMILLS ARE MONUMENTS OF RURAL ARCHITECTURE AND ECONOMIC HISTORY, AS WELL AS ETHNOLOGICAL AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MONUMENTS OF THIS AREA AD, and the remains of arches belonging to the military headquarters and a well-preserved amphitheater are visible today. Every summer, the Burnum Ides are held, bringing to life the history and customs of this region in the Roman period two thousand years later. Several medieval Croatian fortresses from the 14th century are located in the park: Kamičak, Trošenj, Nečven, Bogočin and Ključica, the latter in terms of its dimensions and

monastery and a church dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle on the island. Upon their departure, the Franciscans came to Visovac in 1445. The Franciscan monastery has an archaeological collection, a collection of historical church vestments and vessels, and a rich library with many valuable books and incunabula, including a copy of Aesop’s Fables from the 15th century. The spiritual center of Orthodox believers – the Krka

A L E A G U E O F T H E IR O WN

The English Are Bad at Playing Football—But Brilliant at Selling it English clubs are being trounced by their European rivals, yet revenues are soaring. Why are such a mediocre bunch so popular?

MOPEDS emblazoned with Manchester United’s crest drone through the streets of Bangkok. Fans in Okene, Nigeria, dance in red and white kits on the town’s annual Arsenal Day. Official supporters’ groups exist in Macedonia, Mongolia and Mexico, some of the 180-plus countries to which matches are broadcast. In the 25 years since it was first contested, the English Premier League, which kicked off a new season last month, has become the most lucrative product in the world’s most popular sport. Its clubs earned £4.5bn ($5.8bn) in the 2015-16 season, almost twice as much as any other football league, according to Deloitte, a consultancy. The puzzle is that the game’s most renowned domestic competition is not very good. ClubElo. com, which rates teams according to the opponents they beat, calculates that eight years ago four of the world’s five top sides were English. Today none is. An English club last reached the final of the Champions League, Europe’s most prestigious knockout competition, in 2012. A Premier League star last made the top five in the Ballon d’Or, an award for the world’s best player,

ENGLAND’S LOWER-RANKED TEAMS ARE WORSE THAN THEIR EQUIVALENTS IN SPAIN AND GERMANY, TOO. YET AS THE STANDARD OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL HAS DIVED, IT HAS ONLY BECOME RICHER in 2011. Spain, Germany, Italy and France, the other members of Europe’s “big five”, now dominate. England’s lower-ranked teams are worse than their equivalents in Spain and Germany, too. Yet as the standard of English football has dived, it has only become richer (see chart). Why are such a mediocre bunch so popular? MOPEDS emblazoned with Manchester United’s crest drone through the streets of Bangkok. Fans in Okene, Nigeria, dance in red and white kits on the town’s annual Arsenal Day. Official supporters’ groups exist in Macedonia, Mongolia and Mexico, some of the 180-plus countries to which matches are broadcast. In the 25 years since it was first contested, the English Premier League, which kicked off a new season last

AGAINST THE RUN OF PLAY

Number of English teams at each stage in the European Champions League

Winner

Economist.com

month, has become the most lucrative product in the world’s most popular sport. Its clubs earned £4.5bn ($5.8bn) in the 2015-16 season, almost twice as much as any other football league, according to Deloitte, a consultancy. The puzzle is that the game’s most renowned domestic competition is not very good. ClubElo. com, which rates teams according to the opponents they beat, calculates that eight years ago four of the world’s five top sides were English. Today none is. An English club last reached the final of the Champions League, Europe’s most prestigious knockout competition, in 2012. A Premier League star last made the top five in the Ballon d’Or, an award for the world’s best player, in 2011. Spain, Germany, Italy and France, the other members of Europe’s “big five”, now dominate. England’s lower-ranked teams are worse than their equivalents in Spain and Germany, too. Yet as the standard of English football has dived, it has only become richer (see chart). Why are such a mediocre bunch so popular?. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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CO RPO RATE MAISTRA

The Leading Tourist Company in Croatia Maistra has a portfolio of 10 hotels, 8 tourist resorts and 6 campsites in Rovinj and Vrsar, with the capacity of more than 35,000 beds

Maistra is one of the leading tourist companies in Croatia, constituting one of the strategic business units of the Adris Group. Maistra was formed in March 2005 by a merger of the largest tourist companies of the time, inheriting business experience of 50 years. Nowadays the company has a portfolio of 10 hotels, 8 tourist resorts and 6 campsites in Rovinj and Vrsar, with the capacity of more than 35,000

beds, resulting in approximately 6 % of overnight stays in Croatia, or 16 % of overnight stays in Istria. Maistra’s business is guided by the values which make it recognizable; distinguish it from its competition and which illustrate its vision – to be the leading hotel management company and a synonym for the warmth of the Mediterranean hospitality. The company endeavors to achieve this through the development of new and different features and highly personalised service to provide a unique experience to each guest, which is at the same time the mission of the company. The HRK 3 billion in investments to date have placed Maistra’s hotels and resorts at the very pinnacle of the Croatian tourist offer in terms of prices and consumer satisfaction. The most significant investments to date include the

construction of the five-star Monte Mulini and Lone hotels, which introduced two famous brands – Leading Hotels of the World and Design Hotels – to the region; renovation of the promenade, beach and Lone Bay; the refurbishment of the Adriatic Hotel, the oldest hotel in destination. Last year we opened the Family Hotel Amarin under the flag of the Kinder Hotel Brand and started with the preparation for the construction of the new hotel in Rovinj which has been declared a strategic investment project of Croatia (value of 80 million €). In addition to development of facilities intended for holiday tourism, the strategic plan particularly focused on development of complementary facilities (congress facilities, sporting facilities, wellness facilities and other special-interest facilities), which provide for development of new market segments

and year-round intensive tourist activity in the destination. Today Maistra has 14% of total capacities and 16% of overnights in Istria. For the upcoming period, the company is planning new investments worth HRK 2 billion. At this year's Days of Croatian Tourism, Hotel Monte Mulini has won the Tourism Flower Award in the category of 5-star hotels and it was declared as the hotel of the year. Family hotel Amarin, which opened in August 2016, won the Innovation of the year Award in tourism in the Family Hotel category. Maistra's employee Filip Savić, who has been awarded several years in a row the Best Sommelier of Croatia award, won the „ Man – the key of success - Best Employee Achievement Award in the waiter category. The city of Rovinj was declared the most successful destination for summer vacation tourism.

INTERVI EW Text: NIKICA MILOŠ

High Artistic Quality that Touches Sensibility Appealing plays of highly artistic quality that touch upon the sensibility of our times is the reason why audiences are flocking to the CNT. We enjoy the support from both of our founders – the Ministry of Culture and the City of Zagreb

DUBRAVKA VRGOC Director of the Croatian National Theatre (CNT)

Croatia has an understanding of culture. Regardless of how turbulent a time period was, it seems that the Croatian culture has never been substantially withheld from anything. In the last two years, the CNT participated in two European Commission funded projects under the auspices of the Creative Europe programme. We have also started talking to the Trieste theatre regarding the 2018/2019 season – says Dubravka Vrgoc, Director of the Croatian National Theatre (CNT) for the first issue of Diplomacy & Commerce magazine. You were quoted as saying that nobody would ever again be able to post a picture of an empty CNT venue on Facebook, and you kept your word. What prompts audiences to come to the CNT in droves at the time when culture takes the last place in the society? — When I came to the CNT in

Zagreb in autumn of 2014, certain plays had virtually no audience and it was very difficult to appeal

to people to come. My first campaign in the theatre was called „The Open Square Day“ which we organized together with all cultural institutions that are located in the square. We devised various programmes and invited people to join us in the theatre. We opened the theatre to different poetics, styles and genres, hosted attractive programmes, and tried to appeal to audiences of all generations. Certainly, all of this helped us with raising our public visibility. But, what really makes people come to the CNT today, is, first and foremost, interesting plays of highly artistic value that touch upon the sensibility of the time we live in. Are contemporary themes that you cover typical of the challenges that Croatian society is facing today, or are these universal themes in the European society on a whole, as noted during the visit to your Philosophical Theatre? — These are definitely contem-

porary topics too. Back at the time when I was the director of the Zagreb Youth Theatre, I noticed that the audience liked Croatian playwrights. This was a phenomenon of sorts because, back in the 1990s, Croatian playwrights rarely staged their plays, and the audience was not that interested. This has

WE ARE ALSO EXPLORING THE OPPORTUNITY OF HAVING NEW AUDIBLE APPROACHES TO THEATRE changed dramatically, as seen from the example of the Zagreb Youth Theatre. The audiences flocked to the plays written by Tena Štivičić, Ivana Sajko, Ivor Martinić, Ivan Vidić, Goran Ferčec, and Damir Karakaš, more than those written by Shakespeare or Chekhov. At that time, the transition was at its peak, and the war had just finished, while the audiences searched for recognition and directions on how to navigate through the turbulent reality in the plays written by Croatian playwrights. Even if theatre failed to provide answers to these quests back then, at least it asked the questions impor-

tant for our times, as it does today. Apart from the contemporary domicile themes, universal and global topics are also exciting to tackle too. These are the topics that we find in the classic plays, as well as in the programme of the Philosophical Theatre which has showcased the work of some of the biggest thinkers of our time in the Croatian National Theatre. Do you think that the CNT's success, both in terms of the number and the quality of drama, opera and ballet performances, is the result of the work done by the theatre itself, which goes against the overwhelming cultural tide in the society, or maybe Croatia still has enough understanding for culture? — Croatia has an understanding

of culture. Regardless of how turbulent a time period was, it seems that the Croatian culture has never been substantially withheld from

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anything. If you look at the number of theatres, museums, galleries and all-year-round festivals both in Zagreb and all over Croatia, it seems that the cultural offer in our country is almost identical to the one in other European countries. As far as the CNT goes, we really do enjoy the support from both of our founders – the Ministry of Culture and the City of Zagreb. According to the latest information, the state authorities are planning on finding a new venue for the CNT's Drama Department that would resolve a long-standing problem of three troupes of actors unable to develop under one roof. For the third consecutive time, you are appointed the president of the European Theatre Convention (ETC). How are theatres in the EU funded today, and can the CNT rely on European funds too? — Theatres in the EU receive fund-

ing from various sources, and it differs from country to country. It all depends on the financial potential of their respective country, but also of the overall interest in culture. The German and Scandinavian theatres receive the biggest funding, while the Eastern European theatres still manage to secure operational continuity despite having a lot less funds at their disposal. What is good and what we still need to work on, is that Europe, as far as theatres are concerned, has still not implemented the format used in Anglo-Saxon countries. In Europe, theatre is still not an entirely commercial artistic endeavour, i.e. it is not directly marketed. Artistic theatre cannot survive without the state's support today. Of course, there are various European and state grants that help with the implementation of certain projects. Recently, CNT became a part of a project under the auspices of the Creative Europe programme which implements new technologies in theatres. What is CNT's role in this project?

GUEST APPEARANCES ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND USEFUL FOR ANY THEATRE — In the last two years, the CNT

has been involved in two projects funded by the European Commission under the auspices of the Creative Europe programme. In the Drama segment, it's a project called European Theatre Lab which we are jointly realizing with a Norwegian theatre, and in the Opera segment, we are a part of a largescale project called Opera Vision along with thirty other big European theatres which entails recording operas and showcasing them in

different European opera theatres. European Theatre Lab: Theatre Goes Digital is a two-year-project involving eight European theatres. The idea is to implement new technologies in theatres while searching together for new theatrical opportunities. As a part of the project, we are going to have two dramas – Krleža's 'Kraljevo' which we are going to perform in Oslo, and Ibsen's „Peer Gynt“ that will be performed in Zagreb. We are also exploring the opportunity of having new audible approaches to theatre. One of the big changes is also guest appearances. What kind of impressions did you get after having your young playwrights staging their plays in other towns?

— Guest appearances are extreme-

ly important and useful for any theatre. These appearances open different perspectives both to audience and actors. We have started doing guest appearances two years ago, and our intention is to have even more of them. Probably the most exciting one was our guest appearance with Tena Štivčić's play „Three Winters“ in regional countries (Sarajevo, Belgrade, Novi Sad, Maribor, Ljubljana, Podgorica). The play was greeted with understanding and approval. Personally, I think that our most impressive guest appearance was with our ballet troupe in St. Petersburg in May. They performed „Anna Karenina“ in front of the audience in the packed Alexandrinsky Theatre and received a standing ovation.

CNT CONNECTS CITIES For some time now, you have also been engaged in the European subscription project that connects Zagreb and Maribor. Are some cities in neighbouring countries, or in Europe also going to join this project soon? — We have been cooperating with Slovensko Narodno Gledališče from Maribor on the European subscription project. The project entails our subscribers going to Maribor to watch three plays staged by their theatre, and vice versa, i.e. Maribor's theatre subscribers coming to Zagreb to watch our plays. Last season, this proved to be an extremely interesting endeavour and I think the same will happen this year too. Of course, we are open to other cities in our surroundings participating in the project, but they have to be cities that are not too far away so that the theatre goers can travel there and back in the same day. We have also started negotiations with the Trieste theatre regarding the 2018/2019 season.

I NTERVIEW

Written Word – The Foundation of Democracy Photo: Roko Crnić

The World Literature Festival brings the most significant contemporary writers to Zagreb, where they will have a dialogue with Croatian writers and the audience

SEID SERDAREVIĆ Programme Director, World Literature Festival

Part of the Festival that takes place in Zagreb was visited by more than 6,000 visitors, states the Knight of the French Order of Arts and Letters (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres), Programme Director of the Festival, Seid Serdarevic, for Diplomacy&Commerce. The World Literature Festival has already become a tradition. Did it meet your expectations?

— The World Literature Festival was created from numerous programs that Fraktura Publishing Company held in the past, primarily from the “Disclosure” forum, which continues to be the most important festival programme. Over these five years, the Festival has developed, we introduced new programs, changed some formats. The Festival has become one of those highly visible events that is a staple with Zagreb's audiences, and hopefully with Split's audiences too. How and in what way did you select the country in focus, the writers and the Festival's programme?

— We introduced the country in focus in our third edition of the Festival. Until now, countries in focus were France and Italy, and this year the focus is on German-speaking countries. We select them

according to importance of these literatures, according to the number of translated books, curiosities about the authors. All the programs are derived from books published over the past years, most of them are published in the past twelve months. The program is developed during the course of the year, depending on which authors can find the time to come to Zagreb.

Letters, this honourable acknowledgment is always an incentive to continue to work more, to care and work on constant promotion of the values of culture, as well as the values that are the foundation of every republic, primarily France, that arise from the French Revolution that created the modern world that it knows, and these are Liberté, égalité, fraternité.

Aside from Zagreb, the Festival has expanded to Split as well. How big is the interest for the festival outside Zagreb, and are you planning on holding the festival in other Croatian towns?

As the Programme Director of a literature festival, and as the owner of the biggest publishing company in Croatia, how do you foresee the direction in which writing trends are moving on the global and local level?

— Split has its audience, and so do

THIS YEAR’S PARTNERS WERE GERMAN-SPEAKING COUNTRIES – GERMANY AND AUSTRIA some other cities in Croatia, but it is not likely that the Festival will expand further, at least not in the foreseeable time. This kind of program is very demanding, we need verified and good local partners, those who know the audience, rhythm of the city, and finances, of course. France has honoured you for your merits in promotion of culture. You are a Croatian knight. How much does this award impose responsibility on you against what you did and what you plan to do?

— I would say that I am a knight of the French Order of Arts and

— Today, time shows that writing has been maximally democratized, there are more books being published in the world than ever, on one hand we have a forest of voices, but the most important ones are always recognized. A crisis in publishing and bookselling is present in Croatia for some time now, and it has resulted in a drop in number of newly published books. Writing and publishing of books is the foundation of democracy, and at the moment, the most interest-

ing are the books we can describe as narrative non-fiction. Some time ago you stated that for 1 HRK invested in the publishing business, 9 HRK will return to you. Has the state recognized this and what is the position of publishers and writers? Do the authorities show interest in all of your needs?

— The publishing industry is a branch that is most exposed to the market of all the traditional cultural industries. Each kuna, euro invested in the publishing business will be multiplied in the economic sense, as well as in the general sense, in development of the culture of dialogue, democratic foundations, understanding of others. Ministry of Culture is investing significant funds, but it is important for all other ministries and local self-governments to get involved in the support to books and reading. It was proven that countries with the most published books per capita and with the highest percentage of people visiting cultural events are also the richest and the most progressive countries, with the lowest class differences.

LIVING AND WRITTEN WORD IS MOST IMPORTANT What is the Festival’s objective? Who are you addressing with the Festival’s program? — From the beginning, aside from the dialogue, the Festival’s objective was to present important authors, global, domestic and regional writing stars or those who will become that. To show how interesting literature is, how living word, just like the written word, is still most important. Writers and intellectuals in these interesting times of great cultural and political challenges, global changes, do contemplate on the situation around us and it is important to publicly hear their opinion.

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COLUMN

Danijel Koletić

CEO APRIORI WORLD

BRAND PERCEPTION – STRENGTH OF THE STATE

Strength of a state lies in the creativity, knowledge, and the perception created through the brands that this country is hiding. This column is a story about the strength of diplomacy and brands This column will be precisely about brands and their power. About the creation of perception of a country, about creation of opinion about the people of that country, but also about the importance of branding in the economy and economic diplomacy. Today, on Croatian shelves, we can find brands from neighbouring countries that were created in a community when everyone lived together in this magical Yugoslavia. Aside from its historic perception, each country creates its branding through architecture, art, people, habits, products and events. All the countries of former Yugoslavia today live as independent countries, and from my point of view, they are also independent brand zones. Despite the disagreements and conflicts, product brands have survived, as well as brands of destinations that created an emotional zone of feelings, perception and memories. Today, each country has its own story and its own pride. Pride brands of Croatia which are not only a matter of tradition, but also a matter of habit of taste, quality, emotion, are brands such as Vegeta, which made Croatia famous even outside this region, Cedevita, Bajadera bonbonniere, Domaćica biscuits, Zdenka cheese, Faks Helizim which has seen its various versions. When it comes to brands of the new age that managed to win over countries in the region, as well as outside the region, is Jana mineral water. On a global level, today, Croatian brand diplomacy is still maybe more connected to the destination of the city of Dubrovnik. Those who decide to visit Croatia also visit the Plitvice Lakes, the island of Hvar, the Pula Arena, Zadar, Split, Šibenik and the City

of Zagreb, which was dubbed to be the most desirable European destination in 2017, and the best European Advent. In this case also we can say that Croatia and its capital city have implemented branding through this event. One of the brands that carry in themselves a great power of promotion and perception are also sports successes. When I travel the world, I can hear that people still remember Suker, member of Croatia’s national football team that won 3rd place at the World Cup in France. However, tennis player Goran Ivanisevic and skier Janica Kostelic, as well as

of its people, it has been forming only over the past several years because nation’s brand cannot be created overnight, and you cannot buy it. It is created through the most influential marketing, which is by word of mouth. What is significant for Croatia, but also for Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro is the openness in communication, cordiality and hospitality. Making of the TV series “Game of Thrones”, which has its fans and viewers in all 6 continents, and making of the South Korean reality TV show, has placed Croatia on a must see

NATION’S BRAND CANNOT BE CREATED OVERNIGHT, AND YOU CANNOT BUY IT. IT IS CREATED THROUGH THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MARKETING OF ALL, WHICH IS BY WORD OF MOUTH disc thrower Sandra Perkovic are significant promoters of Croatian branding. Thanks to Janica Kostelic, at one point Croatia became a skiing superpower. It took a few years to understand the perception of her success and for Croatia to win the race for the World Skiing Cup, thanks to the City of Zagreb and to Mayor Bandic. When we talk about Croatia as a nation, and about the branding

map of millions of fans, who by slowly discovering Croatia also discover and create its brand all over the world. Croatia is a young country and that is why the perception of its brand is created slowly. This year, it will register a record-breaking number of visitors, which means that they all carry with them some memories from Croatia and that they will come back.

What is positive for Croatia is that tourists that have somewhat forgotten about this destination are returning, as well as tourists from the neighbouring countries. This way, neighbouring Slovenia’s traditional brand destination for summer vacation is precisely Croatia. Croatia’s unknown brands are hidden in Croatian inventions and inventors Slavoljub Penkala, a necktie (kravata), Faust Vrancic as the inventor of parachute, and the most famous inventor of all, whose name became a global trend brand again because of the name of a vehicle. He is Nikola Tesla, an inventor born in Lika, who spent a part of his life in Serbia. Over the past several years, new brands are being discovered, like Croatian olive oils, wines that due to their quantity and lack of finances sadly cannot become global brands of a campaign, but they do find their way to families all over the world that can carry Croatia in their memories through the magic of taste. Croatian diplomacy might not sufficiently understand the importance of connecting, communication and promotion of Croatian brands, but today, in an era of new technologies, new generations and new promotional possibilities, new digital trends are being born and they are conquering the world from Croatia through IT sector. Maybe they aren’t that visible, but they did find their place. There isn’t enough space to tell a story about all Croatian brands. However, every generation is living its own brand story, and in the next issue we will discover some interesting facts from the economic brand zone of one of the neighbouring countries, or a country that might be precisely your country.

CULTURE CALENDAR

C ALEND AR & NE W S

Schedule

THE MOST READ BOOKS IN THE PREVIOUS MONTH IN CROATIA BY PUBLISHING HOUSE FRAKTURA

CROATIAN NATIONAL THEATRE IN ZAGREB Thursday, November 02 2017 at 19,30 Opera

JOSIP HATZE

Adel and Mara Premiere

Friday, November 03 2017 at 19.30 Drama

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE THE WINTER'S TALE

Director: Polly Tritschler; ensemble: Dragan Despot, Alma Prica, Livio Badurina, Luka Dragić, Mislav Čavajda, Slavko Juraga, Jadranka Đokić, Silvio Vovk, Ivan Glowatzky, Alen Šalinović, Dušan Gojić, Damir Markovina etc. Saturday, November 04 2017 at 11,30-12,30 Ballet Day

OVJEK KOJI JE LOVIO Č VLASTITU SJENU David Lagercrantz

STONER

John Williams

O PAKLA I D NATRAG Ian Kershaw

Saturday, November 04 2017 at 18.00 Opera

LABIRINT DUHOVA Carlos Ruiz Zafón

JOSIP HATZE ADEL AND MARA

Tuesday, November 07 2017 at 19,30 Opera Phillipe Manoury - Elfriede Jelinek Kein Licht Premiere

ONE SONG A DAY TAKES MISCHIEF AWAY

Tuesday, November 14 2017 at 19,30 Ballet Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky - Vladimir Malakhov

SWAN LAKE

Wednesday, November 15 2017 at 19,30 Opera Josip Hatze Adel and Mara Thursday, November 16 2017 at 19,30 Ballet Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky - Vladimir Malakhov

SWAN LAKE

Friday, November 17 2017 at 11,00 Opera Peter Lund

HILLARY THE WITCH GOES TO OPERA

Foyer, director: Ivan Leo Lemo, ensemble: Dora Lipovčan, Marija Kuhar Šoša, Kristijan Potočki

Tena Štivičić

3 WINTERS

Director: Ivica Buljan; ensemble: Ksenija Marinković, Dragan Despot, Jadranka Đokić, Luca Anić, Barbara Vicković, Mislav Čavajda, Bojan Navojec, Nina Violić, Franjo Kuhar, Siniša Popović, Mada Peršić, Silvio Vovk, Alma Prica and Slavko Juraga Wednesday, November 22 2017 at 19.30 Ballet Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky - Vladimir Malakhov

SWAN LAKE

Thursday, November 23 2017 at 21,00 Drama

BADCO.

Corrections in Rhythm Friday, November 24 2017 at Award night of Tito Strozzi Friday, November 24 2017 at 20,00 Croatian theater awards Saturday, November 25 2017 at 18,00 Opera Josip Hatze Adel and Mara Sunday, November 26 2017 at 11,00

SARAJEVO, PLAN GRADA

Miljenko Jergović

FORMER PRESIDENT IVO JOSIPOVIĆ CELEBRATED HIS BIRTHADAY PLAYING AT THE CONCERT

Wednesday, November 08 2017 at 19.30 Opera Phillipe Manoury - Elfriede Jelinek Kein Licht Thursday, November 09 2017 at 19,30 Opera Phillipe Manoury - Elfriede Jelinek Kein Licht Sunday, November 12 2017 at 11.00 Opera Peter Lund

HILLARY THE WITCH GOES TO OPERA

Foyer, director: Ivan Leo Lemo, ensemble: Dora Lipovčan, Marija Kuhar Šoša, Kristijan Potočki

Croatian Composers' Society and Cantus have organized an Ivo Josipović concert for the 60th birthday in the Museum of Mimara. They performed with Katarina Krpan (piano), Danijel Detoni (piano), Sreten Krstic (violin), Hrvoje Sekovanić (percussion), Marko Mihajlović (percussion) and Zagreb soloists under the direction of conductor Zoran Juranić. The program included Samba's compositions for the string orchestra, the Game of Glass Beads for Piano, the Piano Jubilus, the Violent Violin for Piano and Piano, the Kurosavin Restless World for Strings, Ringtones and Timpani, and Dernek for two pianos, percussion and strings. The concert was attended by numerous friends and collaborators of Ivo Josipović and those from public life - Irena Škorić, Franko Vidović, Josip Leko, Davor Bernardić, Porfirije Perić.

Monday, November 13 2017 at 19,30 Drama Vjekoslav Majer - Krešo Golik Rene Medvešek

Sunday, November 12 2017 at 19.30 Ballet Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky - Vladimir Malakhov

SWAN LAKE

Dobrotvorna akcija Korak u život u organizaciji Rotary Cluba Zagreb – Kaptol Monday, November 13 2017 at 11.00 Artistic programme for schools

Saturday, November 18 2017 at 18.00 Ballet Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky - Vladimir Malakhov Swan Lake Saturday, November 18 2017 at 21,00 Drama

BADCO.

Corrections in Rhythm Premiere Sunday, November 19 2017 at 11.00

CONCERT BY PRINCIPLE OPERA SINGER DIANA HILJA

Monday, November 20 2017 at 19,30 Drama Pippo Delbono

GOSPEL

Director: Pippo Delbono, Ensamble: Zrinka Cvitešić, Gianluca Ballarè, Bobò, Pippo Delbono, Ilaria Distante, Simone Goggiano, Tatjana HrvačićGašparac, Mario Intruglio, Franjo Kuhar etc. Tuesday, November 21 2017 at 19.30 Drama

Opera Peter Lund

HILLARY THE WITCH GOES TO OPERA

Foyer, director: Ivan Leo Lemo, ensemble: Dora Lipovčan, Marija Kuhar Šoša, Kristijan Potočki Monday, November 27 2017 at 19.30 Opera Josip Hatze Adel and Mara Tuesday, November 28 2017 at 19.30 Drama Vjekoslav Majer - Krešo Golik Rene Medvešek

ONE SONG A DAY TAKES MISCHIEF AWAY

Wednesday, November 29 2017 at 19,30 Ballet Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky

THE NUTCRACKER

Choreography: Derek Deane,

Thursday, November 30 2017 at 19,30 Josip Hatze Adel and Mara