The president of the Management Board of Varteks, d.d., Zoran Košćec, and the president of the Management Board of Čateks, Damir Vitez, signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement between Varteks and Čateks in Varaždin today with the aim to link primary production and to establish partnership relations between the two companies for a joint appearance on the domestic and foreign market.

The strategic alliance between Varteks and Čateks represents a proactive measure aiming to protect indispensable jobs and to strengthen cooperation between the two largest textile companies in Croatia by using their own resources as fundamental cornerstones to create prerequisites for a competitive market appearance and public procurement procedures.

On 9th February 2011, the European Commission presented a Green Paper which proposes major changes to EU research and innovation funding to make participation easier, increase scientific and economic impact and provide better value for money. The changes, to be introduced in the next EU budget after 2013, would bring together the current Framework Programme for research, the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme, and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.

Faculty of Textile Technology (TTF) University of Zagreb in cooperation with The Scientific Council for Technological Development of Croatian Academy of Science and ARTS (HAZU), Croatian Academy of Engineering (HATZ) and Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship organizes, for the fourth time, International scientific-professional conference TEXTILE SCIENCE AND ECONOMY (TZG). Conference is intended primarily for business people in the field of textiles, clothing, leather, footwear and accessories, and this year is being held with the frame of reference:

Consumer concern over environmental destruction has turned organic cotton into a hot commodity for top textile brands from Nike to Levi Strauss."There's a paradigm shift in the textile sector," said John Mowbray, editor of the magazine Ecotextile.

"Three years ago sustainability was not on the agenda," Mowbray said. "Now a lot of retailers and brands want to move regardless of what their suppliers think. They think consumers want transparency. Brands are driving change."

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to establish whether measures granted by Greece between 2007 and 2010 in favour of United Textiles S.A., a company in financial difficulties, are in line with EU State aid rules.

In particular, the Commission is concerned that United Textiles received aid repeatedly since at least 2007, in breach of the EU rescue and restructuring guidelines. In addition, the Commission aims to investigate whether some of the measures could have transferred an undue advantage to the company's lending banks. The opening of an in-depth investigation allows interested third parties to comment on the measures under assessment. It does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.