President of the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) Gordana Deranja has been elected vice president of BusinessEurope, one of the largest independent employers' associations in Europe that advocates the interest of employers in the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, HUP informed on Monday.

BusinessEurope, a European social partner, advocates the interests of small, medium-sized and large companies in 35 European countries.

Deranja’s term as vice president of the association will last until 30 June 2021.

Deranja was quoted in the HUP’s press release as saying that it is a great honour to be recognised as the person for that responsible position and that she will not betray the trust she is enjoying.

“As president of the Croatian Employers’ Association, it is my duty to strongly and clearly articulate the interest of Croatian employers and to fight for their rights and a better business climate in the country, which is something I have been doing all these years with satisfaction and I am glad that now I will have the opportunity at the European level to be engaged even more strongly on those issues and in that way impact on stronger recognition of Croatia’s business community in the world,” she said.

HUP is a member of several reputable international organisations including BusinessEurope, the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), the European Association of Crafts and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEUnited), UN Global Compact and 12 other European industrial associations.