Meeting with Ms. Nataša Mikuš Žigman, State Secretary in the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts

On 1 March, AmCham met with Ms. Nataša Mikuš Žigman, State Secretary in the Ministry of the Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts to discuss recommendations presented in AmCham’s position papers “The Human Capital Map as a Basis for Attracting Investments and Boosting Employment” and “Recommendations for Improving the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Protection in Croatia”. Ms. Mikuš Žigman was accompanied by representatives from the Agency for Investments and Competitiveness, the State Intellectual Property Office, the Ministry of Labor and Pension System, the Ministry of Science and Education, and the Ministry of Justice.

AmCham communicated that a number of potential investors were reluctant to invest in Croatia due to a lack of timely and precise information on human capital in specific counties or cities. A representative of the Ministry of Labor and Pension System informed that a web interface containing area-specific information on human capital in Croatia was soon set to be launched. It was agreed that, while this would be a positive step forward, more needs to be accomplished in order to ensure that potential investors ultimately choose Croatia as their investment destination.

An important issue in this regard is the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR). AmCham noted that adequate IPR protection standards were achieved during negotiations to join the EU, but they were unfortunately not maintained to a satisfactory level after joining. The State Secretary concluded that this was an important issue worth pursuing further, and requested a concrete paper listing the main obstacles to the implementation of current legislation on the protection of IPR to be prepared by the State Intellectual Property Office, in cooperation with AmCham. The paper will then be considered by Ms. Martina Dalić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts.