Deputy Prime Minister Dalić thinks that Croatia is an excellent candidate for the euro.
The government and the Croatian National Bank (HNB) believe that it is a good time to launch the eurozone accession process for which Croatia is an excellent and natural candidate, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Martina Dalić said on Wednesday, reports Večernji List on October 11, 2017.
“The government, together with the HNB, believes this is a good time to initiate the eurozone accession process, which is our medium-term goal which cannot be accomplished in the short term or overnight. The Croatian National Bank has prepared an analysis of the costs and benefits of joining the eurozone, and at the end of this month we will start the public consultation process on the issue,” said Dalić in an interview with the Croatian public radio.
She also added that Croatia's entry into the eurozone is one of the obligations which the country had assumed when it joined the European Union in 2013, but also that Croatia was the country whose financial system structure makes is an excellent candidate for the euro. “Croats mostly save in the euro, more than 80 percent of saving deposits are in the euro, major transactions, real estate purchases and car purchases are negotiated in the euro. The euro has long been part of our everyday life,” she said.
Croatia is, therefore, said Dalić, an excellent and natural candidate for the eurozone, which could bring significant benefits. “Positive economic trends and a reduction in the budget deficit, a fall in the interest rates and low inflation, all this allow us to talk about meeting most of Maastricht's criteria at this time. We are also closer to fulfilling those criteria which we do not fully meet at this time, and that is the level of debt. However, at this point, it is important that we have a decline in debt,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
Inevitably, Dalić was asked about the events regarding Agrokor. She answered that the crisis would probably end up with a settlement. “The Law on Extraordinary Administration is clear; the extraordinary administration process can end with a settlement between creditors and the company, with bankruptcy, or with a court making a decision to stop the procedure, which implies that the owner will resolve the problem. The most obvious outcome is the settlement because all creditors and suppliers have a chance to have their debts repaid only if the system functions,” said Dalić.
“More than 95 percent of these loans were given on the basis of financial statements which we now see were not realistic. Rational thinking for all creditors is to reach a settlement and ensure the repayment of their claims,” Dalić concluded.
Translated from Večernji List.
