How satisfied are you today with the level of cooperation with the Croatian businesses? How good is this cooperation? To what extent are German and Croatian companies linked through value chains and partnerships? — We are indeed more than satisfied. After all, more than half of our members are Croatian companies. Germany has in part benefited from the increased domestic demand in Croatia and the fact that Croatia is still eminently dependant on imports to supply the demands of its tourism sector, for instance. There are numerous partnerships between German and Croatian companies, not only among our members. Nevertheless, we think that there is still a lot of potential that needs to be unlocked. Croatia, for example, could produce much more than it currently does. We do promote German economic interests and German companies’ market entry, but a prosperous Croatian economy and society, and thriving Croatian companies are in our best interest as well. How much did the Chamber's internal work organization change? How much did the volume and scope of work grow? — As I have mentioned before, Croatia’s accession to the EU has resulted in a big increase of the German companies’ interest in its market and our employees did a great job providing all of them with, most importantly, services related to market entry, as well as valuable information. This has probably set the bar a bit higher, and it seems to me that this bar still remains at the same height. Furthermore, over the years, the Chamber has included other topics in its portfolio - for instance, the important topics like sustainable energy solutions and environmental technologies. More specifically, this means that we promote and support the market entry of German small and medium enterprises specialized in renewable energy systems and energy efficiency solutions, and companies specialized in technologies for protecting the environment and the climate. We have also launched a project which aim is to introduce the German model of dual vocational training in Croatian schools, which is strongly backed by the Croatian Government, as well as the companies involved. The German dual education model combines theoretical education at vocational schools with on-the-job training in companies. We have an agile and energetic team of 14 people who cover all these topics
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and have experiences in Croatia and Germany, which has accordingly grown over the years.
What is the next challenge for you, as the Chamber's director, in terms of its development? — I consider the EU Council Presidency, which Croatia will assume in the first half of 2020 for the first time ever, and the German Presidency that immediately follows in the second half of the same year, as a big opportunity. We would be very pleased if Croatia would use the presidency to further strengthen the ties between the member states on the common internal market and to drive forward the development of both small and medium enterprises and big companies. There will be abundant opportunities in the energy sector, first and foremost, which is a field that our Chamber has specialized in over the
WE WOULD BE PLEASED IF CROATIA WOULD USE ITS EU COUNCIL PRESIDENCY IN 2020 TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN THE TIES BETWEEN THE MEMBER STATES ON THE COMMON INTERNAL MARKET
years. Expanding our member network, which is one of the foundations of every German chamber of commerce abroad, and working towards their business success, has always been of great importance to us and this will remain unchanged. That being said, I also hope for an early and comprehensive implementation of reforms to improve the business and investment climate in Croatia. By this I mean reducing unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles to doing business, making the public procurement system more impartial and effective, in order to ensure non-discriminatory legal protection of all participants in public procurement procedures, and last but not least, responsible and predictable provision of public services, such as approval procedures. I am confident that these measures will create a better framework for trade, investment and economic growth in Croatia.
