Diplomacy&Commerce 34

June 2021 | ISSUE No. 34 | ONLINE EDITION

www.diplomacyandcommerce.hr

PRESIDENT MILANOVIC AND A DELEGATION OF THE WORLD BANK

9772466380002

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JUNE

WB help for the reconstruction of earthquake-stricken areas and in mitigating the economic and social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

CULTURE ABOVE ALL NINA OBULJEN KORŽINEK Minister of Culture and Media

DON’T CANCEL YOUR TRIPS, CHANGE THE DATES AND SAVE TOURISM! TOMISLAV FAIN

President of the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies

BILATERAL RELATIONS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GOOD AND FRIENDLY

CHALLENGES AS INSPIRATION FOR SUCCESS

Ambassador I.R.Iran

Executive Director AmCham Croatia

ANDREA DOKO JELUŠIĆ

H.E. PARVIZ ESMAEILI Award

DIVA TEREZA KESOVIJA RECEIVED A PRESTIGIOUS AWARD

Exhibition

VIKING AGE HOUSEWIFE, WARRIOR AND SEERESS

Nearer, my God, to Thee The current idealess bureaucracy from Brussels makes the EU look more and more like the USSR in 1985.

Chernobyl is just around the corner, and a few years after that – the end.

The band at the deck is already playing "Nearer, my God, to Thee", rich men are sitting in the salon, drinking whiskey and martini, the poor are jumping overboard and the Captain and crew members continue to assure us that “the boat is unsinkable”.

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BOBAN SPASOJEVIĆ

Magazine Director Croatia boban@diplomacy andcommerce.hr

ILIJA PETROVIĆ INDIGOCHILD

Art director indigochild.ilija@gmail.com

ALEKSANDAR KOSTIĆ

Designer designamites@gmail.com

ROBERT ČOBAN

Director Photos GETTY IMAGES TOMISLAV SMOLJANOVIĆ

Translation GORANKA MILOŠEVIĆ

FOREWORD

ROBERT ČOBAN Director

t the beginning of this century, in the year 2000, out of top 100 companies 41 came from Europe. Today only 15.

Europe urgently needs a reset, new leaders and new ideas. How did it happen for the most attractive community of nations, one that generations of youth in East Europe dreamt about, and where millions of refugees from Asia and Africa con-

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tinue to flock – to become a synonym for failure, slowness, bureaucracy and unattractiveness.

Did the pandemic, which hit the tourism industry particularly hard – actually exposed the truth that Europe is just a museum in the open, an “old lady” that knows how to dress nicely and put on some make up, but when a dog chases her on the street – she’s helpless. Can Europe use the strength, energy and knowhow of the migrants who continue to run towards it, to become competitive once again and to become an equal competitor to USA and China?

CONTENTS

Predstavnik za RH

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CULTURE ABOVE ALL NINA OBULJEN KORŽINEK Minister of Culture and Media

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VIVA LA GUERRA! Politics

10 ”Color Media Communications” LTD, 21132 Petrovaradin, Štrosmajerova 3 TIN 107871532 Matriculation number 20887303 Phone: +381 21 4897 100 Fax: +381 21 4897 126 Office: Vase Čarapića 3/IV/38, Belgrade Phone: 011 4044 960

BILATERAL RELATIONS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GOOD AND FRIENDLY H.E. PARVIZ ESMAEILI Ambassador I.R.Iran

14 CIP - Katalogizacija u publikaciji Biblioteke Matice Srpske, Novi Sad 33 Diplomacy & Commerce / glavni i odgovorni urednik Žikica Milošević, 2016, br. 1 (mart)-.Novi Sad: Color Media Communications, 2016 - , -33cm Mesečno.

ISSN 2466-3808 = Diplomacy & Commerce COBISS.SR-ID 303269895

CHALLENGES AS INSPIRATION FOR SUCCESS ANDREA DOKO JELUŠIĆ Executive Director AmCham Croatia

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TAKEDA - 240 YEARS LONG TRADITION, HAND IN HAND WITH CUTTING EDGE INNOVATION VIKTORIJA ZADRO HUML General Manager for Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina at Takeda

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MY GOAL IS TO MAKE WOMAN FEEL BEAUTIFUL DANIJELA GAZDEK Maleza Fashion brand

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DON’T CANCEL YOUR TRIPS, CHANGE THE DATES AND SAVE TOURISM! TOMISLAV FAIN President of the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies

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A MISSED HISTORICAL OPPORTUNITY Economy

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SHARES IN A COMPANY AS MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY PETAR PETRIĆ Attorney at Law, Petrić & Kajić Law Firm LLC

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TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND PERSONAL BRANDING JAGODA POROPAT DARRER Business Communication Professional

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INTERVIEW

Culture Above All In compliance with the measures, we managed to keep museums, libraries, theaters, cinemas, concert halls open…

NINA OBULJEN KORŽINEK Minister of Culture and Media

egarding the matter of normalization of cultural life, we adopted a subsidy program last week at the Government assembly, among other things also for cultural events, together with tourist events and occasional traffic, says the Minister of Culture and Media Nina Obuljen Koržinek. She reveals for Diplomacy&Commerce how far they reached with the new Law on Media, but also about the “Year of Reading”.

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A difficult period is behind us for all the sectors, for the economy in particular, but for cultural life as well. How did the cultural sector survive the pandemic and how much did the Ministry

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of Culture and Media set aside to help independent artists?

— The cultural and creative industry has suffered huge losses in the past period and it is not yet possible to calculate the exact size of these losses, but it is cer-

than 400 million HRK in the past 12 months. The latest funds provided refer to a budget rebalance from a couple of weeks ago where HRK 58 million was set aside, of which HRK 52 million are intended for the resumption of activi-

WE PROPOSE A NUMBER OF IMPROVEMENTS RELATED TO TRANSPARENT INSIGHT INTO MEDIA OWNERSHIP AND FINANCING, TO HAVE AS FEW LAWSUITS AS POSSIBLE tain that for some they were one hundred percent. We provided a whole range of grants to both organizers and independent artists, special program funds, loans to entrepreneurs in culture, and the Ministry has disbursed more

ties in the event industry and HRK 6 million for programs of independent artists and independent professionals.

What is being done to normalize the cultural life, what models

are being proposed to enable the summer festivals to take place?

— We are continuously working with the Civil Protection Headquarters, i.e. the Croatian Institute of Public Health on the opening of culture, because except for the first lockdown in the spring of last year, we have never again completely closed cultural institutions. In compliance with the measures, we managed to keep museums, libraries, theaters, cinemas, concert halls open… and we were the only European country to achieve that. Regarding the issue of normalization of cultural life, we adopted a subsidy program last week at the Government assembly, among other things also for cultural events, together with tourist events and occasional traffic. We will give them additional financial support, so

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A particularly difficult year is behind us, not only because of the COVID19 pandemic, but also because of the catastrophic earthquakes that caused significant damage on numerous cultural monuments in Zagreb and in Banovina. What is the current level of preparation for the reconstruction of experts from the Ministry of Culture and Media?

— A series of earthquakes that hit continental Croatia caused great and irreparable damage to architectural heritage, and the Ministry of Culture and Media is one of the bearers of the reconstruction due to the large number of earthquake-damaged cultural assets.

Namely, it’s a little known fact that of all the architectural structures in the Republic of Croatia, as many as 13% are individual buildings or protected historical units.

More than 1000 individually protected historic buildings were damaged, and a high percentage of buildings in the historic cores of Zagreb, Sisak, Petrinja and Glina were damaged.

We are especially proud that all our services have been in the field since day one and they immediately started inspecting the damaged heritage, so that the list of damage to cultural property, which involved conservators from all over Croatia, was completed very quickly. In the week after the Petrinja earthquake, conservation teams, more than 40 conservators

Photo: Ivan Dorotić

that they can restart their activities, and the way of acting is still being agreed. I believe we will opt for the hybrid model: either parts of the auditorium will be for those who will not be able to obtain a digital certificate or most of the program will require the presentation of a digital certificate, and a smaller part will be for those who do not meet the requirements.

I therefore appeal again to the citizens to obtain certificates so that we can all return to cultural events at full capacity. I would like to remind you that anyone can get vaccinated for free, some have recovered from Covid 19, some can be tested by rapid antigen tests.

I believe that all our traditional summer festivals: Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Split Summer, Zadar, Osor Evenings and others, could be held at full capacity as far as the audience is concerned, because as of July 1, digital green certificates will be in use which will allow the organizers to fill the auditoriums.

A LARGE NUMBER OF QUALITY PROGRAMS IN PROMOTING READING ARE ALREADY BEING IMPLEMENTED IN CROATIA, AND THE YEAR OF READING ACTUALLY AIMS TO INCREASE THE VISIBILITY OF ALL THESE PROGRAMS from all over Croatia, visited all the damaged buildings, and registered protected individual cultural assets in the earthquake-affected area. In addition, in Sisak-Moslavina, but also in all other counties where damage to cultural property was recorded, along with inspection of the damaged heritage and a completed list of damage, movable cultural property, collections and inventories were immediately evacuated. Members of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service and members of the Italian "Blue Helmets" also helped our expert conservators, restorers and museologists. I mention this because we are extremely grateful for the international assistance, not only financial but also professional, which we will need in the long and demanding process of restoration required by the cultural monuments from different historical periods.

Unfortunately, Croatia has experience in restoration of cultural monuments after the earthquake and also after the Homeland War, when many cultural assets were damaged as well. How much will that experience help in the restoration?

— Yes, unfortunately a large number of cultural monuments,

especially churches, were damaged during the Homeland War, let's just remember how demanding was the restoration of the dome of the Šibenik Cathedral. However, the experiences we gained after the damage caused by the 1979 and 1996 earthquakes refer to the Dubrovnik area, to specific stone construction techniques, i.e. to the period of construction from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque to the 19th century. However, in the last year we have faced earthquake damage in a completely different climate, the Central European area of central Croatia with the capital city of Zagreb, where almost a quarter of the population is concentrated, as well as all state and public institutions, representative museum palaces, theatres, archives, sacral architecture with the Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace. The period of construction of the historical cores of central Croatia belongs to the 18th, 19th and the first half of the 20th century, with completely different brick laying techniques. Therefore, this is an extremely demanding restoration, and a large number of cultural assets have structural damage, so we must find appropriate models of structural rehabilitation of pub-

lic, sacral and residential buildings located in the cultural-historical urban area of Zagreb and cultural-historical units in Sisak -Moslavina County. That is why we have established the International Expert Advisory Commission for the Structural Restoration of Architectural Heritage in Earthquake-Affected Areas of the Republic of Croatia.

How many funds will Croatia withdraw for reconstruction after the earthquake from the EU Solidarity Fund?

— The Ministry of Culture and Media has so far contracted works in the value of almost 3 billion HRK, which can be co-financed from the Solidarity Fund. After that, we have other sources and National Recovery and Resilience Plan and Multiannual Financial Framework available. And even before the approval of funds from the Fund, we ordered a large part of the study, we prepared projects in order to make the most of the possibility of funding from the Solidarity Fund.

Since your second term, the media have also been added to the Ministry of Culture’s portfolio, and after a year, you are on the threshold of the second reading of the Law on Electronic Media. Newspaper publishers were not happy with the solution for the comments below the articles on web portals because you defined that they were responsible for the hate speech of the readers and you prescribed high penalties. Have you reached a compromise?

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Finally, Croatian Government declared this year to be a Year of Reading, what are the goals of this campaign, and what new programs do you plan to use to attract new audience?

— The goals of the Year of Reading are in line with the National Reading Support Strategy adopted by the Government in November 2017. It is about encouraging reading among all generations, increasing awareness of the importance of reading and increasing reading competencies, especially among children and young people as those who will be active readers for a long time to come. A large number of quality programs in promoting reading are already being implemented in Croatia, and the Year of Reading actually aims to increase the visibility of all these programs.

Namely, we must revive the importance of the work of all stakeholders in the book chain - from authors and translators, through publishers and bookstores, to libraries – i.e. all public and educational institutions and their employees who have been dedicated

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THE GOALS OF THE YEAR OF READING ARE IN LINE WITH THE NATIONAL READING SUPPORT STRATEGY ADOPTED BY THE GOVERNMENT IN NOVEMBER 2017 to these activities for many years.

One of the newly prepared programs that we intend to launch this year as an ongoing activity, and which we are working on in cooperation with the Ministry of Health is the project "Born to Read". Picture books by local au-

thors and illustrators for children from birth to school age will be distributed to them in paediatric offices. And on our website Čitaj. hr, you will be able to vote for the best bookstores, which we want to support the bookstore network throughout Croatia. Many pro-

grams have been proposed and are already being implemented by many librarians, and I am especially pleased with the creatively designed libraries on the beach, next to football clubs, on lawns, on the streets, since that’s how they decided to go outside libraries and get to every reader.

On this occasion, I would especially like to recommend that your readers visit our webpage Croatianliterature.hr, which is being regularly filled with translations of contemporary artwork, but also texts of Croatian literary classics.

Photo: MKM

Are you also working on a new Media Law? — Yes, we announced it for the end of the year. In the meantime, we have formed a task group that is starting to work and will deal with SLAPP lawsuits. We propose a number of improvements related to transparent insight into media ownership and financing. It is in our interest to observe the standards of the profession through self-regulation and co-regulation, and thus contribute to the development of the journalist profession. To have as few lawsuits as possible. This task group will also prepare a new Media Law.

Photo: Marko Ercegović

— The law is about to be sent to the Government, I hope we will get to that before the summer recess of the Parliament. We found a compromise solution in agreement with the Association of Newspaper Publishers on the issue of comments. Here we took into account the discussions and, partially, the parliamentary debates and we talked to the publishers and the HND. We will move towards the registration of those who comment and the obligation to inform about the rules of commenting in a clear and easily noticeable way. If these conditions are met then the publisher will not be liable, but that person will be held accountable.

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POLITICS

by Žikica Milošević

Viva la Guerra!

The war-parties are prevailing ust when it seems that a problem or a couple of them are about to be solved, a new avalanche of conflict, destruction, mistrust and hatred erupts again in the Middle East. Paradoxically, all those people who advocate for conflicts share the same views, and the only ones who are against conflicts are people who had previously built bridges.

This brings us to an interesting question asked by many analysts from Israel to the Arab world, from Russia to America, from China to Europe - are parties in the war in collusion or just enjoying watching peace efforts collapse, people in the Middle East radicalizing, and becoming closer to their options?

But let's start over yet again!

There are two currents in Arabs and Muslims with one advocating reconciliation with Israel and leaving the Palestinians "in the lurch" with what they already have. It is a "punishment" for the previous behaviour of the Palestinians who refused to go with offered solutions, and got even worse ones as a result, but are also "tired" from endlessly dealing with the same thing for 70+ years.

Many people in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and elsewhere think and have more in common with wealthy Israel than with their poor brothers in Palestine. They share the same way of life, similar-looking cities, are focused on tourism (the Saudis too), etc. Also, they are united in distrusting Iran which has been at odds with Israel since the Islamic Revolution.

This "lack of love" has been reciprocated from the Israeli side, and the Sunni kingdoms in the region do not like the Shiite nature of Iran. However, there are many logical ambiguities here, because Azerbaijan, although Shiite, is in favour of Israel, and many Sunni countries like Iran.

In the latest shuffling of cards, four reconciliations "threatened" the peace in the Middle East. The first is the Abraham Agreement, where the UAE and Bahrain decided to recognize Israel and vice versa, which was followed by Morocco and then Sudan. It was ru-

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WHEN EVERYONE GETS RADICALIZED, IT WILL BE EASIER FOR THE MORE RADICAL OPTIONS TO WIN THE ELECTIONS

moured that both Oman and Saudi Arabia would follow the principle. On the other hand, it seemed that there would be de-escalation in the proxy war in Yemen. Third, with the arrival of Joe Biden to the office, it seemed that much more effort would be made to bring Iran to the negotiating table and renew the nuclear agreement with this country, which was signed by Obama and torn apart by Trump. Fourth, with the election loss, Benjamin Netanyahu had to pass the baton for putting together a new government to Yair Lapid, who, as we like to proudly point out, originates from Novi Sad. He could create a government on a precedent, namely include parties of Israeli Arabs,

and so that they can finally participate in the state government to which they pay taxes and whose documents they have. Fifth, it seemed that Hamas was left without funding from abroad and it would have to cede its negotiating position to the "good old" Fatah, from the West Bank.

And then Jerusalem was shaken by an attempt to evict Arab families from the Arab part of the city of Sheikh Jarrah to expand the Jewish settlement, followed by clashes between extreme members of both nationalities around the Al-Aqsa Mosque which spilt into the streets of Israeli cities, culminating in Israel being bombed from the Gaza strip and then retaliating against Gaza.

Even the building that housed Al-Jazeera and some other media outlets was demolished, after Israel’s alert. When back in 1999, the building that housed Radio and Television of Serbia was bombed to the ground, NATO called it a "legitimate target". Now we are waiting to see if Al-Jazeera’s offices were also considered a "legitimate target".

So what happened? According to some, Hamas turned to Iran, even though Iran is a Shiite country, to the dismay of all haters of Iran. That is why many Gulf countries show indifference towards Gaza. Lapid is at a disadvantage because now his coalition with the Arabs is on shaky legs. Netanyahu is calling for new elections.

Palestinians and Israelis like each other even less than a month ago. Observers got involved in everything. Kosovo supports Israel with Kosovars tweeting "May Allah save Israel!" which is absolutely inconceivable. Of course, as a consequence of the Washington Agreement from September 2020, Israeli flags were hoisted in Banja Luka and Palestinian flags in Sarajevo. Support on social media is heating up, people are arguing, and worldwide protests in favour of Palestinians are taking place, even in Belgrade. For the first time, Serbs in Serbia do not demonstrate openly their pro-Israel behaviour and now smile when they see the Palestinian flag.

This is the consequence of the Washington treaty. Serbs in the Republic of Srpska act as if they would die for Israel. Bella Hadid has donated her dresses to the Palestinian cause (her father is originally from there).

Everyone is arguing, the reconciliation parties are despairing, Putin is calling both sides to come to Moscow for talks, Biden is caught between a rock and a hard place, political parties in favour of war are prevailing... When everyone gets radicalized, it will be easier for the more radical options to win the elections. Elections in Palestine have also been postponed.

Again! Now, we will never know who would win and whose goal was for these elections not to be held. While people are dying...

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INTERVIEW

Bilateral Relations Have Always Been Good and Friendly Iran was the first Muslim and Asian country to recognize Croatia's independence

H.E. PARVIZ ESMAEILI Ambassador I.R.Iran

y main mission as Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Croatia is to promote relations in all political, economic and cultural spheres, and bring the views of the high officials of both countries closer, says H.E. Parviz Esmaeili Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Croatia. I believe it will be easier to achieve this goal from the path of development of the two peoples' communications, what is known in the international relations literature as “ people to people relations” relations, the deeper and the more sustainable it will be, says Esmaeili.

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You came to Zagreb and Croatia during the pandemic, so I would like to ask you at the very beginning of our conversation what is the current situation with COVID 19 in Iran, and how did the Iranian Government respond to this challenge?

— In the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Iran, relying on an efficient health system and the dedication of its medical staff, used appropriate and scientific measures to contain the coronavirus and got very good results. The issue that the World Health Organization also approved. In an emergency situation when lives are at risk, all countries help others. But in Iran at the same time, we had to fight with Corona and also deal with the problems of oppressive U.S. sanctions, which did not allow us to access medicines and medical facilities faster and more than domestic products.

The U.S. government's role in increasing the disease and coronavirus deaths in Iran should never be denied.

While we had a good track record of producing vaccines globally, we faced a lack of financial

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ALL OF OUR NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN PEACEFUL, ACCORDING TO REPORTS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY. AT THE SAME TIME WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN UNDER PRESSURE AND SANCTIONS resources because of the embargo. While our assets were in some countries, such as South Korea and India, U.S. sanctions and pressure did not allow us to use our money to provide medicines

and vaccines. We even asked IMF for $5 billion loans to provide the vaccines, despite IMF positive response, but the Trump administration stop it, too. The problem of financial resources certainly neg-

atively affected the process and speed of disease control; however, we mobilized all domestic facilities and quickly produced the necessary sanitary materials and equipment. We negotiated with the World Health Organization to supply vaccines from the Kovacs basket, but America's blockage banking channels still made it hard for us. But the Iranian did not get tired or disappointed.

Iran's strategy against coronavirus is to impose social restrictions based on risk assessment in each region, early diagnosis and treat-

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ment with rapid use of antiviral drugs, emphasis on home care and reduction of hospitalizations.

With all the problems we tried to produce an internal vaccine from the beginning, and fortunately we came to a conclusion.

Two Iranian coronavirus vaccines were granted emergency use last week, while production of the Sputnik-V vaccine began in Iran.

We are very hopeful that by producing 4 to 10 million doses of domestic vaccines monthly over the coming months and continuing to import vaccines from Russia and China, and doing faster and broader vaccinations from next fall, we can move the situation toward normalization and reach the point of collective safety. Statistically, if I may to compare, we had fewer casualties than many Western countries, despite all the problems. No issue is more important than human lives. I hope that as soon as possible we get to a situation where no human being in the whole world loses their lives because of COVID-19, and the lives of citizens of no country will not be jeopardized by political measures such as sanctions.

How would you rate the relations between Iran and Croatia, primarily in political sense, and then also in economic and cultural sense? Where do you see most room for progress in the development of bilateral re-

THE MIDDLE EAST SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO BECOME A FIELD OF INTERFERENCE OR COMPETITION BY WORLD POWERS OR OUTREGIONAL POWERS lations, given that Croatia is a member of the EU and is conducting a common foreign policy in that sense?

— Iran has been with the Croatian people on difficult days and was the first Muslim and Asian country to recognize Croatia's independence. For this reason, bilateral relations have always been good and friendly in the political sphere. In the cultural sector, due to the cultural commonalities and interest of the two peoples, our relations have been even better than other sectors. The political relationship between the two countries has always been positive and based on mutual understanding and respect, given Croatia's membership in the European Union and within the framework of the Union's common foreign policy, which has been particularly on the path of coordination in recent years to conduct and then support the JCPOA negotiations. The last meeting of foreign ministers of the two countries was in Antalya on June 18 (last week).

Let me emphasize that we expect both the EU and Croatia not

to let other forces affect their relations with Iran, which can well serve the interests of both sides. I have concluded that regional unions are positive and would strengthen multilateralism, but membership in these unions should not negate the independence, responsibilities and interests of countries in their bilateral relations. Unfortunately, Relations between Iran and Croatia in the economic and trade sector have been reduced to a minimum due to U.S. sanctions after the Trump withdrawal from the JCPOA. This has been more to Croatia's detriment than Iran's.

As you probably know, INA was working on a major project in Iran that unilaterally stopped its activities and left Iran through Trump's illegal action and reimposed sanctions.

In our view, there is space for the development and expansion of economic relations between the two countries in all areas. Croatian Economic officials and companies are well aware that relations with Iran have the capacity to provide their interests. I have

met managers of many companies in Croatia. They are well aware of the developments, high technical position and investment capability of Iranian companies. There are many capacities and opportunities for companies from both countries to cooperate in the industrial, agricultural, technological and tourism sectors.

For me as the Ambassador, the conditions are unfair and difficult because of many non-bilateral elements, but I’m not disappointed or tired. We have paved the way for the communication of companies from both countries. We're moving forward safely. I would like to emphasize that Iran always welcomes the development of economic, industrial and technological relations with Croatia.

When it comes to global issues concerning Iran, how far did you come in negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program and what are your positions?

— Negotiations on Iran's nuclear program and activities began in 2003 with three European countries, the United Kingdom, Germany and France, and led to the Tehran-Paris agreement. Then, with the start of Dr. Rouhani's administration in 2013, the Iran- 5+1 negotiations were on the agenda, which ultimately led to the JCPOA. Fortunately, I was with the negotiating team and sometimes with them in the negotiations. My gen-

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eral understanding from both stages of the negotiations is that whenever western sides came to the negotiating table with a positive, goodwill and mutual respect approach, the outcome was positive and in the interests of all parties. Whenever the Westerners, and at the head of them, the United States adopts the language of threats and the approach of sanctions, have caused unnecessary expansion of tension and all suffered damage.

While the U.N. Security Council supported the JCPOA and the whole world was happy to implement it, Donald Trump violated the U.S. government's commitments, withdrew from the JCPOA and created problems for everyone. He declared a policy of maximum pressure against Iran and developed it in the most inhumane way possible, but of course failed.

While we continued to live up to our commitments to the JCPOA, the European Union did not meet its obligations to normalize Iran's economic relations with the world and compensate for the U.S. withdrawal.

Now Mr. Biden's announcement to return to the JCPOA is the best indication that the method of threat to Iran is ineffective and the Trump's maximum pressure policy has failed. Based on past 20 years of our experiences, in the Vienna talks which are also underway this week, we are trying to come up with a formula that in the future, neither side of the JCPOA will be able to create problems for this important international agreement and others by withdrawing from the agreement. Iran has so far made the most of its efforts to sustain the JCPOA and is now seeking assurances for full implementation of the JCPOA and, indeed, UN Resolution 2231. We have worked with the agency beyond our obligations. Most of the agency's inspections were from Iran's nuclear facilities. All of our nuclear activities so far have been peaceful, according to reports from the International Nuclear Energy Agency.

At the same time, surprisingly, we have always been under pressure and sanctions. This unfair situation can no longer continue.

What would be Iran’s solution to tensions with Israel and what is it that you stand for? What is it that the official Tehran blames Tel Aviv for?

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IN HIS FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE WINNING THE ELECTION, MR. RAISI STRESSED THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF IRAN'S RELATIONS WITH ALL COUNTRIES IN A BROAD AND BALANCED MANNER, ESPECIALLY WITH NEIGHBORS, WOULD BE ON HIS GOVERNMENT'S AGENDA

ty in this country. This forehand has been officially submitted and registered to the United Nations.

Why does the international community and Europe not recognize and pursue the right of the Palestinian people to determine their sovereignty and govern their country?!

as well as the development of settlement construction projects and violations of Palestinian basic rights, is not taking serious action to stop it.

I deeply believe that without solving this chronic crisis, not the Middle East, nor the world will not see peace and stability. In the media, you are witnessing the killing and wounding of Palestinians every day, especially children,

by Israeli soldiers and the destruction of Palestinian homes. This concerns and upsets all the freedom-seekers of the world.

From our point of view the solution is democracy, The same Western mantra, which is forgotten when it should be applied in Palestine. As the Western mantra of human rights which is not treated equally when it comes to defending the rights of other nations.

We propose holding a referendum with all Palestinians around the world, including Jewish, Christian and Muslim, to determine the type of sovereign-

Relations with the US and Saudi Arabia are connected in a way, because these two countries are close allies, and it seems that there are steps forward in relaxing relations with these two countries?

— According to the rules and principles of international relations, countries are free to establish their relationships based on maintaining independence and securing their interests. Any government that gives up of this right has oppressed its country and its people.

Equal relationship, based on goodwill, friendship and cooperation with all countries, especially neighboring countries, is the priority of Iran's foreign policy.

We do not link relationships with neighbors to the other factors and evaluate and regulate relations with countries independently based on our own national interests. We also advise our neighbors to do so. Our important condition for building relationships with countries is mutual respect.

Accordingly, in recent years, we

— Let me begin with second part of your questions. Our vision about Israel comes from a clear historical truth. This regime was founded by occupying Palestinian territories, threatening, killing, and plundering its people from outset and has continued unabated for the past 70 years.

International jurists know that with crime and medieval approaches, one cannot establish a legitimate and acceptable government in the international community. Although the Israeli government, with the support of the U.S. government and with threats and bribery, was able to obtain the recognition of certain countries, but this will not be sustainable. Israel's actions over the past 70 years have been the focal point of the ongoing crisis and unrest in the Middle East, which has sometimes affected whole the world.

It's very surprising that the European Union, which for decades has opposed the Israeli regime's policies to invalidate the theory of the establishment of two states,

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have not stopped efforts to further improve relations with our neighbors, especially Saudi Arabia. It was Saudi Arabia that was reluctant. Our current president, Mr. Rouhani, even wrote a letter to the King of Saudi Arabia. President-elect Raisi also announced in his first press conference that the Embassies of the two countries will be activated as soon as possible. Dr. Zarif also said at the Antalya conference some days ago, that we are ready to send our Ambassador to Saudi Arabia even tomorrow.

All countries in the region are affected by regional insecurity.

The Middle East should not be allowed to become a field of interference or competition by world powers or out-regional powers.

This principle applies to all regions, including the Balkans. In recent months, many efforts have been made to end regional crises and bring stability & cooperation, like the Yemen crisis which caused nothing than killing innocents and inflicting great losses.

We welcome the positive change of the Saudi approach. The sooner, the better.

What will you focus on in an effort to improve relations between Croatia and Iran, and how do you plan to bring the beauty of Iran and everything that Iran has to offer to the general public?

— In addition to my political re-

sponsibilities, I have been active in social communication and media for nearly three decades. I believe that the capacities that inter-people communication can create and accelerate the great potential for the development and deepening of bilateral relations in all areas. I am glad that the two peoples of Iran and Croatia have good relations. I will try to bring the people of Iran and Croatia closer together by further developing cultural, artistic and popular connections between the elites of both sides and identifying more cultural characteristics, tourism manifestations and social habits and customs of the two countries. So before coming to Zagreb, I told my counterpart, Dr. Drago Štambuk, that we had a common mission, and so I invited him to be complementary.

In order to follow the mentioned tasks, we have submitted a new proposal for direct Tehran - Zagreb flight to the Croatian authorities. These flights should be always full of passengers to Zagreb. We have also prepared an "Iran Week" program in Croatia,

which we will perform it in coordination with the Croatian side.

In this program, we will introduce new and useful information about historical attractions, tourism and amazing and different manifestations of culture, art and different lifestyles of people in different parts of Iran to the culture-loving people of Croatia. For this plan I have had discussions with the Ministers of Tourism and Culture of Croatia.

There are also good capacities for cooperation in the academic and university sectors, in the humanities, natural sciences and in new technologies, we have many opportunities to work with the Croatian Minister of Science and Education and the Dean of some universities. One of the programs is the establishment of Persian and Croatian language seats in universities on both sides and holding a conference of cultural commonalities between the two peoples in Tehran and Zagreb universities. In Iran's knowledge-based companies, there are various research projects in the highest standards and the latest

AS FOR FOREIGN RELATIONS, I MUST FIRST SAY THAT THE SUPREME LEADER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE PRINCIPLES OF FOREIGN POLICY IN IRAN AND GOVERNMENTS ARE IMPLEMENTING IT

technologies that can create suitable grounds for cooperation between the two countries. We continuously reflect these capabilities to the Croat sides.

Ebrahim Raisi won the recent presidential elections. What is the basis of his policy in the country, and what kind of policy can we expect towards the West?

— The President-elect of Iran, Mr. Raisi, has high political experience, good reputation in important national managements, well aware of the of the people’s demands and, as well as conscious about international relations. As for domestic policies, he has said he will pay more attention to the livelihoods of a section of society that has been hurt more by outrageous U.S. sanctions. Like workers, retirees and fixed-income strata. Improving the business situation, increasing employment, paying more attention to domestic economic capacities and increasing the production of basic goods to meet the country's needs are between 10 of his main programs. In social contexts, Mr. Raisi has also declared securing social freedoms under the Constitution, expanding justice and fighting any corruption as a priority for the next Iranian government.

As for foreign relations, I must first say that the supreme leader is responsible for determining the principles of foreign policy in Iran and governments are implementing it. Therefore, the framework of our foreign relations will not change. In his election campaign, Mr. Raisi said he would strongly support negotiations with the JCPOA sides. Of course, with the aim of being sure that the United States lift the designated sanctions and Iran verifying it, Europe and the other parties to the JCPOA fulfill their obligations, and Iran enjoys all its rights to trade and normal economic relations with the international community while fulfilling its obligations under the JCPOA. his foreign policy will be outcome-oriented.

In his first press conference since winning the election, Mr. Raisi stressed that the development of Iran's relations with all countries in a broad and balanced manner, especially with neighbors, would be on his government's agenda. This approach will surely help stabilize and improve regional conditions. Iran's hand of friendship has always been open to its neighbors.

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INTERVIEW

Challenges as Inspiration for Success AmCham started bringing back live events respecting all epidemiological recommendations

ANDREA DOKO JELUŠIĆ Executive Director AmCham Croatia

he time of the coronavirus has shown like magnifier the many inefficiencies and illogicalities of the current public ecosystem surrounding the economy, while at the same time, it has shown that change for the better is possible and that public apparatus efficiency is not a myth but a possible reality. When there is no alternative, state institutions have proven to be fast, ready to accept digital processes and be goal oriented, among other things for Diplomacy& Commerce says Andrea Doko Jelušić, Executive Director AmCham Croatia.

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The past year, since we have lived in the age of the COVID19 pandemic, has brought many novelties in both thinking and in business. How did AmCham adapt to the new circumstances?

— When the epidemic started all AmCham operations switched to home office. Transfer to videoconferencing was smooth and all our committees continued with their regular activities, while at the same time AmCham prepared busy program of webinars where members were sharing their expertise. Our “in person” networking events switched to high level webinars with international and government speakers.

Luckily, in the last couple of months the vaccination has taken off and more than one third of Croatia’s population has received one or both doses of vaccines. In addition, the number or newly infected persons has been steadily declining, so AmCham started bringing back live events respecting all epidemiological recommendations. We have noticed that, although still cautious, people are looking forward to return of personal interactions and live meeting. I believe that in the last year we have all once again learned how important technology is and how much it makes our lives easier, but I also believe that this pandemic has reminded us of

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the value of human interactions, and we are really looking forward to being able to meet our members face to face again.

I would also like to mention that many companies expect a return to the old without seeing that

According to the information available to AmCham, how big is the crisis, how big is the decline in investment, production and business operations in general in both USA and Croatia? What do the numbers say?

AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN CROATIA TODAY GATHERS MORE THAN 260 AMERICAN, CROATIAN AND INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES THAT EMPLOY MORE THAN 91.000 PEOPLE IN CROATIA some new methods have proven successful, and trends have changed. From this crisis will stand out those who may have changed under the pressure of circumstances but have embraced change and in new situation seek an opportunity for themselves in a world of new habits. Those waiting for an end of the crisis to return to the old will realize that the world has changed, and their decision, whatever it may be, will be overdue at that point.

— If the corona crisis has taught us anything, it is that Croatia can be efficient and orderly, and the biggest fear is to go back to the old way under the pressure of loud people who do not like the changes.

According to the Survey of the Business Environment in Croatia that AmCham conducted at the beginning of the year on a sample of 135 board members of domestic and international companies in Croatia, in 2020 business

worsened for 39% of the respondents, and for an approximately equal proportion business got better when compared to 2019.

Among those for whom the situation worsened, most of the respondents, 67% of them, record a decline of up to 30%. Most of the companies (52%) managed to keep the same level of employment as in 2019, while 31.6% saw an increase in the number of employees. A considerable number of respondents (55%) rated the business experience in Croatia as good or very good, and 42% of the respondents noticed an improvement in business conditions in the last five years.

What the respondents noticed as an improvement were the financing conditions, demand for goods and services, and the level of taxation, whereas the availability and quality of the workforce, the judiciary, and the application of legal rules and procedures were seen as a deterioration. Moreover, 46% of the respondents rated the influence of the Croatian judiciary on business as negative or significantly negative.

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There has been a significant decline in business activity, but in what ways have you, as an institution, helped the business people?

— Policy advocacy is our core business and our way to support the companies. With the aim of contributing to economic stability, job preservation and ensuring financial liquidity of all companies doing business in Croatia, AmCham has published three sets of recommendations with additional measures to provide economic relief to companies facing difficulties because of the COVID-19 outbreak. AmCham's recommendations were aimed at maintaining the liquidity of companies, securing employment, i.e. jobs, ensuring the supply chain, stimulating post-crisis consumption and tax reliefs. The measures proposed by AmCham were designed in line with the measures already adopted by the Croatian Government or they were based on the economic relief measures adopted by other countries in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

As for measures for ensuring liquidity, AmCham proposed, amongst other, establishing state loans and HBOR (Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development) guarantees (in the amount of ca. 10% of the GDP in accordance with the experience of other countries); establishing financial funds for those economic sectors primarily affected by the crisis (e.g. tourism); granting new liquidity loans to companies with impaired liquidity with the obligation of repayment within 2 years at a 0% interest rate (like the Czech Republic).

Regarding measures for preserving job positions, they referred to introduction of a shorter working hours model; implementing obligatory vacation time during the crisis; subsidizing employee salaries in the private sector (like Austria and Slovenia) and implementation of income tax and tax contribution write-offs during the period of coronavirus outbreak.

In addition, in order to protect jobs in all companies regardless of their sector of industry, AmCham proposed the introduction of a number of new legal categories of employment such as “furlough leave”, a model successfully implemented in Slovenia.

AmCham representatives presented the recommendations for economic relief to the Minis-

try of Labour and Pension System and discussed further plans of the Government and Ministry aimed at securing employment.

AmCham has, among others, advocated waiving VAT on donations to hospitals and science/education institutions as one of its recommendations for economic relief during the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, we are extremely glad that by the decision of the Croatian Government, VAT on donations has been waived.

bers have the opportunity to participate in the political process and contribute to the development of the Croatian economy and society as a whole. We do this through policy advocacy activities which are primarily conducted through expert Committees and Task Forces formed by AmCham’s members. Policy advocacy initiatives include, among other things, meetings with Government ministers and officials and events targeted at main stakeholders.

DIGITAL AND DISLOCATED AT THAT TIME WERE RECOGNIZED AS A DIRECTION THAT WOULD ENABLE COMPANY’S SURVIVAL What are the most common issues and what are the needs of the business people when they address you? How is the communication with decision makers?

— American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia is an independent, nonprofit and nongovernmental business association founded in 1998 that today gathers more than 260 American, Croatian and International companies that employ more than 91.000 people in Croatia. As the oldest foreign Chamber in Croatia, AmCham strongly contributes to the improvement of the business environment through advocating the best business practices and recommendations for positioning Croatia as an attractive destination for investments. We believe our members recognize our efforts in achieving this.

The most important goal is to make sure that AmCham’s mem-

Throughout the years we have developed very good relations with many decision makers and we managed to position AmCham as a reliable and trustworthy partner when it comes to many challenges that concern business community in Croatia.

When talking about key topics for business people, we help newcomers to navigate Croatian regulatory environment while companies with mature operations in Croatia would like to see improvements in business climate and potentially expand their operations locally. We are pleased to see that large share of AmCham members grow their operations and employ more people every year in Croatia.

We all switched to digital platforms, online events. How long will that remain a way of communication and business and

what do you prefer - online or communication in person?

— Last year’s lockdown set the direction for the new normal. Digital and dislocated at that time were recognized as a direction that would enable company’s survival. Digital channels of access to users and work, however, have set a direction that will, to a greater or lesser extent, remain a part of our regular life regardless of the pandemic.

As mentioned above, many companies expect a return to the old without seeing that some new methods have proven successful, and trends have changed.

Working from home will remain a practice to a greater or lesser extent depending on the industry and the needs of the company. Not because of the costs of the company, but because of the flexibility it provides to workers by enabling them to have, until now unattainable, balance of private and business life. The experience of this crisis has shown that workers who have the conditions to work from home expect this possibility in the future either occasionally/on demand or in a more permanent form, given that it is a standard in the business framework of most EU countries. Having that in mind, digital platforms and digital ways of communication will remain part of our lives.

I believe that a mix of both online and in person is ideal.

The year 2021 was supposed to be a year of recovery. When is the recovery expected to begin and what are AmCham's plans for the upcoming period?

— Despite the challenges faced in the last year, when, according to AmCham’s survey, business worsened for a considerable number of companies, most of the AmCham members plan to expand their business operations (74%) and to employ an additional number of people (64%). Also, 60% of the respondents intend to make it possible for their employees to continue working from home even after the coronavirus pandemic is over.

While the coronavirus has mostly had an impact on the transformation of business processes (digitalization), short-term strategic goals, and finances and liquidity, it is expected that it will continue to have a negative impact on business in the next two years.

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CORPORATE

Takeda - 240 Years Long Tradition, Hand in Hand With Cutting Edge Innovation As a company, we have a very sharp focus - rare diseases, gastroenterology, oncology and plasma-derived therapies VIKTORIJA ZADRO HUML

of Conduct is based on principles that are organized around Patient-Trust-Reputation-Business.

It embodies the spirit of Takeda — what we stand for and how we conduct ourselves. Bringing it all to life makes sure that we are LOVED Living Our Values Every Day.

General Manager for Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina at Takeda

akeda has integrated many companies into its system since 2000th and thus come up with an entire array of new, innovative products and cutting edge technologies. We have grown and gained an exciting portfolio. Shire and Baxalta acquisitions in combination with divestment of non-core portfolio focus the organization on key therapeutic areas and provide the best service for the patients, for Diplomacy&Commerce says Viktorija Zadro Huml, General Manager for Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina at Takeda.

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Takeda is celebrating 240 anniversary this year. Is the quite long tradition anyhow reflected in your daily life?

— Takeda is proud to have a values-based culture as its strong foundation. And we understand our responsibility to meet the highest standards of ethical behavior at all times, because everything we do impacts the most vital aspect of people’s lives — their health. This is reflected in our purpose: better health for people, brighter future for the world.

Takeda has evolved significantly since the company was founded

by Chobei I in 1781. What started out as a small broker of traditional medicines in the emerging Japanese city of Osaka is now a global, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan, which is positioned and equipped to discover and deliver life-transforming treatments. Takeda-ism has always been our unique compass. Its timeless values of Integrity, Fairness, Honesty and Perseverance define who we are. They

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WE EMPHASIZE OUR UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO ALWAYS PUTTING PATIENTS FIRST THOUGH OUR STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE “RESPONSIBLY TRANSLATE SCIENCE INTO HIGHLY INNOVATIVE, LIFE-CHANGING MEDICINES” are brought to life through decisions and actions that put our patient at the center of everything we do, build trust with society, reinforce our reputation and devel-

op a sustainable business, in that order. Together, Takeda-ism and Patient-Trust-Reputation-Business underpin everything we do and how we do it. Our Global Code

You have mentioned the values. Everything at Takeda begins with the question “how can we do even more for our patients?”.

How is this question answered?

— At the end of the last year Takeda introduced a refreshed corporate philosophy. As our company and the environment evolve, so must the corporate philosophy which tells the story of who we are, what we do, how we do it and why it matters. These reminders are especially pertinent during the ongoing pandemic, allowing us to focus and keep our commitment to patients front of mind. I therefore want to relay some of the core components of the corporate philosophy and what it means for us and what we aspire to be in the future: create "better health for people, brighter future for the world."

This should guide everything that we do. Our vision describes our aspiration for the future, to "discover and deliver life-transforming treatments, guided by our commitment to patients, our people and our planet. Takeda is determined to provide transformative healthcare solutions and products. We have a responsibility to patients, colleagues and other stakeholders as well as the communities where we operate. As a company, we have a very sharp focus - rare diseases, gastroenterology, oncology and plasma-derived therapies. In each of these therapeutic areas we are closely collaborating with patients and providing patients support programmes for them.

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The contribution of Takeda is also visible more than ever now in Covid-times. We were able to ensure continuous delivery of our products by overcoming all the obstacles, as well as increased demand for our products and I am proud to say there was no single day of disruption of delivery of our products to the patients in Croatia. This is one thing, the most important, I would say. And the second most important thing is that we were really able to help the patients who are non-COVID to get their healthcare by introducing support programs, such as working on providing home treatment to needed patients, support for caregivers, educations for nurses, application helping patients to cope easier with their condition and many more.

Has the COVID-19 pandemic finally led to us recognising the significance of health and pharmaceutical companies?

— I think that the COVID pandemic brought an unpreceded disruption of healthcare system. But it has also helped us to recognise the importance of two things – innovation and healthcare. Innovation is now not limited only to products, but also to innovative services, including digitalization of the whole healthcare system.

This is in general what COVID has taught us.

Our importance as innovative pharmaceutical companies is increasing. And I think that the collaboration between the pharmaceutical companies and the healthcare system has been more vivid than ever. Through our constant communication, we were able to supply the market, to ensure the treatment for both COVID and non-COVID patients, and to ensure some services that innovative pharmaceutical companies can provide, such as telemedicine and other digital solutions.

We will not be seen anymore as companies that are only delivering products, but we will partner more and earlier with all the stakeholders including the Government, the payers and the patient organizations. We will go more in advance, to start our partnerships and the planning of partnerships earlier in the life cycle of the product but also in broadening the scope of partnerships.

Not only we register a product and then leave it to the market, but also we should think how we can work together with the authori-

THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES AND THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM HAS BEEN MORE VIVID THAN EVER ties and patients in order to develop healthcare systems and provide overall support to societies in the countries.

Takeda has integrated many companies into its system since 2000 and thus come up with an entire array of new, innovative products and cutting edge technologies. What did you gain from the latest acquisition of biopharmaceutical company Shire in 2019?

— We have grown and gained another additional exciting portfolio. On the other hand, the Shire and Baxalta acquisitions, and next to that the divestment of non-core portfolio brought us the best way to stay focused on key therapeutic areas and provide the best service for the patients.

The acquisition occurred already in 2019, and I am happy to share that this year, we have formally became one legal entity

in Croatia. Over the past 2 years, we had to adjust the processes and the organisation, but also to preserve business continuity and provide continuous support to the patients. A huge recognition for this achievement goes to the whole Takeda team who is working tirelessly to deliver this ambition.

Our patients are our key priority and as I have mentioned, by being focused and not too broad we can have enough time and resources to address these needs.

We emphasize our unwavering commitment to always putting patients first though our strategic imperative “responsibly translate science into highly innovative, life-changing medicines” It means we focus on diseases with the highest unmet needs, to bring medicines of the highest quality to market, as soon as possible.

We as a company are committed to deliver only life transformative

medicine therefore we are present in the areas where our products are really adding significant value, transformation to people’s lives. And this is our commitment and mission for the future as well.

Coming back to the values, one of them does mention People.

How do you care about your own employees? Is there anything special you are proud of?

And how have you supported your teams within the past Covid year?

— The last year marked with the covid pandemic has been one of the most difficult periods for our employees. The ways of working have changed significantly. People stayed home together with their families, often small children as schools were closed, trying to ballance both work and their family life. Contact with other colleagues and clients has changed to fully remote. Understanding all this, we have equipped our colleagues with office chairs, monitors and offered several well-being programs. I am extremely proud that Takeda has been awarded with Family Friendly Employer certificate, the more it came after this challenging year.

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CORPORATE

My Goal is to Make Woman Feel Beautiful I don't follow trends, I follow my intuition How would you describe fashion sence in Croatian women and who would you like to see wear your creations ?

— Our ladies have always been very fashion conscious. I believe that I have also contributed with my designes and will continue so in the future. Who would I like to dress ? Woman that I would like to see wear my design is fashion concious that supports quality of my work and feels special wearing it. It would be an honour to see our first lady wear my designs as well as the other wonderful ladies from political scene.

DANIJELA GAZDEK Maleza Fashion brand

tart of epidemic gave me time to learn, improve my work and in a way to start preparation on projects that I want to achieve in next two years.

Every bad period has it's ending, for Diplomacy&Commerce says designer and owner of Fashion boutique house Maleza Danijela Gazdek.

Fashion boutique house Maleza was established last year, just before Covid epidemic. Challenging times led this young mother of three to be even more stronger and willing to suceed in creating a fashion line in limited series, made of the finest materials from around the world. Her debut collection was immediately well-received by fashion lovers, selling only only at that point. Now, owner Danijela Gazdek is looking forward to next step, going public with her work hoping that in near future she will open her first showroom.

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You started your company in challaenging times. Where did you find the enthusiasm when every segment is effected due to Covid. How did you start designing ?

— Challanges times have always existed and they have always been part of each individual lifes. Only difference now is that we have been going through this on much bigger scale. Every person and business has been effected. We all have to belive that we will go back to old normal in near future. Most of the people live in fear while I choose to live for the dream. This is why I started my fashion brand Maleza. Fashion is my love and I am very grateful to be privileged to do what i love the most.

How would you describe your fashion brand? How does Maleza woman look like?

— Maleza is all about handmade

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MALEZA IS ALL ABOUT HANDMADE CLOTHES, THIS PROCESS IS MUCH LONGER BUT FINAL PRODUCT IS OF HIGHEST QUALITY clothes, this process is much longer but final product is of highest quality. I give special attention to fabrics which I choose from around the world to get the highest quality. All this requires a lot of effort and patience but result is combination what I have imagined, from first sketches to final

stitch. My goal is to make woman feel beautiful and feminine. I don't follow trends, I follow my intuition. How does Maleza woman look like ? She is a mother, wife, business woman, politician, athlete … My clothes are made to make each woman no matter her size look and feel like an goddess.

You have mentioned project before. Where do you see Maleza in the future ?

— Yes, we have many things in works for this year. I am happy that our summer collection including wedding dresses is coming out really soon. We shoot it at Meneghetti Hotel few weeks ago. For this campaign we collaborated with Austrian shoe brand Högl. My other other project involves production of luxury line of bedding, cloaks and towels for hotels. But my focus and my teams right now is autumn. My PR agency is working on charity event that would involve our renowned painters. For this occasion I will be designinng 10 dresses out of white silk which would become with help of our artists unique masterpieces. All dresses would be auctioned at gala dinner and all proceeds would go to helping village Majske Poljane. I have very strong childhood memories to this place, it is part of me and who I am today and I feel duty to help people of that part. I don't want to fail them as they still are in great need of all our help. I hope to get support from our Presidents and mayors office as well as our diplomatic community.

We have started work on this and I hope I can contribute to healing of families of that part of our beautiful country.

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INTERVIEW

Don’t Cancel Your Trips, Change the Dates and Save Tourism!

In July and August we expect to reach 80% of the record-breaking turnover of 2019. This figure includes arrivals and overnight stays – travel agency numbers may not fall into these projections

TOMISLAV FAIN President of the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies

ravel agencies are used to adapting, we are creators, the innovators of various forms of tourism and I am sure that we will cope with this situation and adapt to new trends, says Tomislav Fain, President of the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies (UHPA), for Diplomacy & Commerce. So far, agencies have received wage subsidies which have helped us keep our employees on – and literaly survive. If we had lost our well-trained teams, that would be the end for us all, Fain believes.

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From UHPA’s point of view, what kind of tourist season can we expect according to the projections

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and plans of the relevant Ministry, tourist boards and agencies in the field?

— We’ve already started the season, and according to initial projections for July and August, I think we could have a good part

course, we are talking about the number of arrivals and overnight stays, but this does not include travel agency numbers which, as we have seen last year, may not follow the same pattern. Last year, we had some 50% of over-

WE HOPE THAT THE CURRENT STATE MEASURES WILL BE PROLONGED UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR AND, IN DOING SO, THE GOVERNMENT WILL MAKE OUR RECOVERY A LITTLE EASIER of the season, of course if our epidemiological figures are good, i.e. we are not on the red lists of our outbound markets. I think we will reach over 80% of our record breaking 2019 turnover in these two months alone. Of

night stays compared to 2019, and agencies still had an 85% drop in turnover. Unfortunately, agency operations will recover at a slower pace, but of course any increase compared to last year is good.

How did the agencies adapt to new business conditions and how important is a quick response to a situation for business success?

— If we’re talking about adapting to epidemiological measures, we mastered that part quickly and I don’t see us having any issues there.

On the other hand, if we’re talking about doing business in the age of the coronavirus, i.e. adjusting business operations, that part is very difficult to achieve because in a situation where we don’t have the financial means to cover our fixed costs, it’s difficult to invest and adapt other work processes and segments. Of course, every agency will try to do everything they can to shift their capabilities and business opportunities towards the appropriate business segment, the one that is most desirable at the moment.

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How much did state support help, do you expect the continuation of that support and until when?

— So far, Croatian travel agencies have received support for our employees from the state, and that’s how we managed to keep our employees on and practically survive, because if we had lost our employees, with all the other losses, that would have been the end for us. I believe that travel agencies, just like our colleagues in the restaurant and café business, should have received support from the state to cover our fixed costs, because we are by far the most affected sector, but unfortunately, there was no understanding for us from one part of the current Croatian cabinet. We hope that the current state measures will be prolonged until the end of the year and, in doing so, the Government will make our recovery a little easier.

What is the situation with the travel agencies market, how many of them are working, how many people do they employ and what are the biggest problems in their work?

— At the end of 2020, around 5,500 people worked in travel agencies in Croatia. Unfortunately, we lost some employees in this crisis, they had to move to other sectors due to financial problems, but we hope that they will return with the coming recovery and continue where they left off.

When we talk about tourism in Croatia, we are talking mainly

WE LOST A NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN THIS CRISIS, DUE TO FINANCIAL ISSUES THEY HAD TO TRANSFER TO OTHER SECTORS about the arrival of foreigners.

What is the situation when we talk about domestic guests and what is the offer for them?

— Compared to other EU destinations, the contribution of domestic travel in the total number of overnight stays in Croatia is relatively small. One of the reasons is certainly that some of our fellow citizens have their holiday homes and properties either on the coast

or inland and that is where they spend their vacations. Most of these owners and their families, upon arrival do not check in as guests even though they should and even though it costs them very little. If everyone checked in, that share would certainly be much higher, and in that way they would facilitate the planning of communal and infrastructural investment for the destinations, im-

proving its overall quality and appeal.

Our offers are the same for both domestic and foreign visitors but domestic guests’ interests are somewhat different. What makes us especially happy is that every year more and more of our fellow citizens travel across Croatia and discover all the beauties of their homeland.

Where do Croats travel abroad the most these days, how much has that changed and what is the current offer (due to restrictions that still exist)?

— Travels abroad have started, but the numbers are still rather low. I believe that at this moment, Turkey is the most popular destination for our citizens.

What are UHPA’s plans for the future period and where do you see most changes in return to the pre-crisis period?

— Travel agencies are used to adapting, we are creators, the innovators of various forms of tourism and I am sure that we will cope with this situation and adapt to coming trends. Of course, this won’t be simple because, first of all, we are financially drained and struggling. Some agencies will have to change their entire business segment, introduce new products, adjust their offer and turn to new markets. UHPA will keep track of these changes, like we always have, and will continue to remain available and strongly support all our members.

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PEOPLE & EVENTS

Photos: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Ana Marija Katić

President Milanović Receives World Bank Delegation

President of the Republic Zoran Milanovic, the World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Anna Bjerde, Regional Director for EU Member States Gallina Andronova Vincelette, the World Bank Country Director for Croatia and Slovenia, who will assume his post on July 1, Jehan Arupragasam, World Bank Country Director for Croatia and Slovenia Elisabetta Capannelli and World Bank Senior Economist for Croatia and Slovenia Josip Funda.

President of the Republic Zoran Milanovic received JUNE a delegation of the World Bank led by the World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Anna Bjerde. Alongside Anna Bjerde at the meeting were the Regional Director for EU Member States Gallina Andronova Vince-

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lette, the World Bank Country Director for Croatia and Slovenia, who will assume his post on July 1, Jehan Arupragasam, World Bank Country Director for Croatia and Slovenia Elisabetta Capannelli and World Bank Senior Economist for Croatia and Slovenia Josip Funda.

The delegation informed President Milanović of the cooperation between the Republic of Croatia and the World Bank Group with special reference to the support that this institution is providing for the reconstruction of earthquake-stricken areas in Croatia and in mitigating the

economic and social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue of inequality, poverty and social exclusiveness was also discussed, and the resolution of this issue is in the joint interest of the President of the Republic of Croatia and the World Bank Group.

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PEOPLE & EVENTS

25 MAY

XHIBITION: "VIKING AGE - HOUSEWIFE, E WARRIOR AND SEERESS"

Rare periods of human history have attracted as much attention and stimulated the imagination as the Viking Age, but our notions of the Vikings often imply a male warrior. At that time, women were also Viking warriors and went to war on an equal footing with men. Some were also housewives with the legal right to manage the household and agricultural property. They could also be psychics who transmitted the will of the Gods and foretold people’s future, or fascinating Viking queens. Norse mythology has more goddesses than gods. Without all these women, the Viking Age as we know it would not exist at all. This exhibition shows stories of different women from this interesting period. The history of the Vikings is constantly being revised as new discoveries are being made, and what we current-

ly know about them is presented at The Viking Museum in Stockholm. The museum’s permanent exhibition displays the story of the Vikings based on the latest archaeological evidence, but it also offers a unique journey into the past, back to the year 963, and it’s called the Ragnfried’s Saga. The exhibition in Zagreb is a small part of Viking history displayed in a museum in Stockholm. "Women from the Viking Age seemed to have equal rights in many aspects of society. They could own land, initiate divorce proceedings, serve as clergy, or run a business. I hope that visitors will be interested in this part of the history that we share with our Nordic neighbours," said Swedish Ambassador Diana Helen Madunic. The plan is to show the exhibition throughout the Republic of Croatia.

Photos: Damir Krajač/Cropix

H.E. Diana Helen Madunic, Swedish Ambassador to Croatia

11 JUNE

Diva Tereza Kesovija, H. E. GaelFrancois Veyssiere, French Ambassador to Croatia and his wife

Minister of Culture Nina Obuljen Koržinek and Professor Alemka Markotić

IVA TEREZA KESOVIJA RECEIVED A D PRESTIGIOUS AWARD

For her dedicated work on connecting Croatia and France through culture, a rich career in both countries and the promotion of the French language and chanson – the diva of our music scene Tereza Kesovija was awarded the prestigious Ordre des Arts et des Lettres award.

She deserved it because of the numerous guest appearances of French artists in Croatia, but also because of her concerts and songs in French, as the French Ambassador, His Excellency Gael Francois Veyssière, said here.

– I have countless awards, but France is deep in my heart because I have been there since 1965. And that is the beauty of my profession, which is recognized for its work on the unity of the two countries. Evenven if I don’t achieve anything else in my life, this is the recognition that I will keep in my heart, said Tereza Kesovija.

Son of Tereza Kesovija, Alan Ungar with his wife Ljiljana

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ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES

NATIONAL DAYS JULY

MERCATOR’S SUPERVISORY BOARD CONFIRMED NEW MANDATE OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD

The Supervisory Board of the Mercator Group has confirmed a new mandate for Mercator’s Management Board. President of the Management Board Tomislav Čizmić, and members of the Management Board Draga Cukjati and Igor Mamuza were given a new four-year term.

Fabris Peruško, Member of the Supervisory Board of Mercator and Member of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Fortenova Group, emphasized that the Mercator Management Board’s new mandate is recognition to the Management Board because Mercator has achieved key strategic goals over the past four years. “On behalf of

the Management Board, I would like to thank Mr. Peruško and the entire Supervisory Board for their trust. Fortenova and Mercator will start a new investment cycle that will guarantee further successful development of Mercator, and thus of Slovenian suppliers as well. The new investments will primarily be intended for construction of a new distribution center in Ljubljana, the renovation and expansion of the sales network and the digitalization of operations. Also, the new investments will have a positive impact on the business efficiency of Mercator – said Tomislav Čizmić, President of the Management Board of Mercator.

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CANADA

Canada Day

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BELARUS

Independence Day

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UNITED STATES Independence Day

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ALGERIA

Independence Day

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VENEZUELA

Independence Day

RYAN GAUCI New General Director of Hilton Rijeka Costabella Beach Resort & Spa Ryan has a degree in hotel business from the Faculty of Tourism in Malta and has more than twenty years of international experience in hotel and catering industry under his belt. He has worked various jobs at the Hilton hotels across Europe, including the hotels in Malta and the United Kingdom, Poland, France and Italy.

Before coming to the Hilton Rijeka

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Costabella Beach Resort & Spa, he was at the head of the famous Hilton Prague Hotel. Ryan will lead the team towards the first summer season at the very heart of the Kvarner Bay, while José Luiz Ruiz Arroyo was been responsible for implementation of the project before the opening of the resort, where the construction lasted for eighteen months.

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ARGENTINA

Independence Day

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MONTENEGRO Independence Day

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FRANCE

Bastille Day

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ECONOMY

by Žikica Milošević

A Missed Historical Opportunity Why did the West allow such an inadequate answer? ondon's The Economist warns us that the socalled "global West" had a historic opportunity to demonstrate its superiority in two things - in vaccine production technology and solidarity with the less fortunate. Still, the West “has missed an empty goal”, to use the football vernacular.

And this wouldn't even be an altruistic act but rather a sound financial endavour with earnings growing by 17,900% in the space of four years. Simply put, this happened to the G-7 group, which managed to miss the "deal of the century" and invest a lot and get even more in return. They had the money to invest and generate such a gigantic and secure profit. But they failed to do so! Now, in addition to economic damage, this has caused a diplomatic fiasco.

much more than Western countries. The vaccine-diplomacy is a successor of the medical aid diplomacy from 2020. If the West cannot prove to be better than the two eastern giants, how will it prove to be more efficient in battling climate change? China gives loans to those countries which need infrastructure and which are largely ignored by the West. Russia is preparing to flood Europe with another gas pipeline (Nord Stream 2), and at the same time, it has launched a huge gas pipeline to China and is building another big one in the direction of Pakistan.

Nice phrases coming from the West have not been enough for a long time. How, then, will America be trusted to be able to fight a better battle against climate change if the West cannot cope with the pandemic and help the world save itself from a small virus?

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SLOPPY ANSWER AND SELFISHNESS At the G-7 meeting, participants heard a lot of pleasant phrases and promises, which followed the sloppy reaction to the pandemic. Boris Johnson promised a billion doses of vaccines as a gift to poor countries, and Biden promised that America alone would give 500 million. He also underlined that the U.S. had an idea to show that the West can provide more to developing countries than China and Russia. But it all came too late and was quite inconsistent with the situation on the ground. The promises were huge, and the donations miserable. The UK has ordered 5 times more vaccines than it needs to vaccinate the entire population with two doses. Now, the country has decided to donate some of the doses. The COVAX system has several billion doses missing. Although G-7 has the money and power to combat the pandemic, The Economist believes that anything but a clear answer to the question when is the whole world going to be vaccinated, would be scandalous and would show the selfishness and incompetence of the G-7.

WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED? For 70% of the entire world's

THE WEST HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW THAT IT WAS TECHNOLOGICALLY AND MORALLY SUPERIOR AND DISCIPLINED AND AT THE SAME TIME, EARN MONEY, BUT IT HAS MISSED OUT ON THIS COLOSSAL OPPORTUNITY population to be immunized by April 2021, only 50 billion dollars were needed. If that was done, the individual economies would open up, planes would fly, goods would start moving, people would start shopping and tourists would flood the world. Everything would be as before. By 2025, global growth would be $9 trillion higher than currently projected, considering the ongoing inoculation rate. This is all a purely economic calculation, and if we included the humanitarian aspect of it, we can safely assume that a few million more lives would be saved either by preventing people from dying from COVID or preventing people from dying from curable diseases that are currently either inoperable or put on the back burner due to hospitals being inundated with COVID patients. The cost would be only 0.13% of the

G-7 countries' GDP, which is five times less than the amount given to help other countries, not counting the huge amounts allocated to help their own economies and citizens. If a group of the most developed and supposedly most moral countries in the world cannot solve such a simple task and help humanity, while earning money along the way, then what's the point – The Economist asks.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE END? Joseph Biden wrote columns in which he praised America's ability to solve global problems, and to show the world that the authoritarian methods allegedly used by Russia and China are not a better option. He presented Russia and China as a danger to world order, but, in reality, those two countries helped the global development

NOW IS THE BEST CHANCE WE HAVE If the West has managed to produce great vaccines in record time, now is time to offer them to the world to heal it because if the virus continues to circulate in poorer countries, after Delta-strain, which requires twice as many antibodies for immunity to fight it, there will be other strains named after Greek letters. In that case we are back to the start. The West had the opportunity to show that it was technologically and morally superior and disciplined (the Russians have their own internal problem with exporting too many vaccines and their population largely does not want to be vaccinated), and at the same time, earn money. However, the West has missed out on this colossal opportunity. And other players jumped, while creating a good image of themselves in the process.

The West has been reacting with irrational rage (we've all heard stories that the virus escaped from the Wuhan laboratory) and is demanding an international investigation, while ordering countries around to impose sanctions if China does not allow an "inspection" (like the weapons of mass destruction inspection in Iraq in 2002, probably?). What a pity!

CORPORATE

Shares in a Company as Matrimonial Property CLICK ON ICON 

WEBSITE

PETAR PETRIĆ Attorney at Law, Petrić & Kajić Law Firm LLC

WHAT IS MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY It is defined as all the assets that spouses acquired through work or which derive from property acquired through work, provided that it was acquired during the duration of the marital union.

The matrimonial property also includes a business share, i.e. rights from a business share in a company if it was acquired through work or if it originates from that property which was acquired during the duration of the marital union.

WHAT IS SPOUSE’S OWN PROPERTY In addition to the marital property to which the legal system of co-ownership applies, the spouse may also have his or her own property. It is the property that the spouse acquired on a basis other than work (inheritance, gift, etc.), original work of authorship, as well as the property they had at the time of marriage. Thus, in addition to marital property, spouses can also have their own property.

WHAT IS A SHARE IN THE COMPANY Share capital of a limited liability company is divided into business shares. The sum of nominal amounts of all business shares must correspond to the amount of share capital.

A business share is regarded as the total rights and obligations that belong to a certain member of a company - limited liability company, based on the paid contribution when establishing the company or increasing the share capital.

A business share is not an asset but the rights and obligations of a company member. When someone acquires a business share, he does not acquire the company's assets, but membership rights (voting and property rights).

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A BUSINESS SHARE IS NOT AN ASSET BUT THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF A COMPANY MEMBER Voting rights include the right to participate in the general meeting, the right to be informed, the right to vote, etc., and property rights are the right to share in profits, priority when taking roles in increasing the share capital, the right to severance pay for withdrawn business share, the right to return of paid contribution in case of reduction of company's share capital, the right to payment of balance after the liquidation or at the end of the bankruptcy proceedings.

HOW TO DIVIDE MARITAL PROPERTY – BUSINESS SHARE It is common for business shares acquired in marriage to formally be registered to one of

the spouses, although their actual owners are both spouses. Thus, the spouse who acquires a business share in a company (l.l.c.) during marriage has actually acquired 1/2 of that business share, and the other spouse acquired the other half.

Marital property can be divided in the following ways: Agreement through negotiations - division of marital property is possible in a way that the spouses agree on the division of marital property, so they can also agree on the business share. An agreement can be reached through mutual negotiations between the spouses and their negotiating advisers.

Agreement through mediation/ conciliation - after unsuccessful

negotiations, and before the initiation and during court proceedings, the spouses have at their disposal an extremely efficient way of resolving the dispute - conciliation or mediation. It is a procedure in which the parties try to resolve the dispute amicably with the help of one or more mediators who help the parties reach an agreement or settlement, without the authority and ability to impose a binding solution.

The mediation procedure is one of the possibilities for resolving the problem, both before the initiation of the procedure and during the entire civil procedure, and even after the declaration of a legal remedy in the civil procedure. It is completely voluntary and it is this fact, as well as the fact that they are led through talks and negotiations by a mediator who is specially trained and has the necessary knowledge and skills to help resolve the conflict, that guarantees a strong chances for a dispute to be resolved through

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agreement. In addition, each of the parties in the mediation procedure may have at their disposal a lawyer, which, especially if he also has the necessary knowledge for counseling in mediation, provides an additional opportunity to achieve a positive result in resolving the dispute.

In court proceedings - in the event that an agreement is not reached, the spouse who is not registered as a member of a company is left only with the option of court proceedings before the competent court in order to exercise their rights. In the case of legal proceedings, the plaintiff is a spouse who claims that the business share in the company is the subject of marital property, and the defendant is the other spouse who is registered as the holder of the business share.

The claim in such litigation should contain two basic requests: (1) determining that a certain business share of a certain nominal amount in a company is a matrimonial property; and (2) that the plaintiff is the beneficiary of that business share.

In terms of the criteria of efficiency and duration, but also the level of confrontation, judicial proceeding is often very difficult for the parties or opposing parties and very often even after many years, the proceeding does not produce the results expected by the parties when initiating it.

MARRIAGE CONTRACT AND BUSINESS SHARES Although the term pre-nuptial agreement, which is most commonly used by the Anglo-Saxon legal system, can be heard in everyday speech (premartial agreement, abbreviated pre-nup), our legislation does not know the term prenuptial agreement but uses the term marriage contract.

The conclusion of a marriage contract is an option that modern legislation, including the Croatian legislation since 1998, provides to spouses.

A marriage contract is defined as the legal affair of the bride and groom or spouses intended to regulate property relations on existing or future property, which includes business shares in the company. Spouses are completely autonomous in arranging their property relations.

The marriage contract can be concluded by extramarital partners as well as same-sex partners.

IF THE BUSINESS SHARE WAS ACQUIRED DURING MARRIAGE, IT REPRESENTS A MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY, AND THEREFORE BOTH SPOUSES ARE ENTITLED TO THE BUSINESS SHARE A marriage contract may be concluded before entering the marriage or during the marriage.

If it is concluded before the marriage, then the contract has a suspensive effect. This means that a marriage contract concluded before marriage begins to produce legal effects only by concluding a marriage between the contracting parties.

The marriage contract shall be concluded in written form, and signatures of contracting parties must be notarized.

A marriage contract can be changed at any time with the consent of contracting parties, and a new marriage contract can be concluded or the existing one can be amended.

In relation to the business share, the marriage contract has its effect at the moment of its entry in the appropriate court register. For greater legal certainty, it is a good idea for the contracting parties to address an experienced professional, a lawyer, who will

draw up a marriage contract according to their agreement.

Accordingly, if the business share was acquired during marriage, it represents a matrimonial property, and therefore both spouses are entitled to the business share, provided that they can exercise the rights from the share only together. However, in order for this to be visible to third parties, the above will require the entry of the other spouse as an authorized person in the court register.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF CONCLUDING A MARRIAGE CONTRACT There are several reasons for concluding a marriage contract.

Those who already went through a divorce know how difficult the divorce procedure can be. Many of those who remarry seek to ensure that property obtained from a previous marriage is protected. In addition, a marriage contract can help protect the financial interests of

children from that first marriage.

Similarly, if one or both spouses have children from a previous relationship, then many think it is a good idea to enter into a marriage contract. It can ensure that certain property is protected and set aside as the future inheritance of their children and is not subject to division of property in case of divorce.

Pre-marriage property is generally exempt from division, but in practice it is often difficult to determine what was acquired before marriage, and it is the marriage contract that can help determine which property belongs to the spouse, ensuring that that property does not merge with other property.

Although trust between partners is desirable in all segments of their lives, including property, the advantage of mutual regulation of property relations through a marriage contract is especially evident in moments of termination of marriage or extramarital community in such a way that the existence of a marriage contract can certainly contribute to a more peaceful divorce, i.e. termination of extramarital or samesex union, thus avoiding lengthy litigation and high court costs related to property disputes resulting from such divorces.

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COLUMN

Transformational Leadership and Personal Branding In transformational leadership it is most challenging to create inspirational motivation as well as idealized influence on leader's followers. It is right in that area personal charisma and branding could play a crucial role JAGODA POROPAT DARRER Business Communication Professional

ransformational leadership is defined as a leadership approach that causes change in individuals and social systems. In its ideal form, it creates valuable and positive change in the followers with the end goal of developing followers into leaders. According to Burns, transforming leadership is a process in which "leaders and followers help each other to advance to a higher level of morale and motivation". Moreover, Burns states that the transforming approach creates significant change in the life of people and organizations. It redesigns perceptions and values, and changes expectations and aspirations of employees. Unlike in the transactional approach, it is not based on a "give and take" relationship, but on the leader's personality, traits and ability to make a change through example, articulation of an energizing vision and challenging goals. Transforming leaders are idealized in the sense that they are a moral exemplar of working towards the benefit of the team, organization and/or community Overall leadership introduces four elements of transformational leadership. That are individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation and idealized influence. The first two elements are primarily about followers, and their needs.

The last two: inspirational motivation and idealized influence are about the leader and its personal competences, abilities, charisma, and communication skills.

According to langston.edu, leaders with inspirational motivation challenge followers with high

T

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standards, communicate optimism about future goals, and provide meaning for the task at hand.

The visionary aspects of leadership are supported by communication skills that make the vision understandable, precise, powerful, and engaging. The followers are willing to invest more effort in their tasks, they are encouraged and optimistic about the future and believe in their abilities.

Furthermore, a transformational leader provides a role model for high ethical behavior, instills pride, gains respect and trust of its followers. Trust and respect is crucial for leader to make impact and influence the followers.

Therefore, all the features that personal branding consist of should be internalized in transformational leadership. As we know, personal branding concept consists of intentional effort to create public perception of an individual by positioning them as an

authority in their field, elevating their credibility, and differentiating themselves from the competition to ultimately advance increase their circle of influence, and have a larger impact. Botticello (2021) states that the best personal brands are unique, authentic, and trustworthy. They build a strong reputation about someone that can help them personally and professionally. The term was coined back in 1997 by Tom Peters who states that everyone should market themselves just as vigorously as any product or service.

The value of personal branding is that strongly implies you are the only solution to the problem. It is a way of showing that you are not just better than the other people out there, you’re “the” answer to a specific problem. According to a consumer survey by Nielson, only about 33% of consumers trust messages from a brand, while around 90% trust messages

ALL THE FEATURES THAT PERSONAL BRANDING CONSIST OF SHOULD BE INTERNALIZED IN TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

from a “person” they know. That means, states Hodgson (20121) for business owners, you stand a much better chance of winning the trust of your followers if you bond with them as an individual, before you start building a brand reputation.

That information is important for any transformational leader. To lead a change, to excel in deep leading, any leader should keep establishing its own, personal brand, and connect with its followers authentically, building credibility, and being consistent.

A good example of a successful transformational leader is, according to Farnsworth et al. (2021) was Sam Walton, founder of WalMart, who often visited Wal-Mart stores across the country to meet with associates to show his appreciation for what they did for the company. Walton gave "rules for success" in his autobiography, one of which was to appreciate associates with praise (Walton 1996).

Farnsworth et al. (2021) conclude that transformational leadership is a vital role for effective managers because leader effectiveness determines the ultimate success of the organization. According to Hesselbein and Cohen (1999, p. 263), organizations that take the time to teach leadership are far ahead of the competition. By becoming familiar with the transformational leadership approach and combining the four I's, managers can engage as effective leaders in the business world.

Transformational leadership can be applied in one-on-one or group situations. Using this approach, the manager (leader) and the associates (followers) are "transformed" to enhance individual job performance and, as a group, help the organization be more productive and successful.

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