Diplomacy & Trade 2015 May

MAY 2015 HUF 1710 EUR 6

TROUBLED WATER

of anti-SEMITISM Anti-Semitism has its own specific features, but it must be noted that for a large part of the Hungarian population,”Jewish" - similarly to other ethnic groups - is only one manifestation of being different, and as such invokes antipathy. Median Opinion and Market Research Institute made a comprehensive survey on this topic and we let you know its main findings.

SEE MORE ON page 7

C O UN T RY F O C US

Croatia Hungary and Croatia: two completely different languages but basically the same culture. That is why I, as a Croatian, feel like at home in Hungary. A common history of over 800 years has left its marks on our cultural identity from architecture to mentality. The best evidence for that is provided by the national minorities on both sides: they have similar customs that I’m very proud of – and my Hungarian friends in Croatia feel the same way,” the Croatian Ambassador to Hungary, Gordan Grlić Radman tells Diplomacy & Trade. see articles on pages 8-15

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letter from the publisher

22nd Best of Budapest & Hungary award gala

Conservation International (CI) recently launched a campaign called “Nature is Speaking” with the message “Nature doesn't need people. People need nature”.

This theme was emphasized this past month at the “Nordic way” event which emphasized that sustainability can be enhanced only by regular and constantly deepening cooperation on different levels. As was stressed by the Danish Ambassador Tom Norring at the event, “the broader spectrum is more interesting and there is more action to come”.

May is the one month when nature strives to show its self-sustainability with blossoming bushes and flowering trees. As for the responsibility of people, it falls on all individuals, companies and governments to create, implement and monitor efforts to sustain the long term conditions of living on Earth.

Our cover story on anti-semitism is based on a comprehensive survey on attitudes toward the Jewish population in Hungary conducted by Median Opinion and Market Research Institute.

This issue of Diplomacy & Trade focuses on Croatia, a country that culturally has always been a member of the European community and has always considered itself a member of the European family. In this country focus, we attach special importance to the interview with the Croatian Ambassador to Hungary, Gordan Grlić Radman. It covers bilateral economic relations as well as cultural, social and civil ties. We also introduce companies, like Agrokor, the largest Croatian firm that celebrates two decades of doing business in our country and Mlinar, a company planning to expand in Hungary. April marked the opening of several outstanding Croatian exhibitions in Budapest, among them the “Great Masters of 20th Century Croatian Art” in Vigadó.

Our political analysis looks at the potentially new phase in Israeli-Palestinian relations after the Israeli elections. In the business section, we have a fresh report on the promising but still risky economic perspectives of SMEs in Central Europe.

On our Witty Leaks page, the Chargé d’Affaires of the British Embassy Theresa Bubbear shares her experience and opinion on ‘Girl Power’, while on our cultural pages, we sum up this summer’s program of Europe’s most popular music festival, Sziget and in an educational section present foreign language schools and kindergartens.

Last but not least we have inserted a photo compilation of our this year Best of Budapest & Hungary Award Gala.

Enjoy reading our magazine,

page 28-29

­­ contents

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER I Tibor Ocsenás ADMINISTRATION I Judit Ludányi ASSISTANT I Ágnes Rapaport CONTRIBUTORS

Sándor Laczkó, Theresa Bubbear, Tamás Magyarics, EuCham, Réka A. Francisck PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS

János Marjai/MTI (Cover), Gergely Botár/Prime Minister's Press Office, Tomislav Šklopan, Podravka, Mlinar, Agrokor, Kristina Goher, Roland Helmut, Magyar Suzuki Corp., Happy Kids Kindergarten, British Embassy, Ericsson, Fredrick Etoall, Orsi Balogh, Mario Del Curto/STRATES, Bence Máté, Ákos Stiller/HVG, Ferenc Csárdás, Zsolt Venczel, Zsolt Batár, Sándor Csudai, Bence Szemerey, Shutterstock.com: Peshkova, vgstudio, OPIS Zagreb, stefanolunardi, Simone Simone, Rawpixel, Sergey Nivens, kurkan, Georgii Shipin, Franck Boston, Iakov Kalinin, ecco, MTI Photos: Szilárd Koszticsák, Zoltán Máthé, Balázs Mohai, Tamás Sóki, Noémi Bruzák, Zsolt Szigetváry

Copyright 2004-2015 Duax Kft., all rights reserved | ISSN 1589-8075 This magazine is produced by Duax Kft. The opinions published in the magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Duax Kft.

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17 POLITICAL ANALYSIS

Israeli-Palestinian relations after the Israeli elections

Nordic way to sustainability WITTY LEAKS: The British Chargé'd Affairs on women power

25 REAL ESTATE

Private investors in a hurry

26-27 CULTURE

Preview of Sziget Festival

28-29

Best of Budapest and Hungary Gala event in Boscolo hotel

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Small and Medium Size companies Hungarian-Korean economic cooperation

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HUNGARY AND EGYPT SIGN TOURISM AGREEMENT

EXPATRIATE TAXATION

During an official visit to Hungary in mid-April, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri signed a tourism agreement with the Hungarian Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga as the two politicians met for a highprofile meeting in Hungary’s Parliament. This Memorandum of Understanding is aimed at bolstering bilateral tourism relations under the recently announced ‘Opening to the South’ policy of the Hungarian government.

According to the document, the parties support and promote the exchange of up-to-date information and knowledge of the tourism sector by Hungarian and Egyptian tourism enterprises and experts, Mihály Varga stated after the ceremony. The agreement centers around the exchange of experiences regarding the regulatory system and the mutual sharing of travel statistics. The Egyptians showed particular interest in Hungary’s ‘SZÉP’ voucher system and Hungarian thermal spas, which are expected to gain popularity among Egyptian tourists. Following the signing ceremony, Sameh Shukri said that he greatly appreciated Hungary’s attitude towards the recent revolution in Egypt and he expressed gratitude for the gesture by Hungary of not upgrading its travel warning level on Egypt for Hungarian tourists during that period. Both parties voiced hope that closer cooperation will mutually bolster economic growth in the two countries. They also expressed confidence that Wizz Air’s decision to launch a regular weekly Budapest-Hurghada flight as of May 16 will add momentum to tourist traffic between Hungary and Egypt.

Mazars Global Mobility Services recently published its on-line guide to expatriate taxation in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). For expatriates working in the CEE, being compliant with the different laws is not always simple, nor is it always clear.

Non-compliance may result in significant consequences and may not be limited to only financial penalties. This guide serves as a quick reference to assist expat employees within the CEE as well as their employers to better understand the applicable tax laws. Mazars also gives a comparison of the level of social security contributions and individual income tax in CEE countries.

RECEPTION FOR EU AMBASSADORS

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Minister of State for EU Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office, Szabolcs Takács welcomed the Ambassadors of EU Member States to Hungary at a reception on April 15, and presented them with new structure of his department.

In his speech, the Minister of State said that the decision on reorganizing governmentlevel coordination of EU affairs was not only structural, but also symbolic. More

and EU institutions is effective.

Szabolcs Takács emphasized the Government’s priority objective, according to which it not only wants to achieve closer cooperation with EU institution systems, but also wishes to enhance direct communication with the foreign representations and capitals of the other 27 member states. “Hungary is motivated to apply the best practices of other Member States in its own system,” he said, which is why the Minister of State has initiated closer cooperation between the heads of missions and the State Secretariat for EU Affairs.

than ten years after Hungary’s accession to the European Union, EU Affairs have become issues of nationwide importance, greatly affecting all Hungarian citizens and economic actors, and influencing domestic affairs as well. The Prime Minister’s Office is, thus, able to provide an organizational and professional framework to ensure that national interests are respected and that communication between the Government

NEW HEAD OF MISSION at the BRITISH EMBASSY

FIVE-POINT ACTION PLAN WITH BELARUS Hungary has agreed on a five-point action plan with Belarus in order to explore the opportunities inherent in bilateral economic cooperation. The first item is the conclusion of an investment protection agreement which serves to enhance the security of businesses. As a second measure, the Hungarian Eximbank and the Belarusian Development Bank jointly set up a credit facility of some USD 10 million which will be available until October and will serve to finance future cooperation between the companies of the two countries. The Hungarian government identified the pharmaceutical industry, the market of processed foods, communications technology and engineering services as the main areas of cooperation between businesses.The third point of the plan concerns the support which the Hungarian government wishes to extend to the participation of Hungarian businesses in construction industry projects in Belarus. According to the fourth item, Hungarian companies would also be ready to take part in agricultural projects. The fifth step is setting up a Hungarian language department at the Minsk State University and as a „mirror image” of this, the parties agreed on the launch of a scholarship program, as part of which 50 Belarusian students may begin their studies at Hungarian universities as of September.

The British Embassy in Budapest has released a statement to announce that Ms. Theresa Bubbear has been appointed Chargé d'Affaires Ad Interim to Hungary. She took up her appointment on April 27, 2015.

She will succeed former British Ambassador to Hungary, Jonathan Knott, who finished his posting on 26 April 2015. According to the statement, Theresa Bubbear will lead the Embassy until the arrival of the new Ambassador to Hungary in early 2016.

Previously, Ms. Bubbear served as Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Budapest. She joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1985 and her postings abroad have included Moscow, Helsinki and South Africa. She has carried out political, press, consular, commercial and human resources work in London and overseas. She was Head of the HR Operations Team in the Foreign Office in London. She is married and has three daughters.

Commenting on her appointment, she said she is “delighted to be taking up my new role in Hungary and very much look forward to further develop our relationship with the Hungarian government on a number of very important issues both bilaterally, as well as multilaterally within the EU, UN and NATO.” Her deputy in the leadership of the British Embassy, Adam Kettle-Williams, arrived from the Foreign Office in London. He was given a diplomatic welcome reception in Budapest in April. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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HUNGARIAN START-UP FIRM AMONG EUROPE’S BEST

In mid-April, the media company Red Herring announced in Amsterdam, the winners of its ‘Europe Top 100’ competition, which assesses Europe's leading startup businesses, highlighting their innovative and technological importance in the represented industries.

This year, the list includes a Hungarian company, the cloudbased contact center service provider Comforce Co. Ltd.

APOLLO TYRES TO RECEIVE STATE SUBSIDY Following a decision by the Minister for National Economy, Apollo Tyres Ltd. will receive a job-creation training subsidy of HUF 606 million (cca. EUR 2 million). The Indian company is to spend the amount on providing Hungarians with vocational training in tire manufacturing between May 2015 and December 2019. As a precondition for the subsidy, the company has agreed to employ at least 70% of those participating in the training program for at least 18 months following training courses.

Apollo Tyres has already started the recruiting process. So far, the company has offered apprenticeships to 250 students in their final year of education, and contracts have already been signed with 90 technicians. According to current plans, from May 1 young employees will initially participate in two-month theory and language courses, and then will receive four-months of practical training courses at Apollo’s factories in India and the Netherlands.

Their first task upon returning will be to install and commission equipment at the production plant in Gyöngyöshalász, northeastern Hungary. With this new investment, the company is providing major

support to the training of Hungary’s labor force and to the dual education system of the Eastern Hungary region. A statement by the Ministry for National Economy says that thanks to Appollo Tyres’ HUF 146 billion (close to EUR 0.5 billion) greenfield investment, 975 new jobs will be created and one million tires will be manufactured annually.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. was founded in 1972, employs sixteen thousand people, is the number one tire manufacturing company in India and is currently number sixteen on the global market. The company is present in India, Africa and Europe, with six factories exporting its products to over one hundred countries..

Red Herring's Top 100 list is that of dominant promising new companies and entrepreneurs. Its statement says the winners stand out from an extremely tough set of competitors, making the achievement even more impressive. They come from a multitude of different sectors, and will all be watched keenly as they make future strides in Europe, and beyond.

Headquartered in Budapest, with offices in the United States, CloudAgents (Comforce) is the leading cloud contact center in Central Europe, providing high-quality multilingual services with more than 7000 agents around the globe. Its cloud-based systems and patent pending processes enable the company to employ and manage remotely its workforce, which includes home-based agents. One of the biggest benefits of this model is that Comforce revolutionized virtual work and it can easily

scale up and down with resources according to its clients’ needs. Since its foundation in 2008, Comforce has handled over 20 million customer interactions and executed more than 400 projects for more than 150 blue chip clients in 25 languages.

Red Herring's editorial staff evaluated the candidates based on quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, management quality, overall business strategy and market penetration. This review is added to the analysis of the previous results and the competitive situation of the given company, and of similar enterprises of the given industry. This allows Red Herring to recognize the novelty and uniqueness, making the Top 100 list a valuable tool in discovering and supporting the most promising new business models in Europe.

HUNGARIAN COMPANY IN NORWAY’S OIL INDUSTRY Hungarian fuels group MOL has entered Norwayby acquiring 100% ownership in Ithaca Petroleum Norge from Ithaca Petroleum Ltd. for USD 60 million. MOL said the deal fits into its Exploration & Production strategy which "aims to further balance its country risk profile as well as to seek new accretive international exploration and development opportunities."

IPN’s portfolio includes 14 licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), out of which three are operated

by IPN. The committed work program contains three exploration wells in 2015-2016. IPN’s strong explorationfocused team with deep experience on the NCS is also part of the deal.

According to a statement by the Hungarian firm, "the transaction provides an excellent starting point for MOL to enter Norway, to extend its presence in the North Sea region and enhance its international exploration portfolio.

MOL’s target is to further extend its portfolio in Norway and add additional assets and licenses to IPN." It adds that IPN, which is pre-qualified as an operator in Norway, and the acquisition of the company will help MOL in achieving its ultimate goal to become a well-reputed

offshore operator in the region. MOL also sees synergy potential with its already existing North Sea operations in the United Kingdom.

In addition to the acquisition price of USD 60 million, the parties have agreed to a discovery bonus in a total amount of up to USD 30 million. The acquisition will be fully funded by the Group’s operating cash-flow. The completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

MOL’s Group Executive Vice President for Upstream, Alexander Dodds commented by saying that "entering Norway as one of the most investor friendly countries is an important milestone in our E&P Strategy," adding that the deal “enhances our positions in the lower risk offshore North Sea area where we are in the process of building a new production hub and know-how center along the whole E&P value chain that should serve as a solid basis to our long term goals in the region."

SZILÁRD KOSZTICSÁK/MTI, COURTESY PICTURE

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cover story

cover story

A CLOSER LOOK to ANTI-SEMITISM MEDIAN'S SURVEY ON THE ATTITUDE TO THE JEWISH POPULATION IN HUNGARY

DIVIDED OPINIONS

The dialog between the government and the Jewish communities also divided opinions. The questions were related to when the government should seek the opinion of Jewish organizations, and to when Jewish organizations should voice their opinions publicly. In any case, the populations’s stance on the right direction and extent of consultation and opinion forming seems to be only partially related to anti-Jewish predisposition. The public is almost evenly divided regarding whether the advocacy of Jewish organizations increase or decrease anti-Semitism. The overwhelming majority of respondents did not change their opinions about Jews due to conflicts, but there are some whose opinions worsened.

photos by

MTI PHOTOS: ZOLTÁN MÁTHÉ, BALÁZS MOHAI

In November and December 2014, Median Opinion and Market Research Institute conducted a comprehensive survey commissioned by Action and Protection Foundation on the Hungarian society’s relation to the Jewish population. Here is a summary of the main findings made by Median.

We primarily measured the degree of anti-Semitic prejudices using indicators which can be compared to data of 2013 and earlier years. These are related to the popularity of beliefs and misconceptions concerning Jews - cognitiveSemitism -, and the emotional relationship and social distance with the Jews - affective anti-Semitism -. Based on this, anti-Semitism strengthened considerably in 2010 (we believe that it was not independent from Jobbik’s becoming a mainstream political power), and has remained at the same level ever since, with only very small changes between 2013 and 2014. Polarization can be observed: the number of strongly anti-Semites responding to several questions with anti-Jewish sentiments grew slightly, however, the number of non-antiSemites also increased.

The society’s affective anti-Semitism is primarily the manifestation of a general w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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xenophobia: those respondents who were more rejective against other ethnic groups were more likely to also be averse to Jews.

Intuitively, one would think, for example, that someone who does not accept Jews as neighbors, would be more positive towards skinheads. But on the contrary, these respondents are more likely to be dismissive towards skinheads. Of course anti-Semitism has its own specific features, but it must be noted that for a large part of the Hungarian population,”Jewish" - similarly to other ethnic groups - is only one manifestation of being different, and as such invokes antipathy.

One of the key questions of our research was "Which social groups are more susceptible to anti-Semitism and what are the underlying motivations?” Our analysis suggests that social group affiliation and anti-Semitism is almost completely independent from each other.

There is no clear correlation between income or education level, employment type, age, religion, and the prevalence of anti-Semitism.

It can be stated that the male population and those actively interested in politics, as well as Jobbik voters have a higher ratio of professing anti-Jewish views, but even these factors only explain anti-Semitism partially.

The likelihood of anti-Jewishness is also increased by nationalist, order-adhering, authoritarian social attitudes, and the rejection of various forms of being different (homosexuality, drug abuse, immigration); while pessimistic views of humanity are independent from anti-Semitism. These

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attitudinal questions - together with the xenophobia - are the strongest explanatory tablazat.pdf 1 4/30/15 2:50 PM factors of anti-Semitism.

The memory of the Holocaust in Hungary divides

the society deeply. So does the the issue of the country's responsibility, as well as the question of whether it should be on the agenda in public discourse. Regarding these questions, the shift in temporal trend could not be observed, but the support of open denial or relativisation of the Holocaust rose gradually from 6-8 percent in 2006 to about 12-15 percent.

The anti-Israel sentiment in the public discourse is connected to anti-Semitism primarily in Jobbik ’s rhetoric, but is only followed by the Jobbik voters very moderately.

On these issues, we have found that it is difficult for the respondents to relate to questions which are extremely distant problems. But it has been outlined along the statements known to the public discourse that anti-Semites were more willing to condemn the politics of the Jewish state.

One third of the public opinion claims that there are recognizable Jewish traits, and every fifth or tenth respondent thought that they were able to identify the Jewish population in general. The “skills of recognition" is very strongly linked to anti-Semitism: among respondents susceptible to anti- Semitism, the ratio is several times greater than the average.

Finally, respondents were asked about the recent conflicts between the government and Jewish organizations, in particular the German Occupation Memorial. The implications of the data are that those opposing are in slight majority, but even in an issue heavily and persistently covered by the media, many respondents were uncertain. Many did not even know what the memorial symbolized the responsibility of the Germans and the innocence of the Hungarians.

EMOTIONAL REJECTIONS OF JEWS 2003-2014

"JEWS ARE DISAGREEABLE"

PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS AGREEING

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Leaders in food industry

Largest Croatian company

Art and dancing talents

A mild recovery is forcast for 2015, with growth set to reach 1% in 2016, spurred by EU-funded investments.

Brands are crucial at Podravka which continues to grow in Hungary. Bakery chain Mlinar is to expand in this country.

Agrokor is the largest firm in Croatia and this year celebrates two decades of doing business in Hungary.

Budapest hosted a special exhibiton of Croatian painters and sculptors. A fantastic dancing club is training young talents including Hungarians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 14

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 13

FINDING OPEN DOORS in HUNGARY

BY SÁNDOR LACZKÓ

"One of my most important missions here is to strengthen this basis of partnership between our two countries"

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“Croatia has always been a member of the European community culturally and has always considered itself a member of the European family – the act of officially joining the European Union on July 1, 2013 was the formalization of our long-lasting ties, putting an end to the otherwise unexpectedly long accession process,” Ambassador Grlić Radman explains to Diplomacy & Trade the background of his country’s accession to the European Union.

He adds that as for the realization of the expectations, this period since the middle of 2013 is too short a time to look back at and make an analysis. “The EU is a heterogenic political organization that has recently suffered an economic recession, so it was not the best time for our accession. Still, there is great advantage in being an EU member: to be at the same table as the older members, thus, taking in the decisionmaking process and feeling the mutual respect and being a proud member of this family of nations.

It is an organization composed of 28 countries of different political heritage, an association that has M A Y

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achieved political stability and social safety for its members’ citizens. However, the challenges are numerous, too. Just take the Ukrainian crisis, for example. Of course, we are ready to support the further enlargement of the EU, especially with countries in Croatia’s vicinity like BosniaHerzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania.”

Bilateral ties According to the Ambassador, relations with Hungary are very close, “thanks to our MiddleEuropean identity. As a human being who is

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▶ CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE

HARANGOZÓ

INTERVIEW WITH CROATIAN AMBASSADOR GORDAN GRLIĆ RADMAN

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MÁTHÉ/MTI, OPIS ZAGREB/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM, TAMÁS SÓKI/MTI

Economic forecast

The Croatian government has taken a series of measures to encourage investments, including decisions about the non-taxation of reinvested profits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 10

photos by ZOLTÁN

Encouraging touristic investments

croatian focus

croatian focus.

wholeheartedly involved in enhancing bilateral relations, having invested effort, time and knowledge in this issue, I daresay I can be satisfied with what I have achieved in these past two and a half plus years since I arrived in Budapest: bringing the two countries even closer in several ways. I have always had a positive approach to constantly make things better.”

He says his efforts have been facilitated by the fact that he has found open doors all over Hungary: in government ministries, in and outside Budapest. “I was welcomed everywhere from Debrecen to Nagykanizsa and Szeged to Győr as the representative a friendly neighbor country.”

However, he believes it is really up to others to judge his work regarding what he did and what more he could have done as a diplomat.

Hungary and Croatia: two completely different languages but basically the same culture. “There are countries around Croatia where the language is very similar but they don’t share the cultural heritage with Hungary that we do. That is why I, as a Croatian, feel like at home in Hungary. A common history of over 800 years has left its marks on our cultural identity from architecture to mentality. The best evidence for that is provided by the national minorities on both sides: they have similar customs that I’m very proud of – and my Hungarian friends in Croatia feel the same way,” he adds.

As for political relations, the Ambassador says bilateral ties between the two countries are stable, “we are strategic partners but there is

DIRECT AERIAL LINK BETWEEN ZAGREB AND BUDAPEST A new Croatian start-up airline begins operation from Zagreb International Airport to Budapest as of June 1 this year.

Air Croatia includes the Hungarian capital in its route network, initially with three flights a week between Zagreb and Budapest, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, flown with 48-seater ATR 42 type aircraft. Flights depart from Zagreb at 8:00 a.m., arrive in the Hungarian capital an hour later and return to Zagreb . Other initial destinations for Air Croatia are Milan, Mostar, Nuremberg, Prague and Rome.

“We welcome all initiatives which help strengthen Budapest’s connectivity with other capital cities in the region, and enhance the range of services available to our passengers,” said Kam Jandu, Chief Commercial Officer for Budapest Airport. “A number of destinations in the Balkans region are still not served from Budapest, so we consider it an important step that Air Croatia will establish a direct aerial link between Zagreb and Budapest,” he added.

photos by ZOLTÁN

MÁTHÉ/MTI, OPIS ZAGREB/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM, TAMÁS SÓKI/MTI

HUNGARIAN-CROATIAN PRESIDENTIAL MEETING IN TIHANY The President of the Republic of Hungary, János Áder received the President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in the historical town of Tihany at Lake Balaton. As Ambassador Grlić Radman points out, Hungary was the 4th country (after BosniaHerzegovina, Germany and Slovenia) President Kitarovic paid a visit to after her inauguration in February this year. “It is another sign how important Hungary is to Croatia.”

During the meeting, the presidents discussed a number of common themes concerning Croatian-Hungarian friendship as well as mutual cooperation within the European Union and NATO. At the informal working lunch, additional emphasis was placed on initiatives in the area of Central Europe and cooperation in the area of the Baltic-Adriatic region. The Croatian President pointed out that Hungary is a friendly country, which stood by Croatia during the most difficult period of the Homeland war for Croatia’s Independence.

always room for improvement.” The latest highlevel talks were conducted early this April when the new Croatian President Kolinda GrabarKitarović paid a visit to Hungary to meet her Hungarian counterpart János Áder (see box)

“Of course, the problematic issue of the Hungarian oil and gas trust MOL’s ownership in the Croatian oil concern INA is closely followed by both governments because of its political aspects and both sides are looking for a final solution to resolve the issue,” the Ambassador says.

Economic relations The Ambassador points out that the ‘good but can still be better’ expression also applies to economic relations, especially if the fact is taken into consideration that while the size of the Slovak population is not much larger than that of Croatia, the annual volume of Hungary’s bilateral trade with Slovakia is around EUR 9 billion, while the same figure with Croatia is only 1.5 bn. “I believe that Croatia has much greater potential to do business with Hungary. Croatia is the fourth most important investment destination for Hungary with MOL and OTP Bank taking the lead in this respect. So, Hungary is very much present in a Croatia that wishes to be present in Hungary at a higher level than as it is now. We have eleven companies in this country, including the largest Croatian firm Agrokor and other well-known ones like Podravka or Mlinar.” He also mentions Zagorje-Tehnobeton that won Audi’s tender in 2011 to build a new manufacturing hall at the German carmaker’s facility in Győr, NW Hungary.

The Ambassador stresses that he would like to see the development of railway links between the two countries “as the Budapest-Rijeka line is quite neglected.” The Adriatic town of Rijeka is

important for Hungary not only historically but currently with its port infrastructure and as a tourist destination.

The Port of Rijeka also relates to another bonding issue in bilateral cooperation – that of energy security. “It is a dynamic, constantly changing matter that concerns not only the European community but the whole world,” the Ambassador points out.

He states that Croatia is ready to build compression stations to forward natural gas to Hungary and Slovenia if it is included in the path of the planned pipeline from Russia through Turkey and Greece to Macedonia and Serbia.

The second issue in this sector, he says, is that of LNG terminals. “I know that Hungary is very interested in this matter and wants to see such a terminal operating as soon as possible. The European Union also recognizes the importance of LNG terminals for the supply of the European energy market.” The company LNG Croatia LLC announced an invitation i.e. Open Season Notice, to book the capacity of the LNG terminal on a long-term period. This is a unique opportunity for LNG suppliers, gas traders and companies already involved in wholesale of natural gas in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe to diversify the transport route and source of natural gas via the LNG terminal on the island of Krk. In the first phase of the Open Season procedure non-binding offers can be submitted until May 1, 2015.

Besides the Open Season procedure, LNG Croatia LLC intends to initiate a Call for Equity in the first half of 2015. The final investment decision is expected in mid-2016 and the commissioning of the LNG terminal is expected in the mid-2019.

Given Croatia’s natural endowments, tourism is significant and following the world economic crisis, “there are more and more Hungarians choosing my country as their holiday destination,

GIANT CROATIAN EASTER EGG IN PÉCS

An extraordinary, two-meter high Easter egg was erected in Pécs’s central Széchenyi Square in March. It is the work of four Croatian naive painters. According to plans, it will go on display every year in the Easter season. Similar giant Easter eggs have been made by craftsmen in Croatia’s Koprivnica-Križevci County, on the border with Hungary, since 2007 and the attraction has now become part of the region’s cultural heritage.

The project aims to combine traditional egg-painting with naive art. The initiative has already been introduced to great acclaim in several major cities around the world, including Vienna, Prague, Brussels, London, New York and Rome.

FACTS COMPARED

HUNGARY CROATIA

93,028 sq km 56,594 sq km A 110 127 country comparison to the world:

9,919,128 (July 2014 est.)

4,470,534 (July 2014 est.)

POPULATION 90 126 country comparison to the world:

-0.21% (2014 est.)

-0.12% (2014 est.)

POPULATION GROWTH RATE 214 208 country comparison to the world

9.26 births/1,000 population 9.49 births/1,000 population BIRTH RATE 214 201 country comparison to the world

75.46 years 76.41 years LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH 93 80 country comparison to the world 1.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population 1.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population NET MIGRATION RATE

55 54 country comparison to the world

$24,300 (2014 est.) $20,400 (2014 est.)

GDP - PER CAPITA (PPP) 73 81 country comparison to the world

7,1% (2014 est.)

21% (2014 est.)

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 77 164 country comparison to the world

11,580,000 (2012) 4,970,000 (2012) TELEPHONES - MOBILE/CELLULAR 67 112 country comparison to the world

41 (2013) 69 (2013) AIRPORTS 104 72 country comparison to the world Source: World Factbook

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Croatian community “We at the embassy enjoy a very active relationship with the Croatian national minority in Hungary. Also, we consider the southern Hungarian city of Pécs as the symbol of Croatian presence in Hungary and the center of Croatian community life in this country with institutions like the Croatian theater, library and the Croatian grammar school. There is a Croatian Consulate-General there to keep contact with ethnic Croatians in the region,” the Ambassador points out.

Ethnic Croatians in Hungary are dispersed from Pécs to the northwestern town of Sopron. They are also heterogeneous because they arrived in Hungary in different times in history. Regarding their number, the Ambassador says, the estimation is not easy as a lot of assimilation occurred during the centuries of common past.

Cultural relations “There are so many Croatian cultural events going on and I’m happy to see that the competent Hungarian authorities are very helpful in organizing these that relate to our common culture,” the Ambassador remarks. This April,

for instance, saw the Vigadó Hall in Budapest host an exhibition of paintings and sculptures from the Museum of Varasdin. At the end of April, the exhibition ‘Movement and Tranquility’ by 97-year-old but very vital Hungarian-Croatian painter and sculptor, Jelena Veszely – the oldest living student of Ivan Mestrovic, Croatia's world famous sculptor –, was opened in the Parthenon Frieze Hall of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts with support from the Croatian Embassy. It is on display until May 16 this year.

Mental integration Gordan Grlić Radman says that – ever since his childhood – he wanted to be a diplomat. “My father, a veterinarian and agronomist, now 82 years old, was a strict person who wanted me to study agriculture.” So, he did, graduating as an Agricultural Economics Engineer in 1982. However, his second profession is political science. After living and working in Switzerland, he signed up with the Foreign Ministry of the new Croatian state in 1991 and has held various positions in diplomacy in Croatia and abroad. “My son, who is learning to be a lawyer, might be my father’s successor at the head of the family’s agricultural business,” he adds.

He is one of the few ambassadors in Budapest who speaks Hungarian – as he puts it – ‘on a functional level’ and is a member of the Hungarian-speaking Ambassadors’ Club in Budapest. He explains his motivation to learn Hungarian by saying that “if you’re an ambassador, your job is to contact the people, to be among the people in Budapest as well as in the countryside. An ambassador’s job is to build bridges, which means he or she must be a sort of architect to make new links to society: to be understood, encourage people and create interest in your country by communicating with them. Such efforts are greatly facilitated by your knowledge of the given language and if you speak that language, people will appreciate it and will be more open to you.” This is what he calls ‘mental integration’.

BUDAPEST-ZAGREB: BACK AND FORTH There is a great need for a common identity-awareness in Central Europe, since without it no European identity can exist for those living in the region. That is according to 70-year-old Hungarian art historian Csaba Kiss Gy whose new book ‘Budapest-Zagreb: Back and Forth’ was

scheduled to come out on his recent birthday.

The essay collection summarizes the author’s experience in Croatia where he was a guest lecturer at the Hungarian faculty of the University of Zagreb from 1999 to 2004.

As he told the Hungarian news agency MTI, Europe's longest union existed between the Hungarian and Croatian kingdoms for more than 800 years but this tradition became quite faded in the memory of both the Hungarians and the Croatians. "I felt that a lot of things could be revived from this tradition," he explained.Several of the new writings deal with Kiss Gy’s travels in Croatia but the book also features his daily experience gained in Zagreb as well as linguistic curiosities. The author said he had toured Hungary’s southern neighbor from the north down to Dubrovnik and according to his experience, the Croatian scenery, the cities and towns have incredibly rich cultural heritage that also encompass a lot of Hungarian vestiges. The cultural historian is of the view that the Central European national self-consciousness could be harmonized with the national identity of the different peoples in the region. He mentioned as positive examples the Croatian textbooks and the Croatian constitution’s preamble in which the long joint CroatianHungarian statehood is displayed as a value.

He added that the Hungarian side lacks similar initiatives and Hungarian politicians have done little in the past two decades to cherish the joint Hungarian-Croatian traditions.

photo by

a traditional one especially if – yet again – you look at the common historical past. Opatija became popular for the well-to-do holidaymakers of the Austro-Hungarian Monarch from the 19th century. Nowadays, since we have motorway connection, the time to reach Croatia’s Adriatic coast is reduced. Hungarians not only rent accommodations there but many of them own apartments or houses in resort areas there.” Also, direct flights are soon in operation between Budapest and Zagreb (see box).

According to statistics, in 2014, Croatia was visited by 386,870 Hungarians, a close to 10% increase on the previous year. The Ambassador believes this increase was, in part facilitated by Croatia’s EU accession, and the consequent scrapping of customs control.

STEFANOLUNARDI/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

croatian focus.

ENCOURAGING TOURISTIC INVESTMENTS The Croatian Government has been making efforts to enable easier business for potential investors or investments into Croatia. It has taken a series of measures to encourage investments, including decisions about the non-taxation of reinvested profits.

A series of greenfield and brownfield projects are in preparation in Croatia.

From Istria to Dubrovnik, from the north to the south of the Croatian coast, there are several former military facilities that have not been used for any business or tourist purpose.

The goal is to put these facilities into operation and develop new business facilities, or turn them into high-quality tourist facilities. In addition, there are plans to privatize the remaining 13 tourist companies owned by the state in the next two years and professionalize the system of tourist boards – Croatian National Tourist Board pointed out in its latest business summary.

Lower interest rates on loans for projects in tourism have been introduced by the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (CBRD). Depending on the category: 1, 3, or

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5 percent loans are available. These rates are attractive and might be interesting to potential investors.

In order to create an encouraging and supportive environment for investment and tourism in general, work is ongoing on an analysis of existing laws in tourism and some amendments and additions are also in preparation. A catalog of investments with detailed information about 13 companies which are mostly state-owned and which are going to be privatized is also prepared.

New Generation of hotels Hotels MONTE MULINI in Rovinj, LE MERIDIEN LAV in Split and VALAMAR LACROMA in Dubrovnik, are the first in Croatia, to which the Ministry of Tourism has awarded the "Q” mark for Quality. Besides the quality of service, investment in development and constant improvement of quality, the hotels' management had to prove that they have invested in the training of personnel, that they are operating in accordance with environmental standards, are taking into account the satisfaction of their guests and staff as well as working with the local community.

The Hotel "Park" in Pula, built in 1963, now part of the Arenaturist Group, has been refurbished.

The detailed restoration work amounted to 50 million kuna and the hotel was renamed Park

Plaza Arena Pula. The existing 147 rooms were renovated, 28 completely new rooms with a panoramic sea view were added as well as a new wellness center and a fitness studio. The hotel will open its door for guests at the end of May 2015.

Recognitions The City of Crikvenica Tourist Board has earned the prestigious recognition awarded by the Creative Tourism Network from Barcelona. In consideration of quality, originality, innovation, and sustainability, the awards were given in four categories, while the prize for the most creative destination in 2014 was assigned to the City of Crikvenica Tourist Board.

The Huffington Post web portal has placed the City of Zagreb in third place among the least expensive European cities, suggesting to American citizens the world’s most affordable destinations to visit. The website says that the average price of Zagreb accommodation amounts to 297 HRK. The Zagreb Tourist Board states that the city’s popularity among tourists influenced the development of the hospitality industry, which has become increasingly accessible and varied. Moreover, Architecture and Design magazine has included Zagreb on the list of cities to visit.

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CROATIA

END OF RECESSION IN SIGHT, BUT RECOVERY SET TO BE MUTED A mild recovery is forecast for 2015, with growth set to reach 1% in 2016, spurred by EUfunded investments.

Fiscal consolidation needs and limited structural reforms, however, continue to hold back potential growth.

Croatia’s economy contracted for a sixth consecutive year in 2014, but the pace of the recession weakened over the course of the year, bringing real GDP growth for the year to an estimated -0.5%. According to the analysis and forecast of the European Commission (published in February, 2015) positive demand from abroad was not enough to offset the effect of weak domestic demand, which fell as a result of a 3.6% fall in investment and decreases in private and public consumption of 0.6% and 2.1% respectively.

Consolidation efforts hindered by personal income tax rebate

photos by

TOMISLAV ŠKLOPAN, SIMONE SIMONE/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

A muted recovery expected to start in 2015…

Croatia’s recession is forecast to come to an end in 2015, but real GDP is forecast to grow only moderately by 0.2%. Domestic demand growth is set to remain negative, as a result of a further contraction of investment and government consumption.

Private consumption is now forecast to stagnate as the negative impact of the weak labor market and uncertainties related to the final settlement of Swiss-franc indexed loans is broadly offset by the positive impact of the income tax reform and of lower oil prices.

Although indicators suggest that the labor market may have bottomed out in 2014, employment is still expected to stagnate in 2015, due to adverse demographic trends, while the unemployment rate is set to decrease to 16.8%, on the back of the contracting labour force. Wages are expected to grow moderately, due to the strong deceleration of inflation in 2014 and the negative price dynamics expected for 2015.

The feeble growth set to be achieved in 2015 is set to come exclusively from net exports. After the strong performance in 2014, partly reflecting large one-off effects related to Croatia's accession to the EU, the restoration of trade links with former partners from the CEFTA and the recovery of w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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The general government deficit in 2014 is expected to stand at 5.0% of GDP. Expenditure appears to have evolved mostly in line with the authorities’ plans, but some additional outlays from flood-related reconstruction costs materialized in the second half of 2014. The downward revision from the previous forecast is mainly the result of a better revenue outturn (in particular VAT).

In 2015, changes to the personal income taxes are expected to push the budget deficit up to 5.5% of GDP, as potential offsetting measures are still largely unknown. In 2016, the deficit is forecast to remain at around the same level, in spite of the moderate pick-up in growth expected.

The structural deficit is expected to have reached 3,5 % of GDP in 2014, and to deteriorate in 2015 and 2016,

the neighboring Slovenian economy, exports of goods and services are set to increase at a more moderate rate of 2.8%. At the same time, imports are forecast to increase by 1.8%. Overall, the current account surplus is set to expand to 2.4% of GDP.

transfers from the EU budget. Risks to growth projections are mainly negative and related to uncertainties about fiscal policy and structural reforms.

…and gain ground in 2016

Real GDP (y-o-y)

2.05

In 2016, recovery is expected to attain a tepid 1.0% thanks to an increase in domestic demand, driven largely

by EU-linked investments. Private consumption should also add to growth as the labor market stabilizes.

In particular, employment is expected to increase on the back of a rise in the activity rate and a decrease in the unemployment rate to 16.4%. As a result of acceleration in core inflation and attenuating private sector deleveraging pressures, inflation is forecast to pick-up to 1.0%.

Relatively stronger growth in the EU should further stimulate exports, which are expected to grow by 4.7%.

Imports, meanwhile, are set to rise by 4.5%, leading to a mild deterioration of the trade balance, although the current account will continue to improve on the back of current

Private consumption (y-o-y) Public consumption (y-o-y)

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2009

by about 1,5 % of GDP respectively.

The ratio of general government debt to GDP is expected to have reached 81.4% in 2014, mainly as result of the achieved budget deficit, continued subdued nominal GDP growth and a pre-financing operation planned before the end of the year. In 2015 and 2016 public debt is forecast to increase to 84.9% and 88.7% of GDP as a result of the underlying deficit trends.

Negative fiscal risks are still present, including from the accumulation of arrears in the hospital sector and possible additional expenditure slippages in 2015 in some other sectors, such as education and transport.

On the other hand, the general government deficit forecast could be revised downward if the government substantiates its fiscal deficit targets by credibly announced and sufficiently detailed measures.

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

-7.38

-1.70

-0.28

-2.19

-0.94

-0.51

0.24

1.03

1.31

-7.40

-1.48

0.33

-3.03

-1.19

-0.64

-0.04

0.61

-0.70

2.13

-1.61

-0.29

-1.03

0.53

-2.14

-0.07

0.63

Gross fixed capital formation (y-o-y)

9.18

-14.36

-15.19

-2.67

-3.26

-1.02

-3.55

-1.01

2.07

Exports of goods and services (y-o-y)

0.79

-14.12

6.17

2.25

-0.14

3.04

6.14

2.80

4.72

Imports of goods and services (y-o-y)

3.96

-20.39

-2.47

2.49

-2.99

3.15

3.81

1.76

4.53

Output gap

6.59

-1.00

-1.51

-1.29

-2.57

-2.86

-3.14

-2.66

-1.62

Domestic demand (y-o-y)

3.10

-7.95

-5.02

-0.43

-2.68

-0.81

-1.50

-0.23

0.87

Inventories (y-o-y)

0.48

-3.49

0.25

0.25

-0.67

-0.10

-0.03

-0.04

-0.03

CONTRIBUTION TO GDP GROWTH:

Net exports (y-o-y)

-1.52

4.05

3.07

-0.10

1.16

-0.03

1.02

0.50

0.19

Current account balance (% of GDP), balance of payments

-9.19

-5.65

-1.57

-1.32

-0.69

0.39

.

.

.

Trade balance (% of GDP), balance of payments

-8.35

-4.25

-0.81

-0.86

0.02

-0.01

.

.

.

Terms of trade of goods and services (y-o-y)

1.21

1.17

0.63

0.21

-0.60

0.05

0.10

0.35

0.18

Private credit flow, consolidated, (% of GDP)

14.80

3.10

5.50

-0.80

-3.80

-0.50

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BRANDS ARE CRUCIAL AT PODRAVKA

KRISTIJAN SABO, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PODRAVKA INTERNATIONAL KFT. IN HUNGARY DESCRIBES NEW DEVELOPMENTS AT THE COMPANY Podravka Group realized HRK 92 million net profit in 2014, mostly owing to strong growth of the profitable margins in the segments of food and beverages. The company is expanding in Hungary and taking further steps to strengthen its position in the Central European region.

How do you assess the current market conditions in Hungary? Are you still in a post-crisis phase or do you see the conditions improving?

Our strategic focus on business internationalization resulted in continued sales revenue growth in foreign markets by 1.7 percent as compared to a previous period. But if we exclude the negative influence of the restructuring program and net exchange differences, a growth of 3,9 percent was achieved.

As for Hungary the good news is that both revenues and profit have been increased in the last two years.

It is an organic growth coming from our core businesses: Vegeta brand culinary products and other products,

Eva and Lagris brands in fish and rice&vegetables categories. Certainly, we work on Podravka corporate branding as well.

fish&ajvar (Mediterranean products) and rice&pulses.

We continue to consider that, apart from our core markets in former Yugoslavia, several countries bring us valuable customers in the broader Central European region. We have established a deep presence in Hungary and we make every effort to strengthen and increase our market share. Yes, our two large competitors have much bigger budgets but, we have increased our marketing investments significantly in the last two years and more importantly understand that we have to use smarter tactics, which I think we do.

Competitiveness means not only being cheaper but flexible as well. How do

you shape your activity in the relatively tough Hungarian market?

Finding quality suppliers is one of our crucial jobs. Fortunately, we have many excellent farmers in Croatia and good partners elsewhere. Sourcing is global and we have suppliers in Hungary, too.

For instance the Hungarian company Univer in Kecskemét is our supplier and partner in our HORECA business.

Apart from efficiency in the supply chain and quick answers to constant challenges, the most important forces in the food business are the brands. Our Vegeta brand has been widely known in Hungary for decades and now we are working hard to introduce new products under the Vegeta umbrella and to further develop other ones:

Podravka ajvar, EVA sardines and tuna fish. Within our line of Vegeta spice mixes, we launched Mediterranean marinade which was specially developed for local consumers.

How do you adjust your assortment to the needs of Hungarian costumers?

For instance, when in 2013 we decided to go back into the market with spice mixes and soup cubes, we analyzed thoroughly the local market and developed special Hungarian recipies for chicken and beef cubes. Last year we decided to extend our product line further. So, we introduced cubes for Gulyásleves and Pörkölt, which

However, I do not see your huge presence in the direct advertisement market?

That is relatively true, we simply have a different strategy from our main competitors but we are sponsoring TV shows and conducting a lot of other activities to strengthen our customer base in Hungary. And I can promise you: “the best is yet to come”.

were new products in our worldwide assortment, because we realized how important these flavors are. On top of that, we changed our branding in Hungary because Vegeta is much better known brand in Hungary than Podravka under which brand name soup cubes are sold in ex Yugoslav markets.

On Hungarian market we are offering products from Adria region such as

In terms of the size of the company, what are your intended avenues of growth in Central Europe? Apart from the organic way do you consider acquisitions, too?

Podravka is well established in Europe.

We think combining the two can result in strengthening our market position and facilitate further growth. We have just finalized the contract on acquiring the majority shares of the company Žito, one of the biggest producers of food products in Slovenia, which also has great recognition in Southeast Europe. A Czech food company and a Croatian fish producer have also been acquired and we are monitoring the regional market constantly, looking for quality targets.

MLINAR IS TO EXPAND IN HUNGARY

What are the milestones of Mlinar's history, especially in the last ten years?

The first steam-powered flour-mill and steam-powered sawmill of the village of Križevci was built in 1903 by Hinko Švarc and Sons company. As demand increased rapidly, a new mill had to be built with a capacity for 20 tons in 24 hours in 1913.

In 1946 the state company Kalnik bought the private mill of the Svarc family.

The mill was electrified and modernized allowing for greater output. In 1960 the baking cooperative „Napredak“ and Kalnik merged, and the production of bread and pastry was united with the cereal processing. In 1993 the transition from public ownership into the joint stock

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company Mlinar d.d. was performed.

The year 2009 was another turning point: we defined a new brand identity and a new business strategy, which are now established in our whole retail and wholesale network. Since 2009 we have expanded our retail network in 3 European countries – Slovenia, Hungary and Germany. In the last few years we have built 2 new production plants in order to satisfy needs of the regional market for fresh and frozen bakery products. This year marks another important step as we have just started to export our products to Australia and UAE. We appreciate the trust of more than 30 million customers who visit our shops per year.

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How can you increase volumes of production, is there a need to extend the production facilities now?

Currently we do not need to extend our production facilities, since we can satisfy current and potential export needs as well as the ones of the regional market. The whole production is organized in four plants in Croatia – more than 30.000 tons of frozen and pre-baked products are produced on a yearly basis.

How would you assess the first phase of your presence here?

I would say that the past few years have been to a certain degree struggling and competitive, as it is for every brand trying to enter a foreign market. But we are satisfied with our current position and we will make continuous efforts to enlarge our market position and to present our brand and products in the best possible manner.

What was the motivation to enter the competitive Hungarian market?

Due to good international cooperation between our countries and positive recognition of some Croatian brands in Hungary, we were inspired to consider the possibility of expanding our retail network in Hungary. After a long consideration, market research of customer preferences and thorough business analysis, we have decided to start that business venture.

How quickly can you expand your franchise network in Hungary?

We can promptly react to every franchise requirement, since we can offer to every franchisor a proven business model, know how, logistic and marketing support. Using that business model it is really easy to enter the world of entrepreneurship in this type of industry.

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The Croatian bakery chain Mlinar is a relative newcomer in Hungary. Seven outlets have been opened in Budapest.

The company planes to enlarge its market position, mainly in the capital.

HARANGOZÓ, COURTESY OF PODRAVKA, COURTESY OF MLINAR

INTERVIEW WITH MLINAR BOARD MEMBER HRVOJE TRETINJAK ON THE HISTORY AND PLANS OF THE BAKERY CHAIN

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AGROKOR: a NEIGHBORING BUSINESS LARGEST CROATIAN FIRM CELEBRATES TWO DECADES OF DOING BUSINESS IN HUNGARY

The history of Agrokor, currently the biggest company in Croatia in terms of sales revenue, dates back to 1976 when Ivica Todorić founded a private company in Zagreb (then Yugoslavia) for the production of flowers and flower seedlings. The real expansion with acquisitions began during the change of the social and political system in Croatia (1989-91).

As the Managing Director of Agrokor’s Hungarian subsidiary, Agrokor Kft., Dr. János Páncsity explains to Diplomacy & Trade, the mother company Agrokor d.d., a limited company since 1989, has three main branches.

“One is primarily involved in agricultural production, making basically everything that is used in the food industry. This includes such emblematic firms as Belje, the biggest agricultural company in the region, famous for its cheeses, traditional cured meat products and wines. The second arm is in the food industry, featuring such firms as Ledo (ice-cream), Jamnica (mineral water and soft drinks), Zvijezda (edible oil) and Pik Vrbovec (meat products). The third branch (retail trade) has recently gone through a major change as the Mercator chain was purchased (after a process of several years), joining the Kozum chain in Agrokor’s portfolio.”

In 2013, the consolidated turnover of the Agrokor Group – that employs approximately 60,000 people – was HKR 54 billion (roughly EUR 7.2 billion).

Expansion in Hungary

DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, COURTESY OF AGROKOR

As part of Agrokor’s foreign expansion, the Hungarian subsidiary was established in 1995.

“Since agricultural production is very substantial in Hungary – as is the food industry –, it seemed logical that when an important agricultural business such as Agrokor decided to expand abroad, this competence in the neighboring country is taken into consideration,” Páncsity adds.

Currently, Agrokor has three main ventures in Hungary. Agrokor Kft. represents the whole of the Croatian mother company, including sales activities as well as the commissioned production of such items (for exports by Agrokor subsidiaries in Croatia) as ketchup, canned and frozen vegetables.

The other two are Hungarian firms acquired about a decade ago: the Ledo ice-cream factory

in Szada, east of Budapest and the Fonyódi mineral water production facility at Lake Balaton.

Behind Unilever, Ledo is the second largest player in the family products segment in Hungarian supermarket chains. “We feel morally obliged to cherish the Fonyódi brand, one of the oldest-produced mineral waters in Hungary. Its acquisition by Agrokor also means the opening of the Croatian market for products bottled in Hungary. In line with this, we introduced Croatia’s top mineral water brand ‘Jana’ to the Hungarian market where it is now well-known for its natural and flavored products,” the Managing Director says. He finds it important to note that despite the global economic crisis, Jana products have shown double-digit growth annually in the past years.

At the helm for two decades János Páncsity has been Agrokor Kft.’s Managing Director ever since the firm’s establishment two decades ago. “It’s a very simple story,” he says. Until 1995, he was the head of Hungary’s Commercial Representation Office in Zagreb. Since the core task of such offices is to seek business partnerships, Dr. Páncsity had an extensive knowledge of Croatian and Hungarian businesses and he also got

businesses here is very important as Hungary was the first EU member country where Croatian ventures were set up even before their country joined the European Union in July 2013.

Obviously, we are constantly monitoring the Hungarian market for further opportunities regarding acquisitions or just supplies to the mother company’s businesses in Croatia,” the Managing Director points out.

It is close to two years since Croatia joined the EU. “It is a relief for trade that, now, trucks don’t need to stop for checking at the border, allowing for a free flow of goods,” he adds.

He highlights that with regards to consumer habits in Hungary and Croatia, “there are similarities and differences that we have to consider when weighing market opportunities.”

One of the emblematic products of the Croatian meat industry, the kulen (a type of flavored sausage made of minced pork), was already known by the same name in Hungary, so Agrokor did not have to change the name or the recipe before putting it on the market here. However, in order to bring up a counter example, he mentions ice-cream where certain modifications were applied in the recipe to better suit Hungarian tastes.

Corporate social responsibility

▶ C I B O NA TO W E R: Agrokor's headquarters in Zagreb know important business people, including Ivica Todorić. “He asked me about my plans after returning from Zagreb to Budapest and my reply was to leave commercial diplomacy and find a suitable job in the private sector. Since Agrokor had plans to establish a company in Hungary, he asked me to become the head of this new venture,” Dr. Páncsity explains.

Seeking further opportunities Currently, Agrokor employs some 50 people in Hungary and the turnover of its business activities here amount to about EUR 15 million annually. “For Croatia, the presence of its

“Agrokor is a food producing conglomerate, so, it is very important to make products of high quality. We are talking about items for human consumption here, it is not something that leaves room for irresponsible action,” Dr. Páncsity stresses. Ever since its existence, Agrokor has always invested a lot of time, effort and money and paid great attention to constant product development. “We do a lot of work to make sure to have excellent products.

This is one side of the company’s corporate social responsibility. The other one is that we constantly try to take into consideration aspects that gain more and more attention in this modern world, especially from the environmental point of view. Therefore, we apply e.g. packaging materials that conform to the latest standards,” he adds.

It also reflects Agrokor’s commitment to environmental issues that it invests a lot in the production of bio-energy by utilizing waste materials (see box),” the Managing Director concludes.

COWS AND ENERGY

photos by

Agrokor - Energija d.o.o., formed in 2010 as the first company in the Agrokor Group engaging in electricity production from renewable energy sources, fosters an ecological approach to the utilization of by-products generated in agricultural production, processing industry, food industry, storage management and retail and wholesale business, following the strictest environmental standards.

It completed one of Agrokor's greatest investment projects (worth HRK 220 million / over EUR 29 mn) in the local agriculture early this year.

It is a Belje business complex at the location of Mitrovac in Baranya, NE Croatia, bordering the Hungarian region of the same name.

The complex is a successful synergy example between advanced livestock production, renewable energy sources and vegetable production, consisting of a dairy cow farm with 2,000 cows, a 2 MW biogas power station run by Agrokor energija and a greenhouse for growing grappolo tomatoes on an area of 4.5 hectares.

It is Croatia's biggest dairy cow farm with an annual milk production exceeding 15 million liters, almost 9,500 liters of milk per cow annually. The farm has seven new, state-of-the-art facilities boasting airy, ventilated premises, high ceilings, free movement of the animals and maximum care of their welfare. The farm also features a solar power station.

Adjacent to the farm is the Mitrovac 2 MW biogas power plant, constituting the most stable renewable energy source and contributing to the stability of the national electric power system. The biogas power plant turns pollutants and various types of vegetables used as alternative energy sources into heat energy, contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases and improves the fertility of arable land.

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­­croatian focus croatian focus.

GREAT MASTERS of CROATIAN ARTS OPENING REMARKS OF GORDAN GRLIĆ RADMAN, AMBASSADOR OF CROATIA IN HUNGARY Budapest hosted a special exhibition of Croatian painters and sculptors.

The Hungarian Academy of Arts and the Vigadó Gallery were sponsors of the event.

The purpose of the exhibition of paintings and sculptures “GREAT MASTERS OF 20THCENTURY CROATIAN ART” was to present part of an extremely valuable collection of 6444 works. As ambassador Gordan Grlic Radman said that following its great success at the Porcia Palace in Vienna, the City of Varaždin presented

itself as a curator of a unique collection of works of Croatian painters and sculptors from various generations.

Varaždin lies close to the border with Hungary, a country with which Croatia has strong historical and cultural bonds. “Although the river Drava is the linguistic and natural border between the two nations, there has never been

a sharp cultural divide between us.

On the contrary, I dare say: the two languages and a similar culture have united us in one integrated Central European family.” - he added.

The ambassador was very pleased to have great help from the Ministry of Human Resources. He also thanked the Ministry for having recognized

these elements of the cultural heritage connecting the two nations, and for having actively assisted in the organization of this unique exhibition.

“This is not a coincidence, owing to the fact that culture is the most important, most dynamic and most versatile area of co-operation in our bilateral relations.” - said Mr. Radman.

DEVELOPING DANCING TALENTS MORE YOUNG MASTERS TO EMERGE IN A FANTASTIC CLUB IN ZAGREB

Optimus Plesni Klub was founded by Rade Janjic in 2008.

The dance club’s goal is to train competitive couples at an international level and popularise competitive dancing in Croatia.

AIMS OF THE CLUB • • • • •

to maintain and develop the level of dancing successful results nationally and internationally to train the new generation for international competitions to popularize the culture of dancing in Croatia to attend national and international shows

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VI K TO R S ZA B Ó & VA NJ A VU I C C RO AT I A N N AT I O N A L CH A M P I O N S O F B A LLR O O M D A N CE S , O F LAT I N A M E R I CA N D A N CE S A N D O F T E N D A N C E S.

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KRISTINA GOHER, DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, ROLAND HELMUT

Six couples are dancing professionally, one dancer came from Hungary (Viktor Szabó), moved to Zagreb, Croatia and has been member of the club for more than 4 years. Apart from those six couples, there are many children involved.

They are the next generation, so the club takes special care of them. These children have just started to compete but you can already find national champions among them.

In Croatia the club is very successful and well-known. Dancers regularly appear in the popular TV show, Dancing With the Stars (Ples sa zvijezdama). Istvan Varga, Ana Herceg, Damir Horvatincic and Robert Schubert are all winners of the show and members of the club. Marko Herceg and Marija Santek also come from the club. The head coach of the club is Rade Janjic, who started to coach the couples long before the club was founded.

To maintain continuous skill development of the couples, the club regularly invites foreign instructors. These dance masters are well-known internationally: Andrej Skufca (Slovenia), Fredi Novak (Slovenia), Pietro Braga (Italy), Melinda Törökgyörgy (Slovenia), Carol MacRaild (England). Apart from trainings and lessons, the couples also take part at international workshops in Italy and Slovenia.

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science science

REWARDING SCIENTISTS to STAY in HUNGARY THE HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES DEDICATES MORE MONEY TO YOUNG TALENTS The Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS) has rewarded local scientists in order to support their research programs and help to retain their talents in Hungary.

HAS dedicated HUF 400 m (over a period of five years) to this project which has another goal as well: to persuade those already abroad to return home.

Since its inception in 2009, the program called Momentum has concentrated on retaining young scientific talents and creating a financial background for the most ambitious scientists.

Developing competitiveness in the country’s universities is also among the priorities. The program has become the engine of renewal for research at institutes and universities as proved by the work of close to 100 research groups.

Speaking on the Academy's Day of Momentum, László Lovász, President of HAS called for increasing the ratio of the humanities within the program and its extension to applied sciences.

Officials of the Academy are optimistic saying that the program has been a success story

both by domestic and international standards.

According to their statistics the grants totaling almost HUF 4 billion have slowed down the brain drain among young researchers and attracted gifted young minds to science.

Grantees say Grantees are pleased to have a more stable background for their research work. They say it enables them to embark on the study of problems that pose serious challenges, which in turn can lead to publications that can attract considerable international attention.

They also emphasize that Hungary can benefit from the program as it is a useful tool to pursue successful careers for young scientific talents in Hungary. „That is quite something as nearly all the brightest minds in my field are either working abroad or languishing as junior instructors at some universities in Hungary, underpaid and overburdened by administrative chores." - one grantee commented.

A total of 97 special research teams were created within the different institutions of HAS and several universities through 2014. This year all but one of these teams have applied for grant: Of the 97 teams, 44 % represent life sciences, 42 % mathematics and natural sciences, 14 % social sciences. Six people are from organizations under HAS, six from universities and four promised to return to Hungary.

SCIENCE TO PROMOTE CO-OPERATION

There are two categories in the program. The first is for those who are under 38 years and just beginning work on a special scientific project. The winners are obliged to apply for the European Research Council's (ERC) „Consolidator” or „Advanced” Grant when finishing their project.

Applicants in the second category (age 35-45) should have a proven record of internationally recognized scientific research work. As with fellow scientists in the first category, they are obliged to apply for the European Research Council's (ERC) „Consolidator” or „Advanced” Grant when finishing their project.

WINNERS IN 2015

NAME SCIENCE Adamik Béla............................................... linguistic Mátés Lajos................................................... biology Hangya Balázs.............................................. biology Kiss Viktória............................................. archeology Pásztor Gabriella........................................... physics Rásonyi Miklós......................................mathematics Simon Ferenc................................................. physics Székvölgyi Lóránt...........................................biology Szilágyi Róbert.............................................chemical Tory Kálmán................................................ medicine Varró Dániel..............................................................IT Weisz Boglárka............................................... history

photo by DÁVID

HARANGOZÓ

In Amman, leading scientists and high ranking decision makers were holding discussions about the role of diplomacy in science policies to manage crises, including any means of support using traditional diplomacy and possible co-operation between the European Union and the Middle East region. Professor László Lovász participated at the event as the President of HAS and as the Chairman of World Science Forum (WSF). Mr. Lovász gave a presentation emphasizing the universal communality of values held in the sciences as well as the motivating power of long-term thinking. As he said, a scientific approach and the mediating power of science stretching over cultures may also contribute to the management of political and economic conflicts and may fuel initiatives to build new forms of co-operation.

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A b ra nd new M RI d evice w a s i n t r o d u c e d i n t h e la b o r a t o r y o f t h e H u n g a r i a n A c a d e m y o f S c i e n c e s e a r ly A p r i l. I t w il l hel p s cient is t t o co nd u c t le a d i n g r e se a r c h a n d d e v e lo p m e n t w o r k i n H u n g a r y.

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society society.

Freedom Day of South Africa JOHANN MARX ambassador of South Africa hosted a reception on the occasion of the National Day. The event took place in the Museum of History in the Castle district of Budapest. Diplomats from several European, African and Arab countries attended the event.

New Ambassadors PRESIDENT JÁNOS ÁDER accepted the credentials of new ambassaors at his office in Buda. From left: Fatumanava Pa'olelei (Samoa), Bruno Javier Faraone Machado (Uruguay) and Maria Jose Teixeira de Morais Pires (Portugal).

Ambassadors Speaking Hungarian GO RDAN GRL IĆ RADM AN ambassador of Croatia hosted a friendly meeting of fellow ambassadors who speak Hungarian lenguage. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto attended the meeting as well. Obviously there was no lenguage barrier...

Titanic Film Festival

T HE DUTC H E MB A S S Y held a big reception on the occasion of King's Day - the national holiday in the Netherlands.

Prominent Dutch companies provided sponsorship to the event.

Israeli Concert TH E I S R A ELI EM B A S S Y organized a fantastic concert to commemorate the 67. anniversary of independence in Vígszínház.

DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, NOÉMI BRUZÁK/MTI

King's Day

A FRESH M O V IE FROM NEW Z E AL AND was presented at this years Titanic international film festival. The ambassador of that pacific country, based in Vienna also took part in the session.

FOR YOUR CONFERENCE AND CORPORATE EVENT PLANNING REQUIREMENTS, CHOOSE THE BEST TEAM!

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analysis

political analysis.

IS THE CHANCE FOR a MIRACLE FADING? ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN RELATIONS AFTER THE ISRAELI ELECTIONS

BY TAMÁS MAGYARICS

As an old saying goes in the Middle East, an Israeli-Palestinian peace may come about in two different ways. The less likely one is that the two sides come to an agreement; the more likely one is that a miracle occurs. It seems that after the victory of the Likud, and Benjamin Netanyahu in the latest Israeli elections, the Middle East needs a fair dose of miracle to see a settlement of the outstanding issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians any time in the foreseeable future.

Last-minute turn

International security concerns The ever-present centrality of security for Israel has been given additional weight in the past few months or so. The emergence of the Islamic State (IS) increased the security concerns not just in the Middle East but beyond it, as well. Though, several dozen countries have decided to coordinate their efforts to fight this menace, the IS is likely to remain a major source of instability in the greater Middle East. Moreover, one of the beneficiaries of the concentration of the international community’s attention on the IS may well be Iran, the greatest threat to the security of Israel. Although, the fine points of the agreement between Tehran and the major Western countries, including the U.S. are not known, the impression is that the latter have moved closer to the former’s positions and not the other way round. The deal increased the tension between the US and the Israeli leaders.

Since President Barack Obama’s speech in Cairo, and even candidate, then President-elect Obama’s suggestions that he would be willing to negotiate with extremist regimes, including that of Iran, his moves have been looked on with suspicion by Prime Minister Netanyahu. Nevertheless, it must be noted here that the much discussed tension between the government of Israel and the US administration is over tactical and not strategic

issues, and the American-Israeli ties will remain strong.

The other potential pillars of a Middle East security structure have also become rather shaky. Israel’s major partner in maintaining a security situation of sorts in the region is Egypt. However, since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, Cairo is not as reliable a partner as it was under his rule; moreover, with the deterioration of the conditions in Libya, Egypt has to pay more attention to its western borders.

A previously long-time partner, almost an ally of Israel’s, Turkey has somewhat redirected its foreign orientation which, by and large, means looser ties with the U.S., the EU, and Israel, and closer relations with Russia and Iran, among others. Israel may be facing a more direct military threat in the Golan-region as the Syrian army is planning to start an offensive with the support of the Hezbollah to stamp out opposition to the regime in Damascus over there. The appearance of the Hezbollah around the Golan Heights is bound to be interpreted as a serious threat to Israeli security and will be dealt with accordingly.

The American connection The strong strategic relations between the U.S. and Israel, as well as the – sometimes heavy-handed and ham-fisted – American interventions in the greater Middle East discredited Washington as an ‘honest broker’ in the eyes of arguably the majority of the Arabs in the region. Others seem to be trying to step in and restart the stalled peace process in the region. The latest high-level attempt has

come from the French, who would like to explore a ‘backdoor’ for negotiations in the United Nations.

In fact, it is next to impossible to come up with a brand new offer; in fact, what Paris proposes is basically a revival of the original UN Resolution 181 of November 29th, 1947. The French draft resolution would call for exchanges of territories (with reference to the pre-1967 – i.e., Six-Day War – borders), designate Jerusalem as the capital of both entities, and a fair solution for Palestinian refugees.

The problem is that these central questions have been addressed from every conceivable point of view in the past decades, and no breakthrough can realistically be expected in the near future, especially given the intransigent position of the Israeli leadership (with the hardliner Avigdor Lieberman possibly returning as Foreign Minister).

On the other side, President Mahmoud Abbas is seen as losing power even within the Fatah, and Hamas is not willing to soften its position towards Israel and is still unwilling to recognize the existence of the Jewish state. With the moderates on both sides losing influence, the chances of a negotiated settlement between the more extremist leaders are rather slim. Or are they?

A minor miracle happened in 1994 with the Oslo Accords, concluded by two erstwhile hardliners on each side. One of the paradoxes of the Middle East may be that the hardliners or the extremists enjoy better chances of finding a solution because they are not suspected by their followers to sell the family silver. However, the realization of this logic would need a major – and not just a minor – miracle.

illustration by RAWPIXEL/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

The continuation of the Likud as the dominant force in the coalition government and of ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu as Prime Minister looked rather uncertain even on the eve of the Israeli parliamentary elections. The left-of-center Zionist Union with Isaac Herzog and Tsipi Livni seemed to be gaining ground at the expense of the Likud.

In this situation, Benjamin Netanyahu decided to appeal to the fears of the Jewish people in the country in general, and to the social, economic, and cultural grievances of the Mizrahi, that is, Middle Eastern Jews against the predominantly Ashkenazi, or European Jews who traditionally supported the Labor Party, and now its successor, the Zionist Union.

Prime Minister Netanyahu first shot down the two-state solution by declaring that there never would be a Palestinian state so long as he is Prime Minister. Second, he played on the security concerns of the Jewish people in Israel by saying that a vote for the Zionist Union would be a vote for a ‘Hamastan’. Third, by extension, he claimed that a Palestinian state would be a base for attacks by

the radical Islam forces against Israel. And, fourth, he pledged himself promoting the construction of further settlements especially around Jerusalem by putting the question of the Israeli settlements in the framework of security. In sum, security seemed to the trump-card of Likud that ultimately delivered a victory to the party against the preelections odds.

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diplomacy diplomacy.

THE NORDIC WAY TO SUSTAINABILITY Environmental solutions are not the only part of the job

Sustainability has become a crucial issue in the region on governmental and corporate levels. A number of dedicated laws have been introduced and luckily practice has followed suit in many walks of life.

Reaching and maintaining sustainability is a permanent job and there are plenty of ups and downs in the process, but the Nordic make every effort to overcome the difficulties. „We do not have a single model of sustainability in the Nord of Europe, but we managed to find different solutions on some of the main aspects of the issue” the ambassadors of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland said unanimously during the seminar. They added: you need a great will to perform and a positive approach is vital from politicians and from the public.

Steen Gade, member of the Danish Parliament and chairman of The Climate, Energy and Building Committee and former director of the Environmental Protection Agency spoke about how green solutions have increased Danish competitiveness. He emphasized that investing in economic growth, modernizing the society and boosting environmentally healthy business solutions are great insurance. One of the main tasks is to manage resources much better in their respective countries, not to mention in less developed ones in South Europe and in the CEE region.

Here are the ambitions:

7.6% less overall energy consumption compared to 2010 35% of final energy consumption must be based on renewable sources 50% of the electricity consumption must be provided by wind power 34% less greenhouse gas emission compared to 1990 Sustainability can be enhanced by regular and constantly deepening co-operation on different levels. Electricity supply is a good example: the Nordic countries have a common market and a successful, harmonized energy policy. 35 % of all electricity is already supplied from renewable sources across the region and the countries are committed to practically doubling their effort to increase this to 40-50 % in the coming decade.

Mr Gade referred to a case where a large American ITC company established a huge server park in a Danish town. The heat produced by the big computers is now used in the heating system of the town.

Environmental solutions are not the only part of the job; you have to facilitate communication between different social groups. Countries have to create decent work and work places as well as a smooth co-operation between employers, employees and government, in order to establish trust and reduce conflicts. These key elements of a prosperous economy were highlited in the speech of Knut Ringstad, Program Manager for Innovation Norway's EEA-program on ”Decent Work and Tripartite Dialog”.

He described the Norwegian practice as follows: • • • • • •

• • • •

How did the idea to organize this seminar originate?

There is a longstanding and friendly co-operation between the Nordic countries in many parts of life, including environmental protection, technology, sport, culture, business, etc. Our politicians and public authorities meet regularly, and many citizens have summer houses outside their homeland in our region. We are proud of our labor market, corporate practice and achievements in environmental protection M A Y

and could have concentrated on only one of them while preparing this event,but we thought the broader spectrum was more interesting. This is the reason we invited different speakers from political, civil and corporate sites. As I said in my opening remarks: the whole idea was not to provide a solution for everyone but to provide some fruit for thought.

What kind of joint actions do you prefer in the future?

This was not the first occasion we (the Nordic countries) acted jointly in Hungary.

Proposed by Norway, a good workshop on gender equality was held here earlier.

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the work agenda has no proper platform the dialog is not taken seriously by the government direct dialog with the government is troublesome mistrust is present during negotiations organizations are fractured, financially weak there is fighting among unions

A growing number of companies across the CEE region have shown their sensibility towards a truly sustainable economy and society. One of them is Swedish giant Ericsson which is a great champion in this field. This IT-mogul has established itself in Hungary long ago and is widely considered as a pioneer in finding and implementing sustainable solutions. Two of the high ranked managers of the huge local R+D unit presented the way they are doing business in Hungary.

Mr. Ringstad also spoke about the Norwegian Fund 's activity in Hungary. He disclosed that all five planned projects were implemented, all with major Norwegian partners. The EUR 820.000 grant was fully utilized, 57 workshops were organized and 7 best practices were identified.

Not surprisingly however, he criticized the Hungarian practice as far as the tripartite dialog is concerned.

TOM NØRRING, AMBASSADOR OF DENMARK IN HUNGARY

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• •

The labor market is strictly regulated A high level of coordination is maintained between the stakeholders Employees are allowed to bargain collectively in a structured way Negotiations are conducted every 4th year in the private sector No minimum wage set by politicians, it differs according to professions Unions are free and independent, shop stewards enjoy strong local independence

MORE ACTION TO COME

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Just some of the findings in Hungary

co-operation on political and cultural scene and continue to take part in different political and cultural actions. Let me remind you that we had a fantastic film week in April presenting 30 movies from our region. We had a joint stand on the Budapest Book Festival where the popular Scandinavian crime novels were in the forefront and we continue to support the so called friendship groups of parliamentarians who exchange visits regularly.

The Nordic countries have said that they see relations with the Baltic states and member states of the V4 Group as a unique

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opportunity within the EU. What areas of co-operation are a must in this respect?

The primary issues are: energy security, defense, environmental protection, human rights, immigration, health, business developments and R+D. But please, start with the simpliest: coordination. This should be the first step, you have to coordinate your actions and sometimes you do, but not on a regular basis. The Nordic, Baltic and V4 countries together could form a special platform within the EU, helping to show the interests of smaller countries during the decision making process.

SERGEY NIVENS/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM, DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

BY NANDOR MESTER

"Challenges are growing as at least 2 bn people worldwide are expected to lift their standard of living to that of Europe by 2030. As purchasing power grows, more people will buy more cars and that will have a huge impact on sustainability” - he added.

He continued, presenting the Danish goals to obtain environmental sustainability by 2020.

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The Nordic countries combined constitute the 5th largest economy in the EU and the 12th largest in the world based on GDP. All prefer to cooperate very closely and every one of those countries is more open to doing business than the OECD average; Denmark is the most open economy of the Nordics.

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education

education

EDUCATING SELF-CONFIDENT YOUNG LEARNERS MULTICULTURAL KINDERGARTEN CELEBRATES 15 YEARS

FUNDRAISING FASHION SHOW!

Happy Kids organized its first charity children’s fashion show in March 2005 to raise money and collect items that would help people in areas devastated by the tsunami in Southeast Asia. Following the great success of this initial event, the fashion show was made an annual program with a different charity supported each year.

March 2015 witnessed many parents and grandparents crowded around a catwalk set up in Happy Kids International Kindergarten to see the next generation strike a pose. With princesses and knights, mermaids and Martians, the runway sparkled with costumes not normally seen in the fashion houses of Milan, Paris or London. Many of the older children learned to sew just so they could wear their own unique creations; the younger ones opted for customizing old clothes with paper and paint. Indeed, most of the costumes on display were made out of recycled clothes and materials.

This year’s benefitting charity was the Age of Hope Foundation.

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COURTESY OF HAPPY KIDS KINDERGARTEN

The Happy Kids kindergarten, located in the Buda Hills, opened in January 2000 with just five children, the school director, Peter Jones recalls to Diplomacy & Trade. In 2011, they opened a nursery class and now take children from 18 months.

Currently they have over 90 children in six classes.

What makes Happy Kids special is the program offered.

“We’re not only looking after the children and taking care of them, but we educate them from the first day they join us. We believe that their little brain cells are ready to open up if they are stimulated enough at a very early age,” the Director points out. “This way, they will be much more curious, much more self-confident young learners receptive to learning. We offer a program where the children learn in a playful way that is conducive to their age. There are a lot of sport activities on the premises as well as a self-defense bully-proof

program devised for young children,” Jones explains.

He adds that there are over 20 nationalities of children in the school, creating a pure multicultural environment in which the English language is a common denominator.

“From nursery age, we urge children that not to speak any other language but English while inside the building.

That is the only way we can ensure an English language environment for everyone.” At the same time, the institution observes the customs and holidays of the different nationalities to ensure kids are even more aware of being in an international environment.

The Happy Kids kindergarten has its own – a purely international – curriculum, which carries the benefit that from here, kids can enter any (British, American, Austrian, etc.) international school in Budapest or anywhere else.

The staff is also international. “We look at the applicants’ schooling, their experience, their references and we test them, as well, before we – and the other teachers – decide to hire them. We have to see whether they are motivated and dedicated enough to fit our team. Their job is not simply to teach but also includes administrative work. For instance, we put a portfolio together for each child to document his or her development regarding – and reflecting on – each curriculum area,” Peter Jones concludes.

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diplomacy & life diplomacy & life.

WITTY

LE A K S

IN OUR SERIES, DIPLOMATS GIVE THEIR PERSONAL ACCOUNT

OF THE EXPERIENCES OF THEIR “EXCURSIONS”

to Hungarian culture, art, gastronomy & landscape.

GIRL POWER

SPEED MENTORING FOR HUNGARIAN WOMEN PROVES SUCCESS

BY THERESA BUBBEAR, CHARGÉ D'AFFAIRES OF THE BRITISH EMBASSY

As a new female Chargé, it’s hard not to be intimidated by my august predecessors. Some of them worked in the days of ‘lady typewriters’ (as secretaries used to be called), all of them had wives who ran the residence, raised the children, organized packing and moving, and entertained guests tirelessly and charmingly. So important was a diplomatic wife’s role that Foreign Office annual appraisal forms used to include a box for comments about her.

In my last job, in HR, I trawled through some ancient files and found an intriguing comment about someone’s wife: “She is not as bad as we had been led to believe”. Recruitment notes on female applicants to the diplomatic service often began with a comment on the applicant’s appearance, while comments on their male counterparts referred only to their intellectual prowess.

Until 1973, just 12 years before I joined the Foreign Office, female British diplomats were required to resign on marriage, and until 1987, all our female Ambassadors were unmarried and without children. Even now, women make up only a small proportion of the most senior grades in the Foreign Office. We’re making progress and we have some very senior and committed champions, but I’m still an ‘under-represented minority’ in Foreign Office terms.

Not a minority All this came as rather a shock to me. As the eldest of three girls, with three daughters of my own, and having attended a girls’ school and the first women’s college at Cambridge (which was just starting to integrate

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Speed mentoring I am, however, not so naive as to believe that I have achieved anything on my own. Every step of the way, from school to university, to Foreign Office, I have had help and support: some of it formal, from managers, coaches, and mentors; much of it informal, from colleagues and friends - and from a perfect mix of older and younger people, both male and female. Many of them would be surprised to know that I have remembered what they told me, but I still keep a learning journal, where I try to record something I have learned every day. I have trained as a coach and acted as formal and informal mentor to many colleagues around the world, trying to give back a little of what has been shared so generously with me, which is why I suggested a ‘speed mentoring’ event for young Hungarian women to mark International Women’s Day this year.

It was an off-the-cuff suggestion.

I didn’t know if it would work, or (if I’m honest) exactly how speed mentoring worked. But when I saw the enthusiasm of my colleagues, I realized that we were on to something.

With very little time in which to organize the evening, I wrote to a series of ladies to ask for their help.

The US and Italian Ambassadors readily agreed, as did some senior Hungarian businesswomen, journalists, a philosopher, a fashion designer and a former MP. Within

a couple of days, I had 13 mentors and shortly afterwards, we had three organizations, namely the Tom Lantos Institute, Milestone Institute and the Romedia Foundation ready to supply mentees. The concept was much like speed dating – which, needless to say, I’ve never tried. Each mentor had a seat at a table and the mentees rotated between them every ten minutes when a bell rang. We supplied sample questions, asked the mentees to sign up for three sessions with the senior ladies they most wanted to meet, then watched what happened.

Girl talk The evening got off to a cautious start. The mentees, many of whom had travelled a long way, were understandably shy when faced M A Y

with their mentors. Many were a little overawed by the Ambassador’s residence, which I had borrowed for the evening. And, like me, no-one really knew how this would work. But as the mentoring got going the noise levels grew, the smiles got bigger, and the excitement was palpable. I was not mentoring myself, but I chatted to the participants between sessions and many took the opportunity to ask me questions – what were the most important things I had learned, who had helped, me, what was my favorite book, how had I combined my family and my career, and what did my daughters think about diplomatic life. By the end of the evening, each mentee had asked similar questions of several mentors. Both sides were grateful for the opportunity to talk and to share experiences and, importantly, each side learned from the other. I was very struck by the fact that the mentors were, without exception, sorry when the final bell rang, even though they had been mentoring for a solid couple of hours by then.

Everyone would gladly have continued.

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of that event. But it was good to remember that even very senior ladies are not too grand to offer advice, and that everyone has had to overcome difficulties along the way. The shy girls who huddled with their friends at the start of the evening were more confident ladies by the end of it, mingling with other mentees, chatting with mentors, and lining up to take selfies with the senior ladies who suddenly felt like friends. Several of them wrote to me afterwards, telling me that they were inspired by the evening, and several of the mentors have also asked how they can continue to be involved. We will certainly do it again. I’m not complacent – there are many more young ladies who could use a shot of confidence and some practical ideas. And some very real hurdles for them to overcome as they embark on their careers. But if that evening made one girl determined to help someone else the next day, or next year, or in 2050, I count it a success.

And where’s my husband in all of this? He was a diplomat too, with a long and successful career.

But he eventually succumbed to girl power and left the Foreign Service. He’s returned to London to work – in a girls’ school…

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Not as bad…

male students as I arrived), I’ve never really believed that I was in any kind of minority. And, in any case, growing up in multicultural London, being in a minority didn’t seem to be a problem.

That probably sounds naive, although for many years it was true. I’ve been lucky. I have never experienced discrimination and I’m proud to work for a genuinely diverse organization, where ‘equal opportunities’ means exactly what it says, and where I’ve been able to combine my family and career with relative ease. I’m equally proud of the UK’s record on diversity and human rights and the effort we devote to promoting and supporting these values around the world.

photos by COURTESY

The first thing you see on entering the British Embassy in Budapest is our new “rogues’ gallery” – photos of former British Ambassadors to Hungary. They seem an impressive bunch – solemn, wise, some of them stern, a couple with a twinkle in their eyes, all of them smart and formal, most of them on the verge of retirement at the time the photographs were taken. And all male.

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people

people

THE ECUMENICAL VENTURE INTERVIEW WITH AVNIJA HAFUZI

referring to the fact that the statue, sponsored by a Muslim, is created by a Protestant artist and will be erected in front of a Catholic church.

“This project only proves that people, regardless of their religion, can live and work together in peace,” Hafuzi says. “This is a strong message in our chaotic world.”

According to Hafuzi, the project is part of the so-called ‘Original Dráva Program.’ This program includes complex initiatives of regional and rural development and aims to

provide a permanently sustainable development for the most underdeveloped areas of Hungary, such as Baranya county. “The Faculty of Humanities of the University of Pécs is involved in the program in multiple ways, so is Attila Illés, Program-Coordinator – it was he, who came up with the statue-project and asked for my help. The Faculty’s Associate Professor Ferenc Varga chose Balázs Hadházi’s design plan for the statue (out of three applications), while I started to look

for quality white marble. I found it in Ruskica, Romania, and transported the material to Pécs. The statue is ready now, waiting for its inauguration that will take place this summer,” the consul reveals, adding that the population of Dinnyeberki does not have a clue about the project, except for the Mayor, Tibor Szabó.

“We often become so caught up in our lives, we forget that there’s a whole world out there, and in that world, someone or something might

AVNIJA HAFUZI has lived in Hungary for more than 33 years. He is active in seeking business opportunities and promoting trade development between Albania and Hungary, hoping to enrich bilateral relations with special weight on tourism. “We have a beautiful sea coast with sandy beaches, hotels and apartment houses are springing up like mushrooms and road network is being expanded.

This has already resulted in a growing number of Hungarian tourists and it is also a great opportunity for investors to start development projects.” need our help,” Hafuzi notes as a bottom line. “Giving even a little can make a big difference. As a father of five, he is sure that his own sons and daughters will follow in his steps. As a member of the Visegrád Order of the Knights of Saint George, he acts like a real knight is supposed to act: helping wherever he can.

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DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, COURTESY PICTURE

“Become doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves with false reasoning. For if anyone is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, this one is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, and off he goes and immediately forgets what sort of man he is. But he who peers into the perfect law that belongs to freedom and who persists in it, this man, because he has become, not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, will be happy in his doing it,” reads the Bible (James 1:22-25). This I quote to Albanian businessman and Honorary Consul Avnija Hafuzi, who is well-known in Hungary as someone who practices charity on a regular basis. “The concept of charity exists in the Muslim, too,” Hafuzi smiles. “In fact, charity (Zakat) is one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith.

The Muslim belief in giving charity is derived from the fact that since God has created everything, then everything belongs to God. By giving support to those less fortunate than yourself, you are merely redistributing the gifts that God has given to you,” Hafuzi explains, adding that he is glad I came up with “something Christian,” as his latest project sponsors the creation of a Jesus statue. “It will be erected in Dinnyeberki, a small village near Pécs, where most people belong to the Catholic Church.” Hafuzi calls the project an ‘Ecumenical Venture’,

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economy economy.

PROMISING BUT STILL RISKY FUTURE

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS

FRESH REPORT ON SMEs PROSPECTS IN CEE BY ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT

EUCHAM PUBLISHES MONTHLY CHARTS ON EUROPE-WIDE ISSUES

A new report published by The Economist Intelligence Unit finds that the business environment for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is strengthening in several countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), particularly in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

However, businesses still face challenges in the administrative, regulatory and tax environments.

Key findings

CZECH REPUBLIC Despite low corporate taxes, the taxation system remains in need of a major overhaul, in order to ease administrative burdens. Moreover, red tape, for example in public-sector procurement, remains an issue.

However, the government has acknowledged these shortcomings and has initiated reforms to improve contract enforcement and general operational efficiency.

HUNGARY The country benefits from a favorable corporate tax regime. However, the risk of arbitrary legislation, such as sector-specific special taxes on large (mostly foreign-owned) businesses remains a problem. The government is supporting the manufacturing industries, film production and shared service centres.

POLAND A program of major regulatory reform is under way to open previously regulated professions in order to improve market competition. Regulatory changes and the introduction of tax exemptions

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will support SMEs as growth engines in Poland.

The growing outsourcing market is also offering opportunities, reflected in momentum for technology start-ups and service centres.

ROMANIA Businesses are benefiting from a strong economic recovery, driven increasingly by domestic demand. In urban areas, Romania has a skilled workforce and strong IT connectivity.

However, the general infrastructure remains deficient, the system of tax incentives is complex (despite a low general tax burden) and red tape is an issue, highlighted by a poor absorption rate of EU funds.

SLOVAKIA Compared with other CEE countries, Slovakia's tax burden is relatively high. Moreover, similar to the Czech Republic, streamlining the overall tax system has been slow. Slovakia’s economy is particularly driven by SMEs. Reductions in the administrative burden, improved credit standards and tax credits should boost opportunities for SMEs further.

HUNGARY DEFICIENCIES IN INSTITUTIONS AND TRANSPARENCY Sector-specific taxes fit a wider pattern of opaque, and often seemingly arbitrary, legislation. Fidesz has tended to sidestep advance consultation with industry and other stakeholders on tax or business-related legislation and rarely publishes impact studies—if any are conducted at all— leading to its decisions.

This leaves businesses with little insight, let alone input, into the drafting of legislation affecting them and is also contributing to increasing perceptions of corruption.

Using the two-thirds constitutional majority in parliament it won in 2010 and held until early 2015, Fidesz has taken over nominally independent institutions (by loyalist appointments), or reduced

- Macedonia achieved the highest place in improvement of GCI with over 9% post-crisis - Switzerland maintained the best GCI ranking during and after the global financial crisis - Iceland competitiveness declined drastically but still maintained its middle-tier position

their power to act as a check on government policy. Institutions thus compromised include the Constitutional Court, the central bank’s Monetary Policy Council and the Fiscal Council, neutering possible challenges to what might be unconstitutional or otherwise unsustainable economic policy.

SOURCE: eucham.eu/charts

New chapter in banking The area of government intervention with the biggest impact on Hungary’s economy is the banking industry. A government-imposed household foreign-currency debt relief program, likely to be completed by the second quarter of 2015, is estimated to saddle banks with losses of almost Ft1trn. Together with a banking tax and a financial transaction tax (though the latter is mostly passed on to customers), this could significantly constrain the lending ability of banks in 2015.

At the same time, the conclusion of debt relief could open a new chapter for banks, as the program (and the state’s new “bad bank” to take over failed real-estate project loans) will help ease a chronic bad-loan problem, allowing banks to lend more freely after 2015. Lower debtservice costs for households could lead to higher disposable incomes, translating into stronger demand for products and services.

The government has also pledged to lower the banking tax in the coming years, part of a wider effort to encourage lending to SMEs. That effort, in turn, is aimed at diversifying Hungary’s economic growth, which until now has been driven primarily by a handful of large automotive investments and state-run infrastructure projects. To help growth across a wider range of businesses, Hungary will divert some 60% of EU funds available to the country in 2014-20 to support investments by private businesses. This means that SMEs will receive around five times more support with investments than in the last funding period.

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EUCHAM CHART MARCH 2015 FDI NET INFLOWS PER CAPITA - IN USD

IMPROVEMENT 2015

RATE RANKING 1 MACEDONIA 9.08%. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 2 GEORGIA 8.52%. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 3 BULGARIA 7.63%. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 4 ALBANIA 7.45%. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 5 TURKEY 7.04%. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 ...

14 SWITZERLAND 1.70%. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 ...

38 ICELAND -7.28%. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS INDEX (GCI) OF WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, DATA 2008-2009 & 2014-2015 38 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES WERE CONSIDERED

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Business risks and opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe, commissioned by TMF Group, highlights that economic growth will be increasingly driven by SMEs in the region, which will continue to outpace the euro zone and wider EU. SMEs are benefiting from investment incentive schemes, improved funding opportunities and tax exemptions.

The report points out that the CEE region is seeing increased nearshoring (as opposed to offshoring) of manufacturing and service lines, particularly in Poland. Momentum for technology start-ups in countries such as Slovakia and Poland is rising.

Moreover, the growth of shared service centres continues to offer major opportunities in countries like Hungary and Poland.

Yet, businesses operating in the region continue to face major challenges. The report highlights areas such as excessive bureaucracy and sector-specific taxation. Red tape in public-sector procurement remains an issue in several countries. Despite low corporate taxes, taxation systems remain in need of reform. The risk of arbitrary legislation, such as sector-specific taxes, is a problem.

The main report looks at five CEE countries. For each of these countries, separate articles are also available for download: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

EuCham - European Chamber’s Competitiveness Index lists the countries based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) improvement from the global financial crisis in 2008 to the present. GCI is defined by the World Economic Forum as the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity (hence competitiveness and growth potential) of a country.

While Switzerland, Germany and Scandinavian countries are competitively dominant in Europe, the primary aim of the chart is to highlight the countries which experienced the biggest variations, including Macedonia, Georgia, and Bulgaria, in the overall score since 2008, in order to quantify the result of their effort to overcome the aftermath of crisis.

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economy

economy

MATCHMAKING of HUNGARIAN and KOREAN SMEs BIZ-TECH FORUM IN BUDAPEST PAVES THE WAY TO TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS CO-OPERATION

Endless possibilities in various sectors but no significant progress yet. That's how cooperation between SMEs of the two countries was characterized during the resent visit of a large Korean business delegation in Budapest. The Biz-Tech Forum was to make a big step toward a practical cooperation of enterprises.

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DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, GEORGII SHIPIN/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

The diplomatic and economic relations between Hungary and Korea have a history of 26 years and their joint activities in research, technology and trade are growing stronger. In the past few years, foreign investments coming from Korea reached 2 billion USD and Korean enterprises employed approximately 23 thousand people in Hungary.

That sounds good, but only the large companies benefit from this increase of volume and production.

When Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Korea last November, he called for strengthening co-operation among the SMEs and sought investments by the SMEs of Korea.

The visiting business delegation in April (47 people, including representatives of 19 Korean SMEs) was Korea’s answer to the Prime Minister’s request. It was a part of the follow-up measures of the summit meeting between the leaders, and it will serve as an important step in heightening bilateral co-operation in business and technology – Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) emphasized ahead of the forum.

The Korean delegation was headed by Woo Tae Hee, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, accompanied by the head of the Small and Medium Business Administration and a high level representative of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. Seven government agencies were also included, such as KOTRA, KITA (Korea International Trade Association) and KIAT

CO-OPERATION ON EU-LEVEL EUREKA and EUROSTARS Programs – in which both Hungary and the Korean republic – support international, market-based and innovative projects, in practically all fields of knowledge. Project participants are mostly enterprises, but research institutions can also collaborate as partners. Participant countries fund their own institutions using their own budget. The national calls to support EUREKA and EUROSTARS projects are expected to be published in the first half of 2015.

Hungary and Korea can also benefit from the Horizon 2020 Framework Program for Research and Innovation.

To reinforce co-operation, Korea and Hungary signed a science and technology agreement in 1989. Within the frames of the agreement a new bilateral call is to be published to support research mobility for the launch of prospective joint projects. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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A HUNGARIAN START-UP IN KOREA A good example of the earlier established fruitful collaboration is the success of a Hungarian start-up enterprise, Optoforce Ltd. in the Korean Republic.

The main profile of the enterprise is the research and development of optical force sensors; the company delivers precision sensors to numerous South-Korean institutions. Optoforce Ltd. currently intends to deliver the manufactured sensors to one of the largest South-Korean electronic concerns; these devices will be built-in in nextgeneration industrial robots.

(The Korea Institute for the Advancement of Technology).

In his speech, József Pálinkás, the President of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NRDIO), welcomed the fact that the co-operation is becoming more intensive between the Korean and Hungarian researchers, developers and innovators, as the Korean Republic establishes its European foothold in Hungary in the domain of research with the creation of a Korean-Hungarian research laboratory. The NRDIO intends to facilitate the process of setting up co-operations between each link of the innovation value chain through value-generating development and innovation programs. To ensure success, NRDIO will launch a bilateral call that funds research exchange between the two countries. EUREKA and EUROSTARS programs – this year cofinanced by Hungarian programs coordinated by NRDIO – also provide excellent opportunities to enhance Korean-Hungarian co-operations, and to launch joint innovation projects.

Speakers of the forum concentrated on scientific, technological and trade co-operation

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on the governmental level presenting plans to promote co-operation in the field of technology, investment and trade. In addition, a couple of notable Korean enterprises delivered presentations in their respective areas of cooperation.

Improvement required Some of the speakers mentioned the insurgencies, too. Among them was SangKeiun Lee, General Director for International Co-operation Division (KIAT) who said it was hight time to select certain sectors and projects and make direct contact between the business parties interested. Organizers of the forum (NRDIO and Korean Agencies) tried to answer this request by arranging an individual B2B business meeting session for enterprises.

Several Hungarian and Korean SMEs took part in the event as their first steps toward starting real businesses.

The participating Korean enterprises had a keen interest in the areas of technical cooperation and medical equipment market. Seven enterprises were interested in technical cooperation and would like to cooperate in the area of IT solution, chemical and technology commercialization.

Furthermore, four enterprises were interested in medical equipment and would like to cooperate in the area of medical camera and dental equipment. Moreover, there were enterprises interested in cosmetic products, industrial valves and auto parts.

Hungary: Bridge to EU-market The head of the Korean delegation, Deputy Minister Woo Tae Hee said, “Hungary is the first Central and Eastern European country to

establish diplomatic relations with Korea. Also, Hungary is playing an important role as a major hub of production and logistics which can pave a way for Korean companies to enter the EU market. Moreover, through Korea-EU FTA, the number of Korean companies making a serious effort to enter EU market will increase.”

According to KOTRA Budapest, more and more Korean companies are showing interest in the Hungarian market and the number of parts suppliers trying to build manufacturing plant in Hungary is increasing since many global enterprises are pressured to reduce costs after the global financial crisis in 2008. Currently, KOTRA Budapest is supporting seven Korean companies with their investment plans in the fields of medicine, auto parts and electronic parts.

PROMISING SECTORS 1. Auto parts 2. Medical equipment 3. Electronic parts 4. Cosmetic products

5. Industrial valves 6. IT-solutions 7. Chemical technology

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economy economy.

QUENCHING THIRST for KNOWLEDGE ERICSSON HUNGARY: PROMINENT ROLE IN CRAFT CONFERENCE 2015

Knowledge and skill-set in focus

“We enable change-makers.” 130 of Ericsson Hungary’s engineers and IT experts wore a T-shirt with this slogan on the back at CRAFT Conference 2015 held at the Várkert Bazár (Royal Garden Pavilion), the freshly renovated Neo-Renaissance building complex on the side of the Castle hill, from the Danube's Buda side riverfront up to the Royal Palace in the Hungarian capital.

Great venue, prominent speakers Such strong presence by Ericsson Hungary was justified not only by its weight in the electronics industry but also by being the co-organizer (together with Prezi and Ustream) and one of the main sponsors for the CRAFT Conference that took place on April 23-24. On these days, Budapest became

the capital of the software craftsmanship universe, as more than 60 speakers from 41 countries arrived here to address over 1,300 people who attended the conference this year. Since 60% of the audience was visiting from outside Budapest, Hungary, they especially enjoyed the venue, a real piece of historical beauty built between 1875 and 1883 according to the plans of one of Hungary's great architects Miklós Ybl. The place has a magnificent flower garden with fountains, grottoes, and guard houses.

The speaker line-up matched the prominence of the venue: it was full of celebrities including the founder of the Silicon Valley Product Group Marty Cagan, Programmer and Organizational Change Specialist Dan North and Management Professor and internationally recognized ‘Up and Coming Business Thinker’ Alf Rehn.

FIRST WITH ERICSSON'S TECHNOLOGY IN HUNGARY

A number of services were first launched with the help of Ericsson's technology in Hungary: In 1990, the first Hungarian analogue mobile telephone network. In 1994, Ericsson and Magyar Telekom were commissioned to implement a digital mobile (GSM) network. As a global first, in spring 2002, Ericsson launched MMS, the multimedia messaging service in Hungary. Ericsson and Magyar Telekom have also been the first to implement evolving levels of mobile Internet, including GPRS, EDGE, 3G and HSPA. Today, Ericsson Hungary is a supplier of the mobile network of the leading telecommunications provider: Magyar Telekom. January 2012, the first 4G/LTE mobile service was launched in the country using Ericsson technology on Magyar Telekom’s network. In April 2014 Magyar Telekom and Ericsson demonstrated LTEAdvanced first in Hungary.

relations, to promote the international integration of domestic research and higher education, as well as supporting secondary and university education.

In the case of elementary and secondary education, Ericsson Hungary is proud to have founded the Ericsson-prize in 1999 to honor teachers of mathematics and/or physics who make an exemplary effort in making these disciplines attractive and who help nurture talent. The ‘Professor Rátz Lifetime Achievement Award was established by Ericsson and two other Budapestbased companies – the architectural software designer Graphisoft and the pharmaceutical firm Richter – and is awarded annually to mathematics, physics, and biology and chemistry teachers in recognition of their outstanding achievements.

As Ericsson Hungary’s Managing Director, Roland Jakab put it, “with our more than 1,700 engineers, most of them software developers, and as the biggest R&D center in Hungary in the ICT area, we felt it really important to make this conference happen. We believe that such conferences are enablers to widen our developers’ knowledge and skill-set. We supported more than 130 of our engineers to take part in the conference – 10% of them ladies. We are dedicated to support our profession and enable change-makers. With such a conference, we can all learn from each-other.”

The speakers discussed which tools, methods, and practices should be part of the toolbox of a modern developer and company. The conference also encompassed talks of new technologies, trends, and of course, the future. Attendees had the possibility to learn from the best speakers and practitioners in the developer community. This year’s topics were carefully selected to meet the modern developer’s thirst for knowledge – microservices, functional programming, distributed systems, DevOps, data infrastructure, concurrency, infrastructure automation and software architecture, make up just a selection of the subject matter that was covered.

Research turns into practice Ericsson Hungary is the largest company in Hungary active in the area of telecommunication and information technology research and software development. In its activities, the ‘education - basic research - applied research industrial implementation’ chain is exemplary.

The company is engaged in multilateral cooperation on modern and scientifically current issues with different higher education institutions such as the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) or the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE). Topics related to Ericsson training have become an integral part of university curriculums. The results of the cutting edge technology research and development activities at Ericsson’s R&D division are, in turn, incorporated in the products and systems manufactured by the Ericsson group.

Currently, Ericsson is operating five laboratories at BME and ELTE. In addition in 2013, the EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology) ICT Labs Budapest Associate Partner Group was formed, which is a consortium of these two local universities – ELTE and BME – and their leading industrial partners in informatics and telecommunications such as Ericsson Hungary, among others. A unique feature of this EIT ICT Labs Budapest Associate Partner Group is that it builds on the innovative potential of the dynamically developing Hungarian SMEs.

The innovative spirit of Ericsson Ericsson Hungary is not only striving through its professionalism, but also through corporate social responsibility to support innovative, forward looking initiatives. The company considers itself a part of Hungarian society and culture and thus, it assumes the accompanying responsibilities.

When focusing on the future generation, it not only focuses strictly on the environment, but on the human aspects, as well. The innovative responsibility undertaking of Ericsson becomes a complete whole through its equipment and technologies on the one hand, through being a catalyst of knowledge management locally and finally through being a benefactor of contemporary arts.

As regards its own-felt responsibility for higher education, Ericsson Hungary is committed to the development of domestic education. It considers it a priority to strengthen international scientific

ERICSSON IN THE MOBILITY AND MULTIMEDIA CLUSTER

The Hungarian Mobility and Multimedia Cluster (MMCluster) is an example of a cluster initiative seeking to promote innovation. It was formed in 2007 to bring together the most dynamic actors in the field of mobile technology and new media in central Hungary with the aim of mixing and matching the R&D and innovation capacities in this new emerging industry and the objective of fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.

MMCluster has about 70 members and brings together a wide range of mobile technologies and new media service innovations that have been introduced by SME’s, local branches of multinational ICT companies, research institutions, young start-up companies and venture capital funds. Ericsson Hungary is chairing the Cluster currently.

PROGRAMS FOR FUTURE ENGINEERS

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OF ERICSSON

Ericsson Hungary participates in all major initiatives where the popularization of technical engineering and the natural sciences are in the focus. As the largest corporate partner and host of Researchers’ Night, Ericsson opens its gates annually, already for five times to the public. Each year demonstrations from Stockholm are brought to this program, there are always representatives of Ericsson’s university relations and also, the Hungarian Association for Innovation makes the event more attractive. There are two other events with string Ericsson presence where teenage girls are in the center: the Girls’ Day and the Skool Program, the latter being the main project of the Foundation for Technology Education. The aim of both events is to convince as many young girls as possible that it is worth choosing the technical profession. Ericsson is the founding member of Together for Future Engineers Association (EJMSZ) which aims to promote and raise the prestige of the engineering profession. Taking special programs and fun activities to high schools demonstrating what an engineer is doing as well as working out concepts to enhance the level of engineering higher education.

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real estate

PROPERTY INVESTORS IN A HURRY OFFICE TOWERS AND HOTELS CHANGE HANDS IN BUDAPEST

Hungary has managed to regain its previous position as an important market for private real estate investors as Arab institutional groups joined the club headed traditionally by old players, such as Austrian and Germans funds and wealthy individuals.

Investment breakdown

(commercial property, 2014, source: BRF) 35% OFFICE 29% RETAIL 13% INDUSTRIAL 23% HOTEL AND REDEVELOPMENT Investor appetite has gained momentum for Hungarian assets due to improving market conditions and attractive prices compared to Poland or the Czech Republic, making prime assets particularly attractive. Based on the latest transactional evidence, the prime office yield stands at 7.30%. Prime retail is at 7.25%

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SHUTTERSTOCK.COM: FRANCK BOSTON, IAKOR KALININ

Párizsi Court, one of the finest buildings in Budapest’s city center has recently been sold to a group of Arab investors. Another five star hotel will emerge there after a total refurbishment.Two office blocks and a logistic and office center changed hands early this year and a couple more commercial real estate deals are to close in the upcoming months in Budapest.

Experts say: Finally, Hungary is on the radar of the hungry foreign investors again.

Walking around Budapest, you might not even notice the changes except for the billboards on the front doors: " This property is to be converted into a hotel or a luxury apartment house". You can only rely on international real estate agencies who are involved in multimillion euro businesses and they are unanimous in saying that the Hungarian commercial real estate market closed a remarkable year in 2014. Hungary witnessed its second highest transaction volume since 2007 with a total volume of just over €580 million, out of which income producing assets represented around €450 million.

Among the various asset classes, the performance of the office market was especially convincing as vacancy dropped to the lowest level of the past 6 years while gross take-up broke record volumes. As usual, the most popular asset class was office, generating 35% of the total volume, followed by retail with 29% and industrial with 13%. The remaining share is accounted for by hotels and properties for redevelopment.

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and prime logistics now stands at 9.25%. ”In 2014 real estate markets across the CEE region – including Hungary - experienced outstanding performances. The annual investment volume of the region expanded by 27% YoY reaching nearly €7.9 billion. In Hungary, investment volumes increased by 80% on 2013, however we need to note that the 2013 base was relatively low with only €320 million” – added Rita Tuza, Head of Research at JLL. ”Although the latest changes in the retail sector specific legislation might have adverse consequences on the liquidity of nonprime retail assets in the immediate future, we expect a strong upswing in investors’ appetite for offices and logistics properties.

Based on the transactions in the pipeline, the growing appetite of investors (local and international players alike) and easier debt finance, we are confident that 2015 shall show a significant progression of activity and yield compression. We should reach a volume of at least €750 million, a 30% YoY increase over 2014” – commented Benjamin PerezEllischewitz, Head of Capital Markets at JLL. The search for yield is having a significant impact on European commercial real estate (CRE) investment according to CBRE’s 2015 Investor Intention’s Survey. As prime yields continue to decline across core markets in Western Europe, CRE investors are diversifying their investment strategies and moving up the risk curve. This diversification includes new

markets and also new ‘alternative sectors’.

Marco Hekman, CBRE’s Chairman of Capital Markets for EMEA highlighted in his positivetoned presentation that there is a continuous investor interest for European markets both from the US and the Far East. He predicted that money allocated to property might increase due to low interest rates, and referred to the increasing share of real estate in the portfolios of Norwegian and Japanese pension funds. In 2014 own equity invested in property surpassed the level before the crisis. Credit institutions are still cautious, but banks start financing property with growing debt to equity ratios.

“Hunt for yield makes investors look more thoroughly at non-core markets and this is beneficial for Hungary. Occupational fundamentals are strong and the economy is in a good shape, which gives comfort to investors.

Based on the risk-return profile, Budapest is very appealing with high initial return on investment. As we expect property values to moderately increase further, a wider range of investors consider an entry to Hungary than a year ago”, Lóránt Kibédi Varga managing director at CBRE Budapest commented.

A clearly higher appetite was monitored for offices in this year’s sentiment survey. However, there was also a noted preference this year for industrial and logistics assets, which is well in excess of the overall amount of investable stock, suggesting that demand is much greater than supply for this asset class. Interestingly, alternative sectors are attracting more money than last year. Real estate debt has seen the most dramatic increase in activity over the last two years, from under €10 billion in 2012 to €49 billion in 2014 and is set to remain the preferred alternative choice this year.

“In Hungary the market for alternative investments in the various sectors is less mature when compared to other coreEU markets. The lack of stock in this alternative investment sector limits the capital flow into such assets; however, CBRE foresee sectors such as student housing becoming a lucrative alternative for investors in Hungary. Interestingly, we are now seeing increased investor interest for real estate debt – specifically real estate portfolios – this alternative type acquisition is expected to grow in the short to medium term”, Tim O’Sullivan, Head of Capital Markets at CBRE Budapest analysed.

Change in sentiment has also led to a shift in the types of assets being pursued and a move up the risk curve. Investor preference for good secondary has now overtaken prime by a small margin. “In Hungary, there is a lack of available targets in the core segment due to recent years’ low development activity. Therefore we expect more investment outside of the core segment in Budapest, too. It will be interesting to see how investors will react to the asset management program of the National Bank as we feel the appetite is growing for such distressed properties again,” he added.

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AS INTERNATIONAL as POSSIBLE SZIGET PRESENTS THE LINE-UP OF THE MASTERCARD WORLD MUSIC STAGE

This year Szitizens can expect great music from all over the globe, bringing danceable tunes to the MasterCard World Music Stage. The internationally recognized program at the Island of Freedom venue will offer a wide range of acts, with a special focus on gypsy traditions this year.

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Line-up The 2015 line-up will have a special emphasis on gypsy music coming from all over the world.

Dhoad Gypsies from Rajasthan a collective of consummate, wise and spirited musicians, vocalists and dancers of all generations will arrive from India, while from Romania, Taraf de Haidouks, considered as the epitome of Gypsy music's fabulous vitality, will also hit the stage.

The Goran Bregovic Wedding and Funeral Band's music marries sounds of a gypsy brass band with traditional Bulgarian polyphonies, those of an electric guitar and traditional percussion with a curious rock accent, while Boban Marković is without doubt the bestknown Balkan trumpet player. Commencing their new concert season in Hungary, the world-renowned family brass band has achieved almost all a band can hope to achieve since its formation almost thirty years ago.

The Egyptian Project assembles world-class musicians who layer tasteful electronic rhythms beneath virtuosic playing. The project of Jérôme Ettinger and the debut album called Ya Amar is the most potent album to arise from this country since the political upheaval began.In addition, the Hungarian gypsy music scene will be represented by Romengo bringing the new Sound of Eastern European Gypsy music, and Parno Graszt playing traditional Gypsy music.

Besides the gypsy focus, classics from the world music world will also be present. ???As

the Portugese fado-star, Mariza, a Mozambican whose soul was forged in the old Mouraria district of LisbonSziget is proud to present the German brass band revolutionary LaBrassBanda and the most popular European klezmer band from London, She’Koyokh. Afrorock beats will arrive from Mauritania by Noura Mint Seymali and drawing also inspiration from the roots of Afrobeat, the Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble use their jazz experience to expand on Voodoo rhythms with a modern urban touch. Imam Baildi started sampling and remixing Greek tunes of the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. The group’s self titled first release reached number 7 and stayed 3 months in European World Music Charts. Roy Paci & Aretuska Allstars hatched a plan for one of the most sun-loving, funloving projects to hit the Italian music scene.

The trademark of the Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra’s has always been a steamy brew of Eastern European gipsy music and Jamaican ska, seasoned with a rebellious spirit. Arriving from France, HK & Les Saltimbanks mixes hip-hop, accordion, violin and a shy desire to carry the worker society identity. The “ethnochaos” of Ukraine’s DakhaBrakha, a group that feels both intimately tied to their homeland, yet instantly compelling for international audience will bring an unexpected, refreshingly novel vision of Eastern European roots music. Che Sudaka is known as a flagship group of Mestizo Music around the globe, while La Chiva Gantiva will arrive with a blend of Afro-Colombian M A Y

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rhythms with other styles of music they love: rock, afrobeat and funk. Formed by writer Rina Durante in 1975, Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino is regarded as Italy ’ s leading and longeststanding traditional music ensemble, hailing from the Salento, the heel of the Italian boot, in Puglia.

The Hungarian part Strengthening the Hungarian performers, Besh o droM blends folk and contemporary instruments (including cymbalon and turntables, for instance), in styles ranging from jazz to world music while LB27 was formed behind the iron curtain in 1985 when a few guys realized that Hungarians are hungry for the Caribbean which was missing from the musical scene. Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra (PASO) is the traditional ska ambassador to Hungary and one of the most energetic young bands with distinct Eastern European roots. Söndörgő is one of the most active and interesting world music groups in Hungary. Their aim is to foster and preserve Southern Slavic traditions of the Serbs and Croats as found in various settlements in Hungary. In addition, Szalonna és Bandája, will bring authentic Hungarian folk tunes to dance to.

To make the party never-ending: GypsySoundSystem, DJ Borzin, DJ Luca Vaga, DJ Lord Sassafras and DJ Tagada will supply the beats.

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The world music stage at Sziget has become a hot spot of the festival in Hungary for 15 years now. Many icons of the scene have performed here and the program has not only reflected the new trends of world music, but also the taste of Szitizens.

The MasterCard World Music Stage has now merged with Roma Tent, Afro-Latin Reggae Stage and the Hungaricum village stage, creating a hub for the lovers of world music.

Sziget Hungary has been a stronghold of the world music scene for decades and the organizing team is very proud of this mission.

The fact that WOMEX, the World Music Expo will be hosted by Budapest in October 2015 is another important step in the right direction.

Music fans will now have the chance to party at the World Music Main Stage during Sziget and return to the Hungarian capital later in the year to get a full taste of what’s hot in the world music genre. WOMEX Director, Alexander Walter, has added: "Sziget is an exceptionally important player in our mission to cross cultural borders – it represents a community and an audience that does not think in strict genre categories but is eager to see the world and explore its diversity. We're very happy to bring WOMEX to the CEE region for the first time, and to bring the global music scene here.

We want to help highlight the rich musical traditions and diversity of the region on the international stage."

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­­cculture culture

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ETOALL, ORSI BALOGH, ECCO/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM, MARIO DEL CURTO/STRATES, BENCE MÁTÉ, ÁKOS STILLER/HVG, COURTESY PICTURE

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4TH BREAD & PASTRY FESTIVAL MAY 9-10 AT THE BUDA CASTLE Without bread daily meals are unimaginable, but even so, our most important food is often “only” a side dish on the table. The aim of the festival is to line up the best Hungarian bakeries, presenting the rich traditions of Hungarian bread making and selected delicacies of the bakeries throughout Hungary. Visitors are invited to taste raveling loaf, rye and potato specialties, both traditional and reformed, with or without yeast. Besides the different bread types popular pastries are available, such as the popular ‘kakaós csiga’. This year, The Black Birds and the ABBA Sisters will step on stage to entertain guests. The venue is the Savoy and Halászó fiú terraces.

33RD HUNGARIAN PRESS PHOTO EXHIBITION

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UNTIL MAY 17 AT THE ROBERT CAPA CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY CENTER

ROXETTE CONCERT

COMPAGNIE 111 – AURÉLIEN BORY: PLEXUS

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MAY 19 AT PAPP LÁSZLÓ SPORTARÉNA

It has been 25 years since Roxette's breakthrough single ‘The Look’ entered the #1 position on the US Billboard Singles Chart (March 1989). ‘Listen To Your Heart’, ‘It Must Have Been Love’ and ‘Joyride’ also became Nr 1 songs in the US, which helped establish Roxette as one of the biggest pop bands of their time. Roxette has sold over 75 million albums -- a number which increases every day. With their impressive collection of hits, the duo ruled the charts throughout the 90's and well into the 2000's. After a long break, during which Marie Fredriksson recovered from cancer, Marie reunited with Per Gessle in 2011. With the album ‘Charm School’ and the single ‘She’s Got Nothing On (But The Radio)’ Roxette once again occupied the world’s top charts. The tour that followed this album took them around the world twice, and they performed for 1.5 million people during 153 concerts. Their newest European tour opens in Milan and will be followed by 27 concerts in 18 different countries. This tour will conclude during the band's 30th anniversary (2016) and has therefore been named ‘The XXX - Anniversary Tour’. www.livenation.hu

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MAY 8-9 AT TRAFÓ This is a scenic optical theatre that could well be a contemporary circus. “The way I intended to portray Kaori Ito mostly implied portraying her body: a study of the innermost marks her dance carved in her living body,” says Aurélien Bory.

This atypical director (and physicist) concentrates on the movement of body and image, turning it into pure theatre. In Plexus, he uses delicate brush strokes to outline the features of the Japanese performer Kaori Ito. A puppet-woman, encased in a cube pervaded with taut strings, she strives toward freedom in spite of hurdles, alternatively as a warrior and a fragile fugitive. www.trafo.hu

It was worded by the Rolling Stones decades ago: “Who wants yesterday’s papers, Who wants yesterday’s girl, Who wants yesterday’s papers Nobody in the world.”

Photojournalism is not art in this sense, because the pictures are mostly thrown – together with the daily newspaper – to the trash quite soon.

Also, with the volume of printing falling day by day; photographs are printed less and less in their original format. We can hardly see paged photo-stories highlighting the emphasis that help us to understand the events. The main objective of this exhibition’s organizer, Tamás Szigeti, is to present the press photographs and their makers, the photojournalists, as realistically as possible. He shows the setting and the design of newspapers and magazines on the walls of the Capa Center, showing the photographs in an environment as similar to their original and natural medium as possible. www.capacenter.hu/en

INDUSTRY DAYS – MACH-TECH

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20TH MUSEUM FESTIVAL – MAY DAY OF MUSEUMS MAY 16 - 17 AT THE HUNGARIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD More than 100 museums come together each year in May during this festival which allows visitors to take a virtual tour of each participating museum.

Plus, there will be plenty of entertainment, including live music, theater and dance shows. The Festival of Museums is a perfect family event. Visit the garden of the Hungarian National Museum for a day of cultural discoveries.

Admission is free.

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This event, which is well-known as a significant industrial exhibition, attracted 14,000 visitors from all over the world last year, with 358 exhibitors from 15 countries on 13,000 square meters. At the 2015 edition, besides MACH-TECH International Trade Exhibition for Machine Manufacturing and Welding Technology, the following themes and sections will be present: industrial electronics, electrical engineering, automation, energetics, pneumatics, hydraulics, pumps, compressors, sealing technology, supply industry, metal processing, chemical industry, plastic industry, rubber manufacturing industry, safety at work, fire protection, security technology, 3D printing, industrial logistics and industrial environmental protection. www.iparnapjai.hu/en

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best of budapest b best of budapest & hungary.

The 22nd Best of Budapest & Hungary Award Gala was held at the Boscolo Hotel Budapest to honor the individuals selected as the 2014 ‘Special Award’ winners. The event is one of the leading events on the hospitality industry calendar. This year brought special smiles to many in the industry as economic recovery and increased tourism brightened the sectors performance and outlook. Special guests Alexandra Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Deputy Mayor of Budapest and Dr. Ákos Niklai, President of the Hotel and Restaurant Association congratulated the winners alongside Peter Freed, founder of the Best of Budapest & Hungary quality assurance system, and Réka Alíz Francisck, Editor-in-chief of Best of Budapest & Hungary. Dr. Ádám Ruszinkó, Deputy State Secretary for Tourism sent his letter of congratulation and well wishes to the winners.

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CSÁRDÁS, ZSOLT VENCZEL, DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

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photos by FERENC

BEST OF BUDAPEST & HUNGARY AWARD GALA 2015

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1. József Bock winemaker - Lifetime Achievement Award 2. Thomas M. Fischer, director of Corinthia Hotel Budapest - Hotelier of the Year in Budapest 3. Ráchel Raj cake-designer Confectioner of the Year 4. Sándor Csíki - Gastroblogger of the Year 5. Szabolcs and Szilárd Dudás, owners of the restaurant Anyukám Mondta - Best Restaurateur in the Countryside 6.

András Wolf, chef of the Boscolo hotel, the New York Café and Salon Restaurant - Chef of the Year 7. Árpád László, owner of Robinson-Timeless kitchen, and the BRGR- street food chain - Restaurateur of the Year in the Modern category 8. Péter Katz, the manager of the Danubius Health Spa Resorts in the Bükk and in Sárvár - Best Hotelier in the countryside. 9.

Mihály Figula Jr. winemaker - Gastro-winemaker of the year 2014 10. Károly Rudits, owner of Lou-Lou - Restaurateur of the Year in the Classic category 11. Alexandra SzalayBobrovniczky, Deputy Mayor of Budapest 12. Ákos Niklai, President of the Hotel and Restaurant Association 13. Kinga Engelbrecht, director of Boscolo Hotel Budapest

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CSÁRDÁS, ZSOLT VENCZEL, DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

CSÁRDÁS, ZSOLT VENCZEL, DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

photos by FERENC

photos by FERENC

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gastronomy gastronomy.

French Kiss and Asian Touch to Seduce Budapest

BARAKA RESTAURANT RE-OPENS AT DOROTTYA PALACE

7 course tasting menu with wine pairing

The cocktail bar

Supervised by Zoltán Nagy, Baraka’s gastro cocktail bar offers Asian inspired dishes, creative cocktails and sumptuous late night desserts, all in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Try the Beef wellington spring rolls and the Zwack Negroni (Unicum szilva, gin, aperol)!

It’s not unusual to go to the opening of a restaurant. But when it’s one of your longtime favorite restaurants, known for fine dining and fine wines, the intrigue is overpowering. Since Baraka’s opening, in 2001, restaurateurs Leora and David Seboek have dared to live their dream. From a small back street location on Magyar Street to a stylish Andrássy Avenue venue, they have honed their skills.

It took the couple three years to find, design and build Baraka’s new home. Located in Palazzo Dorottya, a beautiful historic building that houses luxury apartments and prestigious offices, Baraka is officially back on the Budapest restaurant scene.

“Dining at Baraka has always been an experience to remember – and now we have found the perfect location to accompany it, a short walk from the banks of the Danube, between the Chain Bridge and Vörösmarty Tér,” Leora and David agree.

The design beats anything I’ve seen lately: it is elegant, sleek and

poised. Not over-done, pompous or ostentatious. From the outside, only the bar-area can be seen through huge windows opening on Dorottya’s pedestrian through fare, look for an outdoor terrace as the weather allows. The dining area is intimately secluded behind the bar, offering 38 seats and a view on the kitchen through huge smoked glass panels that allow guests to admire the work of Executive Chef Norbert Biró and his team. “What you can see, is the culmination of our vision and of many years of getting to know our guests and their needs,” Leora points out. “This is where we want to offer ‘The Ultimate Dining Experience, a

White shrimp carpaccio, coriander spinach pesto, coconut prawn velouté Etyeki Kúria, Sauvignon Blanc 2013 Scottish gravlax lightly smoked, granny smith apple, wasabi, cucumber jelly Pannonhalmi Apátsági Pincészet Pannonhalmi Prior 2013 – Rajnai rizling Sweet potato and leek ravioli, green curry velouté Kovács Nimród Pincészet, Chardonnay battonage Scallop, yuzu-buttermilk, tomato confit, candied egg yolk Bussay Pincészet, Zalai Tramini 2011 or Foie gras, vanilla-Tokaj meringue, red beet, raspberry Holdvölgy Pincészet – Vision 2013 Furmint, Hárslevelű, kabar Monkfish, piment d’espelette, zucchini Ráspi Pincészet – Soproni Zweigelt 2012 or

place for foodies. Our chef creates seasonally changing menus that fuse the flavors of the Far East and Europe, for delicious, unexpected, sometimes daring combinations,” David adds, and we agree, finishing our first course of the tasting menu. Slowly, as we go through the seven courses, I feel that food and gastronomy make sense here. The combination of ingredients indulge my taste buds in a creative way. Dining here is stimulating as the knowledgeable,

Rack of lamb, morel, figs, goat cheese Gál borpince – Tolnai Peznerg Kékfrankos 2012 Assortment of cheese Weninger Pincészet – Soproni Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Dessert variation Oremus pince Tokaji 3 puttonyos aszú 2008

but not overbearing service staff offer guidance and create a memorable dining experience. I encourage you to go for the degustation menu with the recommended accompanying wines as Sommelier Zsolt Bartalics has spent a great deal of time pairing wines that you will not find in other restaurants. Zsolt has assembled a dazzling assortment of Hungarian and international selections.

Our bottom line, welcome back Baraka, we missed you!

BARAKA RESTAURANT 1051 Budapest, Dorottya utca 6. www.barakarestaurant.hu reservations@barakarestaurant.hu +361 2000 817 OPENING HOURS: Restaurant: Mon-Sat 11:30-15 | 18-23 BAR: Mon-Sat 11:30-24

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SPRING PÁLINKA FESTIVAL MAY 7-10 AT VÁROSHÁZA PARK Following previous years’ selections of plum, apricot, sour cherry and pear, apple plays the leading role at this year’s Annual Pálinka Festival with the participation of Hungary’s best pálinka brewers and distillers. As usual, the gastronomic experience will be enriched with concerts and other Hungarian cultural programs. In addition to the 400 different pálinkas available for tasting, offered by up to 30 exhibitors, the ‘Pálinka of the Year 2015’ will be introduced. The production of this pálinka specialty, which is a perfect blend of the finest Hungarian apple pálinkas, is limited to 1,500 bottles.

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MAY 15-17 AT BÁLNA BUDAPEST This year's fest presents 35 Belgian breweries, up to 196 types of beer (55 on tap!), Belgian chocolate specialties and offers lots of fun, as usual, not exclusively for beer-o-holics.

Highlights will include the famous PALJAS Blond, Bruin and IPA, in additition to the Gulden Draak and Gulden Draak 9000 Quadruple. (Gulden Draak means Golden Dragon, referring to the golden dragon statue that sits at the top of the belfry in the Belgian city of Ghent.) In addition, the festival introduces the limited edition Duvel Tripel Hop 2015 to the Hungarian market.

BATÁR, COURTESY PICTURES

6TH BELGIAN BEER FESTIVAL

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hospitality

hospitality.

RUDAS SPA RECEIVES FIVE STARS FIRST BATH TRADEMARK AWARDED

From 21 service providers of 12 classified baths in Hungary the Rudas Thermal Bath and Swimming Pool in Budapest was the first one to get the highest, five-star recognition.

In 2010, the Ministry of National Economy and the Hungarian Bath Association started to elaborate the national certificatory trademark system. The new bath trademark fitting into the national trademark system is an expanded development of the Bath Association’s previous certificatory system.

The certificatory system, besides professional operation standpoints, also examines touristic criteria in rating the baths. It distinguishes between swimming bath, spa, wellness bath, adventure bath, and lido and also informs guests

about the quality of service. In the first round, 21 certificated service providers from 12 baths took part: 7 spas, 4 adventure baths, 7 lidos and 3 swimming baths. Based on the quality of their service, 12 received 5 stars, 8 received 4 stars and 1 received three stars. A trademark license agreement is to be signed soon.

Deputy Under-secretary Ádám Ruszinkó emphasized in his speech held at the ceremonial trademark handover that the trademark system has multiple benefits: besides informing the guests about services and quality, it also gives the

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L Á SZ LÓ SZ Ő KE , T H E GM O F B U D A P E S T S PA S A N D T H E R M A L WAT E R S LT D . , Á D Á M R U S Z I N K Ó D E P U T Y U N D E R SE C RE TA RY F O R TO URI SM ( M I N I S T RY O F N AT I O N A L E CO N O M Y ) A N D G Y U LA CZ E G LÉ D I E X E CU T I V E CH A I R M A N O F T H E H UN GA RI A N B AT H A SSO C I AT I O N

operators of the baths direction for development.

“The medical tourism based on natural health factors (medical water, medical mud, mofetta, medical cave) is a unique, internationally competitive product of Hungary. The services of the spas are a determinative corner stone of this supply.”

According to the data of the State Medical Office (Országos Tisztiorvosi Hivatal) 86 establishments have destination spa classification today. The number of visitors in the most frequented Hungarian baths was 31.1 million in 2013according to the estimations of the Hungarian Bath Association, which grew more than 3% in 2014. Among the visitors of Hungarian baths, 1.97 million arrived from abroad last year.

Their spending makes up 14.1% of the total spending of all foreigners visiting Hungary in 2014. Partly because of the Széchenyi Card (SZÉP kártya) and partly because of palatial expansions, the number of Hungarian guests has risen as well in the past years. The bath industry employs 11,600 employees currently; the whole revenue is more than 44 billion forints according to the professional association.

The aim of the trademark system is to stimulate the average growth of the service levels to enhance the competitiveness of the baths. “We believe that more and more operators will realize that the supervised quality level is a value that is going to pay off fast in the market,” Ruszinkó added.

2015.04.28

FL A M E S P R AY H U N GA RY K F T

Flame Spray Hungary Kft. 176.304.222 forintos uniós támogatást nyert a KMOP Komplex vállalati technológia-fejlesztés mikro-, kis- és középvállalkozások számára című pályázati kiíráson az Új Széchenyi Terv keretében. A több mint négyszáznegyvenmilliós összköltségvetésű fejlesztéssel technológiai és minőségi fejlődést lehetővé tevő nagy értékű eszközök beszerzése valósult meg, mely közvetetten új munkahelyek teremtését is jelentette.

Projekt azonosító: KMOP-1.2.1-13/B-2013-0155

Flame Spray Hungary Kft gained HUF 176,304,222 in EU funding from KMOP complex corporate technology development of micro, small and medium-sized businesses invitation to tender under the New Széchenyi Plan. The more than four hundred forty million total budget development allows not only technological and quality improvement but creating of new job places also.

Project Number: KMOP-1.2.1-13/B-2013-0155

SZIGETVÁRY/MTI

PRESS RELEASE PRINCIPALLY EUROPEAN UNION SUPPORTED TECHNOLOGICAL AND QUALITY IMPROVING INVESTMENT COMPLETED IN SZADA

A termikus szórással foglalkozó Flame Spray Hungary Kft. 2015 április 14-én befejezte a 2013. december 17-én kezdődött technológiai fejlesztést. A projekt során nagy értékű eszközbeszerzés valósult meg, lehetővé téve a vevők által támasztott magas minőségi elvárásoknak való minél tökéletesebb megfelelést.

photos by ZSOLT

SAJTÓKÖZLEMÉNY

BEFEJEZŐDÖTT A FŐKÉNT UNIÓS TÁMOGATÁSÚ TECHNOLÓGIAI ÉS MINŐSÉGI FEJLŐDÉST ELŐSEGÍTŐ BERUHÁZÁS SZADÁN

A cégről és a fejlesztésről bővebb információt a www.flamespray.org oldalon olvashatnak.

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Flame Spray Hungary Kft. - dealing with thermal spray technology - on 14th April, 2015 completed its technological development which began on 17th December 2013. During the project, high-value asset acquisitions were implemented, allowing high standards of quality requested by customers in the best possible compliance.

The detailed information about the company and the development you can read on its website: www.flamespray.org

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