ZAGREB, 16 Feb 2022 - The Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (HOK) said on Wednesday that the government's package of measures for cushioning energy price rises would protect more than 200,000 jobs in the craft industry, but they also said the question was how much prices of products and services could be expected to decrease.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Wednesday unveiled an HRK 4.8 billion (€640 million) package of measures aimed at cushioning the impact of rising energy prices, with the measures including a lowered Value Added Tax (VAT) rate on gas supplies and some agricultural products, subsidised gas prices, one-off discounts on energy bills for pension recipients and other measures.
The HOK said the package of measures "is a comprehensive solution that will help the economy and citizens to overcome the crisis".
The Chamber welcomes government efforts to cushion the impact of several times higher energy prices. The unveiled package, they stress, includes HOK's proposals for measures for micro businesses, SMEs and craftspeople. This primarily refers to coupons for gas for which they will be able to obtain via an application to the Croatian Agency for SMEs, Innovation and Investments (Hamag-Bicro), they say.
Farmers will receive subsidies for purchasing artificial fertilisers, they said, and fishermen will receive HRK 50 million in subsidies for cushioning the increase in the price of blue diesel.
"The package of measures for cushioning the energy price rises will protect over 200,000 jobs in the craft industry," HOK underscored.
Noting that the package of measures enters into force on 1 April, HOK said that the question remained to what extent it can be expected that prices of products and services would fall since a large number of tradespeople were already suffering losses due to exponentially higher bills.
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