Having attended the OECD Forum in Paris, President of the PanSlovenian Shareholders' & Investors' Association (VZMD), Mr. Kristjan Verbič, - as part of the 49th tour of the international business-investor programs of VZMD - Invest to Slovenia (investo.si) and International Investors` Network (investo.international) - left for the Spanish city of Malaga to attend the Innovation Festival and the annual congress of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN).

At the Paris headquarters of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the traditional OECD Forum entitled “Bridging Divides” this year took place. The central focus of this Forum is predominantly the question of what divides us and what unites us. As OECD put it, the year of 2016 was characterized by increasing populism, nationalism, and historically low level of trust. Hence the centerpiece of the Forum is the need for policies winning back the confidence of those who feel left behind, fearful of the impact of globalization, increasing migration flows and unprecedented speed of technological development. The two-day forum will be followed by the Ministerial Council Meeting.

Cannes, France, is currently hosting many events on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the film festival, which are not attended only by visitors but also by many representatives from the international business world. On this occasion, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, the President of the PanSlovenian Investors' & Shareholders' Association (VZMD), also received invitations from some of the most renowned representatives from the fashion and film industry. In the past few days, he has attended many meetings, screenings and receptions.

Yesterday, South African city of Durban hosted the "EU - South Africa Dialogue on Sustainability Transition: The Role of Circular Economy" international conference, which was also attended by the PanSlovenian Investors` & Shareholders` Association (VZMD) President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, who was a member of the delegation led by the European Commission. The delegation consisting of over 40 members and led by Mr. Daniel Calleja, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Environment at the European Commission, met with numerous representatives of institutions and companies from South Africa as well as from surrounding countries, since Durban simultaneously also hosted the "World Economic Forum on Africa". On this occasion, the VZMD President spoke with many conference participants and important guests (in the photo with Ms. Edna Molewa, the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs, and delegation organizers)

The PanSlovenian Investors' & Shareholders' Association (VZMD) invites all interested business entities, institutions, projects and individuals to participate in the numerous activities part of international business-investor programs Invest to Slovenia (investo.si) and International Investors` Network (invest-to.net). In the last four years alone over 35 international tours were successfully carried out which ensured the presence and efficient presentations at over 100 business conferences and investor meetings on five continents.

The official two-day visit by the President of the Republic of Poland, His Excellency Andrzej Duda, to Slovenia finished on Monday. On this occasion, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (GZS) hosted also POLISH-SLOVENIAN INVESTMENT FORUM which was attended by many Slovenian and Polish business persons, economists, and diplomats. The forum opened with the ceremonial signing of the collaboration agreement between the Polish town of Miedzyzdroje and Slovenian town of Isola both represented by their respective mayors. The forum was also the meeting place for exchanging business-related experiences in Slovenia and Poland by the following attendees: managing director of Trimo Trebnje, Mr. Maciej Radomski, Executive Director of the Foreign Investment Department Invest in Poland, Mr. Adam Malecki, Partner PwC and auditing services manager for Eastern Europe, Mr. Pawel Peplinski, president of the Polish-Slovenian Business Club Triglav-Rysy, Mr. Matej Hojnik and the chairman of the Board of Armeton Group, Mr. Denis Vodopivec and others.

On Tuesday, the European Parliament adopted a revised Shareholder Rights Directive proposed by the European Commission in 2014 highlighting that the directive came as a result of previous experiences and that for the stable Europe economy the focus should be shifted from delivering short-term returns to long-term success. As it were, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Slovenia at the same time introduced a bill on judicial relief granted to holders of qualified bank credit based on the order by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia which will be subject to public consultations for 30 days - however, it is quite obvious at the first glance that it is sadly yet another blow for the legal certainty of the expropriated Slovenian investors and their right to efficient remedies - more on this in the next days after a more thorough analysis by VZMD's expert associates has been conducted.

After the coalition deputies succumbed to the particular interests of the financial industry and confirmed the controversial proposal for the amending act to the Financial Instruments Act (ZTFI-G), the the PanSlovenian Investors` & Shareholders` Association (VZMD) would like to notify shareholders and the general public that the amended ZTFI-G did not block the "Share SUPPORT", despite the obvious motives of those making the proposal; instead, the scope of options available to minority shareholders has increased.

The National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia confirmed the proposal for amendments to the Financial Instruments Act (ZTFI-G) at their meeting on 15 February 2017. The two-hour long discussion again - as was the case at the meeting of the Finance and Monetary Policy Committee (VIDEO) and the Committee for the economy, craft industry, tourism and finance (VIDEO) of the National Assembly and the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia - focused only on the disputable Article 25 of ZTFI-G, VZMD's (PanSlovenian Investors` & Shareholders` Association) arguments and proposals, their "Share SUPPORT" and the proposals for its amendments proposed by the government coalition, Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), United Left (ZL) and New Slovenia (NSi). After voting had taken place it became clear that the coalition deputies succumbed to the narrow interests of the financial industry and the unrestrained greed of the intermediaries and large corporations. A day before the meeting, the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, again addressed a letter to all the deputies with warnings and arguments against the planned legal intervention.

The prominent Viennese and international attorney, Mr. Eric Breiteneder, founder and owner of the law firm Breiteneder Rechtsanwalt GmbH last week visited Slovenia for business and pleasure at the invitation of President of the PanSlovenian Investors` & Shareholders` Association (VZMD), Mr. Kristjan Verbič. Mr. Breiteneder is a renowned expert in capital markets and protection of investors' rights, one of the founding members and the communication officer of the International Financial Litigation Network (IFLN), and he also closely collaborates with the American organization The American Association for Justice (AAJ).