According to results of a survey, conducted simultaneously in Croatia and Slovenia in early September by the SPEM Communication Group, Croatian managers place greater expectations on the admission into EU regarding the business results than managers in Slovenia.
The survey covered 150 Croatian managers in companies with more than 250 employees and 150 Slovene managers in companies with more than 200 workers.
In Croatia, 45 percent believe that conditions for business activities will improve after Croatia enter the Union, and 28 percent think the conditions will remain the same. Most of those optimistic Croatian managers are people aged below 30.
In Slovenia, 60 percent of the respondents say that business conditions have not altered since Slovenia joined the Union earlier this year. More than one fifth (22 percent) say the conditions for their companies have improved.
In Slovenia, 11 percent of the respondents say the conditions for their companies have worsened since May 1, as against 18 percent of the respondents in Croatia who fear that conditions for their companies will become less favourable with the country's admission to the European bloc. Most of those 'pessimistic' Croatians are managers aged above 50.
It is interesting that 42 percent of the Croatian managers, covered by the survey, believe that the developments in Brussels have an impact on their business decisions while only 10 percent of those covered by the survey have their offices or representatives in the administrative capital of the European Union. An additional 10 percent cooperate with agencies or individuals in Brussels. Even 80 percent of the Croatian respondents follow the developments in Brussels through the media