Diplomacy and Commerce No.10

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November 2018 | ISSUE No. 10 | FREE COPY

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A NNI V ERS A RY

EDITORIAL

CONTENTS

A Drunken November Night, 100 Years Later Dear readers, “The Yogurt Revolution was the only Milošević's victory,“ a friend of mine told me once. For all you young people or you who have not lived in Serbia at that time, we are talking about the event that happened on 5th and 6th October, 1988, when the demonstrators, under Slobodan Milošević's control, brought down the government of Vojvodina. The demonstrators threw yogurt on the Vojvodinian officials hence the name Yogurt Revolution. Yes, this was the only victory for Milošević because he had lost all other battles and wars with only Vojvodina considered „a win“ in his 12-year-long 'crusade'.

These days, we are marking the 100th anniversary of Vojvodina’s annexation to Serbia and 30 years since the Yogurt Revolution, and are often talking about the devastating consequences of the centralization and metropolization on Serbia in that context. These processes were instigated during Milošević’s time, in 1988, and today, 30 years later, we live in a Serbia where everybody wants to live in Belgrade or Novi Sad, or preferably leave the country all together.

Similar processes happened in other regional countries too, including Croatia. Once wealthy, agricultural Slavonia is devastated today.

Although Croatia is in a better position than Serbia, Macedonia or Bosnia, due to the billions of euros that Dalmatinian Zagora, Kvarner and Istria generate from tourism, the devastating process of centralization and metropolization, on one hand, and the the massive emigration of young people from the country, on the other, are some of the biggest problems in Croatia today.

When the workforce moves from the countryside to Zagreb, they stop believing in the “cries” of the province. Similar behaviour can be noticed in many foreign diplomats and the representatives of international organizations and companies in Zagreb. The capital city of Croatia, with its great climate, excellent cuisine, nice and warm people, and a rich cultural and entertainment life, really does create the illusion of "the perfect place to live" and many people succumb to that impression. However, behind this scenery lies a ruined province with the largely destroyed industry, poorly maintained infrastructure and local communities that are still dependent on political and 'tribal' interests.

Exactly 100 years ago, while escaping the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Croatia was embraced by its Slavic brothers in the Balkans.

Krleža's „Pijana Novembarska Noć 1918“ („The Drunken November Night in 1918“) speaks exactly of this – the atmosphere back then, feeling lost like „geese in the fog“, the exhiliration and the fear what would the new, common state bring. Unfortunately, that common state, which survived for seven decades, despite its fantastic cultural and economic achievements, was also ravaged by two bloody wars (19411945 and 1991-1995). An average Croatian citizen today is equally reserved toward the EU, as they were toward the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, just a few years before it was formed.

Croatia's future in Europe is sometimes much better seen from the forests of Lika or the stony landscape of Dalmatinian Zagora than from caffes in Zagreb. This is something that the Croatian political elite and the representatives of foreign countries and organizations in Zagreb should ponder over deeply.

ROBERT ČOBAN Director

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1st Anniversary of Diplomacy & Commerce magazine

JAGODA POROPAT DARRER

DIPLOMACY&COMMERCE FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

WHAT CAN LUXURY BRANDS LEARN FROM STREETWEAR Business Communications Professional

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I HAVE BETTER CONTACT WITH ASSOCIATIONS THAN THE GOVERNMENT

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Member of the European Parliament (The Greens/EFA, independent)

ADVENT EXHIBITION AT THE MUSEUM OF ARTS AND CRAFTS

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DAVOR ŠKRLEC

THE STATE OF THE UNION Europe in different gears and different directions

DRAMATIC LIFE AND FORETOLD DEATH OF LATVIAN “PRESS QUEEN Media biography: Emīlija Benjamiņa

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NG-GRAD COMPANY CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF SUCCESSFUL OPERATIONS S P E C I A L

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STORY OF CROATIA

E D I T I O N

Germany 2018

www.diplomacyandcommerce.hr BOBAN SPASOJEVIĆ Executive editor

ZORAN CVIJIĆ Advertising manager

Translation SNEŽANA BJELOTOMIĆ

TANJA BANKOVIĆ Editor-in-chief

RUŽA RISTANOVIĆ Magazine director

SVEN DARRER Advertising manager 091 766 5479, 091 377 4358

boban@diplomacyandcommerce.hr

office@diplomacyandcommerce.hr

ILIJA PETROVIĆ INDIGOCHILD Art director

indigochild.ilija@gmail.com

marketing@diplomacyandcommerce.hr

ROBERT ČOBAN Director Photos GETTY IMAGES TOMISLAV SMOLJANOVIĆ

sven@diplomacyandcommerce.hr

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BELLO

The Demise of Brazil’s Great Centrist Party What will replace the PSDB?

In 1988 A group of centre-left politicians and academics who had opposed the military dictatorship that governed Brazil from 1964 to 1985 set up a new political organisation, the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy (PSDB). Its members were reformers, not populists, statists or pork-barrel conservatives. As one of its leaders, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, later wrote: “We advocated a blend of free-market reform and social responsibility” like that espoused

by Felipe González in Spain, Bill Clinton in the United States and Tony Blair in Britain. Under Mr Cardoso they governed Brazil between 1995 and 2003. As the party shifted to the centre-right, it became one of two rival anchors of the political system, along with the left-wing Workers’ Party (PT). In the six presidential elections between 1994 and 2014 it averaged almost 40% of the vote. And now, suddenly, the PSDB looks far closer to extinction than its symbol, the toucan.

On paper, it had a strong presidential candidate in last month’s election in Geraldo Alckmin, a four-term governor of the state of São Paulo. Mr Alckmin assembled an eight-party coalition and thus enjoyed far more free television time than any of his rivals. Yet he won just 4.8% of the vote in the first round on October 7th. Many of the PSDB’s erstwhile supporters switched to the aggressive conservative nationalism of Jair Bolsonaro, who was elected in a run-off vote against the PT candidate. The PSDB also fared poorly in the election for congress.

It now has only 29 of the 513 seats in the lower house, down from 54 in 2014, and eight senators rather than 12. Mr Alckmin was one of five PSDB governors elected in 2014. Now the party will rule in only three states (out of 27).

Its problems do not end there.

One of those three governors is João Doria, who narrowly won in São Paulo. A former lobbyist, he was a protégé of Mr Alckmin. But the two fell out, and Mr Alckmin

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backed Mr Doria’s opponent. While the PSDB remained neutral in the presidential run-off, Mr Doria supported Mr Bolsonaro.

Under Mr Cardoso, the PSDB boasted both brilliant technocrats and some effective politicians, both nationally and locally. Mr Cardoso’s governments slew inflation, modernised the economy partly through privatisation and pioneered social reforms that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the PT would go on to expand. In São

PSDB become the victim? Like the Clintons and Mr Blair, it looked dated. Mr Doria was right when he said in victory that the party “lost touch with the reality of Brazil”.

The party’s leaders squabbled among themselves. As the founding generation aged, they failed to groom successors.

Above all, with Brazilians in an angry mood the PSDB began to look like the establishment. It joined the unpopular outgoing government of Michel Temer but

WHILE PT SUPPORTERS “HAVE AN ALMOST RELIGIOUS ATTACHMENT TO THEIR PARTY, THE VOTE FOR THE PSDB WAS MUCH MORE INSTRUMENTAL”, SAYS SERGIO FAUSTO Paulo, the PSDB reduced violent crime; in Ceará, in the north-east, it created primary health-care and literacy programmes.

Only two years ago, in the wake of the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, Lula’s chosen successor, some analysts were writing the obituary of the PT, blamed for the slump and systematic corruption.

It survives as the main opposition to Mr Bolsonaro. Why did the

reaped no benefit from supporting necessary pension and labour reforms. It began to seem as corrupt as other parties. Aécio Neves, its presidential candidate in 2014, has been charged with seeking bribes (which he denies). While PT supporters “have an almost religious attachment to their party, the vote for the PSDB was much more instrumental”, says Sergio Fausto, who runs Mr Cardoso’s think-tank.

The instrument broke in Bolsonaro’s wave of rage.

Mr Doria is now poised to take over the remains of the PSDB. All this “represents the defeat of the historical PSDB,” Folha de S. Paulo, a newspaper, editorialised this week. The party’s name may live on, but “the PSDB as we know it is definitely dead,” declares a prominent member. “There’s no reason to remain in the party.”

The task for those who believed in the PSDB is to reinvent the reformist centre in a Brazil bitterly polarised between Mr Bolsonaro’s right-wing populism and the unrepentant statism of the PT. That means founding a new organisation that attracts young people, and seeking a new leader. Some see that role going to Luciano Huck, a television host, whom Mr Cardoso wooed in vain before this year’s election. That Mr Huck, who has no previous political experience, may well be the best hope for the reformist centre says much about the way Brazilian democracy has changed since 1988.

From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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D&C ANNIVERSARY

Diplomacy&Commerce From a Different Perspective

1st ANNIVERSARY OF DIPLOMACY&COMMERCE MAGAZINE

In the past year, Diplomacy&Commerce magazine has provided its readers with abundance of news from politics, business and culture, has reported on the opinions of the relevant stakeholders both from Croatia and abroad while covering all segments of life and opening up topics that were not written or talked about enough. With its latest issue, Diplomacy&Commerce is celebrating

its first anniversary in Croatia. We are very proud of the fact that, in the last year and for a total of 10 issues, we have managed to interview the leaders of the Croatian political, business and diplomatic community, as well as the renowned regional and global public figures. In these past 10 issues, we have also published special supplements dedicated to the overall relations between Croatia and European and world countries.

What do you see as the biggest problem and the biggest advantage regarding Croatia's development?

Stability and Growth BORIS VUJČIĆ

Governor of the Croatian National Bank

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We have asked Croatian officials, including government ministers, ambassadors and representatives of business associations in Croatia to give us their opinion about the biggest problem and the biggest advantage related to Croatia's development, the biggest benefits for Croatia stemming from becoming an EU member and what direction should the country take in the future.

What do you think was the biggest benefit for Croatia after becoming an EU member and what direction should the country take in the future?

The composition of economic growth in Croatia is now on a much firmer footing with strong growth of exports of goods and services supported by EU membership. Also, when one googles Croatia,among the first results that show up, are recommendations to visit different destinations in Croatia and Luka Modrić. So, apart from being a football superpower, we have very strong tourism sector which positively contributes to the current account balance and generates stable inflow of foreign currency. Furthermore, financial sector in Croatia is highly profitable and stable. Banks have one of the highest capital adequacy ratio in the EU and have weathered financial crisis with almost no difficulties. On the other hand, our manufacturing industry is dominated by sectors with low added value. Unfortunately, in the pre-crisis period, unlike most new EU member states, we have missed the tide of strong FDI inflows to tradable sectors. This, coupled with the relatively unfavorable business environment, makes overall productivity of the Croatian economy relatively low. Croatia is also facing a problem of aging popula-

tion which was additionally aggravated by an emigration wave that started with Croatia's accession to the EU. Unfavourable demographic trends may lead to significant labour shortages, especially skilled labour force, as well as increased pressure on social security systems.

The effects of joining the EU were most visible in international trade with the nominal growth of goods exports rising to 10% in the 2014-2017 period. After joining the EU, Croatia's global market share of exports of goods and services started to increase, primarily as a result of growing non-price competitiveness through simpler, faster and cheaper trade procedures. Apart from gaining access to EU single market, Croatia also benefited from the EU’s structural and investment funds.

Hence, the EU accession, together with prudent fiscal and monetary policy, supported economic recovery. However, as the short-term effects of EU membership fade, growth in the coming years will depend mostly on the domestic economic policy and implementation of structural reforms.

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What do you see as the biggest problem and the biggest advantage regarding Croatia's development?

What do you think was the biggest benefit for Croatia after becoming an EU member and what direction should the country take in the future?

Croatia's Geostrategic Position and Mentality of its People are Our Advantages It is important to emphasize that Croatia was the victim of armed aggression, and is still facing the consequences of it. They include the vast material damage, the damage to economy, infrastructure and, private property, and the loss of over 15,000 lives, which is irreparable. In addition, we have gone through a thorny path of transition from the socialist / communist system to market economy, which positioned Croatia as a democratic country. There is plenty more work ahead of us, and we need to invest more effort into human resource development. The current demographic situation is another problem that we are facing. We have invested significant effort in various areas during this Government's term, but especially in demographic renewal because young people are the future of Croatia, and our goal is to ensure a better life for all our citizens. I definitely see the geostrategic position of Croatia and the mentality of the Croatian people as our advantages.

Croatia has a large potential for the de-

velopment of tourism, agriculture, and we also have hard-working and capable people who also have entrepreneurial spirit and who are investing in the development of Croatia and the Croatian economy. Considering that we are called "the door to Europe"now, we can do a lot in the areas of transport and energy, agricultural production and IT sector.

LOVRO KUŠČEVIĆ

Croatian Public Administration Minister

I think that the biggest benefit is the free movement of capital and people, along with access to EU funds, which we use for development and investments in our country, as well as the common heritage of the European Union. By becoming an EU Member State, we were given the possibility for facilitated cooperation with European countries, plus the opportunity to position Croatia on the map of Europe, in the company of powerful countries. Being a lawyer by training, I see another benefit in legislative alignment, which guarantees legal security in Croatia, just as it does in other EU Member States.

Tourism Can Be an Even Bigger Growth Generator

GARI CAPPELLI

Croatian Tourism Minister

Regarding tourism, just like many countries in the Mediterranean, Croatia considers seasonality as one of our biggest challenges that we are trying to overcome. Resolution or reduction of this issue would greatly improve our overall tourism competitiveness, generate more income and improve tourism labour market as it would ensure better job contracts.

This is why we are focusing our incentives and programmes related to the development of tourist products that are available all year round, such as health tourism, cultural tourism, gourmet tourism etc.

Our natural and cultural heritage still remains the biggest advantage in Croatia’s tourism development. Croatia is known as a country with over 1,000 islands, but we also have more than 1,000 castles, forts and keeps that are still to be valorised in a tourism capacity. Tourism is one of the main generators the Croatian economic growth, and as a tourist destination, Croatia is recognized and in demand among tourists from all over the world. This is why we believe that tourism can be an even bigger driving force behind development in Croatia, especially in the rural ar-

eas, through developing links with other industries such as agriculture.

Although Croatia has always been a part of the European family and the majority of our guests come from Europe, becoming an EU member made it possible for us to represent and promote ourselves even better. Furthermore, the European Common Market, which seeks to guarantee the free movement of goods, capital, services, and labour, provided us with an opportunity to attract more investors, improve our tourist offer and make Croatia more accessible to guests from the EU but also from other countries in Europe and rest of the world due to the better traffic connectivity.

During this period, Croatia’s tourism has grown by 55% in tourist arrivals. As a member of the EU family Croatia also has access to various EU programmes that can be used to improve tourist infrastructure and tourist offer, but also other industries that are connected with tourism. The EU recognizes the importance of tourism and I believe that the future of tourism in Europe is bright and that we will maintain our position as the leading tourist region in the world.

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D&C ANNIVERSARY What do you see as the biggest problem and the biggest advantage regarding Croatia's development?

What do you think was the biggest benefit for Croatia after becoming an EU member and what direction should the country take in the future?

To be in Europe is Important for Citizens and Businesses GABRIJELA ŽALAC

Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds

One of the fundamental challenges in the implementation of public policies and development of the Republic of Croatia was the non-coherent system of strategic planning with an overwhelming number of mutually unrelated strategic documents. In December 2017, the Law on the Strategic Planning and Development Management System of the Republic of Croatia was adopted which regulates the formation of a comprehensive strategic planning and development system in the Republic of Croatia, with the aim of better coordinating and improving the efficiency of public policy implementation in the long-, medium- and short-term through a clear methodology for drafting strategic planning acts, the establishment of a network of coordinators and the establishment of an IT monitoring and reporting system for the implementation of strategic planning acts. On the back of this law, the National Development Strategy is being developed which is a strategic umbrella document that defines long-term measurable strategic goals of public policy implementation by 2030. The strategy will contain a separate chapter on territorial de-

velopment, while identifying specific measures and introducing a policy mix which will contribute to the faster development of more competitive, functional regions in the Republic of Croatia.

Given that 80% of public investments in the Republic of Croatia come from EU funds, we can conclude that the impact of funds on the economic life of the Republic of Croatia has been quite significant. Investments from EU funds directly contribute to the GDP growth and the full utilization of EU funds can boost the GDP growth by as much as three percent, but also positively contribute to different aspects of citizens' everyday life. I would like underline the investments in the quality of transport infrastructure, waste management, research and development, improvement of water supply, digitization of schools, and boosting the quality of social and general public services. It is also particularly important to provide support to business people and farmers. Additional benefit is our businesses and consumers being able to participate in the common market.

Politicians Should Embrace Fight for Human Rights LORA VIDOVIĆ Ombudswoman

One of the biggest advantages of Croatia’s development is ira membership in the EU, a union founded on the fundamental values of respect for human dignity and human rights, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law. However, these values are still not fully implemented in public policies, including education, and are often not represented in the public discourse, especially among politicians.

From my perspective, those are missed opportunites for expediting our development, since bolstering the guaran-

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tees of human rights and equality are an essential part of the process.

A great benefit is the stronger legislation and the challenge is closing the gap between the rights guaranteed by law and everyday experiences of our citizens. This gap additionally fuels their lack of trust in institutions.

This is a serious matter, since without the citizens' trust, institutions cannot perform their duties in full, which has a negative effect on the society as a whole.

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What do you see as the biggest problem and the biggest advantage regarding Croatia's development?

What do you think was the biggest benefit for Croatia after becoming an EU member and what direction should the country take in the future?

Too Many Seemingly Arbitrary Decisions H.E. W. ROBERT KOHORS The US Ambassador to Croatia

Croatia’s biggest problem regarding business development is the lack of transparency within its bureaucracy and the judiciary. Every business has inherent internal risks in how it operates (products, pricing, vendors, employees, etc.) and the more outside uncertainties that add risk to the success of the business, the more difficult it is for the management to make appropriate decisions. There seem to be too many seemingly arbitrary decisions that affect business here, in Croatia. I frequently hear from American business leaders that administrative requirements are burdensome and if this is not reformed, it will continue to hinder investments.

As I have said many times since I arrived that I have met many Americans, including many Croatian-Americans, who would very much like to invest here. However, the regulations and procedures make it extremely hard for them to do so.

On the positive side, Croatia is a safe and stable environment with a great location in Europe for conducting business in the region. If Croatia can make doing business easy, more companies, including American ones, will make significant investments.

There are over 100 American companies doing business in Croatia, with over $820 million in invested capital and more than 7,000 employees. That is a solid foundation - but imagine what might be possible if the investment climate improved!

Croatia’s entry into the European Union five years ago was made possible by the hard work of successive Croatian governments to implement deep political and societal reforms and serves as a model for other countries in the region. The EU accession process was a great benefit for Croatia because it encouraged rapid changes and brought numerous sectors of Croatian society more in line with EU norms and Western values. EU funding also continues to be a big help. However, joining the EU in 2013 was not the end of the journey for Croatia in modernizing its society. EU membership has removed the pressure for rapid, continuing improvement. Croatia has been on the right path for a number of years and it needs to stay focused while continuing to make adjustments to fully adopt Western norms and values to maximize the benefits for all citizens.

Competitiveness Needs to be Improved H.E. CORINNE MEUNIER The Ambassador of France

Croatia’s main advantage is EU membership which means that the country is a part of the strongest commercial power in the world. Since its accession, Croatia has increased its exports by 56%. The access to EU funds boosts Croatian competitiveness and aids development of the less-favoured regions of the country.

It also means structural reforms that only boost these advantages. Foreign direct investments are growing but the competitiveness rating remains stagnant while the trade balance deficit is growing. Confidence in Croatia in terms of doing business must be improved through increasing transparency, restoring the authority of justice and rationalizing the public administration.

Becoming an EU member has brought many benefits for Croatia.

The EU offers long-term stability, both economically and geopolitically, which is a very important element given the recent history of the country. Finally, at the strictly budgetary level, EU membership is a good deal for Croatia which contributes to the total budget with only 0.9% of its GNI and gets back more than 2% (€0.391 billion and €0.921 respectively in 2016).

The economies of the member states are interconnected and the European semester aims at helping them to fulfil the objectives defined within the Council. Furthermore, Croatia must use its membership to improve its relations with its Western Balkan neighbours.

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D&C ANNIVERSARY What do you see as the biggest problem and the biggest advantage regarding Croatia's development?

What do you think was the biggest benefit for Croatia after becoming an EU member and what direction should the country take in the future?

Talents Can be Retained With More Effort H.E. ANDREW STUART DALGLEISH The Ambassador of the United Kingdom

Croatians seem to so often overlook their greatest asset: human resource. Croatia produces outstanding mathematicians, scientists, computer programmers, artists, app designers, and musicians. The creative spirit is highly developed, vibrant and lively.

But it’s all too often easier to convert that talent into a successful commercial opportunity outside Croatia. So, removing barriers to business, celebrating entrepreneurial success and accepting the risk of failure will help create the kind of business and social environment that succeeds in retaining talent for its own good.

European values - transparency, fighting corruption, media freedom, tolerance and respect for differences, an effective judiciary - provide the ideal framework for Croatia to grow sustainably in a stable, inclusive, progressive society. They pave the way for more direct foreign investments in Croatia and increase export opportunities. Croatia’s future direction is, of course, in the hands of the Croatian people and I hope they will continue to see that close cooperation with NATO partners, positive global engagement, and investment in our shared values is the best path.

Tech Start-ups Promise Success H.E. ADRIANO CHIODI CIANFARANI The Ambassador of Italy

Thanks to the extraordinary beauty of the country and considerable investments in the travel and tourism industry over the past few years, tourism is becoming not only a major industry during the summer period but all year round. Croatia could gain additional benefits from a greater economic diversification and regional integration and thus strengthen the overall business environment and ensure a sustainable economic development. However, the hi-tech sector has already taken a major step forward with companies such as the Istria-based Infobip and numerous tech start-ups achieving international expansion and success.

Croatia’s accession to the EU, which was one of the most remarkable experiences of peaceful integration among States, represents the completion of the successful path that the country was able to take after gaining independence in the early 1990s.

Joining the European single market has brought significant benefits to the Croatian economy. In addition, the access to EU funds has contributed to the development of infrastructure and rural areas. However, according to local ministerial reports, there is still room for improvement in terms of capacity to absorb the EU funds.

1st ANNIVERSARY OF DIPLOMACY&COMMERCE MAGAZINE 10

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What do you see as the biggest problem and the biggest advantage regarding Croatia's development?

What do you think was the biggest benefit for Croatia after becoming an EU member and what direction should the country take in the future?

Tourism Revenues are Changing the Country One of the advantages is certainly the beautiful Adriatic coast, since it is a propulsive tourist destination, as well as some other parts of Croatia that are quickly catching up. However, tourism here does not have to be seasonal, since many people see the Croatian climate as great most of the year. I would assume there is a tremendous potential for prolonging the tourist season in the early spring and late autumn.

Another advantage must be the strategic location, in the middle of Europe, and quite developed road infrastructure. More developed ports and railways could probably bolster the development too.

Investors act on good opportunities, but infrastructure, ease of doing business and similar param-

eters need to be in place for them to take action.

H.E. DIANA MADUNIC

The Ambassador of Sweden

One of the major benefits of the EU membership is the access to its internal market, not least for Croatian companies.

There seems to be a thriving startup community in Croatia with a great potential to grow also across the border.

However, there is some unused potential in terms of the EU structural funds. They are a powerful tool for development, but it is up to individual countries to ensure that they make an impact.

It might also be beneficial to encourage a stronger spirit of cooperation between the EU countries but also with the neighbouring countries.

Wise Use of Country’s Potentials H.E. FAKHRADDIN GURBANOV The Ambassador of Azerbaijan

As an ambassador of the country which was attacked by a neighbouring state, having almost a million refugees and IDPs and about 20 percent of territory under occupation, I can definitely vouch that the war that Croatia went through in the early 1990s was the major obstacle for development.

Time, people and resources which were lost during the war could have been used for economic development, fulfilling social needs and prosperity.

I wish for Croatia to never have such a devastating experience as a war.

Speaking about the advantages in Croatian development, I have to underline the wise use of the country’s potential. Nowadays, we view Croatia as one of the stakeholders in global politics.

Furthermore, Croatia has initiated projects which are important for Europe.

Croatia is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and tourism is one of the main sectors of the economy. On the other hand, Croatia has a great potential for development of the other areas. Diversification of the economy is also very important. And as a

diplomat I have to emphasize Croatia’s pragmatic foreign policy.

The EU accession is a complex process and member states have to meet all requirements and needs.

Being accepted into the European Union means that Croatia has met all the requirements. However, membership also implies responsibilities and I believe that Croatia has a strong potential and intention to be a part of this institution. The EU membership means that Croatia has access to the European politics and market now.

Currently, Croatia is preparing for the presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2020. It will be an excellent opportunity for Croatia to prove itself as a trustable and reliable partner.

It also will be good opportunity to draw attention to the issues at the social level – namely, problems that really concern people. I am confident that the Croatian Presidency will open up new opportunities for Croatia in the future.

It is a huge step forward in terms of further development

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D&C ANNIVERSARY What do you see as the biggest problem and the biggest advantage regarding Croatia's development?

What do you think was the biggest benefit for Croatia after becoming an EU member and what direction should the country take in the future?

Economy is Getting Stronger by the Day LUKA BURILOVIĆ

President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy

There are improvement and changes.

Our economy is getting stronger by the day. However, we are not making the changes we need to make quickly enough.

That is why other comparable EU countries are passing us by. Our biggest advantage is our people, our human resources, who we have to keep on investing in, starting from the educational system.

Croatia is a small market that depends heavily on exports and im-

ports. The first prerequisite for the growth of our economy are open borders and free trade. This, along with the EU funds, would be the biggest advantages stemming from Croatia becoming an EU member. Given this fact, the direction we should be taking is bolstering our presence on international markets, which is one of the strategic priorities for the Croatian Chamber of Economy for the next period.

Reforms Should Not be Postponed DAVOR MAJETIĆ

Director General of the Croatian Employers’ Association

Development of each country, including Croatia, is inevitably linked to the growth of its economy, which is a huge development potential providing there are adequate conditions and a good business climate. Unfortunately, there are still obstacles to the development of the economy and the business sector in Croatia, and we, in the Croatian Employers' Association (CEA), are constantly trying to raise the awareness about the importance of their elimination and creation of prerequisites for unobstructed and healthy development of the market. To overcome these obstacles, Croatia needs real reforms in all segments of its society, and given the current situation, where we are facing lack of workforce, labour market reform is the most important of all the reforms that we are advocating. Furthermore, there is the education system, as a continuation of this, which is supposed to transform the existing system into the one oriented toward the production of knowledge relevant to the needs of the labour market.

A just and just legal framework that is the same for all citizens and businesses is a prerequisite for attracting both new investments and businesses, as well as retaining the existing ones in the country. With the tax reform, the Government of the Republic of Croatia has made some good steps in the direction of alleviating the economy, and we certainly expect the government to continue along this path and to explore the possibility of the immediate abolition of fiscal and parafiscal charges that Croatian businesses are paying at the moment,

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that is the charges that are not needed and encumber the economy to a considerable extent.

Bearing in mind the growing unfavourable ratio between people who work and people who are retired in Croatia, we also need a comprehensive reform of the pension system that will enable all citizens who have earned their pensions fairly to use them to a full extent, i.e. to allow them to choose the means of saving. The same applies to the healthcare system which is currently stretched to the limit and which insufficiently uses the services of private healthcare institutions that represent a significant potential in terms of improving the quality of the overall healthcare system.

Following on from my pervious answer, I would definitely say that joining the EU was one of the biggest advantages for Croatia in terms of our development because by doing so we have become a part of a large single market which is definitely not only an advantage, but also a motivation to improve the current business climate in our country.

Given that other EU member states have significantly less encumbered economies, compared to ours, this certainly affects the competitiveness of Croatian companies that are increasingly struggling to compete with the rapidly developing countries that surround us that have been implementing reforms and making progress in improving their respective business environments. The fact that Croatia dropped a few places on the the 2018 Doing

Business list, which measures the ease of doing business in particular countries, is a good indicator of the need for a stronger reform that can no longer be postponed. The EU membership has provided a lot of opportunities for Croatia to utilize the EU funds, which many companies in the Republic of Croatia have used, but we have to work even more on this issue and look up to the countries such as Poland and Slovakia that use these resources to a greater extent than Croatia does. The many advantages that the EU has given us are not fully utilized by our country. We need to continue insisting on this and not miss the opportunities that open up to us in the area of economic development and development policies.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.hr

What do you see as the biggest problem and the biggest advantage regarding Croatia's development?

What do you think was the biggest benefit for Croatia after becoming an EU member and what direction should the country take in the future?

Croatia Can and Knows Better

DRAGUTIN RANOGAJEC

President of the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (HOK)

Shortage of workforce is currently the most serious problem for crafts. Economic trends are positive and the domestic gross product is growing, but if the problem of labour shortage is not solved, it will be a major constraint on further development. Regulations that are changed too quickly and too frequently also pose a problem and encumber business. There is also a problem with restrictive penalties and unclear business con-

ditions. Despite all of this, we consider that the future of the Republic of Croatia is bright, as supported by a continuous increase in the number of trades and crafts. We are satisfied with the fact that the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts is a true partner of the economy. We, at HOK, have been investing a lot of effort into facilitating, simplifying and reducing the costs of operations of small companies, thus ensuring their survival in the market..

It is sad to see that we, a country that has enough produce to feed the entire Europe, at the moment cannot even satisfy our own needs. Croatia can and knows better. The opportunities that opened to us following our accession to the EU should be used wisely and in the direction of preserving our capacities, while, at the same time, utilizing the opportunities that come with the guaranteed market equality.

Croatia Discovered New Opportunities in Tourism In terms of tourism, the biggest challenge regarding its further development is seasonality, since the biggest number of tourists comes here during the main summer months. So far this year, there were a total 105 million overnight stays in Croatia, of which around 63 million took place during July and August.

However, positive and significant changes are quite visible, which is the result of numerous promotional activities of the Croatian National Tourist Board.

For example, we saw a significant increase in the tourism turnover in pre-season which exceeded 20 percent. Positive trends are also recorded in post-season so this year is shaping up to be a record year for Croatian tourism. It

is up to the entire tourist sector to continue with investments in promotion and quality of the tourist offer, including accommodation, additional content and products, as well as the traffic accessibility of Croatian destinations with the emphasis on flights.

All of us need to utilize the main advantage of our country which is the fact that we are recognized by most markets as a destination that has a wealth of cultural and historical heritage, and is a destination with the exceptionally well-preserved nature.

Croatia is riding the tide of excellent results, and we are perceived in the global market as an emerging destination; as a destination that offers something new and different. It is this uniqueness

and autochthonity that are guarantees of excellent results.

Following the EU accession, Croatia discovered new opportunities in tourism. By entering a union of 500 million people, the entire EU market became even more open and available to us. This is also shown by the fact that about 87 percent of the total annual Croatian tourism turnover is realized thanks to the tourists from the EU member states. This suggests that the European Union recognizes Croatia as an attractive tourist destination, and it is our job to maximize the available resources and potential in the interest of further growth and development of Croatian tourism, while using the value KRISTIJAN STANIČIĆ system of sustainable development. Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board

We Have the Know-how to Manage Complex Projects Our biggest problem is that we have never been able to determine clear development priorities. Governments usually fail to implement their set goals before the end of their term.

Every single time a new government was appointed, the earlier plans and strategies were pushed aside. That is why even the crucial reforms, which, as everybody agrees, should be implemented, have been lagging behind for years and even if some concrete progress was made in their implemenation, it was quite small. We are a small country that can be managed easily because we have good and qualified workforce, as well

as the known-how to implement complex projects in many sectors. However, it seems that our people sometimes lack creativity. The problem also lies in the fact that we don't know how to use this potential, namely how to create a incenitivized environment where this potential could shine.

To a certain degree, the EU accession process did affect our state institutions, and by becoming a member, Croatia now has access to the single European market, a benefit that some business people have managed to utilize. But we still have to have a clearer

idea about what to do with the fact that we are an EU member and better use the opportunities that the membership entails – from the access to the single market to using EU funds. The state needs to create an environment that is conducive to economic growth, based on clear strategies that are going to be implemented, including the industrial development strategy. Employers have to boost their competitiveness and work organization. Some of them have succeeded in this and are now able to pay out decent salaries to their employees, thus demonstrating that that is really possible.

MLADEN NOVOSEL

President of the Union of Autonmous Trade Unions of Croatia

13

THE BARGAINING STAGE

The White House Makes a Last-Minute Proposal on Drug Prices Donald Trump wants to reduce drug prices. Good

Truvada is an extraordinary drug. Take one a day, and the chance of contracting HIV is reduced by up to 99%. Even without a cure for the disease, if all people at high risk of contracting it took the prophylactic pill, HIV would eventually be snuffed out.

But a big problem is cost. There are 1.1m Americans, mainly gay and bisexual men, who should be on the pill, according to the Centres for Disease Control. In fact only 200,000 are taking it. A course of treatment costs $2,000 per month—nearly 45% higher than in 2013. In Britain generic versions of the pills available online mean the same treatment costs just £45.

Such exceptional disparities in drug prices are typical in America. Pharmaceutical spending is the highest in the OECD club of mostly rich countries, at $1,174 per person—more than twice as much as in Britain. Voters have grown tired of the price-gouging. Over the past five years, prices of the 20 most-prescribed brand-name drugs have rocketed at ten times the rate of inflation. Out-of-pocket costs, the cash payments made for treatment that are not covered by health-insurance premiums, have spiked. For these reasons, health care has been the subject of nearly half of all political advertisements on television in the run-up to the mid-terms.

On October 25th President Donald Trump unveiled a new pitch for reducing drug prices: letting Medicare, the government health programme for the elderly, set prices based on an international index. Unlike previous runs at controlling the costs, the proposal would be carried out by regulatory fiat and therefore would not require an act of Congress, a crucial distinction if the proposal is to stick, given the number of pharmaceutical lobbyists loitering round the Capitol.

The proposal is sensible,

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Medicare the ability to bargain directly for lower drug prices, which it cannot do now.

SO SUE ME

EXORBITANT DRUG PRICES OWE LESS TO WONDROUS INNOVATION THAN INTERFERENCE WITH NORMALLY FUNCTIONING MARKETS though limited. It applies only to drugs covered by Part B of Medicare, representing just 5% of drug costs in America. “You can reference to other countries, but what are other countries doing? They’re having very structured negotiations with pharmaceutical companies about the value of a drug,” says Shawn Bishop of the Commonwealth Fund, a health-policy think-tank. “This is rational—this is something America can do. If we’re so exceptional, we could even do it better,” she adds. This modest scheme, along with an earlier rule requiring drug companies to disclose prices in television advertisements, constitutes the Republican Party’s closing argument on health care ahead of the elections on November 6th.

The ideas are serious enough to have prompted howls from pharmaceutical lobbyists, who have issued apocalyptic warnings about “foreign price controls from countries with socialised healthcare systems that deny their citizens access and discourage innovation”. Forget for a moment that rich countries with socialised health-care systems have higher

life expectancies than America.

Exorbitant drug prices owe less to wondrous innovation than interference with normally functioning markets: pharmaceutical companies engage in anti-competitive behaviour, such as paying off generic-drug manufacturers to delay production after patents expire, refusing to grant enough sample drugs to generic producers, and creating “patent thickets” that successfully ward off competitors.

Humira, a top-selling immunosuppressant, is ensconced in a web of 100 interlocking patents.

Democrats, who have pushed policies similar to the president’s for years, claim to be unimpressed.

“The president’s policy proposal around drug-price reduction, coming in the closing days of a competitive campaign where he’s afraid that he may lose the House of Representatives, is too little too late,” says Hakeem Jeffries, a Democratic congressman representing New York. “When Democrats are in the majority, we can have a real conversation about how to drive down the high cost of prescription-drug prices.” Mr Jeffries says Democrats would begin by giving

Health care is a tricky subject for Republicans standing in the mid-terms. They have spent nearly a decade raging against the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a sweeping reform better known as Obamacare that is now enjoying a spurt of popularity. Before the ACA, insurance companies were able to deny coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions. Reversing that has now become yet another live rail. So some candidates have turned to dissembling.

Josh Hawley, the Republican attorney-general in Missouri, who is running for a Senate seat, put out a touching campaign ad saying that he would protect people with pre-existing conditions because his eldest son has one. In fact Mr Hawley is, along with other Republican state attorneys-general, party to a lawsuit that seeks to overturn the entire ACA. Although Mr Trump insists that “Republicans will totally protect people with Pre-Existing Conditions, Democrats will not!”, his administration is not walking the tweet. The White House is pushing “shortterm” health-insurance policies available for three years, which would not comply with the ACA. By drawing off healthier patients, these plans are expected to increase premiums for those with pre-existing conditions.

The administration seems to be doing its utmost to destabilise the health-insurance exchanges created by Obamacare by cutting funding for outreach, ditching the requirement that everyone must get insurance and stopping legally required reimbursement payments to insurance firms.

From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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15

D&C ANNIVERSARY What do you see as the biggest problem and the biggest advantage regarding Croatia's development?

What do you think was the biggest benefit for Croatia after becoming an EU member and what direction should the country take in the future?

Inclusive Growth has Yet to be Created ANDREA DOKO

Director of AmCham

Business climate is an important topic in every country, as there is always room for improvement, attracting more investments and creating high quality jobs. Croatian dynamics in recognizing and resolving impediments related to doing business is slower than in the majority of other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, which are also competing for investments. Every year, the World Economic Forum’s Doing Business ranking shows that even though Croatia is progressing, others are moving even faster.

This is an important race and Croatia should be more decisive in structural reforms such as in the public administration reform. In regard to advantages, we are blessed with natural attractions which are an unbeatable platform for tourist potential. However, we should not only focus on the nature. Croatia

has a good geostrategic position, infrastructure and fantastic potential because its people have multilingual skills which are an important prerequisite for multinational companies opening their hubs here and offering high quality jobs.

The EU accession put Croatia into the spotlight of potential investors. The EU membership itself is not a guarantee of anything but more an opportunity, and it is up to the country to present itself and be active in the investment arena. Croatia is recognized for its tourism potential but it is important to develop education system and opportunities for young people related to Industry 4.0 which will ensure there are appealing, well-paid jobs and the development of skills required to achieve competitiveness in the future.

Human Capital as a Strong Potential MARGHERITA LO GRECO

Director of the Italian Trade Agency

The excellent geographic position and transport links, subsidies for investment promotion and the possibility of using EU funds from a 10-billion-euro budget by 2020 are all Croatia’s great advantages. Also, labour costs are one of the most important things that each investor looks at when considering investing in a country. In Italy, the price of labour is twice as high as in Croatia, but the capacity of the Croatian labour force is indeed large and it has a considerable potential.

What still needs to be done is certainly working on eliminating legal insecurity, the insufficiently flexible labour market, the parafiscal charges, and the administrative

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and regulatory barriers, especially at the local level.

The European Union membership created unprecedented opportunities for Croatia as the country has gained unrestricted access to the world’s biggest trading bloc. Also, the possibility of having access to the EU structural and cohesion funds, amounting to nearly 3% of GDP and exceeding 1.5 billion euro a year, definitely may influence the economic growth in a significant way. In order to use these funds more efficiently, Croatia needs to bolster the capacity of the entire public administration involved in the process in order to assure simpler and less time consuming procedures for its beneficiaries.

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What do you see as the biggest problem and the biggest advantage regarding Croatia's development?

IVICA JAKIĆ

President of the Swiss-Croatian Business Association

What do you think was the biggest benefit for Croatia after becoming an EU member and what direction should the country take in the future?

We are Moving in a Good Direction But Too Slowly Generally speaking, Croatia is heading in the right direction in removing the remaining obstacles to economic development, but the problem is that these processes are slow and do not yield expected effects. Decisions need to be made faster and reforms have to be implemented quicker, as well as be more effective, in the segments like labour law, judiciary, tax policy and employment policy. Another problem are pre-bankruptcy and bankruptcy procedures that last too long, as well as court processes at higher instances. Croatia's advantages lie in the skilled and well-educated employees who are acquainted with modern technology, show willigness to constantly learn and know foreign languages like English, Italian and German. Having flexible, medium entreprises in the processing industry is a significant advantage for foreign investors. Last but not least,

there is tourism as a creative and safe service provider for investors..

Yes, Croatia's EU membership has definitely shown to be profitable in terms of the open access to the large European market. In order to adapt to this market, we had to undergo certain changes and accept EU regulation, as well as comply with certain rights and obligations. The duty free flow of goods and services has been facilitated, along with transport. The EU accession has also enabled the protection of the autochthonous Croatian products, which number has been recording a constant increase in the entire market. A large market for free flow of labour, education and implementation of new technologies has been opened. Croatia needs to continue moving in the legal, regulatory and economic direction together with the EU, along with developing its technologies and producing higher added value products

Schengen Area, an Important Step Forward SAŠA MUMINOVIĆ

President of the CRO SLO Business Club

Given the exceptionally high share that tourism revenue has in Croatia's GDP, the biggest challenge, in the coming period, will be the implementation of the tourism development strategy and the transformation of tourism into a modern, high-value-added branch of economy.

This should entail the country distancing itself from the mass tourism of the past and from using private apartment rental as a social corrective that does not contribute to the overall benefit and it creates unfair competition in the hotel industry. If we do this, it is possible to expect an even a

bigger multiplier effect which is missing for now.

Free trade in goods and services makes the biggest contribution to the country's economy. By removing limitations, trade is expedited in the logistics sense, which, in turn, significantly reduces costs. The next thing to do is to join the Schengen Area, which will eventually remove all the restrictions including those relating to the movement of people, and the introduction of the single European currency, which will significantly reduce transactional operating costs.

O U R

F I R S T

Y E A R 17

D&C ANNIVERSARY What do you see as the biggest problem and the biggest advantage regarding Croatia's development?

Reforms are Missing ANKA MRAK TARITAŠ Glas

What do you think was the biggest benefit for Croatia after becoming an EU member and what direction should the country take in the future?

The biggest problem of Croatia's development is a systemic one that has been present since the state declared its independence, which is the so-called crony capitalism that kills every possibility of the country's development. The state has made citizens, business people and workers believe that it is the state which decides which company should go under and which should continue operating in this quasi-market game. The state is actually the creator of the state or crony capitalism where the ruling political party or the state itself 'rescues' business entities in line with the very dubious criteria, so we had banks, farmers, agricultural combines, refineries, ironworks, and shipyards that were 'saved' in this way.

Since we founded this state, we have never had clear rules and set up mechanisms associated with the well-regulated market economy. After achieving independence, Croatia has failed to implement key reforms that

would transform it into a modern European state. Widespread corruption and dysfunctional judiciary are still problems here. In terms of Croatia's advantages, they are a good geographic position, the developed transport infrastructure and the access to the single European market of 500 million consumers.

Since joining the EU, the biggest benefit for Croatia was certainly having the freedom of movement of people, goods and capital. This ensured that a number of Croatian companies had access to the European Union's single market, while on the other hand, people's freedom of movement in the Croatian case resulted in a large migration and brain drain of work-active population into the developed EU countries. Unfortunately, this is not the European Union's problem, but the problem rather lies in the fact that Croatian citizens see no future in their own country.

Shoulder-to-shoulder to European Centres of Culture Apart from a long tradition in exhibiting, the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery is geographically and culturally connected to the countries in the region. Since becoming an EU member, Croatia has an easier communication with other cultural centres in Europe which enables the implementation of major cultural projects that are important to the whole region. Last year, we were the host of the Viennese modern art comprising of the collection from the Belvedere Gallery and the collections from other museums in Vienna.

We view networking and the sense of community among the cultural sectors in the region as a great asset for further development of culture in Croatia. Croatian culture has a large and rich collection that is of exceptional historical significance for the whole region and we can and should stand shoulder to shoulder the great cultural centres in Europe. The funding of such projects unfortunately does not follow the same trend, especially when it comes to private sector funding. As a developing country, where the economy is the

18

most unstable segment, financing cultural projects is not yet sufficiently recognized as an investment in the future and in the country's development..

ANTONIO PICUKARIĆ

Director of the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery

After Croatia's entry into the European Union, the opening up of borders allowed for a simpler and easier administration regarding organization of international exhibitions in Croatia and the appearance of our artists in Europe. The networking between cultural centres in Europe and the positioning of Croatia as an equivavalent capital of culture is the key direction for further development of culture. The Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, as the largest gallery in Croatia, has a great wish and a mission to continue the positive trend of excellent cooperation with the great museums and galleries in Europe. In an effort to bring Croatia's cultural heritage closer to Europe, we will continue staging exhibitions and implementing the strategy of networking with other European cultural institutions for the purpose of presenting a large collection of the Croatian cultural offer..

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NATIONAL DAYS

ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES

in November & December

NOVEMBER

MLADEN VEBER Leaves Atlantic Group

Mladen Veber, Senior Vice President of Operations in Atlantic Group, is no longer a member of the company's Managing Board – the Zagreb Stock Exchange has announced. Mr. Veber will continue his professional career outside the Group and his duties will be re-distributed among eight members

of the Group's Managing Board.

Veber joined Atlantic in 1996 as the director of the Distribution Centre Rijeka and in 2001, was appointed Vice President of Atlantic Trade, in charge of managing the company's brands and international markets.

He was appointed Vice President of Operations in 2006.

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MOROCCO Independence Day

22

LEBANON Independence Day

28

ALBANIA " Dita e Pavarësisë" - Independence Day

DAVOR ŽMEGAČ Chairman of Petrokemija's Managing Board Appointed

Petrokemija's Supervisory Board has decided to appoint new members of the company's Managing Board – Davor Žmegač, as the Board's Chairman, and Krešimir Rendeli, Goran Pleše and Peter Suba, as Board members. In order to enable new shareholders of the company to actively par-

DECEMBER

ticipate in the process of selecting the new management structure of Petrokemija, the members of the Supervisory Board – Chairman Mijo Šepak, members Robert Blažinović and Ladislav Turčinović - had resigned from that body, and new members were appointed.

01

ROMANIA National Day

02 UAE

ational Day, N formation of the federation of seven emirates on independence

DOMAGOJ MILOŠEVIĆ Vice President of the European Association of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs

A member of HDZ, Domagoj Ivan Milošević, was appointed in Helsinki as the new Vice President of SME Europe (the European Association of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs) which gathers 400,000 entrepreneurs.

Milošević said on his Twitter account

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that the aim of the Association was to „assist entrepreneurs in everything the EU has at its disposal for them.“ „Strong Croatian entrepreneurship is the only way of economic progress, prevention of brain drain, better wages and social rights", he added.

FINLAND I ndependence Day of 1917

06

IRAQ National Day

DRAGUTIN RANOGAJEC

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Third term at the helm of CCTC

The current president of the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (CCTC), Dragutin Ranogajec has been re-appointed to that position for the third consecutive time. He will be at the helm of the CCTC until 2022. Ranogajec presented to the members of the CCTC Assembly the basic guidelines of

his management programme in five points. As one of the more important activities of the CCTC, he underlined the continuation of strong advocacy for craftsmen through setting priorities, education, openness and the functioning system, and also called for unity in action.

UNICEF UNICEF Day

15 THE NETHERLANDS Kingdom Day

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19

INTERVIEW

I Have Better Contact With Associations than the Government I have no intention of running in the next elections for the European Parliament, but I will use the rest of my term to work on the topics that are of major importance to the citizens of Croatia and the EU, to the best of my abilities. Although I am a member of the two most influential committees in Parliament, the Croatian Government has shown no interest in cooperation

DAVOR ŠKRLEC

Member of the European Parliament (The Greens/EFA, independent)

The next European elections will take place from 23rd to 26th May 2019. A total of 705 MPs will be elected for the next parliament convocation, and Croatia will have 12 instead of the current 11 MPs. We are talking to Davor Škrlec, one of the deputies, about the election and his work in the Parliament.

Are you planning on running in the next election and what does that depend on?

— The 2019 elections for the European Parliament are being increasingly reported about in the media, and as a result, the interest shown by the general public and citizens is growing too. I think that, at this moment, it would politically and morally correct for me to state what my intentions are. Although I have been an independent MP for two years, I do not consider this to be an obstacle or an insufficiency in running as a candidate in the next elections, and in that context, I already had serious discussions and offers.

It is enough to see the results olf my work published on the MEP Ranking website, which monitors activities of MPs and ranks them accordingly, to conclude that I am

20

a desirable partner. If you look at the results expressed in total points, I occupy the solid 4th place.

However, if you look at my work in the most complex committees and taking into account the number of reports and opinions that I have been a rapporteur on, then I occupy the second place in the Croatian delegation in terms of the number of reports and the first place in the number of opinions.

Nevertheless, I have decided, for personal reasons, not to run in the next elections for the European Parliament and to focus more on doing the best work I can at the Eu-

dependent MP in the last two years, does that give you more freedom in advocating the positions you support?

— Firstly, it leaves me with more time I can spend on working at the European Parliament, because when I was the vice president of my political party, my private life suffered a lot because I had a lot of obligations. I definitely have more freedom in advocating my positions and the freedom in choosing the topics to be discussed in the Parliament. I also have more freedom in how I communicate with the general public and citizens.

I WANT TO IMPLEMENT THE EU'S PUBLIC POLICIES IN CROATIA, IN WHICH CREATION I ALSO PARTICIPATED. IN THE FUTURE I SEE MYSELF AS A PARTNER TO THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS IN CROATIA AND THE REGION ropean Parliament until the end of my term, and for my work to be as productive and useful as possible to the citizens of the Republic of Croatia and the EU, especially because important decisions regarding the EU's multi-annual financial framework for the period 20212027, particularly regarding the EU structural and investment funds, are being made at the moment.

Since you have been an in-

Although it is customary for a European Parliament deputy to vote in accordance with the agreed positions of its caucus, the European Parliament's Code of Conduct says that MPs vote according to their conscience and cannot be penalized if they vote against the interest of their particular parliamentary caucus. I was a rebel, so to speak, on several occasions and voted against the wishes of my parlilamentary caucus – the Geen Party.

Probably the most glaring example of this is my vote regarding the CETA, the comprehensive trade and investment agreement concluded between Canada and the EU. What was your biggest contribution during your term as an European MP?

— Prior to the elections for the European Parliament in 2014, I stated that, during that particular convocation of the European Parliament, the EU would determine its climate and energy policies for the period up until 2030, and if I were given the opportunity, I would actively participate in the creation of these policies. I succeeded in that because I became a group reporter for the entire legislative package pertaining to circular economy and partly for the legislative package of the Energy Union, in the electricity market segment. I am also a member of the two most influential committees in the Parliament: the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) where I am the only representative from Croatia.

As a substitute member of the Committee on Regional Development (REGI), I focused my activities on the macro-regional strategies of the EU and the application of the EU cohesion policy, which are two very important topics for Croatia's development and

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the successful use of EU funds. At that particular committee, I was the Parliament's rapporteur on the opinions on cohesion policy and the circular economy, so I created a connection between the main topics I worked on as a member of the ENVI and ITRE committees and the financing and implementation of the REGI committee, with the emphasis on bolstering the local economy and entrepreneurship. I have succeeded in highlighting the topics that are significant for Croatia: a sustainable and accessible tourism presented at the conference in Split and the Via Dinarica exhibition in Brussels, as well as the topic of railway development and electrification at a very successful conference in the Croatian Parliament.

I would outline four more activities that encouraged Croatian citizens to become more active in the everyday functioning of the EU, through which I also managed to achieve good cooperation with associations in Croatia - the campaign against sea waste, the amendments to the Law on Animal Protection (no-kill dog shelters), the campaign against the use of glyphosate and my most recent activities that are of interest to all citizens of Croatia, which is participating in a successful campaign to abolish daylight saving time, that is, to stop the practice of changing clocks twice a year. As my work on important legislative acts in the area of the EU Multiannual Financial Framework ends in April 2019, just before the elections, I believe that I will finish the tasks on my list by then.

Are the topics you cover, like ecology or food safety, recognized as important by the Croatian government?

— Since I have been and in some instances, still am a rapporteur on circular economy, energy union

and MFF, on behalf of my parliamentary caucus, the Green Party, I am sorry to say that there is no cooperation with the Croatian government whatsoever.

Even after certain legislative documents were published in the Official Journal of the EU, there was no positive response to my initiatives to make use of the resources I have available as a representative in the European Parliament for the purpose of better informing and educating public administration, businesses and citizens on changes and opportunities stemming from the EU policies. The only positive experience I have had was with the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Tolušić and the Minister

positive shifts. The cause of this lies in the perennial neglect of the waste management sector by the state, regional and local authorities, which often favoured certain interest groups, contrary to the public interest. Obsolete solutions are still being proposed; namely, the solutions that will cause Croatia to fail to achieve the desired rate of waste reduction and to increase the separate waste collection and recycling rate. In addition to environmental damage, it will cause even an greater damage to the economy, because no jobs will be created as a result of the good implementation of EU policy on the circular economy and energy union, which is connected to it.

THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN CROATIA AND THE EU IS IN A MAJOR TRANSITION AND MOST AGREE THAT NEXT ELECTIONS FOR THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WILL BE A MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR ALL POLITICAL OPTIONS, AS WELL AS THE PARLIAMENT'S CONVOCATION IN THE NEXT TERM of Regional Development and EU Funds, Mrs. Žalac. Minister Tolušić recognized my anti-glyphosis campaign as important for healthy food production in Croatia which subsequently led to a change of the Republic of Croatia's official stance in the EU bodies. He also supported my advocacy for no-kill animal shelters which was incorporated in the Law on Animal Protection.

I have established an excellent cooperation with the Croatian Chamber of Economy and a number of associations in Croatia, as well as with individual citizens.

How successful was Croatia in improving its position in terms of circular economy, which is a topic you have dealt with a lot?

— Unfortunately, there are no

We have recently heard unpleasant news about the Adriatic Sea being in a very difficult situation. How well does Croatia use the EU's know-how and resources in resolving such problems?

— At the plenary session in September, we adopted the European Parliament's report on the European strategy for plastics in the circular economy, as presented by the Commission in January this year.

By 2030, all plastic packaging used in the EU should be recyclable, and the consumption of disposable plastic has to be drastically reduced. The key goals of the strategy are to reduce the amount of plastic waste, make recycling more profitable for business, stop sea pollution, and encourage investments and innovation. Plastics are widely

used in our daily lives due to their low prices and a wide range of practical applications. However, plastics, and in particular disposable plastics, are often produced, used and discarded in a way that does not take into the account economic benefits of a circular approach and as such, they becomes harmful to the environment.

At the end of October, the European Parliament voted to ban a whole range of plastic products that contribute to the destructive and toxic pollution of the environment, the river and the sea.

The adopted report is a continuation of the ambitious proposal made by European Commission in May regarding the reduction of plastic waste, called the Disposal Plastics Directive. The European Parliament is currently negotiating with the European Commission and the Council of the European Union in order to agree on the final text of the Directive by 2019.

One of the proposed measures is the complete ban on plastic items for which there is already an alternative available in the market, such as ear-cleaning buds, plastic cutlery and plates, straws and balloon sticks. The report also obliges Member States to reduce the use of products such as disposable coffee cups and plastic food containers by 25% by 2025, and a wider responsibility for the manufacturers of wrappings, filters for tobacco products, wet wipes and the like.

Following the initiative by the Green Party / ESS, we are demanding a ban on dangerous oxo-plastic products that are promoted as biodegradable but are, actually, disintegrating into micro-plastic and as such, are entering the food chain. This is a victory in the fight against the use of disposable plastic. Still, there is a long road ahead in stopping our planet from suffocating under the weight of our own rubbish.

CITIZENS SHOULD ASSESS POLITICIANS MORE CAREFULLY What are the main messages to the government and the citizens in relation to the European agenda and what should be done and changed in the legislation, awareness, etc...?

— The main message to the Government of the Republic of Croatia is that it is not enough to say to the citizens that it's a good thing that Croatia is an EU member because now citizens can travel freely and work in the EU which resulted in the exodus of young people and families in search of better jobs and higher living standard. The Government also needs to talk about the need to reduce corruption

at all levels, to make the justice system fairer and better, and investing more effort into in the proper, quality implementation of EU public policies, not just on cosmetic changes in legislation. The EU has no alternative because for small countries like Croatia, it means development in a safe environment.

That is why citizens need to make effort when it comes to elections and recognize which political parties and candidates are just talking about keeping promises, and which are talking about projects that can be realized for the benefit of all, and not just individuals.

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CORPORATE

HOW TO BE A MODERN DANDY

(K)Not Just Any Tie Modern dandies have embraced fashion as a mode of self-expression. It is precisely for that reason that a dandy will give their careful attention to selecting the very detail that will make them stand out in the crowd, such as a tie created by Croata, a luxury Croatian brand

dandies, since a dandy, a man who radiates beauty to the world around him, who is also self-confident, content and knows exactly what he wants, chooses none other than a Croata tie to complete his look.

ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTINGLY DRESSED CROATS WEARS A CROATA

As a purely decorative fashion accessory, a tie has always indicated a sense of personal style.

It will not warm you up or cool you down, nor will it make your life easier. Still, ever since Croatian soldiers spread the tradition of wearing a tie throughout Europe in the 17th century, ties have been gladly and readily embraced by men who care about their appearance.

Although modern ties are very different from the original neckerchiefs, they are still a must-have in the wardrobe of any man with style.

It is therefore not surprising that Beau Brummell, a British man, was pronounced “the dandy leader” at the end of the 18th century. Dandies were gentlemen who devoted particular attention to aesthetics, taking careful care of themselves and making sure that they are always well-groomed and dressed up. And they simply loved ties! Brummell allegedly spent five hours a day taking care of himself, grooming and dressing up, thus proving that style is not the privilege of the upper classes. Numerous artists soon followed suit, from Oscar Wilde and Charles Baudelaire in the 19th to David Bowie, in the 20th century.

There are dandies today as well.

Modern dandies have embraced fashion as a mode of self-expres-

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sion, and even an extension of their personality. The modern dandy understands the value of quality clothes and, just like his predecessors, appreciates the smallest details like interesting stitches and perfectly coordinated colours. A dandy knows that a single accentuated detail may elevate the entire appear-

He is a man who attracts attention with his sophisticated fashion style wherever he goes. However, he can rarely be seen at trendy venues, and even less in the town centre on a Saturday morning, which is the place to be if you want to get noticed. Alen Kolbas, a tall and elegant man, is neither a trendsetter, nor an influencer. In fact, his lifestyle is entirely different from the modern fashion and social trends. The only thing that connects him with fashion is the fact that every day, when he goes to work as a Flight Controller, he wears a fancy piece of clothing that fits the timeless dandy look he so devot-

ALEN KOLBAS IS A MAN WHO ATTRACTS ATTENTION WITH HIS SOPHISTICATED FASHION STYLE, SO IT DOES NOT COME AS A SURPRISE THAT THIS CROATIAN COUNTERPART OF JUSTIN O'SHEA HAS APPEARED IN THE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN OF CROATA, A LUXURY CROATIAN BRAND

edly maintains! Sometimes, it is a tailored suit with unusually coordinated shirts and ties, which he often complements with a detail such as socks with interesting patterns. Even the beard of this slightly grey-haired gentleman blends well with his sophisticated, suave appearance, while his tattoos give him a bad boy vibe.

Fashion connoisseurs and lovers of good style are also attracted to his enviable collection of Gucci loafers and the carefully selected collection of watches. The everyday style of Mr. Kolbas may serve as a valuable inspiration to men who appreciate a well-coordinated look, but traditionally, do not speak about fashion.

He does not have to be in the spotlight. He wears fashionable clothes because he truly enjoys wearing them. He maintains a certain lifestyle and appreciates quality materials and interesting designs, so it does not come as a surprise that this Croatian counterpart of Justin O'Shea has appeared in the advertising campaign of Croata, a luxury Croatian brand.

His dandy-like lifestyle has given a new charm to the traditional feel for fancy details, precisely what Croata is all about, and this modern gentleman’s story has also contributed to the modern revival of wicker motives on bow ties, ties and cufflinks; important details of a man's aesthetic appearance.

ance to the level of a work of art.

It is precisely for that reason that a dandy will give their careful attention to selecting the very detail that will make them stand out in the crowd, while breaking the mold and demonstrating that they are fashion experts – a detail such as a tie. And, to find inspiration, it is sometimes best to go back to the very source.

It is therefore best to look for ties in their country of origin – Croatia.

Croata, a luxurious Croatian brand distinguished by the wide assortment and quality of its ties, is a much-loved destination for modern

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PEOPLE & EVENTS

17 20 YEARS OF OCT

AMCHAM CROATIA

The gala reception celebrating 20 Years of AmCham Croatia took place at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. At the celebration, the organisers reflected on the past 20 years through a film in which the guests had the opportunity to listen to the AmCham founders, as well as some of the Presidents of AmCham Board of Governors. Seven hundred guests attended the reception, including the representatives of the Croatian business community, government, international organizations and diplomatic corps who enjoyed the performance of the Zagreb Philharmonic.

25 BUSINESS OCT

BREAKFAST OF SLO CRO BUSINESS CLUB IN LJUBLJANA

The topic of the business breakfast was „Understanding challenges in labour market“. The breakfast was attened by a number of guests including the State Secretary in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia and former Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of the Republic of Slovenia, Anja Kopač Mrak, Ph.D.

Jakob Stunf, Republic of Slovenia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Saša Muminović, President of SLO CRO Business Club

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25 AHK OCT

-JOURFIXE

JourFixe is a regular monthly gathering of the members of the German-Croatian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. This gathering is one of the most

25 AWARDS FOR THE TOP OCT

TEN AT THE DAYS OF CROATIAN TOURISM

popular events organized for the members of the Chamber, with around 100 of them participating in it. JourFixe is usually held on the last Thursday of the month at different locations.

As part of the traditional tourist event “The Days of Croatian Tourism”, awards for the best of the best in tourism were awarded in the following categories: Cultural, Tourist Attraction of the Year, Tourist Event of the Year, Innovation in

Gari Cappelli Minister of Tourism with the winner of the award

29 THE 95th OCT

ANNIVERSARY OF THE PROCLAMATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

Tourism of the Year, Marina of the Year, Restaurant of the Year, Camp of the Year, Travel Agency of the Year, Hotel of the Year, Tourist Destination of the Year and the lifetime achievement award Anton Štifanić.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the winner of the award

The reception was hosted by H.E. M. Babür Hızlan, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in Zagreb, and his wife Ms. Emel Hızlan. After a short speech, Ambassador Hızlan read the Republic Day message of H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey. Around 400 guests attended the event, including the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Mr. Željko Reiner, Chairman of the Turkish-Croatian

Parliamentary Group, Chairman of the Croatian-Turkish Friendship Association and an MP, Mr. Goran Beus Richembergh, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Croatian Parliament, Mr. Miro Kovač, Mayor of City of Zagreb, Mr. Milan Bandić, President of Meshiad of Islamic Community in Croatia, Mufti Aziz ef. Hasanović, assistant ministers, ambassadors, diplomats, Turkish business people and Turkish citizens living in Croatia.

H.E. Mustafa Babur Hizlan Ambassador of Turkey to Croatia

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PEOPLE & EVENTS

05 CROATIAN TOURIST BOARD

NOV

OPENS ITS REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE IN SHANGHAI

Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković and Director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić

06 THE CROATIAN

NOV

GLAGOLITIC SCRIPT EXHIBITION

The office was officially opened by the Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković in the presence of the Director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić,

President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Luka Burilović, the Croatian Ambassador to PR China, H.E. Nebojša Koharović and many guests.

Oleg Butković, Minister of Transport, Gabrijela Žalac Minister of Regional Development and Eu Funds, Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković, Director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić, the Croatian Ambassador to PR China, H.E. Nebojša Koharović and others

The exhibition, which is staged in the lobby of the National and University Library, was officially opened by the President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who underlined the need to have a more pronounced promotion of the Glagolitic Script, as a guardian of Croatian identity. The National

and University Library has staged the exhibition as part of the European Year of Cultural Heritage under the slogan "Let's Script in Glagolitic". The exhibition shows the glossary of the Glagolitic words in the context of their historical development, typography, cultural influence and contemporary application.

President of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar Kitarović

07 SPEED NETWORKING - AMCHAM AND NOV

FRENCH-CROATIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Speed networking participants

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Speed networking has proven to be a great formula for establishing new business contacts. Several new members of AmCham joined the event for the first time, which was once again very successful.

Marko Klenović, Secretary of the French Croatian Chamber of Commerce and Alida Bubanko Ralic, Air France

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08 SWEDISH COMPANIES

NOV

IN CROATIA ESTABLISH SWEDISH BUSINESS CLUB

The Swedish Business Club (SBC) was formally founded in March this year by nine Swedish companies, in cooperation with the Swedish Embassy and the Swedish Trade Council. Official presentation of the club was held at the Kones Club in Zagreb, accompanied by excellent jazz music and a number of guests. Katarina Fulir, Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, Social Responsibility and Security Sector at Tele2, was appointed the Club's president.

Boban Spasoejvić Diplomacy&Commerce and Diana Helen Madunic Ambassador of Sweden to Croatia

02 CELEBRATION OF 100th NOV

ANNIVERSARY OF POLAND'S INDEPENDENCE

Diana Helen Madunic, Ambassador of Sweden to Croatia

A reception was held at the Croatian Academy Glyptotheque Museum in the heart of Zagreb in honour of the centenary of Poland’s independence. At the reception, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Zagreb received the original bust of Józef Piłsudski, made by the renowned

Croatian sculptor and architect, Ivan Meštrović in 1939. The bust was donated by the son of the sculptor Dr. Mate Meštrović and his wife Rumjana Meštrović.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, H.E. Mr. Andrzej Jasionowski and the Meštrović family signed a donation contract at the event.

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POLITICS

The State of the Union Europe in different gears and different directions

There is the Premier League, the Championship and the First Division. Although this might seem like a quick overview of the British football, it is in fact the situation that the European Union finds itself these days.

We are facing a harsh fact that there are three “leagues” inside one entity; an entity that was initially conceived as being rather monolithic, or at least with the idea of becoming such; a home of equals, or at least a home for all those who would become equal after joining. Of course, there was always a difference between Sweden and Portugal, or Germany and Bulgaria, but that difference has now been legalised.

CONVOY(S)

In analysing the European Union these days, we are reminded of World War II and the strategy of British convoys from Canada

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and the USA: a convoy must travel collectively at the speed of the slowest ship, otherwise, it is not a convoy if the faster ships speed far ahead and leave the slower ones behind. If the fastest ones move too far ahead, the ones in the middle are left somewhere in between, and the slowest vessels

other country. Let's just think of Brexit briefly, and, of course, what a disaster it is for the European integration process. Still, Europe has its chance to bounce back – though it will not do so by breaking its own rules, like refusing the principle of unanimity in voting for Donald Tusk, who was vetoed

IF THE NEW COUNTRIES JOIN THE UNION SOMEDAY, ARE THEY GOING TO BECOME MEMBERS OF THE 3RD DIVISION, ALONG WITH ROMANIA AND BULGARIA? remain last, with significant distance between them. In this case you end up with three convoys instead of one. Siegmar Gabriel said that Germany had to understand that the German perspective was not the only one, and that it was far from accurate. Europe looks quite different when viewed from the perspective of some

Of course, Poland and Hungary might choose not to obey the decisions they disagree with, and that’s not a terribly good thing.

These are the two strongest rebels against everything: they were useful in rebellions against Austria and especially Russia in the 19th and 20th centuries, but, as it turns out, they rebel against authority in general.

THE EUROPEAN DREAM

in 2017 by his home country of Poland, and yet that still happened, causing yet another crack in the European ship. In the end, the vote of 27-1 was recorded as a “legal” and “majority vote”, which is a clear case of majority replacing unanimity. In the end, the EU tried to punish Poland. The same happened with Hungary recently.

It was some 60+ years ago that the precursor to the European Union was founded, and at that time, there was little doubt about what the objectives of such a union were – put a stop to future wars and animosity, promote common market and democracy, eliminate bigotry at its roots etc. All of these were noble causes and, of course, the “hard core” of the Union was comprised of the strongest economies: France, Germany, the Benelux countries and Italy. After

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De Gaulle stepped down, the UK, as another strong member, joined in. Challenging times were ahead in 1981 and 1985, when the EU was joined by poor Southern European economies - Greece, followed

by Spain and Portugal, with their weak democratic traditions, having freshly emerged from dictatorships and being economically imperilled. But they were quickly converted into solid democracies, with living standards comparable to those in Italy, France or Germany. Later, in 1990, came yet another expansion: the GDR or East Germany. It became part of the reunified Germany and, of course, the Germans tried so hard to make the GRD equal to West Germany. Anyone who’s visited the former GDR can vouch that there is almost no difference between the two. There was no problem in 1995, when two wealthy Scandinavian countries and Austria joined. But then, in 2004, came the “Big Bang”, with 10 new Southern and Eastern members. Some of them fared better than others.

Next came the “political” expansion of 2007, with the accessions of Romania and Bulgaria, and yet another in 2013, with Croatia joining. Such a large expansion proved to be too much and a huge challenge for the EU to make these countries advanced so to be on equal footing with, for instance, Spain, at least. And after the economic crisis of 2008, that ‘South’ became vulnerable. Some 60% of Spanish solar power plants closed down due to lack of funding. Great ideas are collapsing one after another. The Greeks had direct and quite explosive remarks about Wolfgang Schäuble, angry at the fact that austerity measures mean they would not recover for many decades. Then there is Germany, which was forgiven after WWII, but is unforgiving towards others.

The PIIGS members are doing better - Portugal, Spain and Ireland have all bounced back. However, there is one crucial exception, apart from Greece, and that is Italy. By appointing Matteo Salvini as the new alternative nationalist leader, Italy is currently, along with the Czech Republic, the only country which would vote LEAVE in a hypothetical EU-membership referendum. Its population believes they got nothing from the EU, and deffinitely lost a lot from introducing euro as currency. When they tried to augment the budget defficit to increase the wages of the poorest and the

pensioners, they got a slap on the wrist by Pierre Moscovici and the EU central, thus further increasing the possibility of “Italexit”. And that could be really serious! If any attempt to make things better is met with “stop and don't destabilise the euro”, while we can clearly notice that the Germans are doing much better than the Italians in the current constellation, it could have tragic effects.

OUR WARNING FROM FAILED FEDERATIONS

IF AFTER BREXIT AND THE ALIENATION OF RUSSIA, TURKEY DECIDES TO STOP THE EU ACCESSION PROCESS, AND IF ITALY CHOOSES TO WITHDRAW, THERE WILL BE NO EUROPE ESSENTIALLY - ONLY THE “AUGMENTED GERMANY”

A gentle reminder: when Yugoslavia and the USSR fell apart, the difference between the richest and poorest members was 6:1 or even higher (Slovenia - Kosovo, the Baltic republics - Tajikistan).

There is now pretty much the same difference between Luxembourg and Bulgaria. Now, that we have noticed the terrible fact that the EU is repeating the deadly mistake made by the failed federations, we have to wonder what is the solution? Helping the poorest to be less poor? No! It is merely legalising the fact that there are “several Europes”, a few league divisions. The wealthiest will go ahead, while other guys will move at their own pace. Needless to say, this will only make the gap bigger. Greece and Italy did not gain anything from introducing euro, which only served to further deplete their economies. They could, for the sake of their economies, revert to the drachma and lira respectively, which would be a legitimate move if Italy and Greece, along with Spain and Portugal, are consigned to Europe’s “second division”. Let's not even get into the petition among Eastern members to put a halt to the scandalous practise of the same brands being of poorer quality in the Czech Republic or Poland than in Germany or France. Stopping the assistance to develop lower quality products is what the EU’s 2nd and 3rd division members expect to happen. If the new countries join the Union someday, are they going to become members of the 3rd Division, along with Romania and Bulgaria? If after Brexit and the alienation of Russia, Turkey decides to stop the EU accession process, and if Italy chooses to withdraw, there will be no Europe essentially - only the “augmented Germany”. This would be a sad option for an excellent idea that once pledged to unify the continent from the English Channel to Vladivostok.

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BUSINESS NEWS Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE)

33% HIGHER TURNOVER AT ZSE IN OCTOBER

Siemens

CONTRACT WITH HOPS UNDER SINCRO.GRID PROJECT

The mentioned contract is worth 24,887,059.79 kuna, with the validity period of 15 months from the commencement of the contracted works. On behalf of HOPS, the contract was signed by the Managing Board Chairman, Mario Gudelj, on behalf of Siemens, by Krunoslav Brekalo, Director of EM Croatia division and Nataša Novosad, Head of Controlling of EM Croatia division. To remind, the Sincro.

Grid advanced network project is a result of the long-term cooperation between Croatian and Slovenian power transmission and distribution grid operators (ELES, HOPS, HEP-ODS, SODO). The aim of the project is to overcome challenges in managing the power distribution system

and removing bottlenecks in the power grid which will result in the power distribution system having an acceptable level of operational security and in the fulfillment of prerequisites for application of the new OIE.

Hisense

INTRODUCING GORENJE TO CHINESE MARKET

In October, the Zagreb Stock Exchange recorded a higher turnover. There was an 11.6% hike in trading in shares, and a 396.6% higher trade in bonds compared to the month before. The total turnover was one third higher than in September. Market capitalization of the listed securities has slightly increased, while CROBEX and CROBEXtr indices were slightly adjusted by 0.17 percent.

Out of all stock indices, CROBEXkonstrukt had the highest growth; seven percent on a monthly basis.

Rotary Club Zagreb Centre

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

China's Hisense Group has opened the door of the Chinese market to Gorenje's products. Gorenje home appliances are now available at selected retailers in China, and many more by the end of this year. "In the first quarter of 2019, we plan have the complete range of Gorenje's products in most retail outlets in China," Gorenje says. Gorenje has been present in the large Chinese

market since 2010 with the brand Asko.

The Asko brand of household appliances has generated 9 million euro in revenue from in China last year, with 15 new outlets, selling only Gorenje products, opened. Last year, Asko was present in about 200 outlets in China. The Chinese home appliance market has grown by more than 10 percent a year over the past few years.

Max City

BIGGEST SHOPPING MALL IN ISTRIA

Max City has 60 shops (H&M, Bershka, Stradivarius, Mojito, Sinsay, CCC, Pull&Bear, Reserved, Sport Vision, Mango, Elipso and others), catering and other facilities. This shopping mall has an indoor two-level parking with more than 800 parking spaces, and free internet. There are also numerous catering facilities that offer Istrian and foreign dishes, as well as the CineStar cinema. The Max City shopping mall is located near the Valkane and Lungomare promenades, and will employ 500 people.

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Rotary club Zagreb Centre has recently given away 27 new scholarships to the exemplary high school and university students from the Club's Gordan Čačić Scholarship Fund which is named after the tragically deceased friend of the Rotary Club and a Croatian soldier. „Starting with just one scholarship, our programme grew year-on-year and we can now proudly say that, during the 12 years of the Fund's operations, we had the privilege to get to know and support 226 young talented people. The friends of our club firmly believe that investing in up-andcoming young people is the best investment in the future of our community and the society. Rotary club Zagreb Centre has chosen helping young people as its long-term strategy“, the Club's president, Goran Žurić said on the occasion.

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WhatsApp

BIG CHANGES FOR USERS

One of the most popular messaging apps, WhatsApp, is preparing to feature ads in the Status segment, i.e. WhatsApp's version of Instagram Story. This is what CEO of WhatsApp, Chris Daniels had to say for GadgetsNow:“ "We are going to be putting ads in 'Status'.

That is going to be primary monetisation mode for the company as well as an opportunity for businesses to reach people on WhatsApp.“ He did not specify the timeframe for this novelty. WhatsApp has around 1.5 billi8on users and there have been speculations in the past that the app is no longer going to be ad-free.

Facebook

PRIVATE MESSAGES OF 81,000 USERS LEAKED

The cyber-security company Digital Shadows examined hasconfirmed that more than 81,000 of the profiles posted online as a sample contained private messages. The analysis by Digital Shadows found 12,000 of the 257,000 users said they

were based in Russia; 47,000 said they were from the Ukraine. The data was posted on an online forum by hackers claiming to have access to the personal data of 120 million accounts, offering to sell them at 10 cents per profile, the BBC writes.

Toyota

RECALLING OVER 1.6MLN VEHICLES

City Office for Strategic Planning and Development of Zagreb

AVERAGE NET SALARY IN ZAGREB 7,197 KUNA The average net salary in Zagreb in July amounted to 7,197 kuna, which is nominally 1.1 percent less than in June and 5 percent more than in July last year. Compared to the average monthly salary for July in Croatia, which amounted to 6,266 kuna, the average net salary in Zagreb, paid out in July, was higher by 991 kuna. The highest average net salary in July in Zagreb was paid to employees in the crude oil and natural gas sector and it amounted to 11,227 kunas. The employees in the production of basic pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical preparations had the average salary of 10,694 kuna and 10,280 kuna was the average salary in the financial service segment, excluding insurance and pension funds.

Toyota has announced that it will withdraw 1.6 million vehicles from the market, with 946.000 vehicles recalled from Europe alone, mostly the models Avensis and Corolla. The reason for the

recall is that the airbag system must be replaced. "There may be an internal short circuit" and damage the system, the group says in a press release. "In some cases, the light may come on and the airbags and devices that allow the seat belts to lock during a violent impact and prevent the occupant from leaning forward may be disabled“, Toyota warns.

Toyota has also reported another recall this time on 600,000 cars, 255,000 in Europe (13,400 in France). These vehicles, already affected by the previous calls, must have a new inflation device for the installed passenger side airbag.

Mate Rimac

BEST YOUNG GLOBAL INNOVATORS

Apart from Rimac, the list also includes the founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergei Brin. Every ear, MIT Technology Review publishes a list comprising of 35 innovators under the age of 35. Some fo the entries to the list included in the past again the founders

of Google, Larry Page and Sergei Brin, and the creator of Linux, Linus Torvalds.

This year, Croatia's own Mate Rimac joins the list. The US Embassy in Croatia congratulated Rimac on his inclusion into this year's list of the best young global innovators.

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BUSINESS NEWS Nikola Motor

E-TRUCK FOR EUROPEAN ROADS

U.S. low-emission truck maker Nikola Motor Company last week released details of its new long-range hydrogen lorry designed to secure it a foothold in the European market. In a statement, Nikola said the "stunning" Nikola Tre hydrogen electric truck will be the first on the European market to be able to operate with almost complete autonomy. Apart from Europe, the vehicle will be available in Asia and Australia too. The beginning of the European leg of testing will be in Norway in 2020. Nikola Motors filed a $2 billion patent infringement lawsuit against Tesla Motors accusing Tesla of violating its six patents for the design of its Nikola One fuel cell hybrid semi-truck.

Disney

RECORD RESULTS

US media giant Disney reported a revenue of 14.3 billion USD for the fourth quarter ending in September, whereas analysts had predicted only 13.7 billion. Revenue from both media networks and parks and resorts rose roughly 9 % from one year to the next.

Disney delivered a surprise regarding its bottom line as well when it reported adjusted earnings of 1.48 USD per share, whereas analysts had expected only 1.34 USD. Overall revenue rose 12 percent to 14.3 billion US dollars while net income climbed 33 percent to 2.3 billion US dollars.

MOL

ANNUAL PROFIT OF $2.4 BILLION IN NEXT TWO YEARS

Mezzanine Management AMC IV Fund

TO INVEST 10MLN EURO IN OPTIMAPHARM

The investment will help Optimapharm, the leading company for clinical research in Central and Eastern Europe, to expand its operations to new acquisitions in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as further expansion in Western European markets. Since its inception, Optimapharm has realized more than 250 clinical trials in 20 countries in Europe and Israel. Chris Buckle of Mezzanine Management has now joined the Optimapharma team as a member of the Supervisory Board. The investment by Mezzanine Management will make it possible for Optimapharm to have new acquisitions of complementary clinical research companies in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as for further expansion into the Western European markets.

The MOL Group has updated its EBITDA target by approximately 10%, at an annual value of 2.2 to 2.4 billion dollars between 2019 and 2021, the company announced. This is a 10% upgrade based on an improved medium-term production profile for the Upstream segment and a solid contribu-

tion from the Services segment to the consumer. "Looking to the future, between 2022 and 2023, MOL estimates a further increase in the annual EBITDA result of $ 2.4-26 billion, when the contribution of subsequent strategic projects, including investment in polyols”, the company has said.

DIV Group

30-MILLION-EURO LOAN The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has joined forces with Addico Bank Croatia to provide a financial package of 30 million euro to Croatian fasteners manufacturer DIV Group. The banks will provide 15 million euros in loans for investments in energy efficiency measures, the provision of more sustainable working capital and support for the balance sheet restructuring, the EBRD said in a statement. The relevant contract was signed by the CEO of Addico Bank, Mario Žižek, Director of EBRD office in Croatia, Victoria Zinchuk and CEO of DIV Group, Tomislav Debeljak.

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Petrokemija

Bombardier

LAYING OFF 5,000 WORKERS

Bombardier Inc has announced that it would will shed 5,000 jobs company-wide and sell off two units as part of the company’s five-year plan to rein in costs, focus on rail and business jets and reduce the net long-term debt of $9 billion.

RECAPITALIZATION WORTH 450MLN KUNA

About 2,500 Bombardier workers will be laid off in Quebec and 500 in Ontario, with the 2,000 other cuts occurring overseas. In October 2017, Airbus SE announced that it would acquire a majority 50.01 per cent stake in Bombardier’s C Series aircraft.

Croatian Tourist Board

104.3 MILLION OVERNIGHT STAYS BY OCTOBER According to eVisitor's data, which includes tourist data pertaining to commercial and non-commercial facilities and nautical charter (eCrew system), from January to late October, Croatia recorded 19 million tourist arrivals, which is a six percent increase, and 104.3 million overnight stays (4% increase). There were 17 million foreign arrivals (6% increase) and 92 million overnight stays (4% increase). There was also a 9% increase in the domestic arrivals and 6% increase in domestic overnight stays.

Most of the overnight stays were recorded in Istria (28.2 million), Splitsko-Dalmatinska County (19.7 million) and Kvarner (18.8 million).

Petrokemija has successfully carried out its recapitalization with investors buying 45 million new shares, bringing the company 450 million kuna. Ina and Prvo Plinarsko Društvo (PPD) participated in this recapitalization with a total of HRK 300 million to become the majority owners of this mineral fertilizer company based in Kutina. As a result, Petrokemija avoided bankruptcy, and the decision was unanimously supported by the representatives of the two largest shareholders in INA's Supervisory Board.

European Commission

GOOD FORECAST FOR CROATIA

Ryanair

NO MORE CARRY-ON BAGS ON BOARD

Ryanair has announced that it is to end its long-standing practice of allowing passengers to take a 10kg piece of hand luggage for free, instead charging between €6 - €10 for the service from November. From 1st November, a fee will be charged to passengers who wish to bring a second piece of hand luggage on a Ryanair flight, unless they are a priority boarding customer. 2018 was a difficult year for this low-coast airliner - after a summer of strikes and other disruption, profits at Europe’s biggest budget airline have fallen by 7 per cent to €1.2bn.

The European Commission has revised its forcest about Croatia's economic growth in 2019 to 2.8% from the previous 2.5%. Thus, in 2019, the gross domestic product (GDP) should ultimately reach the pre-crisis level, while growth in 2020 could slow down to 2.6 percent. The EC expects growth of consumption this year to be 3.8 percent, and in the coming years, it will be maintained at above 3 percent. The EC forecasts that employment this year will grow by 2.3 percent, while in the next two years, the growth could be moderate. It is expected that wage growth will reach its peak this year, due to the wage increases in the public sector.

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MARVEL’S TV UNIVERSE

“Daredevil” Hits the Bullseye After a poor sophomore season, the blind superhero returns for the best episodes yet

The folks at Marvel do not lack for ambition. They have patiently crafted a cinematic universe (MCU) where individual superheroes get their own films but are then brought together for “Avengers” extravaganzas. “Easter eggs” and hints to other narratives are carefully dropped; the genre’s limitations are often cleverly toyed with. Yes, there have been lots of them and many have been mediocre. But they have been blockbusters nonetheless: the MCU is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time, grossing more than $17bn at the global box office.

On television, and specifically on Netflix, Marvel has been trying to do the same thing— but with what seems to be a B team of heroes.

Only comic-book fans will have been aware of figures such as Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist before the shows appeared. The Punisher, who had featured in three films, and Daredevil, a blind lawyer fighting crime in Hell’s Kitchen in New York, portrayed by Ben Affleck on the big screen in 2003, are the two notable exceptions.

The first season of “Daredevil” was very good but the show struggled with its second act (a problem that has afflicted programmes from

34

“Westworld” to “The Killing”) wherein the hero tangled with hordes of identikit Ninjas and a lot of mystic mumbo-jumbo. The good news, for those who persevered nonetheless, is that the third is the best of them all. The ninjas are gone, as is Daredevil's irritating girlfriend Elektra, who was more of a male fantasy than a convincing character. Daredevil is reunited with his trusty sidekicks: Karen Page, a troubled reporter, and Foggy Nelson, a lawyer.

“DAREDEVIL” SHOWS THE STRENGTHS OF SERIALISED SUPERHERO STORYTELLING. IN DARING TO CREATE A THIRD SEASON, NETFLIX WINS The main villain is the gangster Wilson Fisk, or “Kingpin” (played magnificently by Vincent d’Onofrio). Mr d’Onofrio delivers his lines like a Victorian actor-manager tackling “King Lear”, bringing a gravitas to the role that ought not to work but does. He adroitly combines brutality with cunning and—when dealing with his girlfriend—self-doubt. The series also introduces a compelling new villain, Bullseye (Wilson

Bethel), a troubled FBI agent who gets lured into Fisk’s world.

This season works because it sticks within its New York setting and, once one accepts the idea of a blind superhero with miraculous fighting skills, does not demand too much suspension of disbelief. The hero has a conscience and debates ethics with a kindly nun (Joanne Whalley) and another conflicted FBI agent (Jay Ali). There are some marvellous set pieces. In one, Daredevil has to fight his way out of prison; another battle takes place in a newspaper office where the antagonists use every implement that comes to hand. A standout scene features Karen (played by Deborah Ann Woll) deliberately provoking Fisk in his lair.

Still, the television canon cannot hope to equal the success of its cinematic equivalent.

“Luke Cage” and “Iron Fist” have already been cancelled after two seasons, with reports that nearly two-thirds of viewers tuned out after the first. But “Daredevil” shows the strengths of serialised superhero storytelling. In daring to create a third season, Netflix wins.

From The Economist, published under licence.

The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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ING-GRAD Company Celebrates 30 Years of Successful Operations

Managing Board: Patrik Klarić, Srdjan Jončić and Branislav Brizar (Chairman)

By holding a big reception at the Westin Hotel on 9th November, the ING-GRAD Company celebrated 30 years of successful operations in the construction industry Many guests from the world of business, as well as Zagreb Mayor, Milan Bandić and the State Secretary of Culture, Krešimir Partl, attended this significant celebration.

Celebration like this is the result of many years of work and dedication of all ING-GRAD employees, successful and effective adaptation to numerous new trends and changes which emerged in the construction sector following the opening of the Croatian market.

Recent research shows that the construction industry is recovering with the predicted growth in the region over the next few years.

ING-GRAD considers important the fact that small and medium construction enterprises are the main

driving force behind the growth, as there is also an increased recognition of companies that have the knowledge and ability to perform complex works.

buildings such as churches and castles, as well as wind farms.

Apropos the company’s jubilee, its Managing Board Chairman, Branislav Brizar expressed his sat-

ING-GRAD IS ONE OF THE LEADING COMPANIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA, RECOGNIZED BY ITS STABILITY, CONSTANT GROWTH AND BALANCED DEVELOPMENT OF ALL COMPANY SEGMENTS As one of the most significant companies in the construction sector in Croatia, ING-GRAD has experience in working on various construction projects, which, in addition to construction of residential and business premises, include the restoration of historical and sacral

isfaction with the achieved results and said:”ING-GRAD developed on the back of the small construction company that I opened in 1985, which had only 10 employees. Now, the company has 250 workers. Today, ING-GRAD is one of the leading companies in the construction

sector in the Republic of Croatia, recognized by its stability, constant growth and balanced development of all company segments. Despite challenging circumstances, INGGRAD today responds to challenges and implements the most demanding projects, while being mindful of quality and deadlines, as well as the satisfaction of developers, suppliers and subcontractors."

ING-GRAD stands out as a reliable partner and it is this reliability that is the foundation of the quality work that sets the company apart.

On the occasion of the company’s jubilee, a second monograph of selected works by ING-GRAD was presented, which demonstrates that, in the next 30 years, we can only expect excellence from this successful company.

Branislav Brizar, Chairman of the Board

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COLUMN

FASHION COMMUNICATION:

WHAT CAN LUXURY BRANDS LEARN FROM STREETWEAR

Among well-known collaborations between high-end and streetwear brands in order to popularize luxury goods to a wider number of consumers such as the latest one between H&M and Moschino, emerged a new brand communication strategy – Drop, besides the increasing use of social media and IoT in fashion industry JAGODA POROPAT DARRER Business Communications Professional

While thinking of a true luxury brand, we think of a whole set of visual icons including monograms, brand symbols, logos, colors, patterns, images and even concepts. Luxury brands require a very specific approach to brand communication. The idea is to create an exclusive experience targeted at their customers only, as reported in reputationtoday.in.

According to deloitte.com, luxury goods industry sales growth and profitability have underperformed in recent years, partly because of its problems in adjusting to changed demographics. The sector has lagged other consumer industries in recognizing the increasing purchasing power of technologically-sophisticated Millennials. The digital transformation and evolving consumer tastes and preferences are creating a new competitive landscape for luxury goods.

The traditional understanding of luxury brands not striving to please everyone, but only a specific segment of customers is slightly changing. New, savvy generations of consumers expect to see themselves reflected in advertising and marketing creating that way a sense of belonging to a unique community. What changes is the way the message is being conveyed through innovative communication strategies, while the content remains the same: sophisticated and artistic.

Luxury brands have a rich brand heritage, and their vision and language are very different from mass brands – they are created around life style. Historically, in

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terms of communication, luxury fashion brands have based their identity on exclusivity, prestige and impeccable service, retaining a dignified distance between themselves and their customers, as states statista.com. However, as sales have slowed, they have been compelled to engage with consumers in new ways.

Millennials and Generation Z will represent more than 40 per cent of the overall luxury

Artificial Intelligence (AI). By using AR and AI technologies, luxury brands can provide a personalized consumer experience, reach a wider audience, deepen product experience, and build stronger customer relationships.

In parallel, the development of technologies such as voice commerce and the Internet of Things (IoT) are reshaping the entire luxury industry.

Young consumers are also

THE TRADITIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF LUXURY BRANDS NOT STRIVING TO PLEASE EVERYONE, BUT ONLY A SPECIFIC SEGMENT OF CUSTOMERS IS SLIGHTLY CHANGING goods market by 2025, compared with around 30 per cent in 2016, reports deloitte.com. Unlike Baby Boomers, many millennial luxury consumers expect to interact with brands across a range of digital platforms, rather than only through traditional channels.

This shift has motivated demand for connective technology such as Augmented Reality (AR) and

important for in-store shopping and expect a high-value, customized experience. Luxury brands should seek to change their business models to meet this demand, for example by providing more loyalty programs and invitations to in-store events. Hot new concept in fashion today, acquired from streetwear and fast fashion brands like Zara and

H&M, has been applied to highend brands. It is the saint grail of ‘drop’. To get consumers into their stores more often, as we can read in Wall Street Journal, mainstream fashion brands including Alexander Wang, Burberry and Public School are putting out new items more frequently, with “drops” of merchandise as often as 12 times a year, instead of the usual two to four. Designers typically promote a “drop” with lots of marketing hype on social media and limit the offerings so that items sell out. It is a kind of investment in recruiting young generations of consumers. “The strategy follows a playbook perfected by influential streetwear brands like Supreme, Palace Skateboards and Nike”, reports wsj.com. These brands, popular with Millennials, have created buzz, long lines and a sense of urgency around releases of limited-edition products for short windows of time.

The future success of the industry will depend on its success in permeating and proactively reaching out to the younger generation. A good communication strategy can be a lever. Instagram is emerging as the leading social media platform for fashion designers. Gucci more than doubled its Instagram followers between 2016 and March 2018, with successful Insta-campaigns such as #TFWGucci, reports Deloitte’s Global Powers of Luxury Goods 2018. Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton created a LV community on social media with a large help of young generation oriented musicians ASAP Rocky, Kanye West, Migos and Drake.

The success of a social media strategy will be converting "likes" into an interactive and engaging experience for customers.

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Advent Exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Crafts

The Museum of Arts and Crafts will evoke the dazzling atmosphere of age-old holidays, written on small greeting cards, this Advent, at the exhibition of Christmas and New Year's greeting cards that will open on December 11th, 2018 and last until January 27st, 2019

Zagreb Film, 1968, Croatia

Merry Christmas, 1928. Croatia

Under the slogan "THE NEXT ONE WILL BE BETTER / SLJEDEĆA ĆE BITI BOLJA...", this year's Advent exhibition is dedicated to greetings and the custom of sending written cards; the exact ones that have been used in Croatia since the late 19th century to this day, or rather until the emergence of e-mail greeting cards. Over 400 exhibits of holiday greeting cards will be shown at the exhibition to demonstrate how this indispensable element of curteous behavior and holiday tradition has changed over time, with messages sent to friends by friends, loved ones, relatives, artists, business partners, institutions and others.

The history of celebration of holidays and other similar occasions with greeting cards originates from the time when the most beautiful wishes were handwritten on papyrus in ancient Egypt and

Happy New Year, 1905. Croatia

China. Handmade paper greeting cards have been exchanged in Europe since the 15th century, and the idea of selling handmade and commercially-produced greeting cards began in the mid-19th century. From portrait photo greeting cards from the early 20th century to subsequent witty experiments

ULUPUH, Aleksandar Srnec, 1965, Croatia

with different fonts and papers, greeting cards often exceeded their small format and their short-lived life span thanks to their their quality.

The great names of Croatian art and design, such as Rudolf Mosinger, Atelier Tri, Ivana Picelj, Milan Vulpe, Aleksandar Srnec, Mihajlo Arsovski and Marija Kalentić, all dabbled

„NEXT ONE WILL BE BETTER / SLJEDEĆA ĆE BITI BOLJA...“ 11. 12. 2018 – 27. 01. 2019

BEAUTY FROM INSIDE AND OUT The Museum of Arts and Crafts was founded in 1880 at the initiative of the Society of Art and its then President Izidor Kršnjavi as one of the first institutions of this kind in Europe. The Museum's action strategy is aimed at preserving the traditional values of folk crafts, as well as creating a new aesthetic culture of the civil strata. The building that houses the Museum was designed by Herman Bollé. It is a representative historicist palace built in 1888, in the spirit of the German Renaissance, that perfectly fits into the landscape of one of the most beautiful squares in Zagreb.

Holiday Money Crunch, 1899, Austria

ISIS d.o.o., Atelier Tri, 1929-1940, Croatia

in designing greeting cards. The ever-popular Grga, created by Ico Voljevica, and Professor Baltazar, on behalf of Zagreb Film, both wished happy holidays to citizens and business partners with the help of greeting cards.

Whether it's Christmas or New Year's Eve celebrations, December is the month when the biggest number of greeting cards are sent out, with good wishes for the holidays and wishes for an even better new year.

The most beautiful greeting cards, both serious and humorous, dignified and ironic, full of good wishes and black humor, are a part of the collection kept at the Museum of Arts and Crafts, namely, in the Old and New Photography Collection and in the Graphic Design Collection, that will be exhibited in a new light, transformed into the stories and images of holildays from yesteryear.

Happy New Year, 1906, Austro-Hungary

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REPORTAGE

Text: ROBERT ČOBAN

Media biography:

EMĪLIJA BENJAMIŅA (1881-1941)

Dramatic Life and Foretold Death of Latvian “Press Queen” Emīlija Benjamiņa – from a newspaper publisher in small Latvia to one of the wealthiest women in Europe between two world wars and what can we learn from the tumultuous history of the southern Baltic towns Not far away from the Latvian capital of Riga, I came across a quite big, modern-style villa, tucked away in the greenery, with a lavish metal gate decorated in floral motives, facing the sandy beach of Jurmala, a royal resort that was enjoyed by Communist leaders too.

After a quick online search and a conversation with my Latvian colleagues, I started to discover pages of the villa’s exciting history and her owner who, between the two world wars, was the wealthiest woman in Latvia and one of the wealthiest women in Europe.

Emīlija Benjamiņa was the middle of three sisters in the family of Andris and Ede Simsons. Unlike her sisters, who were artists, Emīlija was drawn to media world since very young age. At the age of 17, she was already working in advertising sales and as a theatre critic for the German-language newspaper Rigaer Tagesbatt, which at that time, was published by the renowned Jewish family, Blankenstein. Back then, Latvia was a part of the Russian Empire with a large share of the Russians, Germans and Jews in the general population.

A COMPLIMENT FROM HEARST

Emīlija married young and her first marriage was far from a fairy tale – her husband was an alcohol-

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ic and physically abusive towards her. Soon after she left him, she met a man by the name Anton Benjamiņš, a fellow journalist who was 21 years her senior, married with three children. In time, the couple started managing the Rigaer Tagesbatt – she was engaged more in the business side of it, and he was the editor.

In 1911, they decided to start living together, Emīlija was finally granted a divorce and soon after, the pair launched the first newspaper in the Latvian language called Jaunākās Ziņas I (in translation “The Latest News”). They hired journalists who wrote solely in Latvian and up until then, worked only for the Russian and German

GLORIOUS CAREER AND CRUEL DEATH: Emīlija Benjamiņa

printing machinery from Germany. However, the war broke out, the invoice was not paid and the company that delivered the machinery went bankrupt and eventually went under. During the revolution, the Bolsheviks used Emīlija and Anton’s print shop for a brief period of time to print their propaganda fliers and when they left, there were tonnes of unused paper left behind them which enabled Emīlija and Anton to resume their printing business soon after the war.

In 1922, Anton was also finally granted a divorce which meant that the pair could marry now.

They also launched a first-ever magazine in the Latvian language

ON HER VISIT TO PARIS, IN THE 1930S, EMĪLIJA MET WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST, THE FAMOUS AMERICAN PRESS MAGNATE WHO WILL LATER SERVE AS INSPIRATION TO ORSON WELLES AND HIS CULT CLASSIC “CITIZEN KANE” language newspapers. The business was booming and the newspaper continued coming out even during “The Great War” when it became renowned for publishing advertisements, free of charge, placed by refugees who were looking for their lost family members.

Just before the war, Emīlija and Anton ordered state-of-the-art

called Atpūta (in translation “Enjoyment”). In 1928, they moved into a big house, in the centre of Riga, which was aptly named the Fabu Palace, and became owners of several pieces of real estate in the town and on the Baltic coastline.

On her visit to Paris, in the 1930s, Emīlija met William Randolph Hearst, the famous Amer-

ican press magnate who will later serve as inspiration to Orson Welles and his cult classic “Citizen Kane”. Hearst gave several compliments to Emīlija and added that he would love to have a share of the press market in his own country as big as Emīlija’s.

THE FIRST LADY OF LATVIA

Since she did not have children from either marriage, Emīlija made an agreement with her younger sister to adopt her son Georg, and change his name to Juris Benjamiņš.

As things usually happen, success in business and wealth brought a high position in the society. The lavish parties that Emīlija hosted were frequented by crème-de-la-crème of Latvia. Since the then president of Latvia, Kārlis Ulmanis was still a bachelor at the time, Emīlija was tantamount to “The First Lady of Latvia” in a way.

One of the guests at her famous parties was also the globally renowned fortune teller Eugen Finks. Upon studying her palm, Finks exclaimed – “You will die of hunger on wooden boards!” Of course, considering that we are talking about the person who was back then the richest woman in Latvia, many saw this prophecy as a “tasteless joke of a charlatan”.

In 1938, Emīlija and Anton started building a huge mansion in Jur-

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mala, designed by the architect Lev Vitlin. Unfortunately, Anton never got to live there because he died on 14th June, 1939 leaving Emīlija 51% of his assets (worth, according to some estimates, 50 million Swiss Francs in gold) in his will which was contested in court by his children from his first marriage.

A tragic set of historical circumstances overshadowed the final ruling of the court. Following the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, formed on 24th August, 1939, Latvia and other Baltic states were put under the control of the Soviet Union. In June 1940, the Red Army troops marched into Riga and all of Emīlija's property was confiscated. The last issue of Jaunākās Ziņas was published on 9th August, 1940.

Emīlija did manage to vacate some of the family treasure, like Tsar Nicholas II of Russia’s gold set of plates which she bought in the 1920s from Prince Felix Yusupov, the man who killed Rasputin. She

smuggled the family belongings through the corridor that the Nazis had previously used for the evacuation of the German nationals and renowned Latvian citizens when the Soviets took over the town.

The collection was later stolen in Vienna, never to be found again.

Emīlija remained hopeful that she would keep her business and real estate but a couple of weeks later, it was too late for everything.

The Swedish ambassador to Lativia offered Emīlija a fictitious marriage so she could be given a diplomatic immunity and leave Riga. However, she refused since this offer did not include her adopted son whom she did not want to leave behind.

“ON WOODEN BOARDS”

As it often happens in life, Emīlija’s destiny was sealed by a man who used to work for, was a regular guest at her parties and was her close friend – Vilis Lācis, the

new Interior Minister of the Socialist Latvia. On 17th June, the Soviet police showed up at the entrance of her building with a list of people to be arrested. Emīlija was allowed to bring just one suitcase with her.

Juris was also on the list, but the police failed to find him.

The former wealthiest woman in Latvia died on 23rd September, 1941, in the Soviet work camp Solikamsk, a week after she turned 60. Her frozen and emaciated body was found on the wooden floor in one of the camp’s barracks.

For the next 50 years, Emīlija and Anton’s mansion in Jurmala served as a holiday property for many high-ranking Communist officials in the Soviet Union. In 1995, it was returned to its rightful owners through restitution.

The entire south Baltic coast,

AS IT OFTEN HAPPENS IN LIFE, EMĪLIJA’S DESTINY WAS SEALED BY A MAN WHO USED TO WORK FOR, WAS A REGULAR GUEST AT HER PARTIES AND WAS HER CLOSE FRIEND – VILIS LĀCIS, THE NEW INTERIOR MINISTER OF THE SOCIALIST LATVIA GULAG: Image from the Solikamsk work camp

GEM OF MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE: Emīlija and Anton’s mansion in Jurmala

from Tallinn in the north to Gdansk in the south, was the epicenter of dramatic events throughout the 20th century - entire towns were razed to the ground by bombs (like Königsberg, i.e. today’s Kaliningrad in Russia), the Holocaust almost wiped out the entire Jewish population of Poland and Latvia, the territories exchanged hands based on secret agreements between big powers, the riches disappeared in confiscations or wars, workers’ uprisings that changed the course of history like the one in Gdansk in 1980 and such.

I visited a restored synagogue in Kaunas, the former capital of Lithuania, which has been declared the 2022 European Capital of Culture.

Up until 1941, there were 40 synagogues and over 100 Jewish municipalities here, and Jews made up 25% of the population. As a result of Nazi’s atrocities, with a strong support from the local Lithuanian fascists, almost all Jews here ended up in gas chambers of Auschwitz.

In Riga, the capital city of Latvia, I spent hours visiting the blocks of buildings built in the early 20th century Secession style which are a witness to the great wealth and progress of the Baltic ports at the time.

In Kaliningrad, the former capital of East Prussia, and the town that is the birth- and death place of Immanuel Kant, I remembered the story about the biggest maritime catastrophe in the history of human kind – the sinking of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff which, in 1945, carried 10,600 German civilians (including 5,000 children), escaping the Red Army from East Prussia. Two torpedoes fired from the Russian submarine sank the overcrowded ship and 9,600 passengers died. To this day, this is considered the biggest maritime tragedy ever. Even Gunter Grass dedicated his novel “Crabwalk” to this horrendous event.

Today, this border region between the NATO countries and Russia, populated by Catholics, Protestants and the Orthodox Christians, is one of the most prosperous in Europe. Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are all EU members with high growth rates and the respectable IT industry. Although the Germans are long gone from the Kaliningrad area, this also remains one of the most progressive and best regulated parts of Russia. The New Baltic proves that, regardless of how tumultuous a region’s history could be, it should be used only for tourist purposes and not for opening of old wounds.

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Story of Croatia

Story of Croatia is a chronicle about a small country with long history and wealth of cultural heritage

These are 'smart' souvenirs with incorporated NFC technology that enables access to additional content via mobile phones with the view of promoting, informing and educating its users about the abundant cultural heritage.

WHAT EXACTLY IS THE STORY OF CROATIA?

We have witnessed on many occasions how modern-day tourists are no longer passive observers and that their vacation is no longer only about the sun, shopping or lying on the beach. The 21st traveler wants to get to know the country they are visiting, learn more about its cultural and artistic achievements, get to know its greats and immerse themselves in the country's heritage. A modern tourist is a researcher of sorts, hungry for new knowledge and attractions that will make their stay meaningful and pleasurable as a result of every new little discovery they come across.

The Story of Croatia project has been conceived exactly for this kind of visitors. The Story of Croatia is a series of innovative souvenirs that uniquely represent Croatia, a small country that has given the world a great heritage for over a thousand years. This is an interesting combination of classic souvenirs and smart NFC technology that allows users (i.e. souvenir buyers) to access additional content via mobile devices, learn more about some of the motifs depicted on the souvenir, and also about the abnundant Croatian history, culture and heritage.

HOW DO THESE SOUVENIRS OPERATE?

Every souvenir from the Story of Croatia series contains an NFC chip. This piece of electronic technology is used to provide the user with additional information on the displayed motif by positioning an Android or iOS smartphone closer to it which will take the user to the specially designed web pages where they can find more content and data, or rather a real story about the souvenir motifs and their specific place in the Croatian culture and

heritage. We should also underline that the content on the website is continuously updated with new data and interesting information, in accordance with current events or discoveries, but also that the chip can be programmed to take the user to other websites as well.

So far, the Story of Croatia project includes various souvenirs such as T-shirts, glass water bottles, silk ties, scarves, fridge magnets, handbags, etc., with the plan to include other items, such as children's toys, clothing items (e.g. scarves), kitchen equipment & accessories and many others.

WHAT KIND OF STORY DOES THE STORY OF CROATIA TELL?

The Story of Croatia project is entirely the brainchild of the domestic know-how and creativity. The team from the Promo Prosperitum Company created it on the basis of historical facts (both general and lesser known to the wider population) and covers four themes with the content that makes Croatia recognizable worldwide. For example, the theme of "Croatian Inventions, Discoveries and Innovations" tells exciting stories about objects and technologies that very few people in the world know that they were invented in Croatia, or that they were discovered by Croatians. For instance, there is a story about the invention of the dactyloscopy, i.e. the use

of fingerprints in criminology, an invention of Ivan Vučetić. There is also a story about ink fountain pen and its inventor Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, then the story about parachute and the brilliant Reneissance mind of Faust Vrančić, the story about torpedo and its inventor Ivan Lupis, and many other old and modern inventions and inventors such as aviation pioneer David Schwarz and Ante Maglica, the inventor of Maglite lamps.

In the segment "The Croatian Heritage" you can find out more about the ancient glagolitic alphabet and a tie with special brading that is a unique Croatian contribution to the world of fashion. Also, there is a story about the mysterious Vučedol's dove, the Baška Tablet, the divine Apoxyomenum, the long tradition of Sinj Alka, the sophisticated lace from the island of Pag, the charming gingerbread heartshaped cookies and other. The segment called "The Croatian Greats" gives you interesting portraits of Nikola Tesla, Rudjer Bošković, Ivana Brlić Mažuranić, Josip Jelačić, Vatro-

THE AIM OF „THE STORY OF CROATIA“ PROJECT IS TO PROMOTE, INFORM AND EDUCATE USERS ABOUT THE ABUNDANT CROATIAN HERITAGE

slav Lisinski, Nikola Šubić Zrinski, Stjepan Radić, Benedikt Kotruljević and such. "Croatian Destinations and Natural Attractions" informs you about a number of interesting things about the cities of Zagreb, Pula, Rijeka, Poreč, Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik while describing the oppulent architecture and art that all travelers visiting these tourist gems in Croatia want to know more about.

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE STORY OF CROATIA PROJECT?

First and foremost, the aim of „The Story of Croatia“ project is to promote, inform and educate users (souvenir buyers) about the abundant Croatian heritage. Designed as a unique platform that combines classical and digital, this project can serve to further brand Croatia as a cultural destination and provide an excellent opportunity for everyone interested in Croatia, for instance, local and tourist communities, counties, cultural institutions, museums, galleries, national parks and others, to get involved in a project that can bring them new visitors.

Decorated in a recognizable pattern of alternating red and white squares and boosted with the advanced NFC technology, the souvenirs from the Story of Croatia series will take everyone on an unforgettable journey through Croatian history. As the story unfolds, you will be able to meet fascinating historical personalities, learn that it was Croats that discovered some of the well-know inventions, enjoy the breathtaking cultural and natural attractions, and, above all, experience the inexhaustible richness of the Croatian national heritage, emulated in the Story of Croatia's slogan – THE MORE YOU KNOW, THE MORE YOU'LL LOVE IT.

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CULTURE NEWS

Croatian co-production „The Road Movie“ as an Oscar candidate Feature documentary „The Road Movie“, which is directed by the Russian director, Dmitrii Kalashnikov and co-produced by Croatia, is a contender for the leading American film award – the Oscar. The documentary, comprised entirely of footage from dashboard cameras from Russian cars, is co-produced by Belarus, Russia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegvoina and the US. Srdjan Šarenac, from the Nova Film Company, is the film's co-producer. "The US film distribution company, Oscilloscope distributed the movie in 80 cinemas across the United States and Canada, and so we have now fulfilled all the conditions to be candidates for the Oscars for the Best Documentary Feature“, Šarenac says. So far, there are 160 candidates in this category. In November, members of the American Film Academy will receive a nomination list for consideration, the final selection will be announced on January 22nd, and the award ceremony will be held on February 24th next year.

Over 300 Exhibitors at Interliber

The official opening ceremony of the 41st International Book and School Equipment Fair, Interliber, which featured three hundred exhibitors, took place on November 13th. Exhibitors from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, France, Italy, China, the Netherlands, Germany, Rudi, the USA, Slovenia, Great Britain and Northern Ireland participated in the fair.

The accompanying programme was co-organized by the Community of Publishers and Bookstores. For decades, the Interliber book fair has served as a platform for promotion of books, writers, readers, science and knowledge. The Fair brings together the most important publishers and bookstores, and has over 100,000 visitors every year. Interliber offers a wealth of specialized and business literature, school books, and training aids.

Nick Cave Comic Book Now Available in Croatian Language The biographical comic book, Nick Cave, which is written by the German cartoonist, Reinhard Kleist, is now available in Croatian language too. The biography has 332 pages and is printed in 666 copies. The project leader, editor and graphic editor, Tino Ćurin says that the book is an insider look into the punk-rock scene in the 1980s, but with a personal touch. Ćurin adds that his friend from school, who works as a translator under the pseudonym Brat Jarre, was also engaged in the project, as was Zoran Stajčić, the editor of the rock website 'Ravno do dna', whom Ćurin has known since his days a student of the Graphic Design Faculty.

New York Library Lends Ties and Briefcases for Job Interviews Public libraries in New York are now offering to their members much more than just books – DVDs, CDs, free use of computers, and, as of recently, in one of them, the Manhattan branch of the New York Public Library, you can borrow a tie and a briefcase for a job interview, in case you don't own any. Librarian Michelle Lee came up with the idea when hearing from the Library's young members that they often did not have a suitable tie or a fashion accessory for a job interview. For now, this pilot project will be implemented only in the Manhattan branch where there is obviously a need for such sevice – Ms Lee said.

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