Minister Malenica attends Competition Law and Policy Conference in Opatija

Opatija, 9 May 2024 - A sound legislative framework is essential for economic growth, free market and social cohesion, Justice and Public Administration Minister Ivan Malenica said at this year's Competition Law and Policy Conference in Opatija on Thursday.

The conference entitled “Meet to Compete - Competition Law and Policy Conference - Tools for New Rules” is being held on 9 and 10 May, organised by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Croatia and the Croatian Chamber of Economy (CCE).

Minister Malenica recalled in his speech that the European Union was created as a successor to the European Coal and Steel Community, set up to achieve deeper cooperation between Western European countries. Today, the EU is seen primarily as a political union rather than an economic and free market union. It is precisely for that reason that gatherings such as this one are needed, to remind us of the need for the economy to play a bigger role in public policy, as Minister Malenica explained.

The Minister went on to say that, in the past few years, the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration had initiated a number of new legal provisions to improve the functioning of commercial and administrative courts. Specifically, new tools were introduced which modernised and facilitated the process of registering new companies and, on the other hand, a method was established for verifying if the responsible person in a company has a ban on performing an activity, which has prevented other possibilities of abuse.

Another important novelty for business is last year’s establishment of the Centre for Peaceful Dispute Resolution, which has facilitated the resolution of disputes between parties by mutual agreement through a mediator. Moreover, the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is to be transposed into Croatian legislation, to steer companies towards sustainable development, as Minister Malenica said. 

In the introductory part of the conference, conference participants were addressed by President of the ICC Croatia Competition Commission Dunja Šimunić Mehdin, Secretary General of CCE and ICC Croatia Marina Rožić, President of the Competition Council Mirta Kapural and Chair of the ICC Global Competition Commission Francois Brunet.

The conference was also attended by members of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP), representatives of national competition authorities, OECD representatives, university professors, attorneys and other competition experts.

Text: Hina (translated)
Photo: CCE

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