ZAGREB, 12 May 2022 - Croatia has so far taken in 18,000 Ukrainian refugees and the problem with the current energy crisis caused by the Russian aggression is that it is not known how long it will last, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday addressing a conference of young European leaders.

"The problem with this crisis is that nobody knows how long it will last and instruments of control of energy product prices are weak," the PM said in his address at the European Young Leaders (EYL40) conference, speaking about the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"In fact, we do not have global mechanisms to control prices of energy products," he said, stressing that a common European solution to the crisis was necessary.

Unlike the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected only a fragment of the population, elderly and at-risk groups, the energy crisis is affecting everyone because "99% of human activities" are connected to energy products, he said.

The Zagreb conference was attended by some 40 successful individuals from all around Europe - parliament members, business people, astrophysicists, athletes and artists, among others, including Sarajevo Mayor Benjamina Karić.

Speaking of the Russian aggression, Plenković said few people had expected it to happen and that it was interesting that intelligence data from Western allies had proven "completely precise."

The Russian attack has caused a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, with close to six million having left the country and 13 million having been internally displaced, and, together with the energy crisis, it has caused wider political instability, Plenković said.

"We do not know if the aggression on Ukraine will be the only or the last aggression," he warned, mentioning in that context developments so far in the east of Europe, notably Georgia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Belarus.

He said that Zagreb's official position is one of full solidarity with Ukraine and that so far 18,000 Ukrainians had arrived in Croatia.  

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ZAGREB, 18 Feb 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday that the package of measures for cushioning the electricity and gas price rises, worth HRK 4.8 billion, was a wise state intervention that would, as of 1 April, protect citizens and a large part of the economy from rising energy prices.

"This way, we are showing the government's readiness to make a wise intervention that benefits citizens in key moments," Plenković said, talking about the package of measures at a government session.

The measures apply to all citizens, a large part of the economy, especially micro and macro businesses, and special measures have been introduced for socially vulnerable groups, as well as for pensioners, farmers, and fishermen, the prime minister said.

"In addition to the caps on the prices of petroleum products, we have made a good, clear framework which also involves tax relief, social transfers, and subsidies, and which will cushion the price rise as of 1 April," he said.

The prime minister also said that over the past two days, based on well-prepared documentation for the European Commission, it had been decided that the deadline for using the money from the European Solidarity Fund for earthquake relief in Zagreb would be extended for another year, from June 2022 to June 2023, to overlap with the deadline for the use of money allocated for the earthquake in Banovina.

He said that he now expected "intensive work and dynamics of the reconstruction process" in order to use that money and engage other sources and ensure as soon as possible that the reconstruction process would accelerate.

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