I am very glad to see that all chambers of commerce and business associations responded so quickly because all of us are at the service of our members
In order to find how Croatian business club has organized their activities, we spoke with Marija Radulović, President of the Croatian Business Club. “The bottom line is that small and medium-sized businesses, of which many of them are our members and are engaged in the service sector, providing marketing services, catering, distribution and retail, are not big enough to survive this state of emergency and the new sudden situation that ensued, nor do they have such accumulation of financial means that they can withstand such situation that we don’t know even how long it will last” she said.
How did you organize your business activities?
Following the Serbian government’s decree about the declaration of the state of emergency and organizing work from home for employees, we started adhering to this decree immediately and implemented it the very next day. We all started working from home and continued communicating with our members and each other.
Together with other business associations, you have sent a letter to the Minister of Finance. What do you expect to happen after that letter? What measures could the Government of Serbia implement to ensure economically viable conditions for doing business?
I am very glad to see that all chambers of commerce and business associations responded so quickly because all of us are at the service of our members, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises that need the most help at this moment, which is why the chambers have anticipated the moment and sent a written initiative to the Minister of Finance, Mr Siniša Mali.
The bottom line is that small and medium-sized businesses, of which many of them are our members and are engaged in the service sector, providing marketing services, catering, distribution and retail, are not big enough to survive this state of emergency and the new sudden situation that ensued, nor do they have such accumulation of financial means that they can withstand such situation that we don’t know even how long it will last. Hence, they have to be entitled to tax breaks (first of all, deferral of payment of VAT and various other taxes) to the degree that they don’t have to lay off their workers.
How are you spending your private time during the pandemic?
Probably like most of the working people who have had that luck that they can work from home and spend more time with their nearest and dearest. I am very happy that my daughter managed to arrive at the very last moment and that all my family members are now together. We enjoy spending time together.
What will you do first after the state of emergency is cancelled?
Well, just like most of the people in the country, I cannot wait for life to go back to normal in every segment. Privately, I would like to go on holiday to the seaside if that is possible. In terms of business, I would like to gather all our members just to see where they are at and what can we do to help them. I also hope that we can properly celebrate the 4th birthday of Diplomacy&Commerce magazine.