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May 2018 | ISSUE No. 05 | FREE COPY

MINOR IMPROVEMENTS

Photo: office of the president

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LORA VIDOVIĆ Ombudsman

FRIENDLY AND CONSTRUCTIVE COOPERATION

24 "BECOME AN AMBASSADOR FOR A DAY MAR

AND STAND UP FOR GENDER EQUALITY!”

WE HAVE EMBRACED THE CHANGE

WINFRIED KRETSCHMANN

The Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg

H.E. ELLEN BERENDS

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands

RESIDENCE OF EUROPEAN CULTURAL HERITAGE

KEEP UP WITH REFORMS VEDRANA JELUŠIĆ KAŠIĆ

EBRD Director and Regional Head for Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Slovakia

A SUPERPOWER IS BORN Turkey

ANTONIO PICUKARIĆ

Director of the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

WE ARE GETTING BETTER BY THE DAY GABRIJELA ŽALAC

Minister of Regional Development and European Union Funds

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ED ITO RI AL

CO N T E N T S

The World of Social Networks Dear readers, In ancient times, before the invention of social networks, the people had to create a blog to talk about whetever they wanted. And you had to know that that blog or a website existed in order to read what's on it. Otherwise, bloggers or website owners would have to be interviewed, on the radio, or the TV, or by newspapers, which was later re-posted on the web. Back then, it was not that easy to voice your opinion about something. And then it all changed! Barack Obama was the first politicians to use Facebook and Twitter to gather support, while his opponent, the old McCain, failed. Later, everything started moving even faster. Donald Trump was appointed president, while his Twitter-diplomacy as of late is becoming rather humorous, although, in reality, it is not funny at all. On several occasions, in his tweets, Trump first threatened Russia, then offered cooperation, then blasted the American factors for the conspiracy. The Brits first tweeted about how the Russians poisoned Skripal, then deleted the tweet. Then Maria Zakharova fired back with a Facebook status about the genocidal colonial British history. The virtual WW3! Natalie Portman refused to appear in Israel to receive an award, and was immediately both defended and attacked, without anyone scratching the surface of the whole matter. She later explained that that she was advocating a better Israel and protesting against Netanyahu, but, alas, it was too late. The nuanced people are not suited for the World of Social Networks. Our world nowadays produces instant victims or instant firing squads. Everyone has a quick, extreme opinion. Slow down, people! Let's all become more nuanced, just like in the old days. ROBERT ČOBAN

ISRAEL IS DETERMINED TO STOP IRAN FROM ESTABLISHING BASES IN SYRIA The other Syrian conflict

WE HAVE EMBRACED THE CHANGE WINFRIED KRETSCHMANN The Minister-President of BadenWürttemberg

KEEP UP WITH REFORMS VEDRANA JELUŠIĆ KAŠIĆ

EBRD Director and Regional Head for Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Slovakia

Director

BOBAN SPASOJEVIĆ Executive editor

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NIKICA MILOŠ Editor-in-chief

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FRIENDLY AND CONSTRUCTIVE COOPERATION H.E. ELLEN BERENDS

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands

PRESERVE AND PROSPER EUGENE CZOLIJ

President of the Ukrainian World Congress

INDIAN STATES SQUABBLE OVER HOW TO SHARE OUT FEDERAL CASH

YOU GOT IT ALL WRONG

ANTONIO PICUKARIĆ

Geopolitics

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WE ARE GETTING BETTER BY THE DAY GABRIELA ŽALAC

Minister of Regional Development and European Union Funds

MINOR IMPROVEMENTS LORA VIDOVIĆ

RESIDENCE OF EUROPEAN CULTURAL HERITAGE Director of the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery

SOUL OVERFLOWING WITH DANCE DINKO BOGDANIĆ

Choreographer and ballet pedagogue

Ombudsman

Predstavnik za RH

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ROBERT ČOBAN Director

”Color Media Communications” LTD, 21132 Petrovaradin, Štrosmajerova 3 TIN 107871532 • Matriculation number 20887303 · Phone: +381 21 4897 100 • Fax: +381 21 4897 126 Office: Ilica 49 , 10000 Zagreb • 091 2886677 CIP - Katalogizacija u publikaciji Biblioteke Matice Srpske, Novi Sad 33 Diplomacy & Commerce Novi Sad: Color Media Communications, 2016 - , -33cm Mesečno. ISSN 2466-3808 = Diplomacy & Commerce COBISS.SR-ID 303269895

T H E O T H E R S Y RIA N CO N F L ICT

Israel is Determined to Stop Iran From Establishing Bases in Syria The conflict between the two powers is escalating

IN THE early hours of April 9th Israeli fighter jets crossed into Lebanese airspace and fired a salvo of cruise missiles eastward. Their target was the T-4 military airbase in central Syria, not far from the ancient city of Palmyra. More specifically, the missiles were aimed at a hangar in a secluded compound on the west side of the airfield. The building was used by Iran’s expeditionary Quds Force, the foreign wing of its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Russia and Syria both claimed that they detected the Israeli aircraft and the incoming missiles, and that at least some of them were intercepted. But enough of them got through to cause significant damage and kill at least seven Iranian officers, including a colonel. The Israeli government has not publicly acknowledged that it was behind the attack. Since the start of the Syrian war in 2011, Israel has carried out at least 100 cross-border strikes. Most were aimed at weapons convoys and depots belonging to Hizbullah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shia movement. The latest strike is only the third in which Iranian personnel were directly targeted. The last time Israel hit them was two months earlier, at the same base, after an Iranian drone breached Israel’s airspace. But this strike appeared to be pre-emptive, not reactive. For decades Israel has fought a shadow war with Iran, which funds Lebanese and Palestinian proxies that attack the Jewish state. In recent months, though, the war has escalated: Israel and Iran have come into direct confrontation on Syrian soil, where the IRGC is determined to establish permanent bases. To do so, it must find a way to limit Israel’s freedom to carry out air strikes there. Its officers at T-4 were working to build up an air-defence capability meant to threaten Israeli aircraft—which is why they were targeted. Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister (pictured right), has placed great stock in his personal relationship with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin (left). They meet and talk frequently. But Israel’s security chiefs are coming to realise that the Kremlin will not exert itself to limit Iran’s role in Syria. Mr Putin has committed himself to the survival of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. His air force provides it with overwhelming firepower, though for domestic political reasons he is reluctant to put Russian boots on the ground.

Instead the Assad regime has turned to Shia militias, often made up of Afghans drafted and organised by Iran, as cannon fodder. Some of the toughest battles in Syria were fought by Hizbullah. “Putin respects Netanyahu and Israel’s

SINCE THE START OF THE SYRIAN WAR IN 2011, ISRAEL HAS CARRIED OUT AT LEAST 100 CROSS-BORDER STRIKES

military power, and would prefer to be co-ordinated with Israel,” says an Israeli spook. “But to safeguard his interests in Syria, he needs Iran more right now.” Russia and Israel have a military “deconfliction” process that, over the last two and a half years, has kept the countries’ aircraft from clashing over Syria. Russia has turned a blind eye to Israel’s frequent air strikes. But after the latest attack, Israel’s ambassador to Moscow was summoned to explain it. In the past Israel has assured Russia that it does not seek to harm the Assad regime, as long as its own strategic interests in Syria are not jeopardised. That line is starting to change. Yoav Galant, the housing minister and a former general, has made a round of interviews calling for Mr Assad’s removal. While this is not yet official Israeli policy, Mr Galant is close to Mr Netanyahu. It is hard not to interpret this as a message to Moscow. Israel is determined to prevent Iran from expanding its foothold in Syria, even if it means threatening Russia’s client in Damascus in the process. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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We Have Embraced the Change The world is changing and sensible politics should be applied in shaping these shifts for the benefit of the people. The Green Party in Baden-Württemberg does not shy away from such a task WINFRIED KRETSCHMANN The Minister-President of BadenWürttemberg

The Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg has recently paid a visit to Croatia, looking for new opportunities to strengthen the ties between one of the leading economic regions in Europe and the partners in the region. Croatia plays an important role in this endeavour, says Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg for Diplomacy&Commerce magazine. Winfried Kretschmann, you are the first ever Green Minister-President of any German

state and personally a very popular politician. How do you explain such political outcome in times of rise of populism and emergence of new movements across Europe including those such as Alternative for Germany in your own courtyard?

— We live in turbulent times,

many refugees seeking protection in our country. Many people are intimidated by these changes. Fears of decline, fear of over-foreignization, overstraining and also anger are on the rise. Right-wing populists are using this conflict situation to their advantage. They imply they could put a stop to this

OUR ECONOMIC POLICY IS BASED ON AGREED UPON VALUES OF A SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL MARKET ECONOMY. ITS CENTRAL DRIVING FORCE IS THE TRIAD OF ECONOMY, ECOLOGY AND FAIRNESS bombarded with fundamental upheavals such as globalization, the digital revolution and climate change. But also social modernization, Islamic terror, the crisis of the European unification or the changes brought about by the

change. However, that is nonsense. The world is changing – and sensible politics should rather be completely invested in shaping these shifts in such a way that the people also feel comfortable in a time of change. That is why we, the Green

Party in Baden-Württemberg, see ourselves as a party with a clear orientation: firstly, we combine value orientation with pragmatism. Secondly, we take charge and assume responsibility and we do not shy away from great challenges. And thirdly, we create politics together with society – not against it. And we do not bend while doing so. But we do listen, we explain and we also compromise. You were once quoted as saying that there is a potential for modern politicians to expect miracles such as unexpected changes and new goals in political life. What do you see as your primary goals in modern times? How do these changes shape your responses to the new global challenges?

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Source: Staatsministerium Baden-Württemberg

I NTERVIEW

— In order to achieve real change, we need to act on three different levels: first of all, with regard to the stance we take when doing politics. A brave fundamental stance is needed to convey confidence against the backdrop of change. We should not in the first place perceive the aforementioned upheavals as a threat, but as a challenge that we can help shape. Secondly, we need politics which would really give people the capacity to cope with these big upheavals. It should enable successful integration, show the way to the digital world, and further strengthen internal security and Europe. And thirdly, there is the significance of the political style we employ. In other words, the way we resolve conflicts: we need to build bridges between us and those with differing mind-sets. We have to take their concerns and fears seriously, even if we do not share them. This does not mean that we simply give in to their fears, but our stance towards this must be clear. Furthermore, we politicians must speak with a comprehensible and clear voice, act with credibility and must not concede the emotional approach to politics to the populists. Baden-Württemberg as one of the most innovative and economically strong regions in the European Union which builds its approach on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. What changes in the public policies such development implies?

— The economy of Baden-Württemberg has the best prerequisites for mastering arising challenges. Our state is the home of inventive and hardworking people with an excellent education. We have highly innovative companies, an excellent scientific landscape and a successful network of research and industry. Naturally, politics plays a key role in the preservation and further development of these achievements: it must be innovative, digital and sustainable. Our economic policy is based on agreed upon values of a social and

both countries and we cooperate on 60 projects of the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation “Horizon 2020”. This close cooperation is becoming more and more important in the course of a global competition for innovations! How has the cooperation between Croatia and Baden-Württemberg, within the framework of the European Strategy for Danube Region (EUSDR) enhanced these relations?

BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG AND CROATIA HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SET NEW PRIORITIES FOR THE DANUBE REGION SUCH AS “DIGITALIZATION” AND STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS IN THE REALM OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ecological market economy. Its central driving force is the triad of economy, ecology and fairness. We consider entrepreneurs and their employees our partners with whom we would like to shape the future of our industrial landscape. For instance, we only employ the instruments of regulatory law where they are really needed. Our economy has already proven that it can achieve profit with ecologically beneficial products. Baden-Württemberg is certainly too small to have a palpable impact on global challenges such as climate change. However, if our success encourages other companies on a global scale to take a similar path, then the impact will be tremendous! I consider this to be our mission as the government of one of the leading

economic regions in Europe. Croatia has strong relations with Baden Württemberg. How would you describe bilateral ties which shape todays cooperation between two states?

— Croatia and Baden-Württemberg are linked through excellent political ties and a close cooperation. We maintain good economic relations and our foreign trade with Croatia continues to grow. In addition, we have been following Croatia´s role within the European Union since 2004 through our Mixed Government Committee. For instance, this includes initiatives in the scope of education, science and research. Today we have 35 partnerships between institutions of higher education from

— Within the framework of EUSDR, Baden-Württemberg and Croatia are jointly responsible for the area of competitiveness of enterprises. This topic obviously plays a key role for the development of the Danube Region with its large economic disparities. This responsibility enables us to work together continuously over the course of many years and to initiate joint projects. It also gives us the opportunity to set new priorities for the Danube Region as a whole and to bring forward important subjects – for example, by founding the working group digitalization and strengthening partnerships in the realm of vocational education in the course of my delegation visit to South East Europe. However, what makes EUSDR special is also the fact that it represents the cooperation of 14 countries with completely different European know-how: this wide spectrum includes founding EU member states, recently joined countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia as well as countries which aim to follow the European path, but whose concrete EU perspective lies in the future. And of course, Croatia plays a key role in view of the Western Balkans – already because of similarities with the languages and structures of the other countries, but also on the grounds of the still very recent personal EU accession experience. Croatia must be aware of this responsibility for the stability of the area. It is a very important anchor of stability in this region!

DIASPORA BUILDS BRIDGES BETWEEN OUR TWO COUNTRIES Croatians are the 6th largest ethnic minority in Germany and have their largest minority in Baden-Wuerttemberg. How much is today diaspora a cultural bond between two countries? — There are over 100.000 Croats living here, who significantly contribute to our society and who build bridges between our two countries. It is through them that we discover the rich cultural traditions

of Croatia and they promote an active exchange within our civil society. The ten local partnerships are also important. I consider this civic engagement a very significant pillar of our good relationship with Croatia. We also systematically promote cultural exchange: for instance, we offer culture professionals from Croatia internships at cultural institutions in Baden-Württemberg. Source: Staatsministerium Baden-Württemberg

I NTERVIEW

Keep Up With Reforms The EBRD 2020 Country Strategy adresses the key challenges Croatia should overcome to accelerate the economic growth. Among them are the improvements in the business environment, and better-quality infrastructure, especially railway and communal

VEDRANA JELUŠIĆ KAŠIĆ EBRD Director and Regional Head for Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Slovakia

EBRD intends to continue to support large Croatian infrastructure projects, as well as efficiency improvement in the public companies. „Furthermore, we are going to support private sector competitiveness through fostering innovation, help deepen financial markets to broaden access to finance with the focus on capital markets' developments and promote commercialisation of public companies“, says Vedrana Jelušić Kašić, EBRD Director and Regional Head for Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Slovakia. What are the most important challenges that the Croatian government should address to accelerate the economic growth and increase the Croatian economy's competitiveness?

— Macroeconomic stability and sustainability of internal and external balances are keys to ensure fast economic convergence. The government took the most important first step with the remarkable fiscal adjustment done from over 5% GDP deficit to an expected slight surplus in 2017. Nevertheless, the public debt is still very high at close to 80% of the GDP so the fo-

cus should be on ensuring prudent fiscal policies in the future in order to create more financing space for the private sector. Our background study on private sector productivity also found that macroeconomic stability is an important productivity driver, as well as further improvement in the business environment, lower NPLs and corporate indebtedness, and better-quality infrastructure, especially with the focus on still underdeveloped areas such as railway or communal infrastructure. Higher investment and capital market development – that is facilitating a better access to finance – are also important factors supporting productivity. The right institutional framework is the key: corporate governance, both in the private

in addition to a youth traineeship initiative together with the Croatian Employers Association or our Women in Business project. How does the EBRD 2020 Country Strategy address these challenges?

— The new strategy is helping to address the above challenges by setting priorities for the Bank’s op-

THE RIGHT INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK IS THE KEY: CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, BOTH IN THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR, SHOULD IMPROVE, IN ADDITION TO THE INCLUSION OF DISADVANTAGED GROUPS IN THE WORKFORCE and public sector, should improve, as should the inclusion of disadvantaged groups in the workforce. The EBRD has been supporting this through several activities, including a large-scale corporate governance project aimed at improving governance and performance monitoring of state-owned enterprises (SOE) with the Ministry of State Property and the EC Structural Reform Support Service programme,

erations in the country. We want to support private sector competitiveness through fostering innovation, operational and resource efficiency, as well as improvement of the business climate and economic inclusion. Our second priority is to deepen financial markets with the view of facilitating a better access to finance with the focus on capital markets' developments. The third priority is promoting commer-

cialisation of public companies, including improving corporate governance, and supporting the privatisation of certain stateowned companies. Policy dialogue is also an important element of the EBRD’s mandate. We engage with the authorities to discuss and provide input on critical policy issues such as improving the business environment, strengthening the rule of law, and regulatory and supervisory issues. How can the EBRD help Croatia to accelerate convergence with other European members and make better use of the available EU funds?

— Croatia’s access to EU funding and programmes is an important anchor for advancing much-needed reforms but the institutional capacity to absorb EU funds needs to be enhanced. The authorities have expressed support for the continued EBRD engagement in the coming years and, given the pressing need to tackle structural impediments to long term growth within a limited fiscal space, the Bank’s comparative advantages and

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track record in supporting private sector-led growth, promoting reform and fostering institutional capacity building have become even more relevant. What is quality corporate governance in Croatian private companies and are they ready to participate in the European market? What is the EBRD's experience as a shareholder in some of the largest Croatian and regional companies?

— High standards of corporate governance and transparent business practices are key prerequisites for the successful development of enterprises and markets. They are as important as strictly business-related processes. Companies that invest in excellent standards of corporate conduct and transparency stand to benefit when it comes to access to finance or attracting investors, for instance. The EBRD is lending its support to the efforts by the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (HANFA) and the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) to update and strengthen the country’s corporate governance code. Improved corporate governance is good news for the country's real economy too – when good companies with successful products operate using best practices, the whole economy flourishes. How did the growing share of non-performing loans (NPLs) in overall number of loans in recent years affect the overall access to capital for companies which require expansion financing?

— Rising NPLs usually have a negative impact on lending activities as banks become more cautious in providing credit but also because there are fewer creditworthy borrowers. In Croatia, lending growth has been negative since 2013 and

THE CROATIAN SOE SECTOR IS ONE OF THE LARGEST IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE WHILE ITS ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IS ONE OF THE WEAKEST NPL levels peaked above 17% in 2014 with corporate NPLs reaching almost 35%. Since then, NPL levels have started to decrease as central bank policies pushed banks for higher provisioning, leading to the write-off and sale of NPLs. At the end of 2017, NPL levels were at just above 11% and, according to the central bank, may fall below 10% this year. While the NPL clean-up in the banks might have contributed to the lower headline lending figures (as write-offs and sales of NPLs reduce the loan stock) they also help revive future lending growth as banks’ balance sheets become healthier. In the meantime, there were also other positive developments making bank funding more favourable to borrowers. Interest rates fell significantly (2 to 6% from 2012) as fiscal balances

and Croatia’s credit rating have both improved, reducing the burden on borrowers. In addition, the share of kuna loans for corporates has increased in new lending and is now above 50%, thus reducing the exchange rate risks for unhedged corporate borrowers. What is the key reason why Croatian public companies have not yet used their full potential and secured investments in sustainable business?

— Croatia and the wider region of central and south-eastern Europe are facing significant challenges in their effort to build a sustainable growth model. While priorities vary across countries, a common theme is the need to re-energise the reform process by removing unnecessary obstacles to invest-

ment and doing business. The EBRD’s latest Transition Report shows that a sustained commitment to reform can bring substantial growth benefits long-term. SOEs continue to play a large role in the Croatian economy, with some of them often suffering from poor performance and weak corporate governance, while state subsidies to SOEs are still higher than the EU average. The operational efficiency of public companies is well below the standards of most of its EU peers and needs to be enhanced with the view of improving service quality, complying with standards and reducing costs. In particular, the labour cost to operating revenue ratio in Croatia is 37.1%, which is significantly higher than in the four largest countries in central and eastern Europe (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Slovak Republic) which stands at 25.9% for SOEs in 2014. Financial supervision can also be enhanced as collection of receivables is very slow in general, taking around 50 to 180 days compared to 20 to 100 days in the 4 CEE countries. This suggests there is sufficient room for bolstering efficiency that can also help reduce budgetary pressures. In order to strengthen corporate governance of SOEs, together with the European Commission, the Bank has been supporting the Ministry of State Property in setting up a single reporting and monitoring framework for SOEs and enhancing the competencies of the boards which supervise the SOEs. Under the first component of the assignment, new guidelines for setting up operational targets, developing midterm strategies and business plans were developed, whereas under the second component, nearly 70 board members were trained on corporate governance practices.

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS CAN FUEL GROWTH A large part of the EBRD portfolio consists of infrastructure projects. How well are they managed and to what degree they can help accelerate economic growth? — Infrastructure development gaps are still present in the transport sector and are especially pronounced in the railways segment, with some of the main international railway corridors still not completely rehabilitated and modernised. The railway sector could further fuel the growth of the country and make railway companies more efficient and competitive in the EU. Given Croatia’s vital transit position in Europe, one of the main competitive advantages and opportunities for the country is that its railway network is deeply embedded in Europe's major transport corridors such as the East-West Pan-European Rail Corridor X, Corridor Vb connecting Rijeka with Zagreb and the Hungarian

border, and Corridor Vc connecting Ploče and stretching in the south-north direction, across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Motorways sector companies are in the process of material financial and operational restructuring, alongside with much needed improvement in their corporate governance with the goal of achieving a greater long-term sustainability and reducing the need for the budgetary support. Energy infrastructure will need to be further strengthened, as should the security of supply, especially in terms of improving the interconnection with neighbouring countries. Furthermore, investments in environmental infrastructure, encompassing water, wastewater and solid waste management, need to be accelerated in order to leverage benefits of the available European Structural Investments Funds.

NATIONAL DAYS

ARRI VALS & D EPAR T UR E S

in May & June

MAY

MEDEJA LONČAR

New Chairwoman of Siemens Croatia's Managing Board

Medeja Lončar, the Chairwoman of Siemens Slovenia's Managing Board, is about to appointed the to the same function in Croatia too, and will continue working in both positions. In her thirtyyear-long career, Lončar has gained a wealth of experience in the area of strategic development, sales and marketing. Prior to joining Siemens fifteen years ago, she was a member of managing boards in successful Slovenian and inter-

PARAGUAY

national companies in various sectors, including mobile communications, retail, industry and energy. In 2007, she was appointed Chairwoman of Siemens Slovenia's Managing Board, and two years earlier, in 2015, she became the Head of the Digital Factory Division for the Adriatic region. In her work, Lončar's focuses on the application of the Industry 4.0 concept and introducing Siemens' clients to a new era in production.

Independence Day

NORWAY

Constitution Day

CAMEROON

State Unification Day

ANITA LETICA

MONTENEGRO

Philip Morris

Independence Day

The current Director General of Philip Morris Zagreb (PMZ), Anita Letica remains at the helm of PMZ's Managing Board. Early this year, she was entrusted with managing the company's operations in Slovenia too. Before she became the Managing Board Chairman, Letica was the business development and planning director for Southeast Europe. She joined the company in

2008, after a career in Pliva. Along with Letica, several other executives have been appointed board members – Jasmina Tome, a member of the Financial Directorate and Stanko Kršlović, a member of the Corporate Affairs Directorate, who replaced Marijana Bubalo in this position. Ms Bubalo took over the position of Director General for the Slovenian market.

YEMEN

Unification Day

ERITREA

Independence Day

ARGENTINA Revolution Day

SANDOR FASIMON

RENATA CAROLA GATICA AND GIULIO SETTIMO

INA

HNK Rijeka

GEORGIA

Sandor Fasimon has been working in INA since MOL's acquisition in 2003, first as a member of the Supervisory Board and then, in 2010, as the chairman of the executive board. Mr. Fasimon has been a member of the Board of Executive Directors in MOL Group since 2011, the position he

will retain after assuming a new position in INA. Mr. Fasimon is one of the most experienced executives. While being at the helm of MOL, Hungary, he has successfully increased the production of hydrocarbons in Hungary after years of decline. Under his leadership, the Danube Refinery in Hungary became one of the most efficient in Europe. Also in Hungary, he has launched the largest industrial petrochemical development cycle in Central Europe. Mr. Fasimon has successfully increased the company's efficiency and made an excellent and efficient organization out of the Hungarian MOL.

Independence Day

AZERBAIJAN

JUNE

Founding Day

02 Renata Carola Gatica was appointed head of the Drama Section in the Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka, while actor and director Giulio Settimo was appointed head of the Italian Drama Section. Gatica will assume her new duties on 1st May, while Settimo will officially assume his duties on 1st September this year. Until then, Leonora Surian Popov will serve as the

acting director. Renata Carola Gatica is a theatre director born in Argentina who has been living in Croatia for a number of years. She directed plays like „Dugonja, Trbonja, Vidonja“ and the recent premiere of „Naš Odgoj“. Actor Giulio Settimo was born in Trieste and he acted in the plays of the Italian Drama Section such as „Antigone“ and „La Finta Ammalata".

ITALY

esta della Repubblica F Italy is made a republic in 1946

DENMARK

doption of the A Constitution of 1849

SWEDEN

ational Day, N Election of Gustav Vasa as King of Sweden in 1523

PHILIPPINES

MIHAEL FURJAN new Chairman of the Executive Boar of the Croatian Drug Manufacturers' Association (HUP)

Chairman of Pliva's Managing Board, Mihael Furjan has been appointed new Chairman of the Executive Boar of the Croatian Drug Manufacturers' Associ-

ation (HUP). „The Croatian healthcare system still needs to be rationalized, because the current system, with lengthy payment terms, is not sustainable in the long run. I am going to continue to fervently advocate these changes“, Furjan underlined.

raw ng Kalayaan, A Declaration of independence from Spain in 1898

RUSSIA

ussia Day, Declaration of R State Sovereignty in 1990

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GEO PO LITIC S

Text: ŽELIMIR MARAŠ

You Got it All Wrong How to create enemies? (A Manual)

By rewinding all the way to the year 1991, it is amazing to see how the West has managed to create enemies instead of friends out of many global and regional powers, including Iran, Turkey, but foremost, Russia and China. It was a „clear shot“ to make it right in 1991, but nevertheless, the combination of utmost incompetence and a bit of malevolence made it so. Back in 1991, I was a young and naive boy, and it seemed to me that the future could be very bright, no matter where nationalism reared its ugly head. Europe from Iceland to Vladivostok, USSR included as a whole or in parts, democracy and the free market, Maastricht looming in 1992! What could possibly go wrong? Everything! In 2018, the West has alienated the two superpowers, like in Orwell's 1984 (Eurasia and Eastasia), while Oceania is alone. Russia has established itself as a new-old power, while China has proven that the Western multi-party democracy does not necessarily go hand- in-hand with economic liberties and reforms. So, the West has failed in both cases - they thought that Russia would take "the seat by the toilet” (Putin) and that China would peacefully dissolve its Communist Party, Gorbachev-style. Well, ladies and gentlemen (and those who feel in-between, as Brian Molko says), you got it all wrong! RUSSIA AS A POLITICAL POWER

After disastrous Yeltsin, who

lasted 9 years in power, the „EuroRemont“ was over. Who, on earth, would think that after the Russian Empire and USSR, the independent Russia would settle for being a small power? In the case of Turkey, it took a bit longer, some 90 years of Atatürk–driven reforms, but now clearly Turkey is getting back to what it knows best - being (at least a local) superpower. In both cases, it happened only after many years of humiliation. Turkey waited for so long to start the EU accession process, finally lost its nerves and created the

think Russia is in Eurasia, there must be some border between Europe and Eurasia, right? If we assume Europe stretches from Iceland to the ex-Soviet borders with Iran, China, Japan and Korea, then all is clear. But where is the border now? The solution to this problem requires the existence of „battlefield of influence“, stretching from Finland to Greece, over misfortunate no-man's lands like Ukraine, Serbia, Georgia, Moldova... And if Russia is not in Europe, then alliances with non-European countries like China, Iran or Turkey make sense. Russia was pushed towards Asia and this is continuing. Just look at the infamous Skripal Case. Russia had no motive to do that, and frankly, it was a sloppy job. And, if anything, the KGB (sorry, it's the FSB now) is not known for doing a sloppy job. It all looks like a part of a hybrid war against Russia. Since it was impossible to stop its growing influence, there are now attempts to demonise Putin, blame Russia for

IF THE WEST DOES NOT BOARD THAT THAT TRAIN, IT WILL BE SUPERSEDED BY CHINA VERY SOON, WONDERING WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED AGAIN? neo-Ottoman zone of influence. Initially, it was an economic zone, with Turkish companies operating from Africa to China, and from the Arab Peninsula to Russia and Europe. Russia was not as daring, and after the initial will to become European, it was forcefully pushed towards Eurasia, creating its own zone of influence. If you

meddling in elections, throwing shade at athletes with suspicious doping scandals and WADA and MOC acting terribly with banning the use of Russia's name and flags. It all happened during the Beijing Olympics (the Georgian War), the Olympics in Sochi (Maidan), and now just before the World Cup. It smells like the 1980 spirit

again! Regardless, none of that has harmed Putin, since young people in Russia, called „Puteenagers“ are even more supportive of him than the older population. It is the final stage of alienation of Russia from Europe, and it will be interesting to see how the Maidan Snipers Case will develop after the Ukrainian hero Nadezhda Savchenko stated that it was all Saakashvili and Parubiy's idea, not Yanukovych's (she got immediately arrested afterwards). CHINA AS A WEIMIN, NOT DEMOCRACY

When the Westerners claim that the Chinese need more democracy, the Chinese reply with “we don't actually get the concept“. Maybe you, guys, need more Weimin – which is something like common interest and harmony, not freely expressing individual opinions. China showcased that you could be fully technologically advanced and economically open, yet lacking the Western-style democracy. Xi is possibly a lifelong leader for the future who is incorporated into the doctrine and the Constitution. China is also implementing a new system that is shocking to the West – it has personal scoring systems that are not completely economy-related, but also take into account a person' behaviour. This is not a democracy, it is a Weimin. China has started heavily investing from Eurasia to Africa, and if the West does not board that same train for ideological reasons, it will be superseded by China very soon, while wondering what the hell happened?

WISHFUL THINKING The West thought that Russia would take the backseat (Putin) and that China would peacefully dissolve its Communist Party, Gorbachev-style, and become democratic with a higher living standard. Wishful thinking! And you got it all wrong, guys, all wrong!

I NTERVIEW

We are Getting Better by the Day Although one can always do better, our Ministry is of the opinion that, last year, we reached the optimal pace of competition launches and contracting Europe-funded projects. If it continues at this pace, Croatia will be able withdraw all 10.7 billion euros of EU funds at its disposal by 2020, despite the late start GABRIJELA ŽALAC Minister of Regional Development and European Union Funds

Up until recently, the people in Croatia had a good enough reason to claim that they could not see the benefits of their country joining the EU, since the money from the funds, to be used for facilitating economic growth and improving the quality of their lives, was slow to come. All this has thoroughly changed recently - says Gabrijela Žalac, the Minister of Regional Development and European Union Funds. For the financial period 20142020, Croatia has an almost 10.7 billion EUR at its disposal from the EU funds. If this money were to be withdrawn at the current pace, how much of it could Croatia really get, realistically speaking?

— I am confident that Croatia will, very quickly, occupy a rank it deserves on the list of countries that have withdrawn the most EU funds. Its ranking is going to be somewhere in the middle, or close to the top. In the last 18 months, we have withdrawn almost three times more money from the European funds than in the previous 40 months, which means that the

pace of project contracting is at least six times faster than before. If we continue at this expedited pace, by the end of 2020, we should have fully compensated for the lost time and the tardiness of the previous government, as well as withdraw all the money that is at Croatia's disposal. In certain countries, like Hungary, the EU funds have played a significant role in facilitating economic growth, which is something that Croatia needs. What projects have been identified as accelerators of the country's economic growth?

kuna), modernization and electrification of the Zaprešić - Čakovec (R201) railway line on the Zaprešić section (exclusive) – Zabok (inclusive) (total value 773 million kuna), reconstruction of the existing and construction of a second track of the railway lines at Dugo Selo - Križevci (total value 1.540 million kuna), development and of Dubrovnik Airport (total value 1.584 million kuna). There are also projects in the environmental protection sector - construction of the Biljane Donje Waste Management Centre (total value: 548 million kuna), collection, drainage and waste water treatment in on the

I AM CONFIDENT THAT CROATIA WILL, VERY QUICKLY, OCCUPY A RANK IT DESERVES ON THE LIST OF COUNTRIES THAT HAVE WITHDRAWN THE MOST EU FUNDS - SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE, OR CLOSE TO THE TOP — We can view growth accelerators from the standpoint of their effectiveness at the local and national level. At the latter level, we are definitely talking about largescale infrastructure project which, considering their size and importance, directly and significantly contribute to better economic indicators. First and foremost, I am referring to the projects in the transport sector – construction of the Peljesac Bridge with access roads (total value 4.023 million

island of Krk (total value of HRK 369 million), drainage and waste water treatment system in Varaždin (total value HRK 855 million), improvement of water infrastructure infrastructure in the area of Aglomeracija Rijeka (total value of HRK 2.201 million), and Regional Water Supply System Zagreb County - Zagreb East (total value of 883 million). In terms of the projects that have local significance, cost less and are aimed at improving the

quality of live and boosting competitiveness of a certain area, I would like to single out energy renewal projects which goal is to reduce energy consumption in public and residential buildings and projects, i.e. investments in cultural and natural heritage that ensure the proper use of cultural and historical heritage in terms of bolstering the tourist offer and interconnected businesses at the local level. EU funds can be used for various purposes from job creation to building schools and hospitals and investments in cultural heritage. Which segment of social development has benefitted the most from these funds, i.e. in which segment have the people in Croatia felt the benefits of EU membership the most?

— All projects financed by EU funds contribute, or directly affect the quality of life of the peole living the Republic of Croatia. This time around, I would like to single out the call "Energy Recovery of Multiple Residential Buildings", which was closed in January 2017. 649 project proposals were submitted following the aforementioned call, with 579 grant contracts signed. When we launched this call, we envisaged that we would allocate 20 million EUR, but, due to the exceptional interest shown in the call, the initial fund allocation was increased by an additional

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54.4 million EUR to a total of 74.4 million EUR. Through the implementation of the funded projects, we will be able to reduce energy consumption and, by the same token, aslo reduce energy spending of an average household. Consequently, this will make it possible for households to re-arrange their living space too. It is clearly evident from the above case how big are the funds allocated to the construction sector which thus contributes to to the employment of skilled labour, and it facilitates establishment of new construction companies specializing in energy recovery works and industrial manufacturing of products that are used for energy recovery in buildings. The funds available through the call "Preparation and implementation of integrated programmes based on restoration of cultural heritage" are an answer to a great interest shown for investing in Croatian cultural heritage. Following the launch of this call, which initial budget of 50 million EUR has also been increased, a total of 63 grant contracts have been signed with a total value of 131.6 million EUR, of which EU funds total 102.2 million EUR. The projects, 19 of which relate to praqctical implementation, are aimed at facilitating the sustainable use of cultural heritage (protection, reconstruction, presentation and revitalization) for the purpose of improving the management of cultural heritage and, on the other hand, encouraging tourism and socio-economic development, thus contributing to creating new jobs, introducing new products, bolstering the number of tourists and extending the tourist season in a particular destination. In terms of the creation of new jobs, the total envisaged output is creation of 736 jobs, direct and indirect, in the tourism sector by the end of 2023. Last year, you were satisfied with the progress made. In which segments was this leap

THIS YEAR IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT WHEN IT COMES TO EU FUNDS - THERE ARE MAJOR PROJECTS THAT ARE STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA, AS WELL AS THE NUMEROUS CHALLENGES THAT ACCOMPANY EACH OF THESE PROJECTS

funds - there are major projects that are strategically important for the Republic of Croatia, as well as the numerous challenges that accompany each of these projects. Also, negotiations with the European Commission are currently underway regarding the changes in the operational programme and the planning of the next financial perspective with the view of better allocating EU funds to fit practical needs. What are the assistance and development mechanisms and how much is the government helping regions to overcome the obstacles that pop up. Do you think that the more developed regions and counties could help lesser developed ones?

forward the most noticeable, and on which segments is the Ministry going to focus more this year?

— I think that we can always do better, but last year we finally achieved the optimal speed of tender launches and contracting. Additionally, we simplified the procedures, and bolstered the role of regional coordinators, thus fa-

cilitating the acces to the EU funds. Last year was certainly a record one, since, at the beginning of this Government's term in the office, we found only 9% of the contracted funds. In the last year and a half, we raised this percentage to 39%, and by the end of 2018, our plan is to reach 6.5 billion EUR or 60% funds. This year is extremely important when it comes to EU

— One of the ways of accomplishing a plan for reducing these differences, i.e. having competitive and balanced development in all parts of Croatia with the focus on sustainable urban development and efficient use of European structural and investment funds, is also the effective implementation of Integrated Territorial Investment facility (the ITI mechanism) for urban areas / agglomerations of Zagreb, Osijek, Rijeka, Split, Pula, Slavonski Brod and Zadar. Large cities are recognized as the main drivers of economic development, so the ITI mechanism provides the opportunity to realize integrated, locally specific development projects in order to successfully respond to economic, environmental, climate, demographic and social challenges, which will also directly affect the development of lesser developed neighbouring areas. Thus, in the following period, we are preparing to launch 59 call for submission of project proposals based on the stated priorities of the seven included urban areas. Six calls for strategic projects totaling HRK 227 million have been launched so far, while 345 million EUR has been indicatively allocated for the implementation of projects under the ITI mechanism.

COOPERATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESSFULLY WITHDRAWING EU FUNDS All Member States that have been successfully withdrawing EU funds have delegated certain functions in regional and local governance. Are the institutions at that level willing to use EU funds to boost regional development? — Thanks to the continuous monitoring of the situation on the ground and information obtained through direct interaction with local and regional self-government units, the Ministry has been constantly working on

improving the legal and institutional framework of regional development policy and providing support to development initiatives coming from the regional and local levels. They are the ones who know exactly what is happening on the ground and are always available to counties, cities and municipalities during project preparation and implementation. Cooperation at the local and regional level is a prerequisite for the successful withdrawal of EU funds.

C O RPO RATE Vedri Obzori

School that Pupils Love

The International Elementary School 'Vedri Obzori' ('Bright Horizons') was opened as a natural progression from the kindergarten, which had been operating for a number of years, and as an expression of the need to continue teaching in the English language The International British School Vedri obzori has over 80 pupils today from various countries, attending grades 1 to 6. The school is a member of the COBIS Association and has a permit issued by the Republic of Croatia's Ministry of Science and Education. The school follows the International Curriculum for Elementary Schools in accordance with the British National Curriculum. This is a rather comprehensive curriculum with a clear learning process and learning objectives for each subject. Subject goals entail knowledge (facts and information that children learn about), skills (practical skills needed for children to do something) and understanding (deeper awareness of key concepts that develops over time). Personal goals relate to individual qualities and dispositions that are important to children in the 21st century. These goals will help with building quality that will enable children to cope with constant changes in the context of their lives. There are personal goals for research, morality, communication, reflection, collaboration, respect and adaptability. The International Curriculum for elementary schools is unique in the way it defines learning goals that help children to focus on a more sophisticated national and international perspective. It is based on knowledge, skills and understanding. This is the key to achieving the most effective learning experience. The learning process, according to the International Curriculum, is such that its every unit has a distinct learning process, while the structured approach it provides ensures that learning experiences for children are as stimulating and rigorous as possible. Knowledge relates to facts.

Facts can be correct or wrong. The simplest way to see whether children have learned the facts is to give them usual tests. Skills are practical and experiential. They are not correct or wrong, but are developmental. Consequently, when the International Curriculum for Elementary Schools speaks about learning skills, terms like beginning, building up and mastering are mentioned. These three levels are not clearly delineated, and the perception of them differs from an individual to an individual. For this reason, in the International Curriculum for Elementary Schools, the grading programme is formulated in a special way and is based on segments. Understanding is something that is personal and fluid; it comes

and develop self-confidence to face new challenges. The curriculum is designed to be interesting to all students. Many learning units are set up in a local or international context with practical examples and experimental studies. The school boasts using the Singapore Math, as a part of its Mathematics curriculum. It also uses various on-line applications for the purpose of enriching its teaching and educational work. In music, the school uses the CHARANGA programme. This is an online programme designed for elementary schools that includes both traditional and modern materials, while the application develops interest in music education in

THE INTERNATIONAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 'VEDRI OBZORI' FOLLOWS THE INTERNATIONAL CURRICULUM FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BRITISH NATIONAL CURRICULUM and goes. Discovering something about the development of understanding in children is almost entirely based on assessment. Between knowledge, skills and thinking, an adequate balance is achieved that leads to understanding. Music, sports, theatre and educational trips, along with a variety of other activities, are an integral part of a broad curriculum designed to help pupils acquire key skills, discover different interests

children. https://charanga.com/ site/musical-school/ Mathematics is supplemented by the Mathletics application, which provides a structured and interactive support and uses interesting Math games with a reward system for children. After class, pupils are given the opportunity to participate in robotics workshops. Children can use microcomputers and are introduced to encoding as early as the third grade of elementary school.

The school is working on building digital literacy to prepare children to be fitting citizens in the 21st century and gain competences for the future. In doing so, STEM activity is used as a tool for achieving more important competences, namely key skills such as learning skills, problem solving, collaboration, communication, and personality traits such as curiosity, initiation, persistence, adaptability, social and cultural awareness. The Obzori Kindergarten (www. kindergarten.hr) participates in the project under the auspices of the Erasmus+ programme, which is subsidized by the European Union. It was opened in September 2016 and is now in the second and last year of running. This project is a result of the cooperation between five educational institutions from five different countries: Greece, Iceland, Slovenia, Sweden and Croatia. The project focuses on introducing change into educational practice and immediate environment to enable the inclusion process. Through various activities and exchange of experiences, the kindergarten is working on creating an intercultural environment and forming a basis for different ideas and approaches in dealing with inter-culturalism and adopting basic skills. Such projects are a great opportunity to introduce new cultures and provide insights into the practices of different educational systems. As such, they have a direct impact on how the work environment, research and learning environment is shaped. Furthermore, this project has contributed greatly in improving the quality of work between teachers and children and teachers and parents. It has also facilitated significant changes in the environment and personal attitudes.

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I NTERVIEW

Minor Improvements

To make significant changes, the authorities have to make difficult decisions in terms of reforms and prioritize human rights protection LORA VIDOVIĆ Ombudsman

Since Ombudsman Lora Vidović took office five years ago, the number of cases where citizens sought Ombudsman’s help has risen significantly. However, the number of human rights violations hasn’t changed much. What would you like to single out in the 2017 Ombudsman’s Report as key in terms of the current situation with human rights in Croatia?

— The general conclusion is that there have been minor improvements, but the systemic problems, those faced by citizens on a daily basis and in a wide scope of areas of life, remain the same – in judiciary, health, social security, prisons, work and employment, to name a few. A major cause and, at the same time a result of human

rights violations and discrimination, is poverty, as the statistics show that every fifth person does not have enough resources for basic needs, while almost one in 10 live in extreme poverty. Those who barely make ends meet don’t have the same access to different services, like healthcare for instance, due to the even longer waiting lists for health services in 2017 than in previous years, or justice, due to the almost non-functional

equate transport or social services. A major obstacle in the progression of human rights situation is the fact that citizens don’t have information about their rights and they mistrust institutions. This means they often do not even look for protection, but remain stuck in the closed circle of human rights violations or discrimination, which significantly reduces the quality of their lives. Our study from 2016 shows that 68 percent

POVERTY IS A MAJOR CAUSE AND, AT THE SAME TIME, A RESULT OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND DISCRIMINATION free legal aid system. The poverty situation is more pronounced in rural areas, in comparison with urban areas. For example, the risk of poverty in Brodsko-Posavska and Virovitičko-Srijemska counties is three times higher than in Zagreb or Primorsko-Goranska County. Population in many rural areas faces problems with access to various public services, like ad-

of those who were discriminated against in the past five years, did not report it to anyone, mostly because they think reporting would not change anything, or it would, but for the worse. To make a change, we try to be as accessible and proactive as we can – visiting rural areas, closely cooperating with NGO’s, participating in legislative procedures, promoting

human rights and equality in the media, including social media. And the results are visible! Since I took office five years ago, we had a 78 percent increase in cases we have acted upon. We initiate them mostly on the basis of complaints received, but also following information published in the media, and other sources. The increase is also partly a result of opening of regional offices, which have started operating in the past four years in Osijek, Rijeka and Split. Violations of labour rights and work relations are the most common reasons why you people contacted you in 2017, and which have reached the peak for the first time in two decades since the Ombudsman’s office was founded. Is this an exception or is it a serious trend of a deteriorating adherence to labour rights?

— Yes, for the first time ever, we have received the highest number of complaints in the area of work and employment, but these com-

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plaints have been among the top three for some time now. Also, in recent years, work and employment have been the number one area in terms of complaints on discrimination. I would not necessarily say it means that the situation is deteriorating, rather that citizens increasingly recognize us as an institution worth contacting. The complaints we receive show that workers are often faced with three difficult choices – to accept violation of their rights, quit their job, or move out of the country. So yes, the level of protection of worker’s rights is unacceptably low, and I hope that my recommendations will help the state to make significant steps towards their better protection. Otherwise, and especially in the context of better income, the employed and the unemployed, youth and those with work experience will continue to look for other countries to work in, which is a trend we have to stop. Who violates labour rights the most often and what kind of violations are those? What are the consequences of this trend?

— We receive complaints from workers in the private sector, as well as from state and public services. It is important to say that we do not have the authority to act on complaints regarding the private sector, unless they refer to discrimination. In other situations, like issues of unpaid overtime or even salary, or unlawful dismissal, we provide citizens with general legal information and contacts in authorized bodies. However, regardless of our authority, we use the information from all complaints to warn on serious issues and call for systemic changes, particularly through annual reporting to the Parliament. One example of this is the case of a man who signed 54 fixed term job contracts in 15 years, with the same employer! It is necessary to revise the legislation regarding this type of contracts, otherwise the workers will continue to live in a great

uncertainty, which surely is a problem that has a great impact on the negative demographic trends. Positive steps have been made to eradicate the situations when employers don’t reimburse salaries, by making it a criminal offense, but it is still a reality for some workers. The employment procedures in public companies are not transparent enough, and candidates are often convinced they do not have the same access to public service employment and that procedures are carried out pro forma. When it comes to complaints on discrimination, they mostly refer to age discrimination. We see some employers consider those in their 40s to be too old, and we even had a case of a man who was

tection. A great indicator is the tax policy, through which the state clearly shows its stand. The tax policy can be used in providing substantial funds to make human rights a reality for all citizens, but also in showing the capability of the state to eliminate discrimination and inequalities. The recent tax reform did not target low-income households, and the European Commission notes it could increase inequalities, which would lead to an even more difficult situation for those who are already lacking funds. We did note some positive changes in 2017, including those that were made following our recommendations. For example, the changes of the Law on Domestic

THE RIGHTS OF NATIONAL MINORITIES, WHOSE PROTECTION IS STRONGLY GUARANTEED BY LAW, IS AS A RESULT OF THE EU ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS. BUT IN MANY CASES THERE ARE GAPS BETWEEN THE GUARANTEES AND THE REALITY let in his mid-thirties, for the same reason. Discrimination in this area is also a problem for the Roma population, mostly because of the prejudice against their lifestyle and work habits. We found that 24 percent of citizens would not hire a Roma person, if they had their own business, and 48 percent are convinced they don’t even want to work at all. The same prejudice is present when it comes to union members, who are also a group hit by discrimination, and as much as 38 percent of citizens think they are only “troublemakers”. In 2017, citizens continued to face almost the same problems as in previous years. Is it because these problems are so deeply rooted, or are the governments and the Parliament not paying enough attention to them?

— To make significant changes, the authorities have to make difficult decisions in terms of reforms and prioritize human rights pro-

Violence Protection for the first time, recognizes people over the age of 65 as a vulnerable group, and their neglect is now defined as a form of violence as well. Another significant change is aimed at stronger protection of the elderly against abuse of the care-untildeath contracts, with the changes of the Social Welfare Act forbidding those providing social services, their employees and their family members to offer the support to elderly they provide services to. Also, after almost 4 years, a new National Anti-Discrimination Plan has been adopted by the Government, as well as the following Action Plan, and I hope that the goals and measures they define will be implemented. How did the pre-accession period and now the EU membership affect violation of human rights? Are our citizens now more protected than before?

— The mere membership nego-

tiations were an excellent way of strengthening legislative framework in many areas, and bolstering our institution was included as the benchmark in the Chapter 23 Judiciary and Fundamental Rights. The EU has insisted that the institution should be sufficiently staffed and have a higher budget, which helped us to implement the Anti Discrimination mandate and, later on, the National Preventive Mechanism mandate (torture prevention under the OPCAT). One of the conditions set during the accession negotiations was for Croatia to ensure a proper follow-up on our recommendations, which was delegated to the Government Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities. Unfortunately, we have now already gone through three Annual Reports without the Government’s recommendation follow-up, and without assurances that it will be prepared for the latest one. This is not only a breach of one of the prerequisites for the closure of negotiations on the Chapter 23, but also a drawback in terms of human rights protection and promotion mechanism in Croatia. Do you think that institutions and the media have become more aware and conscientious in terms of ban on discrimination?

— I am sure that the situation is somewhat better than it used to be, but there is still so much room for improvement. We see it in judicial cases regarding discrimination, which we analyze every year, that there are often high quality decisions, well explained, which are valuable not only for the victims that filed the lawsuit, but also for everybody included in the proceedings in the future, be it the victims, their lawyers or judges. But generally, our findings are not encouraging: the court proceedings last too long and the fines are below the minimum set by the law. When it comes to the media, we are still witnesses of discriminatory speech.

COMMUNICATION WITH INSTITUTIONS IS GETTING BETTER How much has the attitude of the authorities towards the Ombudsman changed in these two decades? — We are an independent state body, and always determine the quality of our relationship with the authorities by the quality of our communication. Speaking in general terms, I am satisfied with that communication for the most part, as an increasing number of state bodies are communicating in a

timely and quality manner, with some exceptions. However, there are still cases which compel us to write to the Government to warn that a certain ministry, recently the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning, is not replying to our letters on time. But eventually, all of them do! The only exception in the public sphere is the University of Zagreb, the only institution that has completely been ignoring our formal letters .

I NTERVIEW

Friendly and Constructive Cooperation Bilateral relations between the Netherlands and Croatia are an example of a constructive and fruitful dialogue which allows both countries to nourish their friendship, economic cooperation and cultural exchange

H.E. ELLEN BERENDS Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands

Excellent, friendly and constructive – that is how H.E. Ms Ellen Berends, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands, describes bilateral relations between Croatia and her country. For more than a quarter of the century, the two countries have been working on improving their relations in political, economic and cultural sphere. The results are impressive and easily measurable: today, the Netherlands is the biggest investor in Croatia with a lot of untapped

potential. Croatia’s membership in NATO and the European Union has further fortified these relations, but also a lot of credit should be given to the constructive dialogue at the bilateral level and the energy the two sides invested in making good things even better in big and in, seemingly, small ways.

ner. Bearing in mind that the Netherlands chose to devote the entire 2018 to promote peace, justice, human rights, freedom, tolerance, and diversity, the Embassy will be specifically working on promoting these values throughout the year. As a symbolic gesture, all guests at the King's Day celebration in

DUTCH GREENFIELD INVESTMENTS IN CROATIA ARE STILL LIMITED AND WOULD BENEFIT FROM A FURTHER IMPROVEMENT OF THE BUSINESS CLIMATE IN CROATIA For example, in May, the Embassy will organize a tulip exhibition in Split, and the traditional Orange Bike Ride in Zagreb bringing Dutch values closer to the Croatian public in a charming and energising man-

Croatia will receive a little bag with multicoloured poppy seeds, which represent peace, so that they can plant them in their back garden and get inspiration from these seeds for their everyday activities.

Indeed, Croatia can learn a lot from the Netherlands in building its young democracy and market economy. The Dutch people stand out for their tolerance and openness toward diversity – almost one quarter of the Netherlands’ population have non-Dutch roots. Multiculturalism and mutual understanding flourishes due to a pragmatic approach to problem solving in which all sides look for consensus-based decision making and the win-win outcomes. In short, in the words of the ambassador Berends, “we see diversity is an asset.” Croatia can find a lot of inspiration in the Netherlands in making its own business environment even friendlier and more appealing to Dutch greenfield investors which are still shy from going

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deeper into the Croatian economic landscape. Contrary to fears that many young economies stepping into the EU market harbour, that they might suffer if they open their borders and liberalise trade, by its own example, the Netherlands tells a different story. The country has the most competitive economy in the EU and it is the 6th most appealing country in the world in terms of incoming FDI, which is built upon the idea that only a very open and competitive economy with very few state companies can attract fresh capital. Business information is transparent and easy to obtain and the logistics is state-of-the-art. While it is not an easy task to achieve such results from the point of view of a young EU member such as Croatia, it is definitely a path to be followed. “We are sharing our experiences with Croatia, amongst others via bilateral cooperation programmes between our ministries of economy and finance”, says ambassador Berends, adding that the Netherlands intends to continue supporting Croatia in the future. Learning by example is not an activity which can be carried out only at the level of bilateral relations or through business encounters. Dutch tourists have explored Croatia beyond Dubrovnik, and as the statistics show, they cherish everything Croatia has to offer as a country which puts a lot of effort in cultivating and endlessly upgrading its leisure industry, cultural and gastronomic potentials. In the experience of ambassador Berends, the interest is mutual, with many Croatian citizens expressing positive views of the Netherlands. The bilateral relations between the Netherlands and Croatia date back 26 years. How would you assess these relations today and how much have they changed since Croatia became an EU member?

— Our bilateral relations started off with the recognition of Croatia’s independence. We first focused on supporting Croatia on its journey towards the European and Transatlantic integration. After Croatia’s accession to NATO and later the EU, we started cooperating as good partners in these organisations and extended our bilateral relations. Our cooperation today is excellent, friendly and constructive. The Netherlands is a big investor in Croatia and a growing number of Dutch tourists favour Croatia as a holiday destination.

The Netherlands tops the list of the biggest foreign investors in Croatia. How many Dutch companies are investing in Croatia and in what areas?

— The Netherlands is indeed the biggest investor in Croatia: it has made € 2.7 billion worth of investments since 1993, including investments from branch offices of foreign companies established in the Netherlands. The Dutch

competitive economy in the EU and the 6th country in the world in terms of incoming FDI. Our economy is very open and competitive, with very few state companies. Business information is transparent and easy to obtain. Logistics and infrastructure are hard to beat, as is the legal environment. Labour productivity is one of the highest in the world and our living conditions are pleasant – though

INSPIRED BY THE UN DECLARATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ADOPTED 70 YEARS AGO, AND THE DUTCH MEMBERSHIP IN THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL, THE EMBASSY PAYS SPECIAL ATTENTION TO TOPICS LIKE PEACE, JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS greenfield investments in Croatia are still limited and would benefit from a further improvement of the business climate in Croatia. What does Croatia lack in terms of attracting even more investments and what systemic problems are the investors here facing according to the feedback you get from them?

— Let me turn your question around and explain why the Netherlands is the first and most

our weather is not as sunny as Croatia’s! Last year, we attracted almost 360 foreign companies, contributing some € 1.7 billion to the economy. In total, foreign companies in the Netherlands and their suppliers employ 1.4 million people, almost 20% of all jobs. We are sharing our experiences with Croatia, amongst others via bilateral cooperation programmes implemented by our ministries of economy and finance. We are happy with the results and will contin-

YOU CANNOT GO WRONG WITH TOLERANCE

ue to support Croatia in the future. The Dutch Embassy and you personally have been investing a lot of energy into new projects. What projects would you like to single out at this moment and why are they important?

— Yes, we are engaged in many projects. In May, we will organize a tulip exhibition in Split, for example, and hold the traditional Orange Bike Ride in Zagreb. Most of our activities this year are inspired by the fact that the UN Declaration for Human Rights was adopted 70 years ago, and that the Netherlands is currently member of the UN Security Council. In that capacity, we are actively contributing to international peace and security. Justice, peace and human rights cannot be simply declared by a government or adopted by a parliament – they must be secured, developed and defended by the people as well. That requires continuous work, in an old and established democracy such as my own country, and in a young democracy like Croatia, as well as in all other countries in the world. That is why the Embassy pays special attention to topics like peace, justice, human rights, freedom, tolerance, and diversity this year. All our guests for our King's Day celebration will receive a little bag with multicoloured poppy seeds, which are a symbol of peace, so we can all sow peace in our back garden! The Netherlands has a long history of having inclusive political and economic institutions with a very interesting side effect - growing tolerance. What geographic, historical, economic and political structures have made the Netherlands a tolerant country, and what tolerance and mutual respect mean to the country?

The Netherlands marks its National Day on 27th April. How much do people in Croatia actually know about your country and what values do you want to pass onto them? — In my experience, the Croatian citizens have a positive view of the Netherlands. It actually goes both ways, - the Dutch also have a positive one of Croatia. There is a growing number of Dutch tourists visiting Croatia every year, in fact more than 450,000. We all know that the Netherlands is a sum of more than just the city of Amsterdam and that Croatia is much more than just Dubrovnik and the coastline. I don't know if the Croatians actually realize that we 4 million of our citizens (out of a population of 17 million) have non-Dutch roots. Living together with many people from different (cultural) backgrounds in a small country is facilitated by our tolerance and openmindedness. And by our way of problem solving: a pragmatic recognition of pluriformity, consensus-based decision making and the striving for a win-win outcome. A Dutch word for this consensus-based political model is ‘polderen’. In conclusion, I would just like to say that diversity is an asset.

— Inclusiveness and tolerance are at the core of the Dutch culture. They can be traced back to geographical and historical reasons. The Netherlands is basically a delta, so the Dutch always had to work together in their struggle against water – whether they liked each other or not. The fact that the country is very flat led and leads to easy and frequent interaction with other peoples and cultures. The establishment of a republic ran by merchants, many centuries ago, strongly influenced the political culture. Discrimination is not only bad for principled reasons, but for economic reasons too.

I NTERVIEW

Preserve and Prosper

Our common goal is an independent, prosperous, democratic European Ukraine of Ukraine as a whole. This factor, in particular, contributes to our strength and success as a global community. Our common goal keeps us focused, consolidated and united in purpose. What do you do to promote Ukrainian language and culture among diaspora and the people in the world?

EUGENE CZOLIJ President of the Ukrainian World Congress

The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) is an umbrella organisation which, by its nature, unites the global Ukrainian community for the attainment of a common goal. Its president visited East Europe and gave the exclusive interview for our magazine. Canada is known as a place with virtually biggest Ukrainian diaspora in the world. Were the organisations of Canadian Ukrainians a model for organising the other local organisations within UWC?

— Our common goal is an independent, prosperous, democratic European Ukraine. Each of the components of the community, including UWC member organisations, have their unique characteristics that are affected by the society in which they work and develop, and as such their structure and activities are unique. It is a fact that the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada is one of the largest and it is also one of the oldest diaspora communities, and due to its long history and many successes over

the years, the Ukrainian community in Canada is definitely an excellent example of a successfully organised community - it enjoys a high level of support awareness and understanding among Canadians. However, it is not a model that can be simply replicated in other countries without factoring in the specific characteristics of each country, including governing laws and attitudes of the population. Presumably the bigger number of Ukrainians in diaspora are from Western Ukraine, right? It would mean “Galician” state of mind and Greek Catholic faith. How do you make balance with the different, and divergent tendencies within the different branches of Ukrainians?

— The Ukrainian diaspora today is very diverse and representative

— The UWC supports its member organisations throughout the world that actively promote the development and preservation of the Ukrainian language and cultural traditions in the countries in which they reside and work. Ukrainian schools and language classes help to ensure the continuation and further development of the Ukrainian language and knowledge of Ukraine, past and present. Communities publish books, newspapers, periodicals and historical research on Ukraine

each country where diaspora lives? It is vital, if Ukraine itself is not prosperous, like in Croatia, the people will unfortunately more become members of diaspora themselves.

— Ukraine’s economic development is critical to its success and we are working to promote Ukraine’s economic potential internationally. In recognition of the importance of economic issues, we struck the UWC Committee for the Economic Development of Ukraine, which has among its objectives the promotion of Ukrainian exports and the encouragement of foreign investment in Ukraine. The UWC also supports the efforts of the Government of Ukraine to implement reforms in the country and create a business-friendly environment. In that context, in 2017 we organized in Kyiv the Inaugural Economic Forum “Supporting the Economic

THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO FIGHT CORRUPTION IS NOT ONLY BY PUTTING CORRUPT PEOPLE BEHIND BARS, BUT GRADUALLY REDUCING THE SPACE TO ENGAGE IN CORRUPT PRACTICES and Ukrainians. UWC member organisations also promote Ukrainian culture in their societies with music, dance and theatre ensembles, concerts, festivals, presentations and workshops. Do you plan to enlarge the scope of your work with Ukrainian business to be more present in

Development of Ukraine: cooperation between Government and the diaspora”, in partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine and Canada-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce. Also in 2017, we launched an initiative for the appointment of Honorary Trade Representatives of Ukraine in countries of the diaspora.

FIGHTING CORRUPTION In that aspect, how do we all battle against corruption to make better societies and can we exchange experiences? — The most effective way to fight corruption is not only by putting corrupt people behind bars, but gradually reducing the space to engage in corrupt practices. The key to battling corruption in any society lies in the entrenchment of democratic principles, including the rule of law and the respect for fundamental freedoms. There will always be some corruption in any society. But as long as civil society is empowered to monitor, praise best practices, expose bad practices, engage in open discussion on the development of the society in which they live and work toward its betterment without repercussions, corruption will not be the victor.

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WH O CO U N T S ?

Indian States Squabble Over How to Share Out Federal Cash They are still measuring their size using census data from half a century ago

THE population of Uttar Pradesh is over 220m, enough to make the northern Indian state the world’s fifth-most populous country. But statistics still used by bureaucrats in New Delhi put it at less than 85m. Antiquated census data are used to split everything from federal funding to seats in the national parliament. A proposal to use up-to-date figures has created a political storm. In the mid-1970s India’s southern states were doing better than northern ones at controlling population growth. That meant losing federal power and money, both doled out in proportion to population. The inelegant solution was to keep using census figures from 1971, an arrangement that became indefinite. But buried in a recent government memo is a proposal to use figures from the most recent count, in 2011, for federal funding. Southern states are fuming. Their populations have risen since 1971, but nothing like as much as those of Uttar Pradesh and its neighbours (see map). They have also become much richer

than northern states, not least because of lower fertility. That cuts their share of federal funding further.

The change would be a “punishment for states that had performed splendidly between 1971 and 2011 in stabilising their population,” thundered P. Chidambaram, a former finance minister (and southerner). The southern state of Tamil Nadu estimates that it could lose 800m rupees a year ($1.2bn), about as much as its policing budget. The finance minister, Arun Jaitley, decried a “needless controversy”. But the row has a political dimension. India’s south is relatively less keen on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which has its roots in the north. Regional parties, something of a thorn in the side of Narendra Modi, the prime minister, fear that a decision to stop using retro statistics to calculate federal funding would set a precedent for 2026, when the deal to allocate seats in the federal parliament using 1971 data is due to expire. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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PO LI TI C S

Text: ŽELIMIR MARAŠ

European Values Time to renegotiate During my last conversations with people, we stumbled across the issue of so-called “European values”, which is a term or platitude that has been used far too many times without true understanding. Our discussion of European values far exceeded the space for an interview, which made it a natural choice to write a special article about this topic. So here it is. WESTERN EUROPEAN VALUES

European values are often used to describe the values forged in Western Europe, i.e. primarily in the countries that formed the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951: West Germany, France, Italy and the Benelux countries. These countries usually have a consistent system of values, and when the European Economic Community encompassed almost all of Europe’s capitalist countries in 1985 (the UK, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Ireland) there were some initial cracks between the cultures of North and South (which escalated in the recent German-Greek clash over the austerity measures championed by Wolfgang Schäuble. But at that time, before the collapse of European Socialism, European values were more or less clear: a social welfare state, moderate personal freedoms (more than in the Eastern Bloc), solidarity (as op-

posed to the extreme individualism of the U.S.), etc. There wasn’t even much fuss when Austria, Denmark and Finland joined in 1995, even during the turbulent ‘90s. However, things are not so clear now. DO THEY APPLY TO ALL?

Now, of the 28 countries that

current quarrel between Hungary and Poland, on one side, and the European Commission, on the other, the Western countries have now shifted towards social liberalism (same-sex marriages, immigration etc.) and economic liberalism (the deconstruction of the welfare state that was initiated by Margaret Thatcher and accelerated by Tony Blair’s “Third Way”). Continuing secularisation in the West opposes the rise of religious sentiment in the East, which was (at least formally) suppressed for decades. In 1990 the Eastern countries hoped to come back to the same values

EUROPEAN VALUES ARE THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR FOR ALL COUNTRIES INVOLVED IN EUROPE – GEOGRAPHICALLY AND NOT BY EU MEMBERSHIP. OTHERWISE THEY ARE LOCAL VALUES comprise the European Union, 11 are from the former Eastern Bloc (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and, of course, the former East Germany, which was absorbed by the FRG in 1990). As we see in the

they had have left behind in 1945, but the West changed in the meantime and the East is not satisfied, justifiably or not. NEW DEAL

Maybe it is the time for a new deal. The “European values” we

THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR European values have never been Western values after all. These should be values that can be easily applied to Iceland and Portugal, Russia and Turkey, Germany and Greece. They are the lowest common denominator for all countries involved in Europe – geographically and not by EU membership. Otherwise they are local values, not pan-European ones at all. You cannot “adopt European values”. I mean, you can, if you are in Asia or Africa, which would make these foreign values that you would like to adopt. If you are in Europe, these values should be inherent to your society and common psychology.

mention every now and then are applicable to Western Europe, from whence they originated. They are hard to apply even in Poland and Hungary, let alone in countries that are not in the EU but which are hopeful of getting there (Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Ukraine, Georgia etc.), not to mention Turkey or Russia. We can clearly see the crack in the EU between the meaning of austerity (North-South) and the meaning of society in general (in the East), with new laws passed by courts in Poland and universities in Hungary, with the immigrant issue a subject of great division. The European values are, for example, the social welfare state or universal healthcare. These are European values. Low wages to entice investors cannot be European values, since they oppose the very essence of Europe. Conservative religious society cannot be a European value, nor can liberal atheism. They are peculiar to each country. And each country should be free to choose its local values, apart from the common European ones. It doesn’t matter if East joined West or West joined East; if we are all equal, each voice should be heard equally. Otherwise it is just another form of colonialism, and obviously Hungary and Poland are fed up of empires forcing them to accept “common values”: Habsburg values, Russian Empire values, Communist values. Values should not be imposed: they should already be here. And if they are not here, then there simply shouldn’t be attempts to refer to them as common values.

CO LU MN JAGODA POROPAT DARRER

Business Communications Professional

HEALTHY CHOICE:

ETHOS OVER PATHOS IN FOOD INDUSTRY ADVERTISING

With the worldwide overall growth of the advertising industry, and the food system being among largest advertiser in national economies (besides the automotive industry, pharmaceutical and telecommunication industry) this particular column will address the question of prevailing appeals used in advertising campaigns and new consumer behaviours in such an important industry for human health as food industry is

In terms of numbers, the advertising industry in Europe, particularly in EU, has experienced growth over the past years. According to statista.com, expenditures rose from roughly 88.84 billion euros in 2011 to almost 100 billion euros in 2015. Especially the online advertising market expanded at an accelerated pace: while advertising spending on online media amounted to 13.6 billion euros in 2009. In 2015, the expenditure had already reached 33.36 billion euros. The US food system is the second largest advertiser in the American economy (the first being the automotive industry) and is a leading buyer of television, newspaper, magazine, billboard, and radio advertisements. The reasons why the food advertising market is so large is because food captures 12.5% of US consumer spending and so there is vigorous competition, furthermore, food is a repeat-purchase item and consumers' views can change quickly, and food is one of the most highly branded items, which lends itself to major advertising. Over 80% of US grocery products are branded (Story, French 2004). Advertising spending within the grocery stores industry alone generates over 190 billion U.S. dollars annually and in 2016, the advertising spending for the industry for canned, frozen, and preserved fruits, vegetables and specialty foods amounted to approximately 1.36 billion U.S. dollars. With the new generations changing and creating their own rules in many fields, the mainstream consumer behaviour when it comes to food, also changed a lot. According to washingtonpost.com, today’s consum-

ers are eating more vegetables and protein, and their reservations about eating frozen foods — long dubbed an unsatisfying diet option or loaded with artificial ingredients — are starting to thaw. Meanwhile, frozen food companies are revamping their products to include more healthful, flavorful options. But, one of frozen foods’ chief attractions has stayed rock solid: convenience. The report showed that that the frozen food market has grown for the first time in five years, by 1 percent in the 12

or having dinner with a side of Netflix”, writes Rachel Siegel for Washington Post. BALANCE OF PERSUASIVE APPEALS

The purpose of ads is to convince the consumer to act – to buy (and hopefully remain loyal to the brand or product). The first three letters of the famous acronym AIDA (attention, interest, desire and action) are based on well-known three appeals Ethos – Pathos – Logos. Ethos deals with a character of the speaker, its

THE PURPOSE OF ADS IS TO CONVINCE THE CONSUMER TO ACT – TO BUY (AND HOPEFULLY REMAIN LOYAL TO THE BRAND OR PRODUCT) weeks leading up to March 10. “As millennials seek out nutritious and well-rounded meals without sacrificing convenience, frozen vegetables, fruits and prepared foods present a relatively cheap and easy-access option. That’s true for younger people and families who are less interested in eating out — whether that’s because they’re working from home

competence, good intention and empathy. The influencing factors, according to european-rhetoric. com for ethos encompass elements such as clothes, vocabulary, slang and other social aspects like rank, popularity, etc. Pathos encompasses the emotional influence on the audience. The aim of pathos is to reduce the audience’s ability to judge.

One possibility to achieve this is due to the correct use of figures of speech. Figurative discourse is crucial: figures of speech are the stronghold of the commercial rhetoric – hyperbola, metaphor, metonymy, comparison, and analogy. Logos is the appeal towards logical reason, thus the speaker wants to present an argument that appears to be sound to the audience. It encompasses the content and arguments of the speech. Research has shown that television advertising of low nutritional value foods have a large influence on the children’s choice of food (Scarborough et al., 2013). The frequency of overweight and overweight children increased in developed countries, from 17% in 1980 to 24% in 2013 (Ng et al., 2014). It is necessary to appeal to the healthy nutritional habits through the advertising. The first World Health Organization (WHO, 2010) recommendations address the necessity of decreasing the impact of commercial in reducing the impact of marketing that promotes food for children with high levels of saturated fats, trans fatty acids, high concentrations of concentrated sugar and salt sources. There’s an urge to put scientists, nutritionists, dieticians into the food industry commercials, and start to base ads on ethos and logos educating that way new generations to eat well. I can think of one Croatian, advertising the frozen food, with beautiful nutritionists, explaining through facts the benefits of vegetables. Moreover, combining ethos, pathos and logos can create a synergy, which according to Aristotle, is the most effective communication.

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C O RPO RATE

Partus Academy

New Approach in the Art Of Leading Teams Inspire and motivate yourself! This is the slogan of the successful, most inspirational conference in Croatia this season

In the first week of June, on 7th June 2018 to be precise, the Partus Academy and its partners will hold the “The Art of Leadership – Successful Teams” conference for the second consecutive time at the Forum congress centre in Zagreb, Croatia. After the great success of the first conference last year, this year’s conference will focus on successful team leadership. “The conference’s aim is to acknowledge the importance and the role of excellent team-leading skills with the goal of achieving top results, as well as the responsibility of each team member in the process. On one hand, the conference will demonstrate the latest leadership techniques and tools, including how to achieve balance between the result-oriented activities and managing good interpersonal relationships based on respect (Human-to-Human Approach). On the other hand, the conference participants will have the opportunity to learn about the good practices of leadership and teamwork from the representatives of the best companies in Croatia”, says Mirta Fraisman Čobanov, director of the Partus Academy,

which organizes the conference. The novelty of this kind of interdisciplinary approach is combining different areas - sports, business and art (music) - to achieve top results in own business models. The conference participants will learn how to implement the best practices in leading teams from the “coach of the all coaches” – Miroslav Ćiro Blažević - who, according

to bleacherreport.com, who counts coaching the Swiss national football team as one of his successes. He went on later to coach Croatia (1994-2000), Iran (2001), Bosnia-Herzegovina (2008-2009) and China U23 (2010-2011). Along the way, he has won five championship trophies with FC Dinamo from Zagreb and one each with FC Sion, FC Grasshopper and FC Hajduk from Split. His main achievement, though, is the third place that Croatia won in the 1998 World Cup, where he coached an extraordinary generation of players, including Davor Šuker, Zvonimir Boban and Robert Prosinečki. Also, the conference guests will hear from another great team leader – one of the greatest coaches in the history of basketball, Mirko Novosel. As Vladimir Stanković wrote, for euroleague.net, “Mirko Novosel was a master in building basketball teams, first as a head coach and later as a director. He was, and still is, a man with a clear

THE CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN ABOUT THE ART OF LEADERSHIP FROM RENOWNED TEAM LEADERS IN THE AREAS OF SPORTS, BUSINESS AND ART AND HOW TO IMPLEMENT THE NEW CODE LEADERSHIPTM METHODOLOGY

direction, hardworking, innovative and with the courage it takes to make decisions like betting on young players and bringing back some forgotten names. Novosel surely is a practical man.” Another hero from the sports battlefield, athlete Andjela Mužinić from the Paralympic Games and her coach Mirela Šokoranja will teach us how to use willpower and faith to reach the Olympic highs. Croatian musicians have to say a lot in the field of music. At the conference, we will hear from Husein “Hus” Hasanefendić, the founder of the famous band Parni Valjak, and from the punk ban Psihomodo Pop. Furthermore, HR manager NatašaOdak from drogerie markt (DM), Anita Letica, CEO at Phillip Morris, Danka Prah, Logitech Regional Manager, and Stanko Klipa, Customer Experience Manager from Adria and Baltic, Abbott Laboratories will address the audience from the business perspective. Crveni Nosovi (Red Noses), an association of volunteers that entertain hospitalized children, will show how to stay cheerful and positive when the chips are down. Last year’s conference had an excellent media coverage, and Poslovni dnevnik, Profitiraj.hr, Diplomacy and Commerce magazine, and many more media outlets will make sure that the same happens again this year. Director of the Partus Academy, Mirta Fraisman Čobanov will reveal the secrets of the New Code LeadershipTM model which is defined as a leadership model that combines the latest findings in leadership and neuroscience while synthesizing their crucial excellences - mental excellence, communication excellence and excellence in performing.

Andro Krstulović-Opara, Mayor of Split

29 MANAGING MAR

WATERWAYS IN CROATIA

Tomislav Ćorić Environmental and Energy Minister and Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Croatian President

Croatian President, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović participated in the conference titled "Managing Waterways in Croatia", held in Split. A conference, which took place under the auspices of the President of the

Republic, was held on the occasion of the World Water Day, with numerous domestic experts in the field in attendance who, through a joint discussion, were trying to find solutions to particular waterway-related problems.

29 AHK MAR

JOUR FIXE

Despite the holiday season, a number of AHK's members and guests attended the second Jour Fixe this year. AHK's director, Sven Thorsten Pott gave a welcome address. Later, in the evening, the Chamber announced its upcoming events.

Katie Axam, Chief Marketing Officer, IBM

Andrea Doko Jelušić, AmCham

Mrs Sonja Popović, Director of SAP, and Sven Thorsten Potthoff, AHK Director

04 AMCHAM APR

POWER BREAKFAST

AmCham had a pleasure to host Ms. Katie Axam, Chief Marketing Officer, IBM Central and Eastern Europe as the keynote speaker at the Power Breakfast "The need for Digital Marketing Transformation - embrace it or get left behind". This Power Breakfast was a hands on session that provided insights into the future of marketing and how to understand clients better in this digital world.

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Source: The Cabinet of the President of Croatia

PEO PLE & EVENT S

12 COMMUNICATION MAR

DAYS

The sixth edition of Communication Days was held from 12th to 15th April 2018 at the Lone Hotel in Rovinj. Technology and creativity were the topics of this year's festival, which brought together market communication experts. Communication Days has been solidifying its position of a must-attend event for advertisers, agencies, public relations professionals, media representatives, students and other professionals in the communications industry for years. This year's edition of the festival broke all attendance records. The most anticipated speech of this year's festival was certainly the one given by Brad Parscale, the campaign leader of the US President, Donald J. Trump.

Brad Parscale, Digital Media Director for the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump

Mario Lovrić, MC Universal, with colleagues

11 TURSKIH AIRLINES MAR

Martina Bienenfeld, Director of Zagreb Tourist Board

Director Ugur Cantimur and Jacques Feron, President of the Franjo Tuđman Airport Managemen

Ugur Cantimur, General Manager for Croatia and Gari Cappelli, Croatian Tourism Minister

CELEBRATES TWO DECADES OF OPERATIONS IN CROATIA

At Zagreb's Mimara Museum, Turkish Airlines presented its successes, innovations and future goals. The event was attended by the advisers of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the Minister of Tourism, Gari Cappelli, the Director of the Zagreb Tourist Board, Martina Bienenfeld and many others. Turkish Airlines has emerged as one of the world's leading aviation companies, having received a number of prizes that validate this status.

Ugur Cantimur, General Manager for Croatia, Gari Cappelli, Croatian Tourism Minister, and Emre Menevse, Regional Director at Turkish Airlines

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

19 70 YEARS OF ISRAEL'S MAR

INDEPENDENCE

A reception was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Zagreb on the occasion of the 70 years of independence of Israel. The Israeli Ambassador to Croatia, H.E. Ms Zina Kalay Kleitman was the reception's host. Ambassador Kleitman gave a welcome address and talked about the improved relations between Croatia and Israel. The reception was attended by a number of diplomatic corps members, and public, political and cultural figures who were enjoying in the delicacies of the Israeli cuisine and Israeli music. H.E. Zina Kalay Kleitman, Ambassador of Israel

The Jerusalem Folklore Ensemble

Brigadier Harel Taggar, Defense Secretary of the State of Israel, with the seat in Rome, and H.E. Zina Kalay Kleitman

18 MINISTER PRESIDENT OF BADENMAR

The Minister President of the German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, and H.E. Thomas E. Schulzte, German Ambassador to Croatia

The Minister President of the German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, visited the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar on Wednesday, noting that one of the objectives of his visit was to deepen economic cooperation and increase investments in the Croatian Danube River region. On Thursday, Kretschmann met with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Economy Minister Martina Dalic and Foreign Minister Marija Pejcinovic-Buric. As a result of the visit, a digitisation task force will be set up and a school partnership agreement will be signed between Croatia and Baden-Wuerttemberg. The German official and his delegation also visited the Rimac Automobili Company in Samobor, outside Zagreb.

Source: Staatsministerium Baden-WĂźrttemberg

The Minister President of the German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Winfried Kretschmann and Marija Pejcinovic-Buric, Croatian Foreign Minister

WUERTTEMBERG VISITS CROATIA

Andrej PlenkoviÄ‡, Croatian Prime Minister , the Minister President of the German federal state of BadenWuerttemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, and H.E. Thomas E. Schulzte, German Ambassador to Croatia

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23 CROATIA – UAE MAR

ECONOMIC FORUM

The Forum was attended by 15 companies from the United Arab Emirates and more than 70 Croatian companies, with the Croatian economy experts holding a workshop for the UAE business people. The workshop covered different areas, from investments, banking system, legal system and marketing to accounting, taxes and retail.

H.E. Andrew Dalgleish, the British Ambassador, and Croatian President, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović

Ivan Barbalić, Croatian Chamber of Economy

Muhamed Ali Alkamali, Secretary General of NOC Dubai

Ambassadors and finalists at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs with Vesela Mrden Korac

24 "BECOME AN AMBASSADOR FOR A DAY MAR

Joseph Gene Petrić, Assistant Minister of Foreign and European Affairs

AND STAND UP FOR GENDER EQUALITY!”

With the support of the ambassadors of Great Britain, Australia, France, Finland, Ireland, Canada, the Netherlands, the United States, Sweden and Spain, a final event, under the initiative Become an Ambassador for a Day and Stand Up for Gender Equality, took place. Eleven finalists, high school students from various parts of the Republic of Croatia, spent a day following the ambassadors in diplomatic missions, and visiting the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar Kitarović and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

Nebojša Biškup – General Manager for Croatia and Slovenia at Manpower, Joe Bašić – The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Gordana Fuštar – The Nordic Chamber of Commerce, Andrea Doko Jelušić, Dražen Malbašić and Barbara Kolarić – AmCham, Sonja Holocher Ertl – Advantage Austria, Sven Potthof – AHK and Hrvoje Grenaci and Andrea Pekov – Association of Italian Entrepreneurs

25 ASSOCIATION OF MAR

ITALIAN ENTREPRENEURS

A meeting of six international chambers of commerce, which launched a joint initiative a few months ago, was held at the headquarters of the Association of Italian Entrepreneurs . The group consists of the German-Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the Austrian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the AmCham, the Canadian-Croatian

Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Commerce of Scandinavian countries and the Association of Italian Entrepreneurs in Croatia. The results presented to the representatives of international chambers, unfortunately, were not positive and do not give the impression of a positive investment and business climate.

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C O LU MN DANIJEL KOLETIÄ†

CEO of Apriori World

BRANDING AND PEOPLE

A lot of effort, creative communication and innovation have been used on creating recognizable brands that generate their value through emotional affiliation, or social status

We are all familiar with the brands in the telecommunications industry, digital platforms, clothing, footwear and automotive industry. However, each one of us individually, depending on our hobbies and interests, knows certain brands. Hence, hunting and fishing fans know which is the best hunting equipment, while seamstresses and tailors know what thread and sewing machines to use to deliver quality. Is branding solely a creation of marketing, advertising, communication strategies, or is it backed up by quality? Counterfeit or false brands are one of the biggest challenges that the most brands have been facing. Despite the numerous legal provisions and the protection of this very diversity stipulated in the relevant regulation which come from different continents and from various industries, there are still opportunities for production and resale of counterfeit goods. What's behind original brands? Why should we pay more for them? Many have been searching for answers to these questions and are also wondering what is that people see when they wear or buy a particular brand. Every brand has a story. Everybody who lives a trendy lifestyle, in urban surroundings, who travels and who is constantly in contact with this kind of environment, is longing for a brand. At the time when advertising and promotion channels were very narrow, the renowned shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo found one of the best channels for indirect promotion - Hollywood. His unique shoe design was one of the indispensable features of Hollywood films and stars. This kind of promotion continued in a verbal way, as the shoe brand itself,

which the stars wore, was not that visible on film. The most effective branding is the word-of-mouth method. However, even before this effect of the psychological creation of the brand takes place, its perception needs to be created first. Behind every brand stands the most valuable thing, and that is the idea, after which there is the design creativity, because all of us essentially "buy with our eyes". In addition to the above-mentioned areas of branding, there are small, ordinary things that create their own brands in order

products and makeup, as well as confectionery products. They are constantly broadcasted on TV with the goal of convincing customers that they are still the best, or to generate interest in new products. The global financial crisis in 2008 changed consumer habits, so, in retail chains, we saw the emergence of retail chain brands which goal was to attract customers and increase their market share in sales. Because of the decrease in paying power, consumers have started to explore the taste of the quality of

BACK IN THE DAY, BRANDS HAD A LIMITED SPACE FOR MARKETING ACTIVITIES, UNLIKE TODAY WHEN MUCH OF THE PERCEPTION HAS SHIFTED TO DIGITAL PLATFORMS to convince consumers through TV commercials, ads and stories that are the best in their category. Thus, housewives create and sell emotions about quality in the household laundry industry, about personal hygiene through toothpaste, or through various home appliances or vehicles of different brands. There are also the ever present skin care

different products, from those that we need every day in our homes to those that we use occasionally. Initially, these were not only price-friendly brands, but also their packaging design was very poor. Realizing that they can use design to affect customers through identification when they come to pay at the cash register, they started investing in design

and new brands were created. All this is important to mention because when we are talking about branding, we re actually talking about psychology. Depending on the character of each individual, every brand, which is constantly communicating, promoting and advertising, hides a value not only because of its creativity, but also its quality. It is this value that we, the customers, pay for! There is almost no globally renowned and recognized product, from Evian Water to Mercedes, from Apple to Louis Vuitton, which did not incorporate the costs of their marketing mix in their product price. Only continuous investing, which should never cease, affects our psyche. Brand history, customer experience and their stories give added value, all of which we collectively call creating a brand on the stage. To create a brand requires a lot of financial investments, and entails certain risks providing we want to have a global brand. For decades, no new brands have emerged in the automotive industry, or rather no new manufacturers popped up. We have too many brands, and thanks to the increasing awareness of our planet's pollution, this industry has also been going through a transformation. Tesla has become a global brand in the automotive industry, or, dare I say it, a new gadget for not only enviornmentally friendly consumers, but also for those who strive to be different. Each brand story that creates a new brand must target a specific group if it wants to survive. New generations, new interests, new styles and new consumer habits are constantly changing in the market. Billions are invested annually to influence people by informing them about the new brand, or to evoke emotions in those people who are tied to a brand due to their personal lifestyle preferences. There is no industry where there are no leading brands. Every brand is committed to quality, innovation and value.

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B USINESS NEWS HTZ

PROMOTIONAL VIDEO DECLARED THE BEST IN THE WORLD The promotional video, created by the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) and titled „ Ambassadors of Croatian Tourism“, which has recorded several million views in foreign broadcast markets in a short amount of time, has won the prestigious Travel Video Awards in the category "Best Video by a Tourism Organizatrion“, as decided by the expert jury comprising of representatives of Citizine Networks and National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). Apart from the jury, the promotional video was well-received by audiences too which, in online voting, voted the Croatian promotional tourist video as the best promotional video by a tourist organization in 2017. The award ceremony was held in Las Vegas, in House of Blues. Philip DeBevoise, the founder and CEO of Citizine.tv, gave the award to the director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić. "Prizes were awarded in a total of 9 categories, with more than 360 submissions and each category having four finalists. HTZ's promotional video won in the category of the best promotional video by a tourism organization which had 44 submissions, with promotional videos from Croatia, Peru, Colombia and Jordan shortlisted. The award ceremony was also attended by the director of the HTZ representative office in New York, Ina Rodin. Citizen's Travel Video Awards is an organization founded by independent filmmakers and brands from around the world which rewards innovative and inspirational independent and branded videos.

Heineken

PROFIT DECLINE IN EUROPE The Dutch beer-making corporation, Heineken has released preliminary reports showing that the company's profits, in the Q1 of this year, fell by 11% due to low temperatures which stifled the European sales. In the January-March period, Heineken's net profit dropped to 260 million euros, according to a business report. The consolidated sales volume in international markets adapted to the impact of exchange rates, extraordinary items and the sale or purchase of assets which rose 4.3 percent. Heineken says that the growth in the Asia-Pacific region, North and South America and Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe more than offset a 1.7 percent lower sales volume in Europe.

Eurostat

CROATIA HAS LOWEST HOURLY LABOUR COSTS IN EU In 2017, Croatia was among the group of European Union countries with the lowest hourly labour costs, which were two and a half times below the EU average. At the European Union level, average hourly labour costs amounted to 26.8 euros last year. They were the highest in the industry, amounting to 27.4 euros per hour. The average labour costs in service sector were 26.6 euros, coming in the second place, while the lowest costs were recorded in the construction sector, at 23.7 euros per hour. In the euro area, average labour costs per hour last year totalled 30.3 euros. The industry was the first with 33.4 euros per hour, followed by service sector with 29.3 euros per hour, and construction

with 26.7 euros per hour, according to Eurostat. The statistics point to great differences in labour costs among EU countries, with the Scandinavian and Benelux countries dominating in the upper part of the scale, while the lower part is occupied by the countries of eastern and southeastern Europe.

Facebook

USERS WILL HAVE TO ACCEPT TARGETED ADS

The world's biggest social network, Facebook has announced that it will continue to require users to accept targeted ads as a prerequisite for using Facebook's services, despite the European regulation on the protection of general date coming into force soon. The regulation, better known under the acronym GDPR, will enter into force in May, and it brings the biggest chang-

es in the protection of private / general data since the emergence of the Internet. Namely, it stipulates high penalties for companies that collect personal information without the explicit permission of users. Rejecting the target marketing option will not be possible since tsers will only be able to restrict the types of data that advertisers use to create targeted campaigns.

INA

RECYLING OF THE FIRST TONNE OF COOKING OIL Six months after the launch of a new "green" service in INA's selected retail outlets, customers and citizens have disposed of the first tonne of waste cooking oil so instead of cooking oil ending up in the sewage, it will be recycled. The company continues to provide this service and is considering expanding to other parts of Croatia. At the same time, together with Agroproteinka, a partner in the project, INA held a series of lectures on the importance of recycling waste cooking oil and other household waste in the Sesvete Primary School. The people living in Zagreb's neighbourhood of Tresnjevka have managed to collect the biggest quantity of oil, about 140 kilograms, while their fellow

citizens from Maksimir and Čakovec have not been lagging behind much with the collected 100 kilograms. Households, unlike restaurants, have no legal obligation to collect used cooking oil, but thanks to its recycling, they contribute to environment protection, which is also something that the pupils from the Sesvete Primary School have also learned from the lecture.

B USINESS NEWS UM Zagreb

MOST EFFICIENT MEDIA AGENCY IN CROATIA THIRD YEAR RUNNING At the Communication Days, Croatia's biggest advertising industry festival which has been traditionally held this year in Rovinj, UM Zagreb has won four prestigious awards - the Grand Prix Award, two Gold and one Silver Effie Awards. The Effie Award is the best indicator of the effectiveness of the campaign that is given to advertisers and market communication agencies which are judged by their creativity, strategy and market results. UM Zagreb is the recipient of the top award - Grand Prix - as well as the golden Effie, for its campaign "Žuja je Zakon", commissioned by Zagrebačka Pivovara, in the category "long-term efficiency" (2015-2017). In addition to the campaign "Žuja je Zakon", Zagrebačka Pivovara and UM Zagreb were awarded for two more campaigns - the golden Effi for the campaign "Budi hrabar – počeši s razlogom" and the silver Effi for the campaign "Mame i tate su zakon".

Xiaomi

FIRST SHOP IN THIS PART OF EUROPE Xiaomi has announced the opening of Xiaomi Shop in Vienna, expected to take place in May, which means that this part of Europe will get its first original Xiaomi shop. Xiaomi's presence in the Croatian market is also more pronounced, while the mobile devices of this increasingly popular global producer have become even more accessible to all those shoppers who love contemporary mobile technology. Established in 2010 and guided by the personal conviction of the founder and entrepreneur, Lei Jun that high-tech technology should be accessible to everyone, has ultimately become the business philosophy of this Chinese visionary in the

field of mobile technology. Xiaomi has had a record-breaking growth, and it currently ranks 5th among the world's leading smartphone manufacturers. The Xiaomi devices are available in several models in the Croatian market, with the long-awaited Mi MIX 2S model expected to arrive in June.

Adecco

ADECCO TO BUY A US CODING SCHOOL

Luka Rijeka

CONTRACTS ON DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS The Rijeka Port Authority and HŽ Infrastruktura have signed the contract on the execution of works on the project "Development of Multimodal Platform in the Port of Rijeka and Establishing a Link with the Container Terminal Jadranska Vrata", worth a total of EUR 35.5 million, signed with with Kolektor-Koling and Euro-Asfalt. The project will be implemented on the Sušak-Brajdica railway line, which is the shortest transport corridor for transporting goods from overseas ports in the EU. The works are due to begin in June, and should end in June 2020. The existing tracks at the Brajdica station will be reconstructed, the Sušak tunnel will be extended, and a new extension and four new tracks at the terminal will be built. The reconstruction of the existing network at Brajdica is planned, as is the installation of a new signaling equipment, security and communication devices etc.

Coding boot camp, General Assembly is getting acquired for $412.5 million by the Swiss human resources and staffing firm Adecco. The New York-based coding school, which has 22 campuses in six countries, offers courses on data analytics, UX design, and coding languages to both individuals and company teams. Last year,

they generated revenues of around $ 100 million and this year, their courses are almost full, according to Adecco’s statement. General Assembly’s clients include Viacom, Pearson and L'Oreal. Adecco carried out the acquisition to improve business results and catch up to the competition with higher growth rates, such as Randstad.

Siemens and Elektrokem

CONTRACT FOR PRODUCTION AND INSTALLATION OF RAILWAY-ROAD CROSSINGS This business cooperation contract stipulates that the Croatian company Elektrokem will participate in the realization of over 50% railway-road crossing projects in Croatia. Primarily, the cooperation will cover the projects in Croatia and the neighbouring EU countries. The SIMIS LC automated rail-road crossing system uses the latest technology, has an outstanding reliability and the highest level of security. The SIMIS LC system has already been built on the new section Gradec - Sveti Ivan Žabno and will built on the Dugo Selo Križevci section. In both of these locations, Siemens AG Österreich and Elektrokem will incorporate state-of-the-art signal and

safety equipment and traffic control systems. SIMIS LC was first developed for German railways, and due to its high quality, it is now intended to be used in the global markets. The system is already being used in several EU countries (Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia...).

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Ministry of Agriculture

Focus Invest

FOCUS INVEST BUYS ZG SHOPPING MALL

A big real estate transaction took place in the Croatian real estate market recently. In April, a sales agreement was concluded which just validated the fact that, despite the oversaturated business retail market in Croatia which is considered a limiting factor for new shopping malls, there is still enough room for acquisitions of the existing malls due to the expected returns for developers, including co-ownership transfers.

The biggest shopping mall in Croatia, spanning 226,000 square metres and the third biggest mall (square footage wise) in Europe, Westgate Shopping City (WG) now has a new ownership structure. The mall was acquired by Focus Invest, an Austrian investment group which was the biggest single co-owner of Westgate. The Austrian compay acquired Plus City Group's share in the Zagreb Shopping Mall for an undisclosed amount.

Hrvatske Ceste

CONTRACT FOR THE PELJESAC BRIDGE SIGNED

A contract stipulating the construction of the Peljesac Bridge was signed in Dubrovnik between Hrvatske Ceste and the China Road and Bridge Corporation, in addition to a contract for construction supervision with a group of companies which includes the IGH Institute, the Centre

for Construction Organization and Invest Engineering. Hrvatske Ceste received three bids for the construction of the PeljeĹĄac Bridge, and in January this year, the company chose the offer submitted by the Chinese consortium, at a price of 2.08 billion kuna (excluding VAT). At the beginning of April, a group of companies was selected to supervise the construction of the mainland PeljeĹĄac bridge with access roads, The group, which comprises of the IGH Institute, the Centre for Construction Organization and Invest Engineering, submitted the winning bid in the amount of 49.4 million kuna (excluding VAT).

Croatian Chamber of Economy

BELGRADE AND MOSTAR OFFICE OPENED In the last month, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce has opened two important offices in the region. After several years of the Belgrade office closing, and with the view of improving the economic relations with Croatia and facilitating joint appearance in third markets, the office was re-opened. Also, the Chamber has opened an office in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has a very important role for Croatia due to a large number of Croats living there,

and with the goal of improving the relations between the business communities from two countries and new investments.

ASSISTANCE TO YOUNG FARMERS

Applications for assistance for young farmers, following the launch of a competition under the framework of the Rural Development Programme, can be submitted starting tomorrow until 13th June. Young farmers older than 18 and younger than 40 (on the date of filing of the application for support) may apply for the assistance providing they have the appropriate knowledge and skills and that they have have started managing a farm no earlier than 24 months before the submission of assistance application. The new rules allow young farmers, for whom agriculture is not their core activity. Those farmers, who are engaged solely in agriculture, will be entitled to 372,000 kuna in assistance and they will be obligated to pay social contributions (pension and health insurance) for at least five years after the assistance has been reimbursed. Those farmers, to whom agriculture is not the only source of income, will be entitled to the assistance in the amount of 148,800 kuna and they will not be obligated to pay social contributions.

Stock Exchanges

DROP IN STOCK PRICES

The stock prices on the European stock exchanges dropped on Wednesday morning, investors are concerned about the growth in yield on bonds, which overshadowed the overall good business results of companies. The STOXX 600 index of leading European shares recorded a 0.5 percent decline at 9:45 am. The London FTSE index was down 0.30 percent to 7.402 points, while the Frankfurt DAX weakened 0.60 percent to 12.478 points, and the Paris CAC 0.10 percent to 5.439 points. The fall in stock prices is the result of investors' concern over rising yields. For the first time in four year, yields on 10-year US bonds reached a 3 percent level. The growing yield on bonds does not suit stock markets because, as a result of it, companies' borrowing costs are rising, and because investors might transfer part of their funds from stock to bonds. On the other hand, there are stocks that gained on value after several companies posted better quarterly business results than analysts expected.

B USINESS NEWS Atlantic Group

Fina

ARGETA AND COFFEE RECORD THE BIGGEST GROWTH

BANK ACCOUNTS OF OVER 300,000 CITIZENS FROZEN By the end of March this year, 325,250 people had their bank accounts frozen for owing a total of 43.4 billion kuna, while 24,000 bank accounts of various business entities were also frozen with their cummulative debt amounting to HRK 12.8 billion kuna. Fina's data shows that the number of citizens with frozen accounts has been going up on a monthly basis, but declined on an annual basis, while the amount of their debt continues to grow. At the annual level, the number of citizens with frozen accounts fell by 1.7 percent, but the debt grew by 3.3 percent.

At the end of March this year, the number of people whose bank accounts were frozen dropped by 5.508 compared to the same period last year, but their total debt grew by 1.3 billion kuna.

GTC Hrvatska

BUSINESS TOWERS WORTH 300MLN KUNA

After a long period of stagnation due to the economic crisis, the construction of business skyscrapers has resumed in Zagreb with the one of the newest investments being Matrix Office Park that is supposed to be built by next year. The Office Park comprises of two business buildings on the Slavonija Avenue, each of which will have 20,000 square meters of rented space. The investment value is 300 million kuna, with

the investment exceeding 1 billion kuna at later stages. GTC Hrvatska is the project developer. The Matrix Office Park is located in the Radnička business zone, near Tomić BMW showroom. GTC is known in Croatia for already investing in the Avenue Mall Centre. Each building will have 272 parking spaces, parking space for bicycles, two underground and seven floors. Offices for rent will span 150 to 1,600 square meters.

Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) amounted to HRK 121.3 million, up 11.3 percent, while net profit after minority interest increased 17.8 percent to HRK 61.7 million. Exceptional results have been achieved in the growth of the distribution business and its own brands, which is more than compensated for the inadequate revenue from the production of sports nutrition products due to the sale of production facilities to Belgium's Aminolabs. If the the impact of this transaction was ruled out, the organic revenue growth in the first quarter would amount to as much as 7.2 percent. The following business segments have had the biggest impact on Atlantic Group's sales in 2017 Delicatessen Spreads with a 15.9% growth, Coffee with a growth of 14.7%, and Sweet and Salty with a 10.1% growth. The Coffee Division, with a 21.2 percent stake and HRK 243.1 million in sales revenue, stands out as the most successful single category in total revenue. Of the individual markets, the highest growth was achieved in Slovenia - a record 15.3 percent, followed by Croatia with 11.5 percent, and Serbia, with a 9.4 percent growth.

Croatian government

SET OF REFORMS ADOPTED

PSA Group

BENEFICIAL ACQUISITION OF OPEL The French car maker, PSA Group posted 18.8 billion euro in revenue last year, 42 percent higher than in the same period last year. These good results were achieved thanks to the sales growth and the takeover of Opel-Vauxhall. The number of sold cars increased in the first quarter of this year by 44 percent compared to the same period last year, to more than a million. The group's division, which includes production of Peugeot and Citroën vehicles, generated the revenue of $ 10.2 billion, which is a 13.3 percent growth relative to a year before, while the

number of delivered vehicles rose 6.6 percent. The Opel-Vauxhall revenue amounted to EUR 4.84 billion, the PSA said without making a comparison with the previous year.

The government has adopted the 2018 National Reform Programme and the convergence plan for the next three-year period, which includes three key goals - bolstering economy's competitiveness, connecting education to the labour market, and achieving better sustainability of public finances. A total of 59 measures in 11 reform areas were envisaged in order to achieve these goals. The slowdown in GDP growth is expected, and by 2021, public debt should fall from 78 to 66 percent of the GDP. In terms of the demographic reform, the government plans to improve child care allowance by raising the income census level as a prerequisite for the eligibility for child care allowance from 50 to 70 percent of the budget base, in order to have more potential beneficiaries of child care allowance, as well as more potential beneficiaries of the pro-birthrate allowance that are intented for families with three or four children.

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GEO PO LITIC S

Text: ŽELIMIR MARAŠ

Tables are Turning Money has returned home

In the very beginning of the mankind, China was the most advanced civilisation, credited with many inventions, from pottery to print. After the rather mindless decision, in the beginning of the 19th century, to close the country to the outside world „because it was so advanced and the interaction (with the rest of the world) could only deteriorate it“, China started declining. Now, tables are turned! China has always been a benevolent power, and even when it could colonise the entire Asia, it only sent its ships to do trade and collect data, which cannot be said about the West. And now, China is ascending and soon to take over the world's economy. This was quite tricky to do, since Deng had to avoid the same problem that Mikhail Gorbachev faced. Gorbachev lived up to his utter failure, destroying in the process of reforms the whole country. China, on the other hand, decided to carry out „perestroika without glasnost“ and succeeded. If it didn't, there would have been millions and millions of dead people as a result. Now, China is here to change the world for better, quite opposite from what The Economist predicted. NON-PREDATORY INVESTMENT + INFRASTRUCTURE

When there are no arguments left, some people use Chinese „predatory loans“. Hey, where are

your loans, West? Bankers can answer that question, but basically, the Chinese, once again, have been investing where no-one else would, or rather, where the West intended to invest with political or economic reforms that undermine the autonomy of the local governments. The Chinese don't take sides! They build exactly the same things everywhere as they do

or Transsiberian Railways. Contrary to certain pessimistic projections, it is not the railways that „exhausted“ America, and they will certainly not exhaust China. Transport links, like railways, actually boosted the prosperity of the USSR, the UK, Spain, France, Germany, Japan etc. The countries relying on individual, and not collective ways of transport, are lagging behind,

CHINA DECIDED TO CARRY OUT „PERESTROIKA WITHOUT GLASNOST“ AND SUCCEEDED. IF IT DIDN'T, THERE WOULD HAVE in China. It was quite shocking for the black Africans to see apartment blocks in Africa mirroring those in China, and the railways of the same quality. With their colonial infrastructure collapsing, this was a breath of fresh air. As for the Belt – Road initiative, there has been no such achievement (apart from what the Brits did in East Africa and Australia) since the American Railroad projects involving construction of the trans-Pacific links,

while the official American liberal mantra still repeats that „collective transport leads to the failure, while individual mobility gives economic freedom“. Maybe in America, but even there it is becoming hard to notice it. Just look at Japan! PETROYUAN

In order to end the dollar dominance in oil trade, China has decided to launch the so-called petroyuan, replacing petrodollar. As oil can

now be traded with yuan-denominated contracts, the petrodollar monopoly is about to be overshadowed, China hopes. Nowadays, the US dollar and the euro still dominate more than 85% of international payments, followed by the British pound, Japanese yen, Swiss franc, Canadian dollar and Chinese yuan (1%). But is this all about to change? For the first time ever, in late March, trading in yuan-denominated oil contracts began at the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE). That will facilitate the rise of petroyuan, which could cause a dramatic shift in global asset allocations as institutional investors begin to diversify into China’s onshore bond markets. We will see what the future holds for it, but since China is the single biggest oil consumer and wants to trade in its own currency, it is quite significant. Certain analysts have even predicted the collapse of dollar and American hegemony, while others predict that it would be exactly like in the late 1980s when everyone thought that Japan was conquering the West and that, in 20 years’ time, everything would be Japanese. Yet, Japan’s growth is slow and the country has been in secular stagnation for the better part of three decades. Yes, you got it – they think China will hit the same wall and experience stagnation. Those who are more objective argue that the truth is somewhere in the middle.

XI'S HERE TO STAY With the heavy investments in its own infrastructure and in the infrastructure of other countries, being open to tourism, registering its heritage as UNESCO World Heritage sites at an unprecedented rate, and firm, centre-heavy control, Xi’s China wants to get to the top and stay there. There’s another problem. Are the others just going to sit down and simply observe what is going on? It seems that Trump is pretty furious about China and its economy, so, as a result, he started a small trade and tax war. Where there’s fear and rage, there must be a reason for it. Let’s wait and see the outcome of this!

I NTERVIEW

Residence of European Cultural Heritage It is important for an artist to know that art is not a selfish activity, but that it always and everywhere has to be shared with others. And that's when the public recognizes it!

ANTONIO PICUKARIĆ Director of the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery

Since its very inception in 1982, the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, originally called Muzejski Prostor, has been maintaining contact with foreign museums and galleries and staging major international exhibitions. In an interview for Diplomacy & Commerce, Antonio Picukarić, Director of the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, talks about the most popular exhibitions, jubilees, work criteria, and art today. Apropos the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the friendship between the cities of St. Petersburg and Zagreb, the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery staged a large-scale exhibition in April 2018 featuring the artifacts from one of the biggest museums in the world – the State Hermitage Museum. How did this idea come about and what novelty does the exhibition bring to the cultural

offer of Croatia?

— This spring, the cities of Zagreb and St. Petersburg celebrate the 50th anniversary of their friendship. This important jubilee is marked by numerous cultural events, both in our city and in the Russian capital of culture. The Klovićevi Dvori Gallery was honoured to host an exhibition from the largest museum in the world - the State Hermitage Museum. The exhibition showcases the Golden

friendship between the two cities, our audience in Zagreb, as well as numerous guests of our city and organized groups of visitors from all over Croatia and neighbouring countries, can enjoy a truly unusual cultural event - the exhibition that is the result of the cooperation between the two cities and two museums, brought together by the brightest star of the North – Catherine the Great. It's a rare opportunity and a privilege to host so much artifacts from the world's largest museum at the Zagreb Gallery. The exhibition is a supreme artistic experience, while the successful cultural cooperation and friendship between the two cities have been validated in a very fitting way. How long did the preparations for this exhibition last and what does it comprises of?

OUR GALLERY IS OPEN TO ALL ARTISTS WHO CAN RESPOND TO THE HIGH STANDARDS AND PROPOSITIONS Age of the Tsarist Russia, during the reign of Catherine the Great and her credit for the inception of the Hermitage as the most influential museum not only of Russia, but also in Europe and the whole world. The idea for the exhibition was born thanks to the City of Zagreb and its Mayor Milan Bandic, who started the negotiations and opened the way towards the priceless collections and depots of the Hermitage. Owing to the

— The preparations for this long-awaited exhibition lasted several years, as the exhibition was conceived with the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery in mind, while the selection of exhibits had to be adapted to our gallery space. We also had to collaborate with our Russian counterparts to formulate a concept that will best tell the story of one of the most powerful women and rulers in history - the story of Catherine the Great. Over 1,000 exhibits,

spanning two floors, portray Catherine as an exceptional ruler who led a huge Russian empire for 34 years, through all the time periods – from her arrival to Russia to her enthronement. The exhibition covers the topics of the Enlightenment period and her great role in the education of Russia and all the strata of society, the construction of cities and the modernization of the country, the development of factories and production of things such as porcelain, glass, metal and weapons, stone, furniture and applied arts. There is also an unavoidable topic of foreign policy devoted to her wars and conquests, then family life and ultimately the most important story - the birth of the Hermitage, the world's largest museum which she herself founded by purchasing large collections from all over the world. Which of the exhibits are a mustsee for visitors?

— It is very difficult to single out something out of such a huge collection of artifacts. However, out of the many paintings of famous European schools, magnificent porcelain sets, weapons andr clothing belonging to Catherine and members of her family, which really rarely leave the Hermitage Museum (some exhibits are seen in Zagreb for the first time), I would like to single out the valuables such as jewelry, table cloths, utensils, and toiletries, especially the Chinese ones, because these items are very rare in the world and

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only the Hermitage owns such a precious, personal collection that belonged to Catherine. There are also carved gems that were the greatest passion for her – she admitted herself that she was crazily obsessed with them.

listed in the art history textbooks. What would you like to single out in 2018, in terms of the gallery's exhibitions?

How often are you in a position to offer visitors such an enjoyment?

— In thirty-six years of our existence, while remembering all the previous important exhibitions in the museum's history, it is difficult to compare any of them with the Hermitage's exhibition about Catherine, the Great Emperor of all the Russians. However, since the beginning of the 1980s, when this museum-gallery space was established, we exhibited numerous funduses of important European museums (such as Topkapi, Picasso Museum, Ecouen) and the artistic heritage of large cultures such as China, Japan, Nigeria, Indonesia, Ukraine and the Ottoman Empire. Back in 1988, we even exhibited a selection of artifacts from the Hermitage collection on one floor of the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery. Summarizing the recent history of the Klovicevi Dvori Gallery, we can see that, the guest exhibitions from the world famous museums and galleries have picked up pace with exhibitions of artwork by Picasso, Van Gogh, the Hague Painting School, Chagall, the German Expressionism, Degas, or the Roman cultural artifacts found at the foot of the Mount Vesuvius, namely in Herculaneum and Pompeii. Last year, we also hosted the Vienna Modern, a significant part of the collection from the Belvedere Gallery and other Viennese museums. In time, the exhibition space at the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery have become the residence for the European cultural heritage, or rather its best part, and the meeting place of the basic values of global art, to the joy of visitors, colleagues and experts, from here and abroad. Due to huge interest shown in the exhibition of Vlaho Bu-

OUR VISITORS ARE LARGE GROUPS OF STUDENTS, BUT OUR TYPICAL VISITORS ARE AGE 35 AND OVER

— We are planning to stage a great retrospective of the artwork of our distinguished graphic artist, Nevenka Arbanas, the head of the graphic department of the Academy, which will coincide with the centenary of the birth of our modern-classic painter Ivan Reiser, whose retrospective we are preparing. We will finish the year with the valorized retrospective of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century in Croatia, Vladimir Becić. I am also pleased to announce the second exhibition in the „Vlaho Bukovac in Europe“ cycle that will showcase his mature and perhaps the most successful period spent in Zagreb. The exhibition will valorize Bukovac's contribution to the inception of the Croatian contemporary art, and his cosmopolitanism which determined the international character of the local gründerzeit. You are committed to promoting historical cultural heritage and contemporary artistic expression. What would you single out as the key ideas that move to action young artists of today?

kovac's painting, you had to extend your working hours. How interested are people today in cultural events? What is your typical visitor?

— Our visitors are large groups of students, but our typical visitors are age 35 and over, and their age influences how we communicate with them. For instance, thousands of children and their parents saw Bukovac's exhibition and that's our goal, namely to nurture real values, culture-wise. In my opinion, art should always be something nice, a God's gift, if you will. We think that art has been created with a beautiful purpose since the begin-

ning of the civilization. As well as being a God's gift, art entails lot of education and effort if you want to be like Bukovac, for example. In the last few days of the Vlaho Bukovac - 1/3 Paris Period exhibition, a huge queue of visitors was formed in front of our Gallery, very much to our delight. And our joy is even greater because people queued to see a Croatian artist. This time around it was Bukovac, and back in the day it was Lipovac and Crnčić. This is what our visitors expect from us - large, exclusive, fantastically prepared and produced exhibitions with strong scientific coverage. Our catalogues are often

— Today's young artists are creating art that does not know national, geographic, political or social boundaries. They are free from the canons of the academy, or certain norms that have been an obstacle to artists in the past in terms of their freedom of creativity. As much as it is a privilege to have this freedom of creativity, I can also liken it to walking on thin ice. Sometimes, this struggle and resistance is the motive that instigates creativity. It is important that artists know that art is not a selfish activity, but that it always and everywhere has to be shared with others. And that's when the public recognizes it. We choose contemporary artists who wish to share their imagination with the audience through the medium of art.

ART AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TALENTED PEOPLE Which particular young artists / directions / styles would you like to single out in terms of your sensibility and artistic expression? — Today's art is really difficult to divide into categories of directions or styles. As a director of the largest national gallery, I certainly have my favourites, but our gallery is open to all artists who can respond to the high standards

and propositions we have set ourselves, which are: professionalism, accessibility, wide audience and recognizable quality. Croatia is a country of multi-talented people and I believe that many of them, if they haven't done so already, will take advantage of the opportunity to show their work to the demanding Croatian audience exactly at the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery.

C ULTURE

Text: SONJA LAPATANOV

Soul Overflowing With Dance

My career is proof that I have made right decisions

DINKO BOGDANIĆ Choreographer and ballet pedagogue

I met the charismatic Dinko Bogdanić in Dubrovnik back in 1970. That year, Maurice Bejart’s The 20th Century Ballet had a guest appearance at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival with ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Due to a series of lucky coincidences, Dinko and I became stage partners then. Out of the many ballet artists who were holidaying in Dubrovnik, the two of us were chosen to participate in the performance of the famous ballet troupe. We also received an offer to join the troupe and continue the scheduled tour in the Balkan countries. Although this was an open invitation to become a member of the globally renowned dance company, both of us were already members of other ballet ensembles - I was a member of the National Theatre Ballet from Belgrade, and Dinko of the Croatian National Theatre Ballet from Zagreb. In the years to come, our paths crossed occasionally, and every single time that happened we asked ourselves the same question. Did we or did we not make a mistake in Dubrovnik? The Croatian and Yugoslav ballet artiste, Dinko Bogdanić was born in Stari Grad on the island of Hvar. He has had a fascinating professional and international career

of a principal ballet dancer, ballet professor, ballet master, choreographer and director of the Croatian National Theatre Ballet in Zagreb and Split. He is the recipient of numerous vocational and social awards, accolades, plaques and medals. As a soloist, he performed in more than a hundred plays and collaborated with numerous domestic and foreign choreographers. Dinko’s biography includes a number of independent ballet, opera and drama choreographies and directing.

left a special imprint on your extraordinary career?

you, do you know of any other islanders that are ballet dancers?

You have danced in many important ballet roles. What was your first role, and which role is especially dear to your heart?

— I can mention numerous domestic and foreign choreographers, but I find it difficult to single out any of them. However, I would like to mention Balanchine,

— There are four of us that had a worldwide career - Frane Jelinčić and Veseljko Sulić from the island of Brač, Jozo Borčić from the island of Vis and myself, from the island of Hvar.

I AM AN EARLY BIRD. WHEN I GET UP EARLY, I HAVE PLENTY OF TIME AND ENERGY TO DO EVERYTHING I WANT TO DO — My first major role was the role of Mirko in the ballet "The Devil in the Village". I still remember those wonderful moments when I worked with Pino and Pia Mlakar, one of the greatest choreographers in this region and in Europe. Around the same time, Melita Skorupski choreographed «Puss in the Boots » for me personally. So, it is these two great, first roles that are dear to my heart and hold a special importance in my life, because they marked my future dancing career. You have worked with many choreographers. Which of them

Neumeier, Ashton, Massine, Forsythe, Cullberg, Kylian, Kastl, Kokotović, and Parlić. All of them have a special place in my work as a choreographer. You are very young looking and fit. What is the secret? Is it your gene pool and ancestry to blame because you were born on the island of Hvar?

— I have to thank my parents’ genes and my Dalmatian roots for that. It is a well-known fact that Dalmatians are good athletes, singers and dancers. Apart from

How did you transition from living on Hvar to becoming a ballet dancer ? Did you have the support of your family and your surroundings when choosing a profession that is very strange for an islander ?

— My family moved to Zagreb. I was seven years old when I made my first dance steps in what was then Pioneer Theatre. When I was nine, my father enrolled me in the ballet school in Ilirski Trg. My family has supported me throughout my career as a dancer. Their love was an encouragement to me in all my endeavours. You said that you have achieved everything you wanted in your life and that you have no regrets. Do you, however, still have some unrealized desires in your

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— When I was working in Germany, they told me that I was worse than the Germans. Even if I went out all night, I was always bright and early at work. I am an early bird. When I get up early, I have plenty of time and energy to do everything I want to do. When you came back to Croatia in 2002, your idea was to make the so-called Croatian Ballet. Why did this idea not materialize?

— Because of mediocrity (misunderstanding!) in the Croatian culture. You often mention Germany and positive experiences you had there while wondering why should we not experience the same here. Why is that so?

dynamic personal and professional life?

— I have travelled to all the continents except Australia. And that’s what I want to do and plan on doing in the near future. You like to travel. Have you become a passionate globetrotter after you retired?

— I have travelled around the world for my guest appearances. I love to travel and I still travel. So, nothing has changed in my life. You were a jury member on the TV show « Dancing with Stars ». What impressions do you have of this popular competitive dance show?

— I have positive impressions because I met many dear people who are dancers, and I met a great number of actors, singers, athletes, and public figures with whom I often meet for a coffee at popular places in town.

which, by itself, is not enough for a career in ballet.    You accept what life brings to you. What have you accepted and what have you rejected in your life?

— I accepted everything my life brought me while savouring the nice moments, and forgetting the bad ones. You have had an exceptional career that spanned over 40 years,

and ahead of you are many more plans for the future. Which are they?

— I always have plans. Let’s wait and see which of them will be realized. I am currently enjoying my retirement. There is this widely accepted notion that artists like to sleep long. And yet, at 7 in the morning, you are already in your favourite café having a coffee. How do you manage to do that?

MY CAREER IS A PROOF THAT I DID NOT MAKE A WRONG DECISION. MY BALLETS, WHETHER I WAS A DANCER OR A CHOREOGRAPHER, HAVE FILLED MY SOUL WITH LOVE

— Ballet is differently presented there. It is well-organized and respected as a profession. Dancers don’t dance until they are 65 years old and they have a different retirement system. Salaries are much higher than here. We, in this country, are very reluctant to acknowledge somebody’s success and the value of acquired knowledge. There is also disunity when it comes to the laws that regulate ballet troupes. Dinko, truth be told, do you think that you made a wrong decision in Dubrovnik in 1970?

— My career is a proof that I did not make a wrong decision. My ballets, whether I was a dancer or a choreographer, have filled my soul with love. I have always and will always live life to the fullest, as a dancer, choreographer, ballet teacher and generally an artist.

You work very hard, you are very strict and you have upset some people with your rigorousness. These were the people who did not like work, order and discipline, as well as the fact that ballet is a profession that you are talented or not talented for. Still, you were right because art always wins, doesn’t it?

— There are no results without work, order, and discipline. We were taught this and only in this way we could achieve the success that we have had. Just like best athletes depend on order, work and discipline to accomplish great results. I won’t even mention talent

T H E V IRT U E O F A N Y WH E RE S

In Defence of the Hipster Aesthetic Our correspondent argues that they are places where both brick and worldviews are exposed

THE Starving Rooster is a trendy craft beer bar and restaurant in the middle of Minot, North Dakota, which is about as close as you can get to the middle of nowhere. Step inside though, and with its big wood tables, high ceilings, exposed masonry and industrial setting (it is housed in the former headquarters of a tractor company) it could be anywhere. Indeed, it is the kind of place you can find everywhere. From Beijing to Bristol and Mumbai to Minsk, bars and coffee shops have taken on a similar aesthetic: tungsten-lit, warehouse-y spaces with lots of wood and brick, serving avocado on toast and kale-and-quinoa salads. Critics deride this sort of thing as a flattening of the world, a McDonaldisation of global culture. Kyle Chayka, a Brooklyn-based writer, dubs these venues “AirSpace”: “the realm of coffee shops, bars, start-up offices, and colive/work spaces that share the same hallmarks everywhere you go”. Mr Chayka argues that the relentless spread of this particular design “limits experiences of difference” and causes “depersonalisation, in the psychiatric sense”. He worries that “left unchecked, there is a kind of nightmare version of AirSpace that could spread room by room, cafe by cafe across the world.” The apocalypse is coming, and it’s bringing artisanal coffee and overly hopped IPAs. He may have a point when it comes to the tastes and priorities and worldview and worries of youngish people who live in Brooklyn and Hackney. Indeed, at a bar in Philadelphia’s Fish Town neighbourhood last month, your correspondent genuinely found himself wondering, for a fleeting moment, where he was. Yet to consider the spread of hip cafes and bars around the world from the point of view of highly educated and highly mobile Londoners and New Yorkers is to miss the point. For the people who live in towns and cities far from the top-tier of globally-connected metropolises, these spaces signal membership of the world beyond the narrow boundaries of their homes. The Ukrainians who hang out at the Molodost Bar in Odessa don’t look around and complain that their neighbourhood looks like Brooklyn. The Bombayites drinking coffee at Colaba Social aren’t pining for the lost days of characterless sports bars. The Beijingers guzzling craft beer at Jing-A Brewery aren’t rushing off to kebab shops for watery 2% Nanjing lager. On the contrary, the global aesthetic that these establishments bring to their towns contribute to a sense of connection with their peers in Co-

penhagen and San Francisco. (Nor are big cities immune: London has seen a rash of craft beer bars open in apparent imitation of the American style of modern brewing, despite a rich and thriving culture of local brews from England.) Moreover, such places also serve an important economic function. Across the world, people in their 20s and 30s are moving to cities

THE APOCALYPSE IS COMING, AND IT’S BRINGING ARTISANAL COFFEE AND OVERLY HOPPED IPAS in search of fulfilling employment, but also in search of lifestyles and cultures to which they have been exposed on television and social media. Authorities in smaller towns watch helplessly as their young people grow up, move away to study, and never return. In towns across the West, the age distribution has a gaping hole in the middle where the prime working-age population should be. Creating desirable jobs is one way to address the brain drain. But equally important is providing people with opportunities to spend their disposable income. Fine restaurants and trendy bars are a piece of that. Visit any small town in

the West—or second-tier global city anywhere in the world—and the places where well-paid young professionals congregate will be similar to those in London and New York. This is not so much a flattening of taste as a democratisation of it. Finally, these places can serve as a meeting point for cultures. For every visitor who goes out of her way to search for “authentic” regional cuisine or a local dive bar, many more will end up at a place that is familiar and safe. For the Budapester for whom it is more conceivable to buy a house at the age of 26 than take a flight to New York for the weekend, that is part of the appeal of these places: they become meeting points for intercultural exchange, to make new friends and to learn new things. And for those that live in culturally and socially conservative places, such venues are all the more important as outlets for global values, especially in these inward-looking times. What big-city visitors and critics forget is that even in the middle of nowhere, places that could be anywhere are, for the people who live there, an essential component of feeling like they are indeed somewhere. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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C ULTURE NEWS

Awards at the Croatian Book Day

winners of the Croatian Book Day. The awards are named after the characters from Marulić's books. The Judita Award, given to the best book or a study on Croatian literary heritage, especially the humanistic-renaissance one, for 2017, was given to Drago Šimundža for the book "Marko Marulić, Poet and Didactician". The Slavić Award for the best first time writer, for 2017, was given to Luka Vukušić for the collection of stories called „Fire in the Snow“. The Davidias Prize, for the best translation of works from the Croatian literary heritage, or the best book or a study about the Croatian literary heritage written by a foreign Croatian literature expert, was not given to anyone because no-one submitted books that complied with the excellence criteria that the award implies.

The Croatian Writers Society (DHK), based in Split, gave out its annual awards at the Croatian Book Day, marked on 22nd April, on the day that Marko Marulić finished writing his epic poem „Judita“ which also coincides with the day when the DHK was founded in 1900. The scientific, literary and publishing programme of the 28th Marulić Days began with the welcome speech from the academician Tonko Maroević at the Milesi Academy Palace in Split. On the occasion, the President of the DHK, Djuro Vidmarović announced this year's

Only Croatian theatre abroad officially opens The restored Croatian Theatre was opened in Pécs, the town in South Hungary, with nearly 3 million EUR invested in the reconstruction that was financed with the joint funds of the Hungarian government, the Pécs city administration and the City of Zagreb. The Croatian Theatre in Pécs was originally opened in 1992, as part of the Pécs's minority theatre. In 1995, it started operating independently as the centre of the Croatian community

in Pécs. Nurturing education in native language and bolstering the identity of the Croatian community, especially younger generations, is the fundamental mission of this institution. Apart from Pécs, the Croatian Theatre performs in Budapest, the towns in Bačka, Szombathely, as well as abroad. The theatre's repertoire also includes Hungarian plays performed in the Croatian language, which strengthens the cultural partnership of the two countries.

Zagreb through the eyes of foreign diplomats

The Night of Books held in recordbreaking 284 towns across Croatia

The exhibition "Zagreb through the eyes of foreign diplomats", has opened at the Zagreb City Museum, as the crowning achievement of the competition organized by Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium, H.E. Mr. Philippe Benoit and the Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria, H.E. Ms Tanya Dimitrova. The aim of the exhibition is to show how ambassadors

The 2018 Night of Books was held on 23rd April, in more than 625 libraries, bookstores, publishing companies, educational institutions, cultural-information centers and other institutions, which organized close to 1,130 various activities with the common theme being 'the future of books', and the motto 'Don't panic!'. This nation-wide event was held for the seventh consecutive time on the International Book and Copyright

see the country and the city in which they are appointed to. „We wanted to express this sentiment with the help of the photos we took, and I am happy to hear that many ambassadors took part. 70 photographs were submitted for the competition, 10 of which will receive awards“, the Bulgarian Ambassador, H.E. Ms Tanya Dimitrova said.

Croatian films in Cannes again The debut feature feature film by Ognjen Glavonić, in Croatian co-production, was included in the parallel selection of the Cannes Film Festival called "15 Days of the Author," HAVC said. Zagreb Kinorama is the Croatian co-producer of the film in which Leon Lučev plays the main role. This is a story about a truck driver during the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999. The driver, called Vlada, was given a task to transport the secret cargo from Kosovo

Day, and a day after the Croatian Book Day. The event's theme was devised to encourage readers, event's participants, the media and the general public to reflect on the future and the relationship between books and reading and knowledge, inventions, innovations, new formats and technologies, while pondering over how technology changes our lives and different ways used in telling stories.

to Belgrade, driving it through an unknown terrain, devastated by the consequences of the war. When the job is over, Vlada returns home where he has to face the consequences of his behaviour – the press release of the Croatian Audiovisual Center (HAVC) reads. The film's topic is similar to the award-winning documentary 'Depth Two' (2016) since both films not only deal with the same topic of hidden crimes, but also with the contemplation of personal responsibility due to tragic events. The 15 Days of the Author programme is held parallel with the Cannes Film Festival. The programme, which has been held since 1969 and showcases new voices in global film, comprises of short, feature and documentary films from all over the world.