Business

American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia Demands Reforms

By 11 November 2017

One of the good examples for Croatia is US state of Delaware.

Representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Croatia met with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to discuss the possibilities for strengthening the economy and business environment in Croatia, reports Poslovni.hr on November 11, 2017.

The executive director and representatives of the AmCham Board of Governors highlighted the importance of the digitisation of public administration system, the development of the process for assessing the effects of regulations, and the improvement of the judicial system for achieving higher competitiveness of Croatia.

One of the investors’ frequent grievances concerns the speed and quality of public services delivery, which could be solved by the digitalisation of public administration system. AmCham, in cooperation with the Ministry of Administration, has organised a series of workshops for state administration bodies on the introduction of card operations to the common public administration infrastructure, which would enable a whole range of new e-services for citizens.

“The digitalisation of public administration system would improve the quality and transparency of services which public administration bodies provide to citizens and entrepreneurs. Such transformation would lead to simplification of doing business in Croatia, which would open opportunities for new investments and increase business security,” said Boris Bauk, first vice president of AmCham's Board of Directors. Consistency and predictability in the adoption of legislative acts have a significant impact on the stability of the business environment.

An open and inclusive access for stakeholders in the drafting of legislative acts, in addition to experts who are part of the public administration system, is necessary to create a more efficient system. Furthermore, the slowness of the judiciary and legal uncertainty are some of the most frequent criticisms coming from investors.

Settlement of commercial disputes is a category in which Croatia had one of the worst results in the most recent Doing Business report. The introduction of the obligation to resolve low-value disputes at specialised court departments with the participation of court advisers would contribute to the lowering the case burden for the legal system.

“Effective judiciary as the backbone of every effective economic system has been recognised by the AmCham members as one of the most important factors. Due to the efficiency in solving commercial disputes, the US state of Delaware is home to many US and international companies operating in America,” said Andrea Doko Jelušić, the executive director of AmCham.

AmCham Croatia gathers more than 220 American, Croatian and other international companies, employing more than 67,000 people in Croatia. As the oldest foreign business chamber in Croatia, AmCham has been providing active contribution to the improvement of business environment through advocating for best business practices and offering a number of recommendations for positioning Croatia as an attractive investment destination.

Translated from Poslovni.hr.

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