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September 2019 | ISSUE No. 17 | FREE COPY

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WE HAVE CREATED AN ADMIRABLE FASHION SCENE VINKO FILIPIĆ

Director of the Bipa Fashion.hr project

THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF AMBASSADORS AND CONSULS GENERAL 22

AUG

THE CROATIAN FASHION RENAISSANCE IS HERE NENAD KORKUT Fashion critic

SEPTEMBER STARTS WITH NEW EXCITEMENTS Dr. MATTHIAS MÜLLER - WIEFERIG Goethe-Institut Kroatien

FOCUS ON PROSPERITY OF THE REGION MIRO CERAR

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia

THE NUMBER OF TOURISTS IS GROWING CROATIAN TOURIST BOARD

WE NEED TO HAVE A SMART EXPORT POLICY JAGODA DIVIĆ

Assistant Director in the Industry Division of the Croatian Chamber of Economy

CHANGE PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY H.E. ANDREW DALGLEISH

LLB, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia

FOCUS ON

Fashion & Beauty I DE A S

EDITORIAL

CONTENTS

Managerial "Death Squadrons" A few days ago, I met a friend who works in a big corporation, and after talking for a couple of minutes, we both touched on the topic that is rarely spoken about in the business circles of Belgrade and Serbia. It’s called a managerial "death squadron", a phenomenon that has been spotted in these areas in the past ten years. A similar “monster” has "attacked" many companies in the region; some have managed to pull out and some no longer exist today. The model is always the same:

ACT 1

The proprietor of a domestic company, often a family-owned one, which has outgrown the size of the typical SME, is starting to expand, aside from his company’s core business, to those segments that he believes are profitable at the given time. However, he knows almost nothing about these business segments, except that he wants to engage in them and that, in theory, they can bring good profits.

ACT 2

The proprietor, mostly through a referral and sometimes after an extensive job search, picks a manager with great references for that particular job. The manager is hired and, after a short period of time, starts conditioning the proprietor – “I cannot work without a good financial director. I know the perfect guy – Pera. He is a financial genius. Let’s hire him.” Followed by: “The company of our reputation has to hire a top-notch IT professional. We need Dušan and we definitely need to buy this software.“ When it comes to marketing, it is usually the proprietor's daughter that does it, because that's a woman's job, right? If the proprietor has a grown-up son, he is usually appointed development director. Although, the son cares more about a sports car that daddy bought him and going to night clubs than actually developing the company. The company's owner, spread thin by running the entire group and often suffering from the midlife crisis, agrees to the manager's requirements.

ACT 3

When forming a team, the manager moves into action, by discreetly looting the company mainly through purchases from "reliable suppliers", who are, of course, "his people". Since the manager produces no results in the first year, he starts complaining about the lousy job that the former management did. In the second year, the manager grumbles about "macroeconomic developments not benefitting the situation”. Come the third year, together with Pera, Dušan and others, the manager starts secretly looking for a new job, namely, a new company they will dazzle with their new suits, briefs, laptops and a fairytale about developing a corporation, and about the financial magician Pera and the IT genius Dušan.

MIRO CERAR

ROAD TO HEAVEN OR HELL?

FOCUS ON PROSPERITY OF THE REGION Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia

CHANGE PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY H.E. ANDREW DALGLEISH

LLB, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE AGREEMENT Economy

#METOO? MAYBE #TOOMUCH! Society

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TRENDS

FAKE DEMOCRATS EASTERN EUROPE LIBERATING

JAGODA POROPAT DARRER

Politics

Business Communications Professional

Dr. MATTHIAS MÜLLER WIEFERIG

HISTORIC HOTELS: EXCELSIOR, LIDO, VENICE

SEPTEMBER STARTS WITH NEW EXCITEMENTS Goethe-Institut Kroatien

DEATH AND LIFE IN VENICE Reportage by Robert Čoban

ACT 4

What these “death squadrons” leave behind is almost totally ruined companies and even groups. As the rule of thumb, they leave the company with too much of unsold stock, bought from “reliable suppliers”. After he fired his director, a hotel owner was left with 3 tonnes of Belgian chocolate (“which the guests would love with a steak”) and two tonnes of various spices. A meat company was left with several tonnes of unsold prune and orange pâté. Once a “death squadron” left his company, the company owner found that his manager opened up another company in his friend’s name that did privileged business deals with his own. The owner of a supermarket chain came to her senses in the last minute and managed to avoid the situation that befell her much bigger competition from the neighbouring country.

EPILOGUE:

Victims of "managerial death squadron" are generally not small and medium-sized enterprises, where it is relatively easy to control employees and processes, neither are major international corporations with decades-old systems in place that prevent this kind of thing from happening. The victims are actually large domestic companies that, at one point started to disperse their businesses. You will probably recognize in this story some companies from the region. Some of them survived “the death squadrons”, some are dealing with them right now and some are no longer in the business.

ROBERT ČOBAN Director

www.diplomacyandcommerce.hr BOBAN SPASOJEVIĆ Executive director

boban@diplomacyandcommerce.hr

RUŽA RISTANOVIĆ Magazine director

TANJA BANKOVIĆ Editor-in-chief

ROBERT ČOBAN Director

SVEN DARRER Advertising manager 091 766 5479, 091 377 4358

Photos GETTY IMAGES TOMISLAV SMOLJANOVIĆ

Print ZLATNA KNJIGA Jagodina, Bagrdanski put bb

office@diplomacyandcommerce.hr

ILIJA PETROVIĆ INDIGOCHILD Art director

indigochild.ilija@gmail.com

Translation SNEŽANA BJELOTOMIĆ

sven@diplomacyandcommerce.hr

Predstavnik za RH

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

LEXINGTON

The 2020 Presidential Campaign Will Be More Racially Divisive Than 2016 Was There is method behind Donald Trump’s “go home” tweets Donald Trump’s bigotry is such an established part of American public discourse that, in retrospect, one of the most febrile debates of 2016 looks naive. Back and forth it went, in the months before the election, as the Republican candidate issued a slur against a Mexican-American judge and for a while refused to disavow the endorsement of a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard. Was Mr Trump mainly appealing to his supporters’ economic concerns—in spite of his chauvinism? Or was his race-baiting really the main draw? The answer was in long before the president sent an especially offensive tweet, inviting four unnamed, but by inference non-white, Democratic congresswomen to “go back” to where they came from. It was settled before he refused to condemn the white supremacists of Charlottesville two years ago. The data from his 2016 election have been scrutinised, and the resulting analyses, detailed in books and papers, are in agreement. Political scientists find no clear economic rationale for Mr Trump’s victory. Many states, such as Georgia and Maryland, which had moved away from the Democrats in the tough times of 2012, drifted back towards their candidate in the better ones of 2016. The millions of working-class whites whom Mr Trump recruited in rustbelt states did not buck that trend because of economic anxiety. They were no likelier to attribute their vote to it than they had been in 2012. Rather, they were unified by nothing so much as antipathy to America’s growing diversity, and an attendant feeling that whites were losing ground. Both were expressed in hostility to immigration, immigrants and welfare spending (which many wrongly believed was being slurped up by migrants). No doubt these feelings were exacerbated by economic as well as cultural and sometimes personal fears: people are complicated and America is changing. These sentiments also predated Mr Trump. Yet they had not been such a big factor

WAS MR TRUMP MAINLY APPEALING TO HIS SUPPORTERS’ ECONOMIC CONCERNS—IN SPITE OF HIS CHAUVINISM? OR WAS HIS RACE-BAITING REALLY THE MAIN DRAW? in voting decision-making until he made them so, by drawing out his audience’s inner grievances, like a magnet tugging at a metal splinter. In their book “Identity Crisis”, John Sides, Michael Tesler and Lynn Vavreck describe the rationalisation such Trump supporters made as “racialised economics”. Only a small minority of voters hold old-style racist views on questions like black-white marriage, but a very large number believe that “undeserving groups are getting ahead while [my] group is left behind.” An earlier study by the Voter Study Group found hostility to immigrants to be the best predictor of a Trump voter. One by the Public Religion Research Institute found much the same. There has been no serious counter-argument. Mr Trump’s race card was the winning one. Hence his inflammatory comment. For while the strength of the

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economy might appear to have given him a better electoral option, Mr Trump is intent on a repeat performance. There is no prospect of him toning down his rhetoric and pocketing the grateful majority of Americans who consider their personal finances to be “good” or “excellent”. The fact is, his behaviour and policies have already repelled a majority of voters. He wants the applause of his adoring base too much to change style. And his view that America is essentially a white country messed up by escapees from non-white ones appears to be irrepressible. Amid the continuing outrage his racist tweet stirred this week, there are three important things to say about this. First, Mr Trump’s campaign will be more racially divisive than it was in 2016, when he won white voters by 20 percentage points. He was still feeling his way then, looking for praise from the New

York Times and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”. And when he did ramp up the rhetoric he was criticised by Republican leaders. Even as late as Charlottesville, his inflammatory language was repudiated by elected Republicans, business leaders and senior aides including his daughter Ivanka and Gary Cohn. He has received nothing like such criticism. Moreover, his slur against the four congresswomen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley—of whom only Ms Omar was born overseas and Ms Pressley is not even of recent migrant stock, merely black—came not from an eccentric candidate, but the president. If Mr Trump only repeated his divisive 2016 lines next year, they would carry more weight. And he will probably say worse, because he wants vindication, for himself and his reviled method. In the event of any setback, he is liable to double down. It might work again, too, which is the second point. Mr Trump’s approval ratings are low, but resilient and competitive. Set aside the state-level polling, which is less positive for him, and he is only a few points short of the 46% he won in 2016. He need not be loved to make up the difference. He needs only to make his opponent more hated, which was his other ploy in 2016. This makes Democratic voters, whose early support for Joe Biden suggests a demand for a plain-vanilla moderate whom Mr Trump might find hard to demonise, more sensible than the party’s left-wing activists. They see in his vulnerability an opportunity to bring about a leftward shift that most Americans do not want. One plausible, though possibly too ingenious, theory for his attack on Ms Pressley and the rest, all of whom are left-wingers, is that he wanted to boost their prestige within the party. That may in any event be the result. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

INTERVIEW

Focus on Prosperity of the Region

Slovenia advocates for a stronger EU that will build the necessary resilience inside and outside of the EU and stand ready to face any threat from anywhere. When it comes to Western Balkan we will continue to help and support the region and its enlargement process

MIRO CERAR Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia

The European Commission's office for enlargement was one of the departments Slovenia was interested in. Therefore we have started our interview with Miro Cerar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia asking him how he sees the role of Slovenia in the Western Balkans region and its ability to contribute to the enlargement process. “The Western Balkans is of strategic importance for Slovenia and the EU. Close EU contact with the countries of the region will be one of the priorities of Slovenia's presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2021. Within the EU we actively strive to keep the region in focus and have tried to put ideas into concrete action. Slovenia helped initiate the Brdo-Brijuni Process, which was the first reminder

to the rest of the EU that we need to pay more attention to the region. The lessons learned from the Brdo-Brijuni Process have been taken on board also through the Berlin process summits. Slovenia has also launched the Positive agenda for

— The EU went through a difficult period of severe crises over the past decade, which have left Member States and some sections of their populations affected one way or another. The European integration pro-

THE STATES OF THE UPCOMING EU PRESIDENCY GERMANY, PORTUGAL AND SLOVENIA ARE COMMITTED TO STRENGTHENING THE EU’S GLOBAL ROLE DURING OUR CONSECUTIVE PRESIDENCIES the youth of the region. We will continue to help and support the region and its enlargement process, but there are things that the countries of the region also need to do themselves”, says Mr Cerar. What do you see as the main issues and challenges Europe is facing right now? How do you see the EU after Brexit?

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cess needs to benefit all Member States equally. Particular attention should be paid to the Single Market to enable sustainable development and the protection of the welfare state in all Member States. The EU should strengthen its commitment to the rule of law, where we have witnessed some negative trends recently. Freedom of movement cannot always compensate for the

effects of stagnant harmonisation and the integration of services. It can even lead to adverse effects on the competitiveness and productivity of economically weaker Member States, especially if this stimulates brain drain. Measures to identify and redress such adverse market effects should be developed as a priority. Moreover, well-targeted financial instruments are needed to support social cohesion, both in the EU and in the Euro area. The geopolitical situation today requires a stronger international role of the EU in the world. The states of the upcoming EU presidency (Germany, Portugal, Slovenia) are committed to strengthening the EU’s global role during our consecutive presidencies. We are looking forward to working with the new EU leadership to achieve that. We regret the fact that the UK is leaving the EU, but we need to preserve strong cooperation with the UK, most notably in the field of defence and security.

From your perspective, what are the biggest security challenges Europe is facing today? To what extent are smaller EU Member States, such as Slovenia, exposed to them?

— The EU is facing unprecedented security challenges from multiple directions, mainly from the east and the south. In recent years we have witnessed the illegal annexation of the Crimea by Russia and instability and conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa. Other security threats are also on the rise, from terrorism and hybrid and cyber security to climate change. Most of all, we are deeply concerned about the erosion of the international system that Europeans helped build. It is beyond doubt that multilateralism and the effectiveness of international organisations is on the decline, if not in crisis. The UN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the EU and other organisations are best positioned to ensure a global order based on international law and respect for fundamental values, such as human rights. Competition among the great powers, a zero-sum approach and unilateralism are increasingly shaping the security environment of Europe. If this trend continues, smaller EU Member States, such as Slovenia, will be particularly vulnerable. How do you assess the ability of Europe, and Slovenia, to manage migration?

— Europe has already showed that it is capable of managing migration. Slovenia has seen close and efficient cooperation with the countries of the region during the 2015 migration crisis, when we managed to close the Western Balkans route. Following 2015, the EU has been seeking solutions and ways to define a comprehensive approach to migration. A lot has been done since and in 2018 the

level of irregular arrivals to the EU were the lowest in 5 years. The EU has offered protection and support to millions of people, saved lives at sea and improved conditions and livelihoods. It has supported Member States on the external border in handling large numbers of arrivals and financed numerous projects across the EU to support the integration of refugees and other legally resident third-country nationals. It has worked with partners worldwide to address the root causes and to promote orderly migration management, including the readmission of migrants irregularly staying in the EU. I should

all aggressive approaches, but are nevertheless also aware of the EU’s integration capacity. What is your opinion on the EU’s position regarding Slovenian-Croatian relations, in relation to the border arbitration? What outcome do you expect?

— After the Final Award was rendered by the Tribunal, the European Commission stated on several occasions that it expects both parties, Slovenia and Croatia, to implement the border arbitration agreement delivered on 19 June 2017. In 2017, the Vice President of the Commission, Mr Timmermans, even under-

THE EU SHOULD PUT FORWARD POLICIES TO HELP AND ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSES OF ILLEGAL MIGRATION AND TO STRENGTHEN THE EXTERNAL BORDERS stress that things are still moving and improving too slowly. Slovenia is cooperating closely with our neighbours to manage the migration pressure on our borders. We are showing solidarity with other Member States and the states of the Western Balkans by participating in relocation and voluntary resettlement schemes, and the deployment of police officers to the borders (North Macedonia, Serbia). Recently, Slovenia decided to accept migrants rescued by humanitarian ships in the Mediterranean. For Slovenia, the stabilisation of the situation on the Western Balkans migration route is crucial and it is determined to continue to support the countries along the Western Balkans route. There is also the Mediterranean route, which has too often been used to propagate populist anti-immigrant policies based on hostile messages directed towards people who are seeking a better life. We do reject

lined that arbitration was one of the conditions required of Croatia in the enlargement process. Many EU Member States that highly value the rule of law have also called for the arbitration award to be respected. There is only one country – Croatia – that questions the validity of the award. Slovenia expects all EU Member States to embrace the values that the Union stands upon. As European Commission President Juncker rightly said in his state of the Union speech in September 2017, "Accepting and respecting a final judgement is what it means to be part of a Union based on the rule of law." We should ask ourselves what would the consequences be if countries that are currently negotiating for membership in the EU forget about their commitments once they join the club. You stated that you regretted that the EU had, yet again, postponed the decision on launching

accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania. How does this decision affect the atmosphere, security and stability of the Western Balkans?

— The stability and prosperity of the Western Balkans is in Slovenia's strategic and vital interests. Negative regional dynamics and a rise in populism and nationalism have an immediate effect on the security and stability not only of Slovenia, but of the entire EU. The lessons learned from the past are more than telling. In this context, Slovenia is one of the most active actors within the EU as regards promoting the positive effects of an efficient, dynamic, and result-oriented enlargement process between the Union and the Western Balkans region. We believe that there is no alternative for either the EU or the region. In the fall, the EU council needs to give a green light to North Macedonia and Albania to start the negotiation process with the EU. What are Slovenia’s goals when it comes to economic diplomacy?

— Economic diplomacy is one of the more important tasks of the Slovenian Foreign Ministry and diplomatic missions. The Slovenian economy has become highly export-oriented, and internationalisation is therefore a vital aspect thereof. Many Slovenian businesses have already made a name for themselves in the international arena thanks to their know-how, innovations and competitiveness. Economic diplomacy helps businesses seek new markets and builds up contacts for foreign direct investment. One of the successful projects implemented during my tenure as Prime Minister is the Magna Paint Shop, as the initial proposals to erect the plant in Slovenia came through economic diplomacy channels and the Slovenian embassy in Berlin.

TRADE RELATIONS WITH US, CHINA AND RUSSIA European – US trade relations are impressive and the numbers speak of the importance the US market has for EU companies and vice versa. There is more than a trillion euros in trade; the EU is the US's largest export market, accounting for about one-fifth of all US exports. Similarly, one-fifth of EU exports go to the United States. The US market is still growing also as regards Slovenian export statistics for 2018. This is one of the markets where we've seen a surplus in the last five years. As Slovenia is present in some global value chains, any trade barriers due to polarisation can influence our exchange with third countries.

China is becoming increasingly important in our foreign economic relations since our trade exchange has been growing in the last five years at an annual rate of 10%. Russia remains an important market for Slovenian exports of goods and services. The sanctions against Russia have affected our bilateral trade, but Slovenian companies still maintain strong business connections. This was demonstrated by the 15th session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, which was successfully held in Ljubljana in June 2019.

INTERVIEW

Change Provides Opportunity

Photos: PIXSELL/British Embassy

Both bilaterally and globally, UK and Croatia will remain connected. Undoubtedly, some of the mechanisms that we use for our cooperation will have to be adjusted to new circumstances, but that won’t change the importance we both attach to our cooperation

H.E. ANDREW DALGLEISH LLB, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia

“The UK has been clear since the 2016 referendum about its intention to leave the European Union and Croatia has always respected that democratic decision”, say H.E. Andrew Dalgleish LLB Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia. There are high expectations that Brexit won’t affect the relations between the UK and Croatia. Indeed, the two countries have a long history of cooperation before the EU membership, and are recently posting excellent results in British investments in Croatia and in tourism, says Mr. Dalgleish. The two countries are diligently working on making the life of Brits in Croatia and Croatians in the UK manageable after the UK

leaves the EU on 31 October. Two Prime Ministers, Mr Boris Johnson and Mr Andrej Plenkovic recently exchanged views on Brexit. “Croatia and the UK have been non-EU partners for longer than we’ve both been in the European Union together and so we have nurtured excellent bilateral rela-

other as two of twenty-eight member states in Brussels, we will be working far more directly on a one-on-one level”. Mr Dalgleish emphasized that the UK has always been clear about its intentions. “We have been talking about Brexit – as you said, the PMs also recently spoke over the

WE’VE BEEN WORKING HARD WITH THE CROATIAN AUTHORITIES TO SEE THAT AFTER UK’S DEPARTURE FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION THIS DOESN’T HAVE A DAMAGING EFFECT ON BRITISH CITIZENS LIVING IN CROATIA tions for many years now. When the UK leaves the EU on 31 October, this will naturally change some of the mechanisms we use to work together”, says our interlocutor.“ Change provides opportunity – no longer will we be greeting each

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phone – and we will continue to talk about it, but in the meantime, we are working closely together on a range of issues of shared interests and ambitions”, says the ambassador. For example, he adds, both the UK and Croatia are part of

the Berlin Process, which addresses some of the challenges in the Western Balkans – the UK hosted the Process in 2018 and Croatia is making South East Europe a priority region for its Presidency of the EU. “We remain fully committed to the region and beyond it, to the European continent that we both belong to – leaving the EU will not change that”, says Mr Dalgleish. There are constant updates related to the outcome of Brexit in Croatia published on your website. In which way is the life of the British people living in Croatia and the Croatians going to change as a result of Brexit?

— We’ve made a very clear commitment in the UK that the UK’s departure from the European Union should not have a damaging effect on EU citizens – including Croatians, of course – who are already legally resident in the

UK. They will still be allowed to live, work and enjoy life in the UK. We’ve been working hard with the Croatian authorities to see that same offer extended to British citizens living in Croatia. Our priority, from the start, has been to minimise the impact of Brexit on people, so we are indeed keeping them informed with up to date information, be it about their residency rights, health care or travel post-Brexit. Brits here who are concerned about what to do next should follow our Living In Croatia guide https://www.gov.uk/ guidance/living-in-croatia The same question applies to business. Are British companies operating in Croatia and vice versa going to be affected by Brexit and how will these changes affect the Croatian exports to the UK?

— Our trade relationship has been steadily growing, even after the referendum on leaving the European Union. Indeed, we’ve had British businesses like Jo Malone and ICE Marine opening up in Croatia just this year. Travel business – meaning British tourists visiting Croatia and Croatians traveling to the UK – has never been better; we expect the number of British visitors to be close to 1 million this year. There will be technical changes when we leave the EU on 31 October, but we are currently working very hard towards achieving a deal that is acceptable to both sides. At the same time, we’re also working hard to manage the consequences of leaving without a deal – this would mean trading on WTO terms until a free trade agreement is put in place. We have increased our efforts significantly to prepare for this with a view to minimising disruption. More details to follow.

simply follow EU decisions, it shapes them. It’s also important to correct the wrong impression that the only thing we talk about is Brexit! September sees the sixth ’Sava Star’ training exercise where British troops come to Knin to train with Croatian forces – this continues regardless of whether or not we are in the EU. Our cooperation in defence and security has been excellent. Later this month, we are hosting two great cinema events showcasing some of our great culture – fashion (a documentary on Alexander McQueen) and heritage (the Downton Abbey movie). Croatia and the UK care deeply about keeping our seas clean and free from plastic waste. We launched our #BeyondPlastic

campaign at the Queen’s Birthday Party this year with a view to eliminating all single-use plastics in the Embassy and sharing our experience of doing this with our friends. Which most pressing daily issues (such as pensions, healthcare, etc.) have to be re-codified if the UK leaves without a deal?

— Rights of residence, social security rights including pensions, access to healthcare – all these issues have been addressed and protected for EU citizens living in the UK if we leave without a deal. The Croatian Government has prepared legislation to do the same for Brits living in Croatia. If the UK leaves the EU by the

CROATIA AND THE UK SHARE SO MANY COMMON GOALS ON SECURITY, REGIONAL AND OTHER POLICY QUESTIONS AND IT IS IN BOTH OF OUR INTERESTS TO CONTINUE THAT COOPERATION

end of October, in which way will Brexit affect the cooperation between the two countries in terms of security, regional and other issues on which the two countries have common policies and cooperation?

— Croatia and the UK share so many common goals on security, regional and other policy questions. It is in both of our interests to continue that cooperation. Undoubtedly, some of the mechanisms that we use for our cooperation will have to change, but that won’t change the importance we both attach to a secure, stable region, to tackling organised crime, to dealing with security threats. We are both active members of NATO and we both cherish that partnership. We share so many common goals in the United Nations, where the UK is a permanent member of the Security Council – our cooperation there will continue, even when we have left the EU. Both bilaterally and globally, we will remain connected.

How related are all these issues, have you been cooperating with the Croatian government regarding them and how much room is there for cooperation considering that Croatia has to adhere to the EU’s decisions?

— Of course we are in regular contact with the Croatian government to explain our position and to listen to their concerns. But we respect the decision of the twenty-seven member states to negotiate as one and are not trying to disrupt that. Just one important clarification to your question, though: Croatia is an integral part of the EU and is part of the EU’s decision-making process, it doesn’t

WE USE ALL SOURCES TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CITIZENS IN CROATIA Which sources of communication the Embassy uses in communicating the changes with the Brits in Croatia and how much time and effort these developments are taking in your everyday functioning? — One of our top priorities is to provide information on developments to British citizens resident in Croatia.

We’ve held face to face outreach events in Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Dubrovnik and we will have more this autumn. We also use our social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter and our Living In Croatia pages as well as keeping in touch with the English language media and expat groups to provide regular updates.

POLITICS

Text: ŽELIMIR MARAŠ

Fake Democrats Eastern Europe liberating

The recent political upheavals in Moldova, and the election of new, more liberal presidents in Slovakia and Ukraine, are a good sign for the east of the continent, which at one point was stuck in the mud of false Democrats who destroyed the rule of law systems. Of course, this does not apply to Slovakia, which, although somewhat more conservative, is still part of the EU, a prosperous country, which perceives itself as part of the Visegrad Group and a bridge between the East and the West. In fact, it is very interesting that Slovakia perceives itself as a "Eurasian" country, which would be a link between Central Europe and

the Western conception of reality with an Eastern European, much more turbulent understanding of all this: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and Kazakhstan are great examples of how democracy can

one had the majority, and for a long time it was not possible to form a coalition that would hold 51 of the 101 seats. And then, in an unusual turn, the Socialist Party led by Igor Dodon, a Ukrainian

THE PEOPLE ARE GETTING MORE AND MORE FED UP WITH NATIONAL RHETORIC, FALSE DEMOCRACY, FALSE PATH TO EU AND BLUE FLAGS WITH 12 YELLOW STARS THAT MEAN NOTHING take on various forms, not just the “Jeffersonian” form. The latest in a series of turbulent events occurred in Moldova. Namely, parliamentary elections were held in February, where no

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by nationality whose mother tongue is Russian, a sympathizer with closer relations with Russia, and the Eurasian Union (where Moldova is the only associate member, i.e. Observer), formed

an alliance with ACUM (literally "USA!") led by Maia Sandu which is heavily pro-EU. Maia Sandu will be the new Prime Minister and the government will have a solid 61 MPs. Many are wondering how it is possible for one party that is strongly pro-Euro-integrations to ally with another which is in favor of Eurasian integration. It's simple: the goal was to remove Vladimir Plahotniuc, also Ukrainian in origin, but a tycoon, and leader of the nominally and pro-European Democratic Party. But he is one of many "false Democrats" in Eastern Europe. According to Euobserver. com: “The former Democratic Party government leaves behind a poisonous legacy: hollowed state institutions, a corrupt or con-

trolled justice sector, shaky finances, shadow schemes of extracting state resources, large chunks of servile mass-media and a system of illegal interceptions practiced on a wide scale.” And just as the Democratic Party was getting ready to destroy the new coalition with paid protestors, because the Constitutional Court controlled by it replaced even the President, and the President dismissed the Constitutional Court, with conflicts of two fractions on the streets, the EU and Russia jointly supported the new, neutral government. And it all came down to this: no more corruption, no more privatization of functions and the state, enough with the Central Bank full of minions, Constitutional Court that lost its credibility, no more suspicious privatizations (third largest bank was privatized under suspicious circumstances, and the buyer, go figure, is Plahotniuc’s friend). We want to lead a normal life. The election of Vladimir Zelensky as the President of Ukraine with 75% votes is an equal “cry for help” against the former President Poroshenko, against whom the 5th criminal offence was initiated. In Serbia, and especially in Mon-

THE NORTH HAS HOPE, THE SOUTH HAS FALSE FLAGS OF DEMOCRACY The people are getting more and more fed up with national rhetoric, false democracy, false path to EU and blue flags with 12 yellow stars that mean nothing. They want a rule of law, with a free central bank, the media, courts and with a perspective that would allow for some kind of optimism. Nobody believes that Moldova will become Austria, or that Serbia will become Germany, nobody even believes that Poland’s level can be easily achievable, but hey, let’s at least give a perspective for work. And when you see tycoons with ties with the mafia and politicians, you lose will very fast. Moldova and Ukraine are on a good path – Ukraine will soon hold parliamentary elections, where Zelensky and Boyko are expected to win (maybe even Vakarchuk if he forms a party), and make a clean shift to a different politics. Serbia and Montenegro, with Albania, are still under the false flags of democracy.

tenegro, tensions are increasing. The ruling Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro, led by “irreplaceable” Milo Djukanovic who has ruled Montenegro for 31 years already (more even than Lukashenko), after they privatized and sold everything they could, decided to play the card of inter-religious and inter-ethnic conflicts, with an attempt to take away 1020 churches from the legal Serbian Orthodox Church, and nationalization (there is reasonable doubt that important property was handed over to non-governmental organization Montenegrin Orthodox Church, led by excommunicated priest Miraš Dedeić, and later on they would ask for independence of the church according to the Ukrainian model). Poroshenko already tried this in Ukraine and it backfired. In Serbia, the authoritarian rule of Aleksandar Vučić doesn’t play the card of national hatred, but population displacement is significant and the situation in the media, the judiciary and the government is equally pitiful. Protests against Edi Rama are in progress in Albania, and there are also talks in Germany about the connections with the mafia.

NATIONAL DAYS

in September & October

ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES

SEPTEMBER

FAREWELL VISITS BY THE AMBASSADORS OF THE REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA, THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA AND THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM

The President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, received a farewell visit from H.E. Andreas Wiedenhof, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the Republic of Croatia, H.E. Smiljana Knez, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the Republic of Croatia and H.E. Philippe Benoit, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to the Republic of Croatia.

CZECHIA St. Wenceslas Day

BOTSWANA

Independence Day

OCTOBER

CHINA National Day

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and H.E. Andreas Wiedenhof

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and H.E. Smiljana Knez

CYPRUS

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and H.E. Philippe Benoit

Independence Day

IGOR OPPENHEIM

Retiring from Ingra

stock exchange. Oppenheim's departure comes after months of changes in the Management and the Supervisory Board. Ingra was also affected by the collapse of the construction market and has been since working on stabilizing and restructuring since the pre-bankruptcy settlement in 2014. The company’s last year's loss amounted to HRK 11.8 million.

NIGERIA National Day

Photo: Tatjana Tadić/PIXSELL

After 19 years at the helm of Ingra, CEO and until recently its largest shareholder, Igor Oppenheim will retire at the end of the year. "The three-member Board of Directors continues to function, while the company’s long-standing CEO Igor Oppenheim has announced his retirement at the end of 2019," the construction company announced on the

Photo: Sanjin Strukić/PIXSELL

New CEO of Plava Laguna

cision to recall the current CEO and appoint a new one at its session on 29th August. Plava Laguna is one of the biggest tourism companies in Croatia, managing about 20 hotels, 10 apartment complexes and 9 campsites.

New General Manager of Strategic Business Unit ‘Coffee’

MIODRAG BOROJEVIĆ

Photo: Dražen Lapić

New Chairman of Supervisory Board, Konzum Plus

www.diplomacyandcommerce.hr

INDIA

GERMANY German Unity Day

SOUTH KOREA

Barcaffe brands, will strategically focus on two major segments - further rejuvenation and modernization of freshly roasted and ground coffee with particular emphasis on boosting consumption outside the home and boosting operational efficiency in order to maintain business profitability. The appointment of supervisory board members at Forten’s companies continues. Miodrag Borojević was appointed the new Chairman of Supervisory Board of Konzum Plus. Paul Michael Foley was named Vice Chairman, while Miodrag Borojević and Vladimir Bošnjak are now Supervisory Board members. Paul Michael Foley is the new Chairman of the Tisak Company’s Supervisory Board, while Miodrag Borojević is his deputy. Other members of this Supervisory Board include Irena Weber, Hido Lightman and Drago

National Day

aecheonjeol, ancient G Korea founded in 2333 BC

MATE ŠTETIĆ Štetić assumes the position of CEO of SBU Coffee with the main goal of directing the entire business and organization of this unit towards sustainable and stable long-term growth, that is, maintaining and improving the leading position in the region. SBU Coffee, and its Grand Kafa and

GUINEA

ahatma Gandhi’s M Birthday

DRAGAN PUJAS

As of 1st October this year, Dragan Pujas will be the new CEO of Plava Laguna, and the current CEO Neven Staver will leave his position on 30th September, the Supervisory Board has decided. The Board made the de-

SPAIN National Day

HUNGARY National Day

Matošević. Dalibor Balgač has been appointed Chairman of Atlas’ Supervisory Board, Zvonimir Žaja as Vice Chairman, and Gordana Fabris and Marko Čoh as members. Vlado Čondić Galinčić is the new Chairman of Supervisory Board of Vinka Plus, Mario Vrgoč is his deputy, while Hrvoje Bošnjak and Dragan Mrkajić are its members. The new appointments also include Dragan Mrkajić as Chairman of Start Plus’ Supervisory Board, Andrey Lebedev as his deputy, and Hrvoje Bošnjak and Gordana Fabris as members.

25 UN

Main Holiday: UN Day

AUSTRIA National Day

TURKEY

National Day (Republic Day)

INTERVIEW

September Starts With New Excitements Poetry and belletristic, excellent movies or a new look at the Bauhaus heritage, you name it… The Goethe-Institut in Croatia is ready for this autumn season. Excellent language classes for all levels are a plus

Dr. MATTHIAS MÜLLER WIEFERIG Goethe-Institut Kroatien

Another exciting autumn is waiting for the admirers of German culture through the offer of the Goethe-Institut in Croatia. “We are expecting some true highlights in our cultural programme – starting with some high-profile authors from Germany at the World Literature Festival in September”, says Dr. Matthias Müller-Wieferig, director of the Goethe-Institute in Croatia. “Jan Wagner, one of our bestselling authors (for poetry, would you believe it – but you have to read his wonderful lines!) will come and present lyrikline, an online poetry portal for German language authors that has been active for 20 years. Furthermore, 30 years after the fall of the wall in 1989, he will discuss whether we are once again erecting walls”, says our interlocutor. Wagner is one of the three German Book Award winners of recent years to visit Zagreb and other Croatian towns this autumn. He will be joined by Wolfram Eilenberger, whose bestselling book Die Zeit der Zauberer will be translated into Croatian and presented at the festival, while the third one, Jenny Erpenbeck, raises questions

about immigration and inclusion in the heart of Berlin in her latest novel. “Croatian publishers like Fraktura or Naklade Ljevak are very much aware of German language authors and their most important contemporary topics”, says Müller-Wieferig. In September, we will have an exciting opportunity to deliberate on Bauhaus & Croatia. What should we expect?

— When it comes to Bauhaus 1919-2019, few people in Germany and Croatia realise the role wom-

and Weimar and helped shaping new forms and methods in art, industrial materials and radical new ways of architecture and design. In new textile design and weaving, it was Otti Berger from Croatia, who studied first in Vienna and Zagreb before going to Dessau to study with the big names of Bauhaus. She was considered “one of the most talented students at the weaving workshop of Bauhaus”, allowing her to become a core member of experimental approaches at Bauhaus, as she developed plastic textiles intended for mass produc-

FEW PEOPLE IN GERMANY AND CROATIA REALISE THE ROLE WOMEN PLAYED IN SHAPING THE REVOLUTIONARY APPROACHES OF BAUHAUS INCLUDING THOSE FROM YOUR COUNTRY. DISCOVER THEM THIS SEPTEMBER en played in shaping the revolutionary approaches of Bauhaus alongside world-renowned names such as Walter Gropius, Oskar Schlemmer or Paul Klee. Hence, the focus of Goethe-Institut for this entire year has been women in Bauhaus – discovering exciting regional connections between artists and experts in Croatia. Between 1919 and the Nazi dissolution of the school in 1933, it was women, too, who were educated in Dessau

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tion. Next, her promising international career took her to New York. Tragically, Otti Berger’s life ended in Auschwitz. The cover of our autumn programme booklet depicts Zagreb-born Ivana Tomljenović. Having studied in Zagreb and Vienna, she left for the exciting new Bauhaus ideas in 1929. Focussing on poster and photo design, she played an important role in artistic innovation and political emancipation.

In Rijeka, we will present BAUHAUS IMAGINISTA, an exhibition on the global importance and connections of Bauhaus. The exhibition at Kortil Gallery will also include films – documentary and artistic – in the programme of Rijeka History Film Festival. A round table talk, hosted by the gallery’s curator Jolanda Todorović, will invite its participants to discuss not only Bauhaus and modern architecture between the world wars, but also contemporary changes and new challenges of architecture and urbanism, and perhaps a „new Bauhaus for the future”. This discussion will include Croatian experts Antonija Mlikota from University of Zadar, who is writing a book on Otti Berge, Karin Šerman, professor of architecture at the University of Zagreb, and Luka Skansi, architect and professor at the Universities of Rijeka, Belgrade, Venice and Ljubljana. They will be joined by a number of guests from Germany, including film makers and journalists. How is Goethe-Institut contributing to Rijeka 2020?

— Our Rijeka 2020-programme will reflect on some of the following challenges: how to shape the future of the city, how to include citizens’ participation, how to act locally on challenges like climate change, city quarter rejuvenation

Photo: David Žižić@Goethe-Institut

with cultural and social activities. Goethe-Institut and Rijeka 2020 agreed on inviting international experts in order to connect them with the local municipality of Skolic. A first public presentation end of September this year will give a first glance of how our Berlin partners City Tool Box, together with local partners and NGOs in Rijeka 2020 will be proposing, discussing and producing artistic and experimental methods of developing the neglected Skolic Area for making it more inclusive, robust and futuristic. BAUHAUS100: Re-Discovering Bauhaus architect Bohutinsky in Zagreb

Tell us more about the LEIPZIG Connection – HDLU, which awaits us in October?

— The Leipzig connection is a very contemporary one: while Croatian artists currently enjoying residencies in Leipzig, the 50 works to be exhibited at HDLU will comprise the most famous works from the 90s generation of greats such as Neo Rauch and others just as much as the younger, striving artists of today. As East German artistic education, style, and topics helped form a very solid foundation to a new art practice, the Leipzig School is enjoying growing popularity. In the meantime, this has allowed for artistic perspectives, development and lifestyle to outrun even what we know from Berlin. So, next to the very vivid music (Bach!) and film (Leipzig Documentary Film Festival), the visual arts from Leipzig will come to Zagreb in full force! Which movies would you recommend from the Berlinale Special?

— The Berlinale Special, which was introduced to Zagreb, Split, and Rijeka last year, will again focus on full-length feature films. A selection of films – ranging from genres like comedy and historical to social drama, sourced from the most recent Berlinale International Film Festival – will be showcased. Walter Ruttmann’s classic silent

GERMAN LANGUAGE COUNTRIES ARE ACTIVELY ENCOURAGING PROFESSIONALS, ESPECIALLY IN MEDICAL AND ENGINEERING PROFESSIONS, TO MAKE USE OF EUROPEAN MOBILITY OPTIONS. NOW, THERE IS EVEN AN ONLINE LANGUAGE COURSE OPTION movie Berlin – Symphony of a City (DE: Berlin – Die Symphonie einer Großstadt/ HRV: Berlin, simfonija velegrada) will be the special opening film, with the music band CHUI from Zagreb premiering their live music written for this occasion. The closing film is to be Never Look Away (DE: Werk ohne Autor/ HRV: Djelo bez autora) by Oscar-winning Florian von Henckel-Donnersmarck, daring a look into Nazi history and their euthanasia programme while investigating the power of art in post-war Germany. The film, which once again is nominated for an Oscar (Best Foreign Film), is loosely based on Gerhard Richter´s biography, who – along with Joseph Beuys and others from the Dusseldorf Art Academy – is part of one of the greatest generations of German artists. New social drama has been a Berlinale surprise, especially the debut film System Breaker (DE: Systemsprenger/ HRV: Razbijačica sustava), about a child radically breaking all social

rules, and Only a Woman (DE: Nur eine Frau/ HRV: Obična žena), which is based on a ritual murder of a young German-Turkish woman in Berlin. Both films were written and directed by German female film authors. Another favourite is the bio-pic GUNDERMANN by Andreas Dresen: a GDR-biography of a real working-class hero, who wasn’t that heroic after all regarding his entanglement with the GDR’s malicious system of surveillance. The film has won 6 German Film Awards this year. How popular is the German language in Croatia and why? What courses and certificates do you offer? What makes Goethe-Institute language classes special?

— German speaking countries are actively encouraging professionals, especially in medical and engineering professions, to make use of European mobility options. Demographic statistics show that there is an ongoing brain drain,

especially amongst the youngest, most active and most mobile. Of course, the language is a very important prerequisite for many who decide to immigrate to a German speaking country. However, we aim at brain gain instead of brain drain by implementing dialogue- and education-based programmes. Furthermore, we are looking to optimally employ the benefits of European mobility – meaning not only emigration but also later remigration of scientific, artistic and creative exchange of knowledge acquired abroad. Next to that, German employers and investors are looking for employees in Croatia who speak German. As a result, Goethe-Institut offers not only courses for the youth but also subject-specific courses and examinations on all levels. The earned certifications are accepted as valid proof of language proficiency around the globe. The innovative, communicative, hands-on, and media-supported language programme is transparent and the same world-wide – the curriculum as well as the goals of the course are formed based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). According to the latest inquiry of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the German language is very popular in Croatia with every third individual either studying or capable of speaking it. Now, an online portal facilitates webbased language courses especially in the coastal regions of Croatia. In support of schools across the country, amongst which there are eight German partner-schools supported by the Goethe-Institut, we follow up on innovative Croatian concepts such as the digital strategy of the Ministry of Education. This strategy forms the new basis of digital foreign language courses offered by Goethe-Institut and for MINT-offers to teachers of the country.

READY FOR THE CHALLENGES OF DIGITALIZATION How has digitalisation changed the library services and the way you communicate with the readers? — Nowadays, print media are still crucial for our customers, but digital media are even more important for international knowledge exchange. Our library and digital services have responded with our Onleihe-programme, where different media such as books, newspapers and magazines can be borrowed online, complementing our print and audio-visual media in the library. Nonetheless, our library is a place of interaction, knowledge exchange, and creativity. In formats like Lernwerkstatt, study and exchange work-

shops combine open access to digital media and information resources with face-to-face communication. Media literacy is another issue in which we cooperate with local professionals for a better qualification and exchange of expertise between librarians from Germany and Croatia. Since ethical principles, copyright issues, and data protection standards are part of the new challenges in digital communication and information, our liaison work in information and digital services is based on digital ethics. We invite students to our library Lernwerkstatt just as much as the national Associations of Librarians, NGOs and other institutions. We are open for a critical reflection on the new potential as well as the challenges of digitalization.

THE ECONOMIST EXPLAINS

What is Libra?

Facebook’s digital currency could become one of the world’s biggest financial entities

Anyone who has watched the price of bitcoin bucking and rearing in recent years—or seen Facebook attacked for its handling of private data— might have been surprised to learn that the social-media giant is releasing its own digital currency. But such is Libra. Facebook will launch its currency some time in the first half of next year. If all goes according to plan, Libra will be bought, sold, held, sent and received within the firm’s apps, Messenger and WhatsApp, and also rival ones. A tap on a smartphone will make money change hands almost instantaneously, even if sender and receiver are on different sides of the planet. Libra is, in effect, an attempt to undercut existing payment services by re-inventing and improving bitcoin ten years after its launch. Whereas bitcoin transactions may take minutes to confirm and can cost several dollars, Libra should move within seconds for negligible fees. Whereas bitcoin’s price is extremely volatile, Libra’s swings should be minimal as it will be backed by a basket of currencies. And whereas a transaction using bitcoin needs more than 1,000

kWh of computing energy, Libra transactions should consume no more energy than credit-card ones. Libra will be created only when users buy coins with real money. These inflows will form the reserve that will back the currency. Local regulators will be able to keep tabs on Libra, which will not yield interest. The providers of “wallets”, the software-cum-services that allow users to send and receive the currency, will have

owns which Libra coin. On the currency’s launch, this association is supposed to have 100 members, each of which can operate one of the blockchain nodes. The currency will be offered to 2.4bn Facebook users, but to function effectively Libra also needs to be accepted by many businesses. The association will run “incentive programmes”, essentially subsidies to get people to use and hold the new currency.

THE CURRENCY WILL BE OFFERED TO 2.4BN FACEBOOK USERS, BUT TO FUNCTION EFFECTIVELY LIBRA ALSO NEEDS TO BE ACCEPTED BY MANY BUSINESSES to comply with national rules, for instance those against money laundering. To assuage those worried about letting Facebook into their financial affairs, the firm will decentralise decision-making about Libra. Its institutional heart is an association made up of a broad range of organisations, such as financial firms and non-profit groups. Their main task is to oversee the blockchain, a database that tracks who

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They will be financed by the fees its members have to pay for a seat at the table: $10m each for a total of $1bn. Facebook will not be the only provider of wallets. But the association will have to ensure that Calibra, the separate subsidiary that Facebook has created to offer Libra payments, should not have an unfair advantage over other firms. Facebook itself is likely to develop a suite of financial services, much as WeChat and

Alibaba, two Chinese internet giants, have done in China. Much can go wrong. The working prototype has yet to be tested. Facebook must prove that it truly is willing to give up control. Concerns about fair competition between Libra and other crypto-projects will persist. And any success could also bring problems. Were every Western depositor to move a tenth of their bank savings into Libras, its reserve fund would be worth over $2trn— nearly twice Apple’s market cap. If all Facebook’s users adopt Libra to shop and transfer money, it could become one of the world’s biggest financial entities, reducing governments’ economic sovereignty. As a result governments, particularly those that print money to finance their budgets, might be tempted to block it. Facebook’s impact on democracy has not been wholly positive. It is not clear whether Libra’s impact on the financial system should be feared or welcomed. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

CORPORATE

Mediation More Effective than Courts

Singapore Convention - New in Settlement of International Commercial Disputes

PETAR PETRIĆ Attorney-at-law and mediator

It is believed that the Singapore Convention will make a crucial contribution to the advancement of international trade relations and the development of the world economy. The Convention was signed by the world's largest economic powers, the US and China. Although the EU countries are not signatories, many, justifiably so, expect progress in this direction. In December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting

document considering that the Convention was signed at the height of their trade and currency conflict, and their mutual struggle for dominance in the industries of the future, namely artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and 5G technology. It was during the trade war the two countries have been waging that these two major economic powers have signed the Convention which promotes the efficiency of dealing with international trade relations. The Convention has been signed by other significant economic powers such as India, South Korea, Israel, Turkey, as well as by several other states including Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The EU countries and the Republic of Croatia have not yet signed the Convention because

THE CONVENTION IS A MAJOR STEP FORWARD FOR THE GROWING ONLINE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SECTOR from Mediation via consensus and recommended that the Convention should be referred to as "Singapore Convention on Mediation“ or simply "Singapore Convention". Singapore Convention on Mediation was signed on 7th August 2019. At the signing ceremony in Singapore, as many as 46 countries signed the Singapore Convention on Mediation in the presence of 1,500 international and national officials, leading international mediators and organizations, business people, investors, lawyers, academics and students from all over the world.

Which countries signed the Convention?

— The fact that the biggest global economic powers, like the US and China, are the Convention's signatories gives special importance to this

of the non-compliance with the Directive 2008/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21st May 2008 on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters, but many, justifiably so, expect progress in this direction.

What does the Singapore Convention bring?

— Singapore Convention on Mediation is an instrument for the promotion of international economic relations and the promotion of mediation as an alternative and indeed the dominant and effective way of resolving disputes. The expectations are that the implementation of the Convention will contribute to a faster, easier and more cost-effective resolution of international trade disputes and the rule of law.

Furthermore, the Convention is a major step forward for the growing online dispute resolution sector, as it stipulates the agreements concluded via electronic communication are considered agreements in writing that can be enforced. The Convention itself is an important step in resolving disputes internationally. It enables the implementation of agreements (settlements) reached in mediation in the same way that court judgments or arbitral awards can be enforced.

What are the primary objectives of the Convention? • facilitating international trade; and • promoting the use of mediation to resolve cross-border trade disputes

What is mediation?

— The Convention defines the general concept of mediation as the procedure by which the parties seek to resolve the dispute amicably with the assistance of a third party or third parties (“mediators”) who do not have the authority to

impose a settlement on the parties to the dispute. Mediation is known for improving efficiency and flexibility of dispute resolution. As a means of dispute resolution, in many of the most developed legal and economic systems, mediation has become the primary way of resolving disputes, especially in trade and investment disputes, especially when it comes to the leading global economy that is the US, as well as several other developed world economies.

What does mediation offer to entrepreneurs in comparison to state courts or arbitrations?

— The benefits of mediation over litigation and arbitration are its efficiency, saving time, cutting costs and preserving other business resources. Mediation gives great flexibility and creativity in reaching solutions that the parties come up with on their own with the help of a mediator. In addition to the settled dispute, successful mediation also ensures the establishment and continuation of good business relations between the parties to the dispute.

THE IMPORTANCE AND IMPACT OF MEDIATION IN THE WORLD The importance of mediation for the global economy is also validated by the fact that the World Bank, in its leading publication „Doing Business“, which assesses regulations that affect a country's business activity, specifically assesses the development of mediation in the legal and economic system of each country. In short, if the mediation in a particular country is more regulated and developed, the rating of business activity for that country is higher.

ECONOMY

Text: ŽELIMIR MARAŠ

EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement Road to heaven or hell? ic and political course. Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro completely ruined the welfare state in Brazil in just a few years and pushed it into a huge crisis. Mauricio Macri in Argentina has a terrible record in economics. The Right wing has shown its incompetence for which it blamed the Left, at a terrible cost to the citizens. POSITIVE VIEW

In the age of dumping measures, sanctions, tariffs and termination and redefining of existing trade agreements (NAFTA has been disassembled and it became the Canada-USA-Mexico Trade Agreement, CEFTA is struggling with non-statutory behaviour of the self-proclaimed Kosovo, which introduced 100% taxes to other two members, Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina “until the recognition of independence”, Trump is introducing sanctions to China, Iran, Canada, Mexico, EU, Russia, then he removes them… you never know until it appears on Twitter), there is a new, potentially good trade agreement on the horizon. Is everything as it seems? NEUTRAL VIEW

The European Union desperately needs some sort of an agreement. Following the EU-Canada agreement, which was blocked by the small Wallonia but which was eventually adopted, there are no major shifts in the economic and political sphere for the EU - Britain is still leaving the ship and there is no enlargement. Macron says it won’t happen until Europe speaks for itself and consolidates, and that will be difficult with Salvini, who is fighting very hard for his Italy, and appreciates it more than the EU, and with Greece and Poland seeking reparations from Germany, as well as the trembling of An-

gela Merkel, who is soon to leave the Chancellor’s office. The best thing for the EU was the resolution of the dispute between Greece and now Northern Macedonia, but this did not last: all that is offered to Northern Macedonia is not what really should be offered: NATO membership is offered but not the start of EU membership negotia-

Osaka was the place where the heads of G-20 (realistically, much more relevant than G-7) met and sent us a highly unexpected message: after more than 20 years of stalling, Mercosur and EU are forming an excellent plan for an economic free zone. For the EU, the agreement opens up a huge new market for cars, machinery and chemical products, while South American countries can primarily export duty-free meat (beef), ethanol and sugar. According to the President of the EU Commission

EUROPE WANTS TO PROTECT ITS FARMERS FROM A FLOOD OF CHEAP AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS FROM SOUTH AMERICA, AND THEY ALSO WANT STRONGER GUARANTEES THAT THE ENVIRONMENT (AMAZON IN PARTICULAR) WILL NOT BE DESTROYED tions. Therefore, EU wants a new success, a new market to jump start its export. And that’s precisely Mercosur (or as the Brazilians say – Mercosul), a community of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Mercosur by itself is a slightly looser creation than the EU, and herein lies the problem - Paraguay was once suspended from Mercosur for lack of democracy and Venezuela was admitted, and now it’s the other way around. The EU cannot expel its members. Also, Mercosur is a region that is much more strongly affected by ideological differences between the left and the right - governments are shifting along the ideological matrix and they are rapidly changing both the econom-

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Juncker, 772 million people would benefit from this "historic moment" that has created the world's largest market so far. Yes, neither is the EU a bigger market than this, and no EU-US agreement would be bigger than this. Not even NAFTA. Nothing. It seems like a new liberalization and lowering of prices, but something is off behind the horizon.

NEGATIVE VIEW

Ratification could take years. France is especially upset, for two reasons. It wants to protect its farmers from a flood of cheap agricultural products from South America, and it also wants stronger guarantees that the environment will not be destroyed. Italy as well. Namely, the farmers – not only from France and Italy, but from Germany as well – feared the cheap Latin American competition, insisting on ceilings for export of beef. They said that 100,000 tons should be a maximum for export from Mercosur countries to Europe. According to IPS, “the former Brazilian government once believed that this amount is ridiculously low and that they didn’t want to make an effort and send any kind of ship to Europe. They now agreed on around 99,000 tons, but associations of German and French farmers are still on their feet.” On the other hand, Jair Bolsonaro, who is willing to cut down the entire Amazon rainforest for agriculture even without this agreement, is in dire need of a new success. New? In fact, the first – since he has none. In a short time, the country was in a terrible crisis, and environmental protection was the last thing on his mind, and the whole world would suffer. Bolsonaro is perhaps the most dangerous man in the world because he controls most of the Amazon, which is the lungs of the Earth, and he intends to cut it. Because of the agricultural lobby. Argentina also wants some success, because Macri has collapsed the economy so spectacularly by listening to the IMF, that he can now never recover.

CIVIL SOCIETY IS AGITATED Civil society on both continents is agitated. In the national ratification procedures, the civil society actors will again have a strong vote. Even if all the EU and Mercosur countries ratify the agreement, the European Parliament will have the final saying, and after the recent EP elections, the deputies who are critical of the free trade between EU and Mercosur form a majority. The future is uncertain.

CORPORATE

CROATIAN TOURIST BOARD

The Number of Tourists is Growing 5% more tourists in Croatia in the first five months of 2019

According to data from eVisitor, which contains data about the tourist traffic in commercial and non-commercial facilities and nautical charter (the eCrew system), there were 16.5 million arrivals (+5%) and 90.1 million overnight stays (+2%) in the period from January to late August. Foreign tourists accounted for 14.7 million arrivals (+5%) and 79.1 million overnight stays (+1%), with the number of domestic tourists has also grown - 10% in arrivals and 7% in overnight stays. "The first half of 2019, as well as the previous two peak months, July and August, have met our expectations and plans for this year. In total, since the beginning of the year, we have achieved five per cent more tourist arrivals and two per cent more overnight stays, but apart from tourist traffic, we are especially looking forward to positive trends related to financial results. Namely, according to the Tax Administration, since the beginning of the year, a total of HRK 20.6 billion worth of bills have been issued in the segment of accommodation and food and beverage preparation which is an 8% increase, or HRK 1.6 billion," Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said, adding that those results herald great overall results in tourism revenues in 2019. "After having a successful peak of the tourist year, we are entering the post-season concerning which we launched campaigns in 14 European countries in mid-August. In

Gari Cappelli

Kristjan Staničić

September and October, we expect a repeat of last year's figures or, depending on the market, a further increase in the number of arrivals and overnight stays, primarily from the long-haul markets such as the US, China and Korea, but also from Russia and France. Also, we are working hard on preparing the next tourist year," said Managing Director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić, adding that the strength of Croatian tourism was validated by the latest report of the World Economic Forum according to which Croatia is ranked 27th in terms of tourism competitiveness, which is a jump of five places relative to 2017. During the first eight months of 2019, the highest number of overnight stays was recorded in Istria (24.3 million), in Split-Dalmatia County 16.9 million overnight stays and Kvarner 16.2 million. Next come Zadar County with 12.9 million nights and Dubrovnik-Ner-

etva County with 7.2 million nights. 6.2 million overnight stays were recorded in Šibenik-Knin County, while Lika-Senj County saw 3 million overnight stays. 1.7 million overnight stays were recorded in Zagreb. In terms of the continental part of the country, excluding Zagreb, a total of 840,000 arrivals (+8%) and 1.7 million overnight stays (+8%) were recorded, while the highest number of overnight stays were recorded in the following continental counties - Karlovac (511,000), Krapina-Zagorje (258,000), Zagreb (157,000), Osijek-Baranja County (145,000) and Medjimurje (144,000). At the national level, during the first eight months, most overnight stays came from the tourists from Germany (17 million), Slovenia (9.5 million) Austria (6.3 million), Poland (5.4 million), Italy (4.9 million), the Czech Republic (4.7 million) and the United Kingdom (3.5 million). In terms of accommoda-

THERE WERE 8% MORE TOURIST ARRIVALS IN AUGUST

tion segments, the highest number of overnight stays was recorded in households (34.5 million), hotels (19.4 million) and camps (16.2 million). The top destinations in the first eight months of this year, in regard to the realized overnight stays, are Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Poreč, Split and Medulin. There were 5 million arrivals and 33.1 million overnight stays in August, an increase of 8% in arrivals and 3% in overnight stays, compared to August 2018. In the same month, the highest number of overnight stays was recorded in Istria (8.7 million), while Kvarner and Split-Dalmatia County had 6.3 million overnight stays. Next is Zadar County with 5.2 million and Šibenik-Knin County with 2.5 million overnight stays. Dubrovnik-Neretva County recorded 2.3 million overnight stays, while in Lika-Senj County there were 1.2 million overnight stays. Zagreb had 289,000 overnight stays. Also in August, 191,000 arrivals (+8%) and 421,000 overnight stays (+6%) were made in the continental part of the country, of which the highest number of overnight stays was recorded in Karlovac (197,000), Krapina-Zagorje (48,000), Zagreb (36,000), Medjimurje (32,000). and Varaždin County (32,000). At the national level, most overnight stays were recorded in August came from Germany (6.5 million), Slovenia (3.3 million), Italy (2.9 million), Poland (2.1 million), Austria (2.1 million) and the Czech Republic (1.7 million).

PEOPLE & EVENTS

17 BELGIAN JULY

NATIONAL DAY

A celebration of the Belgian National Day took place at the residence of the now former Belgium ambassador to Zagreb, H.E. Philippe Benoit. A number of guests from the cultural, business and public life of Croatia and members of the diplomatic corps stationed in Zagreb attended the reception which was the last reception for Ambassador Philippe Benoit in Croatia.

Former Belgium ambassador to Zagreb, H.E. Philippe Benoit

H.E. Andrew Dalgleish LLB is Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia, H.E. Andreas Wiedenhoff, former Austrian Ambassador to Croatia with colleague

Former Belgium ambassador to Zagreb, H.E. Philippe Benoit., former Franch ambassadors to Zagreb Corrine Meunier and H.E. Philippe Meunier

Antonio Garcia Postigo, Attaché of the Belgian Embassy with a colleague

22 CONFERENCE OF AUG

AMBASSADORS AND CONSULS GENERAL

The annual conference of ambassadors, consuls general and military envoys of the Republic of Croatia was held on 22nd and 23rd August in Zagreb. On Thursday, August 22nd, the President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Gordan Jandroković, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman spoke about the determinants of Croatian foreign and European policy.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic

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PEOPLE & EVENTS

30 TURKISH AUG

NATIONAL DAY VICTORY DAY

Traditionally, a Victory Day reception was held at the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey. The reception’s host, the Turkish Ambassador H.E. MUSTAFA BABUR HIZLAN welcomed guests from Zagreb's cultural and public life and members of the diplomatic corps.

Turkish Ambassador to Croatia H.E. Mustafa Babur Hizlan

01 SLO- CRO BUSINESS CLUB SEP

- 3RD RECREATIONAL CYCLING MARATHON

Over 80 recreational cyclists participated in the marathon while 53 participants (47 men and 6 women) finished the race, arriving in Novo Mesto. The marathon route - Zagreb - Zapresic - Harmica - Rigonce - Dobova - Brezice - Krška vas - Kostanjevica na Krki Šentjernej - Ratež - Petelinjek - Novo Mesto - was 80km long. The following members of the SLO CRO Business Club participated in the race - Orbica Group and IMED Polyclinic, while the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Zagreb from the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Zagreb was represented by Jožica Bračun Bokor and Siniša Bokor and Bernard Šrajner, in the accompanying vehicle.

Marathon participants

MORE PHOTOS ON

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PEOPLE & EVENTS

08 UNICEF CHARITY SEP

RACE - MILKY WAY 2019

This year, the charity race was held in downtown Zagreb, under the auspices of the City of Zagreb and the Ministry of Health. The aim of this year's race

was to raise funds to improve conditions in all national maternity wards so that all newborns in Croatia and their families have the best possible start in life.

Marathon participants

29 FIFTH ANNIVERSARY AUG

OF THE CROATIANKOREAN BUSINESS CLUB

The Embassy of Republic of Korea in Zagreb and the Croatian-Korean Business Club hosted a ceremony of marking the fifth anniversary of Croatian-Korean Business Club. Together with the main host Hon. Kim Dong-chan, Korean ambassador to Croatia, all of the speakers have reflected on the activities of the

H.E. Damir Kušen, Prof. Damir Boras, Prof. Dragan Primorac, H.E. Kim Dong-chan, Hon. Željko Reiner, Zoran Horvat, Prof. Boris Vujčić, Zdenko Lucić, Igor Zgrabljić

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Club in the past five years which have significantly improved the bilateral relations between Croatia and Korea on all levels. An additional confirmation of the Club’s impactful work was the recent appointment of its president Zoran Horvat, as the director of the office of the Croatian Tourist Board in Seoul.

CORPORATE

Innovation is in Our DNA Half a century of being in business is a monumental milestone and we celebrate our 50th anniversary around the globe DHL was founded on September 25, 1969, by three entrepreneurs: Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn, launching the international air express industry. It was a simple yet revolutionary business idea of transporting shipping documents from San Francisco to Honolulu by plane in so the customs clearance of the corresponding ship cargo could begin even before the ships arrived. This is how DHL invented the international express service and has grown into the world’s leading mail and logistics company – Deutsche Post DHL Group, a global-spanning family of DHL divisions. Innovation is an essential part of our DNA. The innovative business idea in 1969 was the starting point for a large number of innovations that have made DHL one of the world's most important logistics partners over the past 50 years.

friendly delivery vehicle powered by an electric drive and developed by Deutsche Post DHL Group. The Group couldn’t find a suitable, environmentally friendly van on the market, and simply created its own. The StreetScooter has been a huge success; with a fleet of now over 9,000 vehicles strong and further growing.

DHL’S TRADITION OF BEING GLOBAL

Today, it’s considered normal that people, information, and goods and services can travel easily across borders. However, DHL began bringing countries together through trade at all times

DHL’S TRADITION OF SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability at DHL focuses on environmental impact and social responsibility, as well as on relationships with our customers, employees and investors. Environmental protection is integrated into Deutsche Post DHL Group’s corporate strategy, including a plan to reduce all logistics-related carbon emissions to zero by 2050, while the Group is already making concrete progress towards the interim targets for 2025. Our employees apply their can-do spirit and problem-solving ability to service their communities, today and in the past.

DHL IS READY TO PROVIDE EVEN MORE EFFECTIVE SERVICE BY USING INNOVATIONS WHICH ARE SHAPING THE LOGISTICS INDUSTRY: DIGITALIZATION, AUTOMATIZATION, RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS, AS WELL AS E-COMMERCE

DHL’S TRADITION OF INNOVATION

DHL began as a disruptor to the traditional delivery industry, circumventing bureaucracy with innovative new service to deliver documents by air overnight. In 1979, DHL developed its very own computer, the DHL 1000 word processor as a way to speed up customs documentation. The DHL 1000 was one of the first word processing systems in the world, a true innovation. DHL was one of the first express delivery companies to anticipate the need for total logistics solutions. By the late 1980s, DHL was going far beyond delivery, expanding its role in customer supply chains and operating centrally located warehouses that enabled partners to reduce inventory, response times and costs. In the early 2010s, DHL started using the purpose-built StreetScooter, an environmentally

when there were real barriers and also cultural differences much greater than today, and when there was no email or internet. To give customers in remote and less industrialized areas, the same advantages as in other parts of the world, DHL in 1986 began providing computers to its clients for automating shipment processing. This was the global, customer-centric vision of DHL long before “globalization” became a household term.

In its first decade, a DHL country team might be a family, a group of tightly knit people, bonded by trust and a commitment to getting the job done! We call this Respect and Results, the guiding principle for all of our employees across the globe. Respect and Results are what brings everyone around the same table and is the backbone of our Leadership Attributes, our Certified Program, our First Choice Methodology and our Three Bottom Lines – to become Provider

of Choice, Employer of Choice and Investment of Choice.

DHL’S FUTURE AND FURTHER DEVELOPMENT

By capitalizing on a globe-spanning group of logistics specialists and cross-divisional synergies DHL is going to provide even more effective service innovations which tackle major trends shaping the future of the logistics industry: digitalization, automatization, responsible business as well as e-commerce. DHL just started to use collaborative robots, artificial intelligence, augmented reality applications and self-driving vehicles, which help increase output while easing employee workload. DHL successfully run several tests of drone deliveries to remote areas and for specific goods as well for inventory management in its warehouse operations. DHL has introduced SmarTrucking, which combines big data with the Internet of Things to reduce transit times by up to 50% compared to the traditional trucking industry. And with TRAILAR, trucks and trailers get equipped with electricity-generating solar mats to reduce costs and lower carbon emissions at the same time. Today, together with its “sister” brand Deutsche Post, Europe’s leading postal service provider, and the extended DHL family, Deutsche Post DHL Group employs approximately 550,000 people in over 220 countries and territories worldwide – thereof some 380,000 employees working for DHL. With our “can-do” spirit, combined with customer focus, our guiding principle of Respect and Results, our responsibility for environmental protection and impressive tradition of global, innovative and sustainable business we connect people and make the world a better place which makes us THE logistics company for the world.

BUSINESS NEWS

Toyota Motor and Suzuki Motor

COOPERATING ON VEHICLES OF THE FUTURE

Tax Administration

NEW SERVICE

The Tax Administration’s new service ensures easy, fast and accurate payment of tax using mobile payment applications from payment service providers that offer such a service. This service is available under the Tax Ledger Account functionality, where, after selecting the Balance on the Chosen Day option, ePKK opens, classified by type of income. It is possible to generate barcode payment information for each type of income, as is to change the payment amount. Barcode payment is also enabled

for types of income on which no debits are recorded. Data for payment with a barcode is generated by selecting the type of income and payment amount.

Bureau of Statistics

WHEAT PRODUCTION INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY

Toyota will purchase a 4.94% stake in Suzuki for roughly $908 million at current exchange rates. Suzuki will spend $455 million to acquire shares of Toyota, a far smaller share of Toyota. The two companies underscored challenges such as increased environmental regulations and the need to develop future autonomous vehicle technologies. For Suzuki, it earns a massive partner with which to work on future technologies. The small Japanese automaker, which no longer does business in the US, said it will focus on its specialties within the new partnership. Suzuki is quite successful in India, but the company fears it won’t be able to withstand competition alone.

HOPS and Siemens

CONTRACT ON THE SINCRO.GRID PROJECT

Wheat production this year has increased by 3.9 per cent compared to last year, to 767,000 tonnes. Statisticians explain the increase in wheat production this year by increase in the the harvested area by 6,000 hectares, to 142,000 hectares, with an expected production of 5.4 tonnes of wheat per hectare. In addition to wheat, according to

an early estimate, the production of oats increased by 13.3 per cent to 51,000 tonnes. Oats were sown on 17,000 hectares and production was expected to amount to 3 tonnes per hectare. Unlike these early crops, the estimated production of rapeseed was down by almost 30 per cent due to a reduction in the harvest area by 11,000 hectares.

Dechra Pharmaceuticals

LABORATORY IN ZAGREB

British veterinary drug maker Dechra Pharmaceuticals, the majority owner of the Croatian company Genera, has transferred ownership of all licenses obtained in Britain to a new branch in the Netherlands, and as part of its preparations for Brexit, drug testing methods have been transferred to a new laboratory in Zagreb. The company has also increased supplies in the supply chain to prevent potential problems due to possible delays in ports. They estimate that any import or export duties will not significantly affect their business. They also did not state whether the new

measures will affect jobs. Dechra ended the last business year with a 27 per cent increase in basic operating profit, of £ 127.4 million (€ 140.67 million). The company also increased their annual dividend by 24 per cent to 31.6 pence per share.

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Representatives of Hrvatski Operator Prijenosnog Sustava (HOPS) and Siemens signed the contract stipulating works on installation of the control choke in the TS 400/220/110 kV Melina. The value of the contract is HRK 36,466,010.10 and is valid for fifteen months. The SINCRO. GRID Advanced Networks project was developed through many years of cooperation between the Croatian and Slovenian transmission and distribution system operators, and the aim of the project is to solve the challenges in managing the power system and eliminate congestion in the grid, which ensures a certain level safety of power system operation and meets the prerequisites for acceptance of the new RES.

Philip Morris and Altria

$200-BILLION MERGER The tobacco giants Philip Morris International and the Altria Group are in talks to reunite, the companies confirmed, in a deal that would combine the most popular brands of both traditional and electronic cigarettes. The companies described the proposed deal in a statement as an “all-stock, merger of equals,” but cautioned that the discussions might not result in an agreement. The two U.S.-headquartered companies separated 11 years ago to focus on different geographic markets, at a time when tobacco stocks generated steady yields. Since then, the industry has been disrupted by a move away from traditional smoking into e-cigarettes and vaping. The two have responded with new offerings. Philip Morris, which operates outside the United States, has developed a heated tobacco product called iQOS. Altria, which operates in the United States and still sells Marlboro in the country, acquired a 35% stake in vaping company Juul Labs Inc last year for $12.8 billion.

Supernova

INVESTING 15 MILLION EURO As announced by the Supernova Group, which owns the Kaptol Centre, the renovation works will last until the end of 2020. Kaptol Boutique Cinema by CineStar Cinema & WOW bar, catering facilities, kindergarten and EducArena and Konzum will be open during the renovation. The planned completion of the works is at the end of 2020.

Iveco

AGNELLI FAMILY TO SELL ITS TRUCK BRAND

Volkswagen

CHANGING LOGO

German automotive giant Volkswagen has unveiled a new logo that seeks to build the image of an environmental company and fend off the 2015 scandal with the company forging the exhaust gases emission data. "Volkswagen is on the way to emission-free mobility for all," said VW brand executive Ralf Brandstätter in Wolfsburg. The goal is to become the world market leader in e-mobility by 2025, with one million electric vehicles sold per year. The brand appearance has been completely revised. "We want to earn the recognition of society again." With the updated logo, which will feature a more minimalistic, 2D “bolder and more colorful” design, Volkswagen is also introducing a new motto – “New Volkswagen.”

Industrial vehicle maker CNH Industrial has decided to split in two and list its truck, bus and engine division, Iveco in an effort to boost asset values and streamline its businesses, Reuters and Bloomberg report. The plan comes just six years after CNH Industrial was created when Fiat Industrial - spun off from the

Italian carmaker - was folded into U.S.-based agricultural and construction machine firm CNH. CNH’s top shareholder Exor - the holding group of Italy’s Agnelli family, which also controls Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and premium sports car maker Ferrari - said in a statement it supported the new plan.

Deutsche Telekom

EXITS ROMANIA

Deutsche Telekom (DT) has received the Romanian state’s approval for selling its stake in the local landline telecom services provider Telekom Romania Communications (TRC, formerly Romtelecom) to Orange. Deutsche Telekom holds 54% of TRC and the Romanian Government holds the remaining 46% through the Communications Ministry. Allegedly, Deutsche Telekom wants a billion euro for its share (which is just over the annual turnover of Telekom Romania), while the German operator probably stands to get 400 million euro. TRC owns 70% of Telekom

Mobile; OTE owns the rest. DT has a 40% shareholding in OTE. In January, DT gave a green light for the sale of Telekom Albania for 50 million euro to Albania Telecom Invest.

BUSINESS NEWS

Eurostat

DROP IN UNEMPLOYMENT

In July, the unemployment rate in the European Union and Croatia stayed at the levels from the previous month, and Croatia was again among the countries with a largest annual decline in unemployment. At the EU level, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, measured by the International Labor Organization (ILO) methodology, stood at 6.3 per cent in July, as in the month before; its lowest levels since the European Statistical Office began publishing monthly reports in January 2000. In the same month a year earlier, the EU28 unemployment rate was 6.8 per cent, the latest report showed. At the end of July, there were 15,613 million unemployed citizens in the 28-nation Union, of which 12,322 million were in the euro area.

Nissan

10,000 JOB CUTS Japanese carmaker Nissan is considering up to 10,000 job cuts globally and has warned of a 90 per cent plunge in profits in the first three months of the financial year. The global plan includes 4,800 job cuts announced in May and will mostly be at factories overseas with low utilization rates. The cuts, exceeding 7 percent of Nissan’s 139,000-strong workforce, highlight the extent of problems facing Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa, who is also grappling with

fractured relations with the French partner Renault SA which owns a 43% share in Nissan.

Huawei

LAYS OFF 600 EMPLOYEES

AEPW

FIGHTING AGAINST PLASTIC

Global companies from across the value chain, including chemical and plastic manufacturers, today held the first Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) forum in Southeast Asia. The forum introduced the Alliance, a global non-profit organization aiming to end plastic waste in the environment, especially in the ocean, to Southeast Asia and Thailand. The Alliance represents 40 companies that are headquartered in North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, including Dow DuPont, Royal Duch Shell, Procter & Gamble and others. The Alliance has committed almost $1 billion in funds, with the goal of investing $1.5 billion over the next five years to develop solutions that will minimize and manage plastic waste and promote post-use solutions.

China’s Huawei has cut 600 positions from its Futurewei Technologies U.S. research branch. The move, which represents 70% of the division’s 850 roles, follows the hardware giant’s blacklisting by the U.S. government. In mid-May, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning US companies from using telecommunica-

INVESTS 1 BILLION EURO IN CROATIA'S DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Hrvatski Telekom (HT) has invested over 7.5 billion kuna (1 billion euro) in digital infrastructure in Croatia in the last four years, providing households, businesses and the public sector with better and faster access to the Internet and digital content, CEO Kostas Nebis said in the coastal city of Šibenik on Friday, adding that more investment projects are planned. Management board member Boris Drilo said that HT's largest project was the comprehensive modernisation of the mobile network, which is due to be

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tion equipment from sources the administration deems a national security threat. That action directly targeted China and Huawei, a leader in 5G technology and a global business with revenue of more than $100 billion. The ban has prevented Futurewei employees from communicating with their coworkers in Hauwei's headquarters in China.

completed by the end of year. His colleague Saša Kramar said that HT had so far digitised over 30 percent of domestic companies with over 25,000 employees, and carried out over 10 "smart cities" projects.

SOCIETY

Text: ŽELIMIR MARAŠ

#MeToo? Maybe #TooMuch! And what if we talked a little about poverty?

If you follow the American news at all, then you will see that everything that bothers us Europeans usually doesn’t bother the Americans, and what dominates their news seems a bit bizarre, shocking, and extreme. Still, they are the descendants of the Puritans. RAPINOE VS. THE WORLD

In America, no event can go by without some identity frictions. Just when the US team was supposed to face The Netherlands in the Women's World Cup final, US’ best player Megan Rapinoe, being a lesbian, said she did not want to go to the White House reception held by Donald Trump because of his homophobic views. Of course, there was an immediate backlash from the White House, and although the US national team won, they did not go to Trump. But the creators of “The Simpsons” TV show have made a small thumbnail showing the Simpsons receiving them in Springfield, Evergreen Terrace, with a banner indicating that they are welcome even though it’s not the White House. This is not Magan Rapinoe's first incident - namely, on September 4, 2016, during a game in Chicago against the Red Stars, Rapinoe knelt during the national anthem in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback who refused to stand during the anthem to protest racial injustice

and minority oppression. To make things even crazier after that, later that week on September 7, the Washington Spirit uncharacteristically played the national anthem prior to the teams taking the field, indicating that they did not want to "subject our fans and friends to the disrespect we feel such an act

actor Anthony Rappa (it’s interesting that the boy was 14 and Spacey was 26 years old), and the boy was just slightly kissed. And this was enough to end Spacey’s career. Hollywood doesn’t forgive. Additionally, there was a great deal of incorrect behavior from Spacey towards his male colleagues in bars and the Globe Theatre, but they were adult. The last and worst thing is that there was a turnaround in the case when Spacey ended up with a certain 18-year-old boy, so it happened that the young man's mother sued Spacey for harassment, and deleted the correspondence between the two which indicated that their relationship was voluntary, but that the young man could not tell his mother because he was ashamed. And now the public opinion has turned to Spacey's side, because, is his private life enough to ruin a genius's brilliant career?

MAYBE THE #METOO SLOWLY BECAME #TOOMUCH. WE SHOULD RETURN TO REAL ISSUES, REAL ABUSE. DEAL WITH PROBLEMS WITH POVERTY, ECONOMIC EXCLUSION. BECAUSE THIS PROBLEM IS TICKING LIKE A TIME BOMB would represent". A mirror match, as one might say. Rapinoe is also active in the Equal Pay movement for equal pay of male and female football players, which absolutely not a gender-sensitive but a purely commercial matter. Much more people watch men’s football than women’s football (maybe USA doesn’t know yet that football is internationally recognized as the most manliest sport after rugby and its versions, like the American football, Australian football, etc.), so this will not be possible any time soon. So, when it’s equally watched, it will be equally paid. SPACEY VS. THE WORLD

We have a reverse case with Kevin Spacey, who was charged of molesting a minor 33 years ago,

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

We know that Harvey Weinstein harassed, assaulted, raped, blackmailed and excluded from his projects the women who did not want to be with him. And he got what he deserved. But should we go into this much detail about the personal life and crotch of celebrities? This contrasts significantly with European principles, where, after all, the funeral of Francois Mitter-

and was attended by both his wife and his lover, with children from both marriages. It is as if we live in different civilizations. Where do we go from here? #metoo started as a great movement, which was supposed to shed some light on the rat holes where young people were harassed by older homosexuals, and young women by old heterosexuals (there were also situations, of course, where young men and women were harassed by older and powerful women), but somehow, everything in the US started to evolve around race, religion, sexual orientation and political correctness. Even Taylor Swift was accused of being an idol of the right wing and white supremacists, so blond and, oh, so pale and perfect. And they accused her of never saying anything against the right wing activities, so she had to step out in front of the public and say that she is tolerant and that she is not a symbol or a sympathizer of neo-Nazis, no matter how much they loved her Aryan beauty. And now she went and made a music video with a gay wedding and a fundamentalist protest. Martina Navratilova, a gay activist, said that it is awful that men who “feel like women” (trans-men) can compete with women, and that it’s not fair. She got a slap on the wrist and she backed down. During that time, a man who felt like a woman competed with the women and he won. Not one. When Martina says “justice for women”, she’s a segregationist? Maybe the #MeToo slowly became #TooMuch. We should return to real issues, real abuse. Deal with problems with poverty, economic exclusion. Because this problem is ticking like a time bomb.

LEAVE US BE Indeed, can she and all people be left alone? Can an artist observe himself a bit more through his own artwork, and less through his demons? Can anyone do anything without being asked for an opinion about everything in the world? And if this opinion is not perfect, then he should be scrutinized?.

CULTURE

When the King Saved Vegas And vice versa MUCH WAS riding on Elvis Presley’s return to Las Vegas in 1969. It had been nearly a decade since he had played to a live audience, and Vegas offered a chance to revive a career mired in middling movies and synthetic songs. The timing was right for the city, too, which had lost some of the glamour of its early-1960s heyday, when the crooning of cool cats such as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin packed the lounges. The rise of the counterculture had made it look square; most young performers had little interest in supplying the kind of schmaltz it had become known for. “In a town that got blindsided by the rock revolution, it was only fitting that Vegas would turn to the original rock ’n’ roller, Elvis Presley, as the agent of its reinvention,” writes Richard Zoglin, a longtime culture correspondent for Time. In “Elvis in Vegas” he argues that the singer and the city saved each other, at least for a while. Las Vegas had always been derided for its kitsch, but in the late 1950s and early 1960s it was a necessary stop for Hollywood starlets, Broadway actors and nearly every nightclub turn in America. The resort began to lure high-rolling holidaymakers and the artists who helped empty their wallets in the 1930s, when Nevada became the first state to legalise gambling and liberalise divorce laws. Hotels multiplied along the strip in the 1950s; the advent of non-stop air travel from Chicago in 1960 helped draw visitors from across the country. The mob bosses who ran the town (casinos were handy for laundering money) attracted talent by lavishing huge salaries and luxurious perks on the stars. For their part, the entertainers kept people in the casinos. Judy Garland was paid $55,000 a week for her hearton-sleeve performances, though she preferred to sing at 2.30am owing to insomnia. Sinatra, a rather touchy and somewhat bigoted codger in these pages, earned as much as $100,000 a week for his residency at Caesars Palace. But by the late 1960s the economics were changing. How-

RICHARD ZOGLIN, A LONGTIME CULTURE CORRESPONDENT FOR TIME, IN “ELVIS IN VEGAS” ARGUES THAT THE SINGER AND THE CITY SAVED EACH OTHER, AT LEAST FOR A WHILE ard Hughes, an eccentric billionaire, bought up Vegas properties, pushed out the free-spending mobsters (a national crackdown on organised crime helped)

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and instituted a new era of bean-counting. Hotels stopped coddling entertainers, many of whom seemed dated. Over the same period Elvis’s manager, Colo-

nel Tom Parker, had steered him towards films, in the mistaken belief that they offered a surer payday than rock ’n’ roll. Fifty years ago this month, with Vegas in desperate need of a bankable star, Elvis arrived with his hat in his hand. He delivered the goods. Trim, energetic and still impossibly handsome, he performed like a man hungry for redemption. His voice was richer and deeper for his 34 years and he prowled the stage like a panther, kicking up a sweat in his stretchy, karate-style outfits (Bill Belew, the designer of the increasingly ornate costumes, switched to jumpsuits after Elvis split his trousers). Backed by a dream-team of musicians, two vocal groups and a 40-piece orchestra, Elvis relished the reunion with his fans, many of them housewives who had screamed for him as teenagers. He played twice a night, seven days a week for four straight weeks and sold out every show. Rolling Stone hailed him as “supernatural, his own resurrection”. The King returned to Vegas twice a year for seven years, always playing to sell-out crowds. In a city where entertainers had been loss-leaders, Elvis turned a profit. Hotels learned that the right star could attract ordinary types from all over, who would bring their families for a holiday splurge. He paved the way for the lavish shows of Celine Dion, Elton John and Lady Gaga. But the demands of these twice-a-night gigs proved less kind to Elvis. By 1971 he looked tired and heavy; by 1975 he often needed a chair on stage. Isolated in his penthouse suite, hooked on pills and bloated with bacon, he was “a prisoner of the town as well as its saviour”. He died at Graceland in 1977 with 14 drugs in his system. But his spirit lives on in Las Vegas and in the pages of this enjoyable book. Elvis in Vegas by Richard Zoglin. Simon & Schuster From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

COLUMN

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TRENDS

New role of communications in the global business environment requires modern and constantly changing technologies which brings both advantages and drawbacks JAGODA POROPAT DARRER Business Communications Professional

In an economy where business activities center on knowledge, information and services, language and communication become part of people´s job, something they may be remunerated for (Bargiela-Chiapini, 2009). Our ability to consistently achieve service excellence is linked to our ability to transfer information without significant loss in the semantic value - we need to transfer information as it was intended. To influence or persuade it is necessary to constantly adapt the message of the communication strategies to the audience through personal as well as through technological means. The most promising of them, as states chanty.com, are VR, AR and 5G, which are potentially able to maximally reduce the cost of deploying a business with dispersed human resources. As for the AI, applications based on this concept are becoming more and more advanced every year, so very soon we will be able to expect the release of software solutions for businesses that can completely replace a number of real employees for the organization. The concept of Internet of Things, which was applied primarily in the industrial and logistics industries before, gradually began to enter the sphere of business communications. So, using different types of wireless connection (WIFI, GPRS, WiMAX, Bluetooth, etc.), mobile device users can keep in touch anywhere in the world where GSM networks are available. In addition, IoT allows business owners to provide full awareness of how your business processes are implemented. In particular, the M2M technolo-

gy, which is accompanying IoT concept, provides the ability to collect critical business data on an ongoing basis. Furthermore, there are some activities to be taken in consideration when speaking about BC trends. For example, social listening that means monitoring social media channels and analyzing its findings. It is widely used by brands but it’s not only companies who need to listen to people. Institutions and organizations should do this too. Communications is not only about posting the

lebrities or big names from most popular industries. Now it’s all about micro-influencers - common bloggers who have built an engaged community. This type of collaboration has proven to be even more effective recently, thus, it is much more affordable for non-profits institutions. Storytelling will be the key element for organizations, institutions and individuals to survive in the online space. You can spend a huge budget on ads, you can implement the latest developments but if you are not able to tell

CURRENT TECHNOLOGIES ARE WIDELY USED WITHOUT REALIZING POTENTIAL PROBLEMS REGARDING PROPER INFORMATION TRANSFER ON A MANAGERIAL LEVEL. IT HAS BEEN POSTULATED THAT REALIZING THESE PITFALLS AND DRAWBACKS COULD INCREASE COMPANY COMMUNICATION EFFICIENCY message but also about listening to people and engaging in discussions. Organizations will be struggling with low or no engagement and this is largely due to the lack of social listening. Influencer marketing is not only about ce-

people a story, they won’t be there with you (ispeakcomms.eu). Apparently, 200 million Instagram users use Instagram Stories each month. The stories format is now overtaking the News Feed layout. Facebook has recently announced

stories will overtake the News Feed as the default for content consumption soon. Storytelling makes you gain followers, build trust and connections. Although, as Pikhart (2014) states, current technologies are widely used without realizing potential problems regarding proper information transfer on a managerial level. It has been postulated that realizing these pitfalls and drawbacks could increase company communication efficiency. The same Pikhart study shows many drawbacks such as “abundance of emails – 75% of interviewed managers complained about 20-50 irrelevant and distracting emails sent to them every day just because of being in the mailing list or because these emails were FYI; videoconferencing anxiety – we have discovered deep fear in 43% of top and middle managers from any kind of videoconferencing when the manager´s language knowledge was not on such a high level; presentations without giving a presentation – 38% complained about being sent an email with a lengthy presentation as an attachment (with more than 50 slides) intended just to be read but not presented; communication breakdowns – both parties attribute different meanings to what has been said assuming that the other party understood the same as they had intended.” Global companies are increasingly adopting new strategies striving to be more successful in the communication based global market of these days. Organizational viability will ultimately depend on the knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes of employees (Eckert, 2006). Communication competence is seen as the prerequisite for any business, communication and information transfer encounters.

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REPORTAGE

Text: ROBERT ČOBAN

HISTORIC HOTELS: EXCELSIOR, LIDO, VENICE

Death and Life in Venice

If the Grand Hotel des Bains is synonymous for “Death in Venice”, anxiety and melancholy, just as it was in Thomas Mann’s book, Visconti’s film and the gloom that envelopes it today, than the Excelsior Hotel is a symbol of “Life in Venice”, both today and throughout history

Grand Hotel des Bains, built in 1900, the favorite vacation place of Thomas Mann, who chose it as the setting for his famous novel, “Death in Venice” in 1911 – it is located only a few kilometers away… The majestic Luchino Visconti made a film of the same name in this hotel in 1971 . In 2010, a lock was put on the hotel with the intention to turn it into a complex of luxury privately owned apartments (like the Plaza in New York), and the plan was for the grand opening to take place at the end of 2011. However, in August 2019, the Grand Hotel des Bains is still in the dark, closed and “under renovation”. This summer, Professor Gustav von Aschenbach from Mann’s novel would have to look for another melancholic refuge… If the Grand Hotel des Bains – through the book, the film and the darkness that surrounds it today

TODAY, THE EXCELSIOR EXUDES A BLEND OF OLD-TIME CHARM AND WINDS THAT BRING HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF TODAY’S GUESTS

Stalls at the hotel beach

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– is synonymous for “death in Venice”, anxiety and melancholy – the Hotel Excelsior is the symbol of “life in Venice” – throughout the history, and today. Let’s go back 111 years into the past. It is July 21st, 1908 – night of the grand opening of Hotel Excelsior in Lido: there are over 3,000 guests from all over the world and 30,000 Venetians who came to Lido for this reason! Construction of the hotel was ordered by the famous businessman of the era, Nicolo Spada, and the architect was Giovanni Sardi. Nicolo Spada’s vision was to turn Lido into something more than just a sand barrier between the Laguna and the famous Venice. The lavish and relaxed atmosphere of the Belle Epoque was an ideal backdrop for the opening of this new destination for the international jet-set. Very soon, Lido became a luxury haven for guests

Access to the hotel from the canal

from all over the world: endless sand beaches with the view of the Adriatic Sea on one side, parks on the other side, and Venice only 15 minutes boat ride away – made Lido the favorite place for vacation of stylish people worldwide. And very soon, a large number of villas, mansions and luxury hotels started to appear on the Lido. In the 1930s, relevance of the hotel grew even more after the establishment of the Venice International Film Festival (1938) and the grand opening of Casino Venice. In the years after that, almost the entire planetary list of “who’s who” stayed in this hotel at least once: from Barbara Hutton to the Duke of Windsor, from Errol Flynn to Elisabeth Taylor, Ingrid Bergman and Winston Churchill. Today, the Excelsior exudes a blend of old-time charm and winds that bring habits and customs of today’s guests. When we stayed at the hotel in 2013, the gala dinner on the occasion of the Feast of the Assumption – August 15th – ended with a DJ party at the swimming pool, where its sets and concept looked more like a party in Ibiza than the elegant parties with classical music from the period of Professor von Aschenbach. In the meantime, the 111 year old building was largely renovated, as the Hotel Manager told me last week, and the full reconstruction of the restaurant, the rooms, terraces and the swimming pool is expected to take place next year. At the end of July, the sun sets at the pool already around 5pm, but it shines over the beach in front of the hotel until 8 in the evening. There at the pier you can rent overpriced retro stalls like from the Visconti film, or just take a swim in the shallow outside the hotel. Lifeguards will warn you of jellyfish in deeper water and not to swim further than around 50 meters of

Hotel postcard from 1908

the pier length. Away from the tourist crowds in Venice (which is, for example, the first thing that guests of the Danieli Hotel next to the Doge’s Palace encounter after leaving the hotel) – the Excelsior is about 15 minute boat ride from St. Mark’s Square, and a free hotel shuttle boat takes this route every half hour. The pier for boats of the hotel was built on the canal that approaches the hotel from the opposite side of the beach and cuts the Lido in half - it is one

favorite Trattoria alla Madonna next to the Rialto Bridge, and the only possible way to go through was with our shoes in our hands. The mentioned restaurant was recommended by the writer Vladimir Pištalo, who explored the city in detail while writing his novel “The Venice” (Serbian: Venecija). Locals eat there, it’s not expensive and the food is excellent, which is rare for Venice, full of “tourist traps”. We returned to Lido by boat, with our feet wet and our stom-

THE PIER FOR BOATS OF THE HOTEL WAS BUILT ON THE CANAL THAT APPROACHES THE HOTEL FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE BEACH AND CUTS THE LIDO IN HALF - IT IS ONE OF THE MOST ROMANTIC PLACES I’VE SEEN of the most romantic places I’ve seen. It can happen, and it happened several times during our stay there, that the water rises so much because of the acqua alta phenomenon that the shuttle-boat cannot access the hotel due to the height of the last bridge before the hotel – in that case, guests must take a 5-minute walk to the pier in front of the casino. One night, the water in the Laguna increased so much in just two hours that we encountered a completely flooded St. Mark’s Square on our way back from our

achs full. I remembered on this occasion the visit to the cemetery on the Isola di San Michele where, after the fall of the Republic, Napoleon taught the Venetians to bury their dead properly instead of burying them unhygienically in the churchyards in the city. An especially bizarre moment is that rooms of patients of the Venice City Hospital have a view of the Isola di San Michele. Special funeral gondolas transport the dead to the island. The San Michele cemetery is

the resting place of Igor Stravinsky, Joseph Brodsky and Ezra Pound, among others. Two years ago, during his visit to Belgrade, Mikhail Baryshnikov told us over dinner how Susan Sontag caused a scandal at Joseph Brodsky’s funeral by insisting that he, as a Jew, must not be buried near Ezra Pound, who was a Nazi sympathizer between the two wars. It’s interesting that Venice remains in quite a stressful memory to most people because they usually visit Venice for half a day, in the strongest sun, they stand in lines in front of the Doge’s Palace or St. Mark’s Basilica, they eat bad quality and expensive pizza and they return to their buses or to a ship before the sun sets. Venice leaves a completely different impression if you experience it on a several-days trip. An ideal scenario: You roam the city streets or visit the Biennale before noon, you col off at the swimming pool in the afternoon, and in the evening you go out to dinner to the city which is now free from day tourists and pleasantly fresh. The Excelsior is one of five hotels in Venice that has a swimming pool and it’s the only one with its own beach. American financier Pierpont Morgan said on one occasion: “The Americans who visited Europe talk more about the Hotel Excelsior than about the Doge’s Palace!“

DRAGON BONES BEHIND THE ALTAR To those who travel to Venice I recommend the book “Secret Venice”, which discovers some slightly less famous and visible, and yet very exciting and interesting locations in the city. Thanks to this book, I saw parts of the city and details in churches, palaces, on building façades that I would never notice as an ordinary traveller. For example, behind the altar of the Church of

Santa Maria e San Donato on the island of Murano are the hung “bones of the dragon” that St. Donatus defeated, and which were transferred here from Cephalonia together with his burial remains. Of course, this is a part of a skeleton of a prehistoric animal, but the thought of people believing for centuries that “dragon bones” are behind the church altar, is very exciting.

CULTURE NEWS

70th Dubrovnik Summer Festival Closed The 70th Dubrovnik Summer Festival was officially closed with the concert of the Italian percussionist Simon Rubin with the Croatian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Enrico Dindo and a short ceremony of laying the festival flag in front of St. Vlaho Church in Dubrovnik. In its 70th edition, the largest Croatian festival brought together almost 2,000 artists from all

over the world, who had 80 music, dance, folklore and art performances on 20 stages and ambient locations in the 47 festival days, from 10th July to 25th August, in front of about 60,000 local and foreign visitors. This year's recipients of the Orlando Award, traditionally given by the Croatian Radio and Television for the most successful performances in the drama and music part of the repertoire, are playwright Doris Šarić

Kukuljica, cellist Luka Šulić and pianist Aljoša Jurinić. Šarić Kukuljica was awarded for her role as Mara in the play Geranium, based on the eponymous story by Ivo Vojnović and the story The Island by Antun Šoljan, directed by Marina Pejnović. The Orlando Grand Prix for lifetime achievement went to Milka Podrug Kokotović. The festival's budget this year was almost HRK 20 million.

ANTONIO NUIĆ’S FILM “MALI” CROATIAN CANDIDATE FOR THE OSCAR

20th ANNIVERSARY OF EUROPEAN DAY OF JEWISH CULTURE

Out of 10 films, “Mali” by Antonio Nuić was selected as a Croatian candidate for the 92nd Academy Award given by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in the the best international feature film category - the Croatian Society of Film Workers said at a press conference at the Croatian Audiovisual Centre. Nuić's black-and-white crime drama, produced by Propeler Film, is a sequel to the 2004 omnibus 'Sex, Drink and Bloodbath' (“Seks, piće i krvoproliće”). Nuić's film talks about four friends from the neighbourhood who also happen to be huge fans of FC Dinamo. The Academy Awards ceremony will be held February 9 next year in Los Angeles.

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380 European towns and cities have marked the 20th anniversary of the European Day of Jewish Culture. In Croatia, the event was celebrated at the Zagreb Puppet Theatre with a concert by the George Gershwin Story quartet (Hrvoje Galler on the piano, Bruno Philipp on the clarinet, Mario Igrec on the guitar and Mladen Baraković on the double bass). Bet Israel Cultural Events Manager Svetlana Klinčić Pozzi said that she chose George Gershwin for this year’s celebration because she believes that the majority audience did not know that Gershwin was Jewish. "We all know George Gershwin, but we don't know that he was Jewish. On the European Day of Jewish Culture we can showcase what's ours. Gershwin was a rascal; a boy who was not interested in music at all, and who, by chance, got interested in the piano one day, thus creating a beautiful world of music that lives to this day,” Svetlana Klinčić Pozzi adds.

ALMODÓVAR RECEIVES THE GOLDEN LION FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN VENICE The famed Spanish film director, Pedro Almodóvar received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement for directors at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. The decision was made by the board of the Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Paolo Baratta. In 1988, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown brought him international recognition. Since then, his films have opened all around the world. With All About my Mother (1999) he won his first Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, he was also awarded as Best Director in Cannes Film Festival. Three years later, Talk to Her got him an Academy Award for Best Script. In 2004, Bad Education was chosen to open the Cannes Festival. In 2006, he presented Volver in Cannes Film Festival, where it got the Best Screenplay Award as well as the Best Actress Award given to the six leading actresses in the film.

ELEVEN PREMIERES FOR THE NEW SEASON OF CNT ZAGREB

SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL CLOSES WITH THE SCREENING OF “ONCE UPON TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD” After the successful 2018/2019 season and selling than 200,000 tickets, the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb announces an extensive repertoire with five dramas, four operas and two ballet premieres in the new 2019/2020 season. In the 2018/2019 season, close to 95% seats were sold for each Drama, Opera and Ballet performance. For more information about the new season, please go to: https://www.hnk.hr/hr/ .

The film “Igrano Doba” is the winner of the best feature film at the Sarajevo Film Festival. “Medena Zemlja” is the winner in the documentary feature film category, while “Senke nad Balkanom” is the best TV series. This year's 25th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival showcased a record number of films - 270 from 56 countries. A total of 795 worked at the Festival, including 350 volunteers. This year’s Sarajevo Film Festival also had record attendance, with more than 100,000 visitors.

THE PEJAČEVIĆ CASTLE RESTORED The restoration was financed with the money from European funds, and the interior of the castle, which dates from the early 19th century, is currently being re-decorated. The Pejačević castle was dilapidated, damp and the roof was leaking. The castle houses the Virovitica Town Museumalso, which now, thanks to the renovation of the entire building under the auspices of the largest Europe-funded project, implemented by the City of Virovitica and worth more than HRK 81 million, will return to the Castle after a threeyear absence with a permanent exhibition about the Wooden Age. “This is a new exhibition that is no longer a classic exhibition of the local museum but a thematic exhibition where, instead of just displaying collections, there will be an to an interdisciplinary presentation of the theme of wood, i.e. the relationship between man and wood, because man is a creature who has always handled wood,” said Mihaela Kulej, Director of the Virovitica Town Museum. The castle dominates the centre of Virovitica, and the town was built around it. It was constructed on the foundation of an old medieval fort and changed several owners during its history.

CULTURE NEWS

NEXT SUMMER’S INDUSTRIAL ART BIENNALE ON THE THEME 'STRAIGHT TO THE SUN' The Rijeka 2020 - European Capital of Culture project will host the Industrial Art Bienniale next summer, an event that will showcase the contemporary artistic practices by the Labin Art Express collective, which third edition will be thematically titled 'Straight to the Sun'. Exhibition in Labin will be dedicated to the possibilities of materializing the utopia of the Underground City as a space of great potential in times of strong influence exerted by de-industrialization. The exhibition in Pula will portray the relationship between politics and aesthetics, the ancient heritage of the city and tourism, the the film industry as an apparatus of power, as well as de-industrialization in the form of the deteriorating shipbuilding industry. The exhibition at Rijeka’s MMSU will show alternative concepts and models of work during the transition from the industrial to the information society, such as rebellion against the imperatives of overwork and constant competition through the practice of leisure, inertia, procrastination and abstinence from work.

THE LEGENDARY ARTURO SANDOVAL TO PERFORM AT LISINSKI ON OCTOBER 9

Cuban jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, one of the most brilliant musicians of the day, will perform on October 9th at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb. Ten Grammys, six Billboards and one Emmy are just part of an impressive collection of awards that are a testament to the importance of the legendary jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer Arthur Sandoval, who will be performing in Lisinski on October 9th. A musical genius whose dynamic performances have captivated millions around the world, Arturo Sandoval is a type of artist that is a hit with audiences and critics alike, who say he can reach the notes that most trumpet players barely know, which is why the legendary Dizzy Gillespie has declared him his successor.

JADRANKO REBEC’S EXHIBITION AT MIMARA MUSEUM Jadranko Rebec's exhibition - "From Figuration to Abstraction" – featuring the artwork of this Croatian painter, who has been present on the art scene for forty years - has been opened at the Mimara Museum. Art historian Nikola Albanez says that Rebec grew up in a time of full affirmation of minimalist and conceptual painting, formed in the 1970s in the ambiance of the dynamic German scene, and immediately began to understand the uniqueness of the painting space and the object of the painting he worked on, Jadranko Rebec was born in Zagreb in 1946 and graduated painting in 1977 in Hamburg where he today teaches at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Applied Arts.

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7th WORLD LITERATURE FESTIVAL The 7th World Literature, organized by the Fraktura publishing house, took place from September 8th to 14th at a new location - the Croatian Music Institute (HGZ) in Zagreb. Among the 100 guests from abroad were the winner of the Man Booker Prize, Paul Beatty and favourite of the Croatian readers, Jorge Bucay. The Festival was opened by one of the most important contemporary Spanish authors, Fernando Aramburu.