Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) president Ivica Mudrinic said on Tuesday the private sector had borne the brunt of the crisis and reduced the number of employees and the capital because the conditions of doing business were insufficiently good for investments.
The public sector has not been restructured yet and the necessary reforms have not been carried out, without which it is difficult to create investment conditions, he said in a break of the ProInvest conference.
The government should be encouraged to continue with activities to facilitate doing business and intensify efforts in creating conditions for investing, attracting capital and creating an economic turnabout, said Mudrinic.
He said some obstacles had been removed but that conditions for doing business remained complex for the private sector because of many non-tax levies, the excessive tax burden and bureaucratic obstacles.
Mudrinic said the HUP welcomed the fact that the government was finally clearly stating the components of its economic policy, but urged reforming the public sector as soon as possible.
He said business people were hopeful and optimistic but there was no vision of overall social development or a sector strategy.
Croatia's accession to the European Union on July 1 could trigger a turnabout, he added.
