Peter Hasslacher, a representative of the Austrian Chamber of the Economy and advisor on trade with the Austrian Embassy in Zagreb, said at the meeting that a survey covering European companies investing in Croatia showed that apart from red tape, investment was also being hampered by corruption, an inefficient judiciary and legal regulations.
Austria is the leading foreign investor in Croatia. From 1993 to the end of this year's first quarter, Austria accounted for 28.7 percent of all foreign direct investments which amounted to 11.6 billion euros.
Last year's trade between the two countries amounted to close to USD 1.7 billion, with Croatian exports amounting to USD 628 million and imports from Austria slightly more than a billion US dollars.