On Tuesday, March 17, 2015, in the study hall of the University Business Academy in Novi Sad, the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to the Republic of Serbia, His Excellency- Mr. Gordan Markotić, delivered a lecture for the students of the Faculty of Economics and Engineering Management, entitled: “Experiences of Croatia in the early days of its EU membership”.

In his lecture, Ambassador Markotić emphasized that the experiences of Croatia, which joined the European Union as the 28^th member country in July 2013, after almost a decade long negotiations process, can be extremely valuable to Serbia in its accession negotiations. Mr. Markotić added that Serbia is probably bound to walk the same path as Croatia, the process which consisted of 35 chapters of accession talks. So far, around 115 seminars and workshops have been organized in joined efforts of the Government of the Republic of Serbia- European Integrations Office and the Republic of Croatia- Center of Excellence within the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. During these workshops and training seminars experts in the field of European integrations passed on their experience and expertise. The whole process ran smoothly in terms of language, since there are no communication barriers between our two countries and we both share the same legislation, as well as political, cultural and social heritage. We share the same way of thinking- his Excellency, the Croatian ambassador explained.

Ambassador Markotić also talked to our future intellectual elite about the Croatian road towards the EU, as well as experiences after becoming full-fledged members of the EU. Mr. Markotić emphasized the complexity of the whole process, but also stressed the numerous benefits that joining the EU brings. Ambassador Markotić was personally directly involved in accession talks between Croatia and the EU, especially during Chapter 23. Mr. Markotić pointed out that it is necessary to continuously adjust the system, not only in terms of introducing new legislations in accordance with the Acquis Communautaire, but also their consistent enforcement and application in practice together with the implementation of European standards.

Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Engineering Management, Prof. Dragan Soleša Ph.D., said that it was a great pleasure and honor to welcome such renowned guest speakers and maintain the continuity of academic lectures (e.g. by Mr. Michael Davenport, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia; His Excellency - the American Ambassador in Belgrade, Mr. Michael Kirby etc.).

Prof. Dragan Soleša Ph.D. used this opportunity to make an exclusive announcement to the media that our Faculty of Economics and Engineering Management (FIMEK), applied for the European project entitled “Professors as the key factor of success- Development and understanding of digital competences in the Western Balkan countries- DIGIPEC“, together with the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, University of Budapest and two other higher education institutions from Bosnia and Herzegovina. That makes seven universities from five countries in total. It was a nice coincidence that only several days after sending in the joint application of FIMEK and the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb, our guest speaker at the University Business Academy was Mr. Gordan Markotić, who delivered a lecture on the topic of faster integrations and Serbian road towards the EU.