April 13, 2023 - Croatian tourism has always been an interesting point of discussion. And while the new national currency made some things simpler, it might have come with some complications.

As Poslovni / Glas Istre write, the introduction of the euro in Croatia not only enabled Croats to better understand the relationship to prices in other countries, and to conclude how expensive it is here, but also for foreigners to do the same. So these days in Slovenia, the prices in the neighbouring tourist country, where usually they love going, have become a point of discussion.

They are particularly active in the Facebook group "Kampiranje je zakon", where a photo of a receipt from a restaurant in a Poreč camp was published. A Slovenian woman ordered a glass of wine and two scoops of ice cream and paid 24 euros, that is, 180 kuna.

A similar thing happened to the famous Slovenian restaurateur who runs the Lars & Sven burger bar chain. A few days ago, he visited Umag and shared a photo of a bill from a tavern on Facebook. He paid 28 euros, or 210 kunas, for one serving of calamari.

"Lijepa naša, no thanks. What's worse, the calamari were not from the Adriatic at all," wrote Primož Novak, adding that perhaps the time had come to sober up.

Horrified Slovenians also published the prices of drinks and crepes at ordinary stands. So they noted that a single crepe with Nutella in Poreč cost 6.50 euros, and a beer in one of Poreč's restaurants cost 5.10 euros.

"This is sick. I think we will have to go back to the habit of the old days when we just brought everything with us," the comments read.

And in the end, the Slovenians state that all this is just the beginning, that is, the pre-season. They're wondering what the prices will be during the actual season.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated News section.

March 31, 2023 - Since Croatia joined the eurozone and the euro became the official currency, Croatian ATMs would only give out 10- and 20-euro notes. That is about to change this Saturday, and it will be possible to withdraw 50- and 100-euro notes.

After a few months since the introduction of the euro in Croatia, new banknotes will be available at Croatian ATMs from Saturday in the denominations of 50 and 100 euros. So far, in most cases, notes of 10 and 20 would be paid out, write RTL / 24Sata.

The denominations in which money will be issued depends primarily on the model of the ATM.

"If there are two cassettes, they are usually filled with two denominations. Then, for example, we have 20 and 50 euros, and then the algorithm determines how many fifty and how many twenties will be given, depending on the amount to be withdrawn," says Tihomir Mavricek, Executive Director of the Sector for cash from the CNB.

In other words, the number of cassettes dictates the number of different denominations. And how many banknotes can fit? Depending on the denominations, around 600.

"If it's a smaller model, there are fewer cassettes. The amount of 10 and 20 euros that was inserted was emptied very quickly, and that is why there is a need to increase the value in ATMs, and that is why banknotes of 50 and 100 euros are inserted," says Lidija Stolica, president of the Croatian Guild of Security Guards.

In addition to the fact that Croatian ATMs are adapted to the euro, stronger protection is provided.

"Colour is spilled over the banknotes, which is not washable, it is recognizable in any use, and such a banknote cannot be used for payment on any payment devices," explains Stolica.

More than 4,000 Croatian ATMs are currently operating, and in a month, their number will increase by at least one and a half thousand, primarily for the upcoming tourist season.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated News section.

March 8, 2023 - The introduction of the euro in Croatia only affected the prices in January and February relatively mildly, by 0.4 percentage points. This is similar to the experiences of other countries that introduced the euro, shows the Preliminary analysis of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Croatian National Bank (CNB).

As Index writes, the analysis was published in a blog post titled Has the Euro Changeover Caused Extra Inflation in Croatia?

The blog authors Matteo Falagiarda, Christine Gartner, Ivan Muzic, and Andreja Pufnik found that the January increase rates of the price of goods were in accordance with historical patterns in the past ten years. In contrast, service prices have on average, increased more than in the past years in January 2023. In February, however, none of the components of inflation deviated significantly from the historical average, the CNB reported today.

"65 percent of prices remained unchanged"

The authors point out that the official increase rate of the Harmonized Consumer Price Index in January compared to the previous month was only 0.3 percent. In February, it was 0.2 percent compared to January, classifying Croatia among the countries with the lowest monthly price increase rate in the Eurozone.

From the analysis of microdata on retail prices, it has been observed that the proportion of attractive prices (such as "0.99") decreased significantly, with about 98 percent in kuna to about 45 percent in euros, as a direct reflection of the fact that in January, prices have not changed much, so expressed in euros they were no longer at attractive levels (e.g. "0.99").

Specifically, as many as 65 percent of prices remained unchanged in January compared to December, and out of the remaining 35 percent - 25 percent of prices was reduced, as some retailers rounded off prices at lower levels when remodeling from kuna to euros, they say in the CNB.

The perception of inflation lowered after the introduction of the euro

The impact of introducing the euro on the perception of inflation and inflation expectations was also analysed. Contrary to the previous experiences of members of the eurozone, where the perception of inflation increased the most during the introduction of the euro, in Croatia, this perception decreased in January compared to December and remained stable in February, while inflation expectations have significantly reduced in both months.

The reduction of the perceived inflation was most influenced by the decrease in energy prices, which outweighed the possible negative effect of the introduction of the euro on the perception of inflation, they say in the Central Bank.

The authors conclude that despite the more challenging inflationary environment, the impact of the introduction of the euro on consumer prices in Croatia has so far been relatively gentle and in accordance with the experiences of other countries that have already introduced the euro as an official currency.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated News section.

February 2, 2023 - The first data on January inflation in Croatia indicate that the introduction of the euro, like in other countries, has not significantly impacted overall inflation, according to the Croatian National Bank (CNB).

"Movements in January suggest that the introduction of the euro in Croatia could have had a relatively mild impact on overall inflation, which is in line with the experience of other countries," the CNB's statement says. It is added that, following the experience of other countries, the increase in prices after the introduction of the euro is probably most apparent in the service industry. For a final assessment of the price increase after the introduction of the euro in Croatia, it is necessary to wait for detailed data for January and the next few months, according to the central bank, as reported by Index.

Prices are almost 13 percent higher than in January 2022

After Croatia's entry into the euro area, Eurostat and the State Statistical Office published today for the first time a rapid estimate of inflation in Croatia. According to these data, in January of this year, compared to January of last year, prices were higher by 12.7 percent on average and compared to December, they remained the same.

On a monthly level, compared to December last year, food, drinks, and tobacco are 1.3 percent more expensive, services were inflated by 1.1 percent, industrial non-food products without energy are estimated to have decreased in price by 2.1 percent, and power by one percent.

"The decrease in prices of raw materials also contributed to the slowdown in inflation."

CNB says that the slight slowdown in inflation in January is in line with their expectations based on the reduction in the prices of oil derivatives and assessments of the slowdown in the annual growth of food prices.

"The decrease in prices of raw materials on the world market, visible since the middle of last year, as well as the gradual elimination of the remaining bottlenecks in the supply chains, contributed to the slowdown of inflation. On the other hand, the significant effects of weakening economic activity are not yet visible," says the CNB.

Bearing in mind indications of easing of inflationary pressures at the global level, as well as statistical elements in terms of the favourable effect of the base period, in the continuation of 2023, they expect a further gradual slowdown of the annual inflation rate, although it will remain elevated for some time.

"However, it should not be ignored that the risks of future inflation outcomes being higher than projected are still considerable," the central bank says.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated News section.

January 11, 2023 - Since the euro was introduced as the official currency in Croatia, there has been a series of price comparisons of products in Croatia and other countries, especially Slovenia. Lidl Croatia explained to Večernji why the prices are different. They point out that the formation of prices in a country is influenced by numerous factors, from the amount of the VAT rate, excise duties, and product analysis costs to logistics costs and the like.

Index compared Lidl prices in Slovenia and Croatia in detail.

"In the case of comparing prices in Slovenian and Croatian Lidl, the VAT rate on food in Slovenia is 9.5 percent, while in Croatia, the rate is 5 percent for some products (bread, fresh meat, and fish, eggs, fruits, and vegetables, edible fats and oils, baby food, pads, and tampons, which make up about 10% of our total assortment), and the rest is 25 percent," they state, as reported on Index.

"Regarding the comparative account from both Lidls, which was published in several Croatian media, 8 out of 10 products from the said account from the Slovenian Lidl have a tax rate of 9.5 percent, and in Croatia, 25 percent. This is a difference of 15.5 percentage points. Furthermore, Croatia pays a return fee on PET packaging of 0.07 euros, which is reflected on products such as mineral water and juices," states Lidl.

Fuel price

They further note that gasoline and diesel are cheaper in Slovenia, which makes a difference in the logistics costs for the delivery of goods. At the same time, they note that Croatia is geographically significantly larger than Slovenia. "It is demanding in terms of transportation due to the specific geographical shape, and the logistics also include islands, which is an additional challenge," they state in the press release.

"Some of the factors that led to global disturbances are the prices of raw materials, the availability of goods, the rise in logistics prices, the rise in electricity and gas prices and general costs such as maintenance, the impact of the war in Ukraine and, consequently, high inflation. The retail prices of certain products rose in line with the growth of purchase prices and other factors that influenced movements in global markets, " they state.

"We would like to emphasize here that we did not blindly transfer the increase in the input prices of our suppliers to our customers but corrected the prices with extreme care and concern, precisely so that we would not allow our customers to feel the full weight of the inflationary pressure that appeared," it is further stated in Lidl Croatia's explanation.

They also claim that Lidl Croatia did not increase prices during the switch to the euro.

"Prices of products from Lidl's regular range have been converted from kuna to euros according to the rules of mathematical rounding (without unjustified price increases) in favor of the customer. Also, to confirm a transparent relationship with customers, Lidl has joined the Code of Ethics, which determines how business entities act for a reliable and transparent introduction of the euro to create trust and a safe environment for consumers. Within the scope of the inspections so far, no unjustified price increases have been found in Lidl Croatia," they said.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.

January the 10th, 2023 - Croatian politician Kreso Beljak, who has been the President of the Croatian Peasant Party since back in 2016, has openly admitted to crossing the Slovenian border to do his shopping since the euro Croatia price increase issue has become so apparent.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, while appearing as a recent guest of N1 studio, the President of the Croatian Peasant Party, Kreso Beljak, commented on the situation that is currently on everyone's lips - the very obvious euro Croatia price increase. Beljak says that he isn't surprised by any of these price increases: "Prices of items are determined by the market, and I'm not surprised that prices have risen. Obviously, the demand is like that. It's a simple rule of the market economy - the higher the demand for something is, the higher the price for it will be,"

That said, he made no effort to hide the fact that he thinks that the difference in prices between Croatia and neighbouring Slovenia is no less than shameful: "Personally, it doesn't matter to me or the people in Samobor if we go to Zagreb or Slovenia to do our shopping. In Slovenia, instead of 100 euros, I spent 70. My wife was on the phone to be back in Samobor comparing the prices. It's shameful,'' Beljak stated.

However, and rather surprisingly, Beljak doesn't really blame Plenkovic for this situation. "This situation is unsustainable, but to blame politics for it in the 21st century in a market economy, well... that's what we wanted in the 90s. We wanted the market to determine the price, not for the state to conduct it all. I do blame Plenković for another situation, though, he tries to get involved with things that politics shouldn't be involving itself with. The political spectrum should be dealing with the growth of salaries, pensions, tax relief, the reduction of levies and so forth. Plenkovic and HDZ do none of this. And that's another reason why our purchasing power is weak."

"If someone wants to buy something - that's a matter of the market. The market forms the prices, not the state. The state is there to ensure a higher salary, to make so people are able to buy more in such cases. The state needs to reduce the taxes and levies so that net wages rise, and as such, peoples' purchasing power."

When asked about blacklists for companies taking advantage of the euro Croatia price increase trend, Beljak explained: "Now it can be seen that certain omissions have been made. I think the intention was good in regard to giving people a period of two weeks, which now turns out to have complicated the situation even more. The euro should have been introduced on January the 1st, 2023, and kuna should have immediately been made so it exchanged for euros in banks for a period of one year."

"In general, I'm talking about a system that doesn't work, about an HDZ that doesn't work. It's hard to expect that such a party that simply doesn't care about people in the slightest would even think of doing anything to help or protect them. Plenkovic is now busy rubbing his hands together, and so is his finance minister, because every euro Croatia price increase is an increase in VAT and a bigger payment into the state budget,'' Beljak concluded, noting that HDZ wants more money for ''uhljebs''.

For more, make sure to check out our news section.

January 9, 2023 - Euro Croatia: although their wages are twice or three times higher than the Croatian average, the Germans, the French, and even the neighbour Slovenians spend 30, and for some products, up to 40 percent less money than Croatians for a variety of grocery items.

Slobodan Školnik, an expert on retail prices, comments on the reasons why: "Because our weak economy has to bear the heavy burden of an inefficient public sector and the state, which is too expensive for an economy at this stage of development, and all of this must be incorporated into prices and the lower standard of citizens."

If we take 450 grams of coffee as an example, we will pay 2 euros and 30 cents more in the same retail chain in Croatia. Croatia will be more expensive with cheese, where the difference is one euro and 72 cents. Eggs are 90 cents cheaper for our neigbours, ajvar 86 cents, and pasta is 56 cents cheaper. We would pay 11 euros and 75 cents for these five items in Slovenia and more than 18 euros in Croatia. This is a difference of almost six and a half euros for only five products, write Danas.hr / Poslovni.

Lower tax burdens

"It depends on supply chains, it depends on importers, distributors, who do their calculations; I don't think it's a problem with traders," says Ivica Katavić, president of the HGK Trade Association.

Many factors influence the differences in price, and cheaper shopping in Slovenia is primarily due to lower VAT.

"Slovenia has a lower tax burden on most products of daily consumption, the basic VAT rate is lower than in Croatia, especially food products rates, they are 9.5 percent, so significantly lower than in Croatia.", says Damir Novotny, an economic analyst.

An aggravating factor is that Croatia has almost completely neglected the processing industry and is dependent on imports, which further increases the price of food and high logistics costs.

"This means it is easier to supply the Slovenian market than the Croatian market. There are significant differences in prices between, say, Osijek and Dubrovnik - in some places, it will be three times more expensive due to logistics costs," adds Novotny.

So, going to the grocery store for basic groceries seems more and more like a luxury game.

"Some follow, some don't. Some make a mistake and set a price that is too high and then have to correct it, but sooner or later, the market solves everything where there is competition, and in Croatia, there is fierce competition", adds Školnik.

The problem could be that, at least for now, none of the retailers are announcing lower prices, but quite the opposite – a new wave of price increases.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.

January 7, 2023 - Euro Croatia: almost a week after Croatia's entry into the euro area, the transition to the euro is progressing well in the initial phase, according to a survey by the European Commission (EC), the executive body of the EU, which assesses this event as an important turning point for Croatia, the euro area and the entire union.

As 24Sata writes, they report that the majority of cash payments (51%) in euros in stores were made on January 5.

"In the majority of transactions, as many as 93%, the change was returned to consumers exclusively in euros, 35% of the surveyed Croatian citizens stated that they only carry euro banknotes, and 36% of them only euro coins", according to a survey carried out by the EC representative office in Croatia.

According to the Eurobarometer survey, on January 5, six percent of the 199 respondents had Croatian kunas in their wallets, five percent mostly kunas, 19 mostly euros, 35 had only euros, 27 percent had half kunas and half euros, and eight percent had no banknotes.

The withdrawal of kuna banknotes and coins from circulation began in December 2022, and by December 31, 55% of kuna banknotes and a third of kuna coins had already been withdrawn from circulation.

The EC states that the Croatian retail sector copes well with the transition process and the parallel use of two currencies.

"No major problems with waiting in lines or problems with the cash registers were reported. Conversion at ATMs also takes place smoothly, with 70% of all ATMs in Croatia already distributing euro banknotes from the first hour of the new year. The commission pointed out that the number and scope of withdrawals remained at levels comparable to those before the transition to the euro".

The commission stated that it will continue to monitor Croatia's transition to the euro and will continue to measure the experience of Croatian citizens in connection with the transition to the European currency in the coming weeks.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.

January 5, 2023 - Euro Croatia tackling dirty play - at today's session, the government adopted a conclusion calling on everyone, from retailers to restaurateurs and craftsmen, to return their prices to the level before the conversion to the euro. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković pointed out that such price increases represent dirty play and profiteering.

"We warned there would be a negligible price increase; it was like that elsewhere. But what we are witnessing is something else. This is unjustified, pure profiteering, dirty play, and we will strongly oppose it with the Government's measures in the coming period," the PM said, as reported by 24Sata.

He called on all competent institutions to expose unfair practices from the State Inspectorate and Tax and Customs Administration.

"We will do that, and when I say measures so that there are no dilemmas, I also mean subsidies and other taxes. The government will not sit back and watch this without a reaction, and everyone who thinks that in this situation they can cast a shadow from an extremely positive and useful thing with their irresponsible business policy or harm the strategic success of the state, the government, society and all of us, they will not succeed", he said.

The Prime Minister called on all business entities to distance themselves from those who unjustifiably raised prices.

"With the conclusion of the Government, everyone is invited to immediately revise the prices to those before January 1, 2023, at the end of December. All departments are tasked to strengthen supervision, the Ministry of Economy to take all measures to collect complete and accurate information on price monitoring, the Ministry of Agriculture to collect food and product prices", said Plenković.

He stated that the purpose of the euro is not for someone in a crisis to get rich unjustifiably at the expense of citizens.

"We will not welcome any phenomena that lead to an increase in inflation, but we will sanction and fight against it with all mechanisms to protect consumers and ensure fair business practices," he stressed.

"In this period, all authorities will contribute to uncovering unfair practices. The state inspectorate, and the tax and customs administration, will be given a specific task to act as soon as they see irregularities - said the prime minister and called on everyone to revise the prices and return them to what they were at the end of December - he added.

Minister Davor Filipović presented the Government's measures against price increases.

"All business entities, including credit institutions and other financial service providers, and all those who have raised prices against the law are obliged to revise the retail prices of their goods and services and that they be determined by the price level as of 31 December", said Filipović.

"The inspectorate, tax, customs, ministries, CNB... are tasked to implement increased supervision of entities within their jurisdiction without delay", he said, adding that the Ministry of Economy will monitor prices and offer price comparisons at various entities.

He called on the Ministry of Agriculture to immediately collect the prices of agricultural products.

Chief State Inspector Andrija Mikulić was also present at the Government session and reported that they had intensified monitoring of received consumer complaints. In terms of dual pricing, before introducing the euro, inspectors found 1,744 violations of the law from September to the end of 2022. From January 2 to 4, the inspection was carried out by more than 200 inspections in trade and service industries.

"Bearing that business entities freely set the price, inspections have begun based on the applications received. From January 2 to 4, the inspection carried out over 200 inspections in the area of retail trade, including bakeries and service industries. These were mainly hairdressing services, body care, and maintenance services. According to the first results, an increase in prices was determined. In the shops, a price increase of 3 to 19 percent was recorded for chocolate, baked products, beer, coffee, and chocolate... We will determine if this is unjustified. If this is established, misdemeanor measures will be taken", said Mikulić.

"Most submissions concerned bakeries, hairdressers, and body care services, where price increases have been confirmed. In the shops, some subjects raised prices from 3 to 19 percent for chocolate, bakery products, beer, butter, sour cream, toilet paper, coffee, and other items. If they determine that it was unjustified, in accordance with the law on consumer protection, they will be prohibited from engaging in unfair practices and will be subject to misdemeanor measures. In service activities, the price increase there, unfortunately, ranges from 10 to even 80 percent", said Mikulić.

In the last two days, out of 306 inspections, 96 violations were found, which is 31 percent, and the inspections continue.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.

January 3, 2023 - Euro Croatia is here. It is its third day. And Croatian citizens have started complaining about massive price increases. Social networks are full of various examples of price increases after the introduction of the euro, whether it is for shops, various services such as hair salons, or parking fees.

As Index writes, what most of the complaints have in common is the rounding up. So, for example, if something cost HRK 13, it is possible that someone "rounded" it to two euros, which is significantly more expensive.

A group was opened on Reddit yesterday, where hundreds of people write about price increases and give examples. "Men's haircut at a local hairdresser cost HRK 60. I came a couple of days ago. He said he would round up to 10 euros to make it easier for both of us," wrote one user. "Coffee with milk in the cafe where I've been going all my life jumped from 12 to 15 kunas," wrote another.

Index received photos from shops by users claiming that the same things cost significantly less just two days ago. Index is currently working on verifying those allegations.

>> If you suspect an unjustified increase in the price of a product or service, contact them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Prime minister's meeting yesterday

Yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković convened a meeting with competent ministers and inspection authorities.

As the Prime Minister stated in a message published on Twitter, he held a meeting with competent ministers and representatives of the Tax Administration, Customs Administration, and the State Inspectorate related to further activities to protect consumers from unjustified price increases.

"The introduction of the euro is not a reason to increase the prices of goods and services," said Plenković.

Filipović called an urgent meeting. 

At Plenković's meeting with the ministers and the heads of the Tax Administration, Customs Administration and the State Inspectorate, it was agreed that Economy Minister Davor Filipović would invite representatives of retail chains to the meeting.

The meeting, unofficially confirmed to Index by a source close to the government, should be held today.

"The consumer must not be in a worse position than they would have been if the euro had not been introduced."

What is considered an unjustified price increase that caused Plenković to react? Here is what is written on the official government website Euro. hr.

"According to the principle of consumer protection, it follows that the consumer must not be in a less favourable financial position than he would have been if the euro had not been introduced. As in all other situations, in the period of dual pricing, it is necessary to correctly and accurately apply the rules of conversion and rounding, which means that the price must be correctly calculated and stated, i.e. the informative calculation in the currency that was or will be official must accurately reflect the price charged to the consumer and must not be rounded up or down.

The ratio of expressed prices in kuna and euro must correspond to a mathematical operation, i.e., the rules of conversion and rounding by applying a fixed conversion rate in its full numerical amount."

"The mere introduction of the euro must not be and is not a justified reason for increasing product prices."

The page states that this means explicitly that from the beginning of the period of mandatory dual pricing until the day of the introduction of the euro, for the purpose of informing consumers, the price charged in kuna must be recalculated and displayed in euros, with the correct application of the fixed conversion rate and the rules for recalculation and rounding.

The key principle of the introduction of the euro is consumer protection, and the consumer must not be in a financially less favourable position than he would have been if the euro had not been introduced. The mere introduction of the euro must not be and is not a justified reason for increasing product prices," the EURO HR website concludes.

Knežević: People complain the most about coffee price increases

Index asked the president of the Consumer Protection Association, Ana Knežević, what information she had about price rounding and the resulting price increases.

"We have concrete information; people are calling and complaining. The highest price increases are around coffee. We received a report that in one place coffee is two kuna more expensive because of this rounding of prices," Knežević told us.

"This happened in all the countries that entered the eurozone; we saw it in Slovenia, Austria, Italy... We warned that Croatia would not be an exception. In the mentioned countries, too, coffee prices changed the most. In our country, we now see that there were price increases in bakeries as well".

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.