Josipović: The Economic Council is not a gathering of tycoons

At today’s first meeting of the Economic Council of the President of the Republic, the working methods and topics that this body will address were agreed upon, in which President Ivo Josipović appointed a number of prominent Croatian entrepreneurs.

The Council will serve as a kind of public forum, as a new style of political and economic communication, stated President Ivo Josipović after the meeting. I do not expect choral singing from the Council, but rather a constructive polyphony, said Josipović, announcing that the first working meeting will soon be held, focusing on one or two topics. This is not a gathering of tycoons, but socially responsible individuals, entrepreneurs who bear the responsibility for managing our economy, said Josipović, reminding that he will also establish a Council for Social Justice.

We have established that, despite all the problems of the Croatian economy, the situation is manageable. It requires decisiveness, courage, and trust in our own strengths, emphasized Josipović. The participation of entrepreneurs in the President’s Economic Council should not be politicized, and the Croatian Employers’ Association continues to communicate directly with the Government through the Economic-Social Council and the National Council for Competitiveness, as well as through bilateral talks, emphasized the president of Atlantic Group, Emil Tedeschi.

It is an honor and a duty for me as a citizen that the President invited me to the Economic Council, and no consensus should be expected from this body, as it represents different economic schools, economic branches, and business and economic interests, said Tedeschi. He also dismissed the interpretation that the council is a place for pressure on the Government, asserting that employers do not need to send messages to the Government through the President of the Republic.

At today’s meeting, the issue of investments was discussed, with entrepreneurs warning that the model of investing from the public sector has been exhausted, so private sources need to be sought and foreign investors attracted. Special attention was given to the problem of unemployment, today when 500 to 700 people lose their jobs daily, as well as the issue of corruption and the question of competence at all levels, it was stated after the meeting. (H)