CROATIAN EMPLOYERS: GOVT MEASURES INDICATING GOOD DIRECTION

ZAGREB, June 6 (Hina) - The measures taken so far by the Government are indicating a good direction but economy is still burdened with major problems. Following some positive signs regarding economic growth in the first quarter, most economic branches will again show visible recession, the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) Council said on Tuesday, adding it expected the government to resolve economic problems in a more systematic and consistent manner. According to the HUP, the government's main mistakes and failures regard respect for the law and the Constitution and transparency of operation as well as corruption, which has continued, HUP director Zeljko Ivancevic told reporters. The HUP believes the government has opened Croatia for international trends and made positive changes to laws on income and profit and the Law on Value Added Tax, which are aimed at stimulating economy, but it does not believe this is enough. According to the HUP, the government should offer solutions for the problem of illiquidity, secure the functioning of the law-based state, adopt a new approach toward the monetary and loan policy and continue creating tax and economic preconditions for initiating development and reducing unemployment. However, those measures must not be hasty, Ivancevic said. Croatian employers support an analytical and responsible approach to changes to some economic laws so that their mutual inconsistency is avoided. This is especially important in two delicate areas - the revision of privatisation and the Labour Law, Ivancevic said. (hina) mm rml