ZAGREB, 13 April, 2021 - The ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) caucus said on Tuesday that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan was a developmental document that is based on necessary reforms and that its objective is Croatia's overall economic development.

HDZ whip Branko Bačić told a press conference in Parliament House that with that document Croatia received the highest amount of all EU member states according to its GDP. "And that is one of the indicators that one loves Croatia through deeds and not words," claimed Bačić.

He underscored that there is no strict difference between funds for the real sector and public investments because both sectors have to interact with the aim of developing Croatia's economy.

HDZ MP Marko Pavić explained that the plan relates to one-quarter of the €24.5 billion that Croatia has negotiated with the EU for the next 10 years, which is twice as much as Croatia had until now.

Pavić rejected opposition claims that not enough funds were foreseen for the private sector.

Croatia is near the top of EU countries with regard to allocations for the private sector, about one-third are direct allocations and more than half are indirect through public procurement, he underscored.

Direct allocations for the private sector in Spain, Portugal and Estonia, for example, are at 30%, in Lithuania between 10 to 20 percent and nothing in Germany, he added.

Pavić: Government is open to suggestions and constructive proposals from the Opposition

Andrej Plenković's government has shown that it knows how to obtain funds and that it has the creativity and know-how to use those funds, claimed Pavić and added that the government is open to any suggestions and constructive proposals from the Opposition.

Referring to the one-off COVID supplement for pensioners that the government announced on Monday, Bačić denied that this was a pre-election move. "Any measure can be considered to be a pre-election move regardless of when it adopted... The COVID supplement has occurred now when the government reached an agreement with its partners," he said.

Bačić commented on the initiative for stricter penalties for Ustasha symbols, reiterating that the HDZ advocates a comprehensive rule for the use of symbols of all totalitarian regimes.

Defending the use of symbols of just some totalitarian regimes opens new ideological debates and arguments that do not contribute to anything, and the only way to approach the matter is to have an equal distancing from all undemocratic totalitarian regimes, he said.

The use of the 'For the Homeland Ready' needs to be banned except when wartime units commemorate events in which their fellow fighters were killed, he added.

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ZAGREB, 13 April, 2021 - MP Sandra Benčić of the green-left bloc said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković was "lying that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan is completed," adding that it was an unambitious and incompetent programme which recycled 20-year-old reforms and projects.

Speaking to the press, Benčić said that MPs, who are due to debate the document on Wednesday, received only its summary because experts were still fine-tuning it.

She said the plan contained no links between investment in innovation and investment in the economy.

"The lack of ambition and incompetence of this programme is extremely worrying," Benčić said, adding that the plan would not help the economy and society to either recover or become more resilient to either climate change or other challenges of the 21st century.

Homeland Movement: Plan shows government has no daring for brave decisions

The whip of the Homeland Movement party, Stjepo Bartulica, said the summary of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan showed that the government lacked the daring for brave decisions and that Plenković had once again failed to adopt a serious strategy.

Bartulica said he saw no willingness for structural reforms and that the plan should have given more consideration to the demands and remarks by the enterprise sector as it was the one creating added value.

He said the plan also reflected no will to reform the health system, adding that the problem in healthcare was not doctors' expertise but how the system was managed and the monopoly of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund.

Speaking of totalitarian symbols, Bartulica said either all should be outlawed, including those of "communism and the totalitarian Yugoslavia," or that they be allowed as free speech.

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ZAGREB, 13 April, 2021 - The Bridge party on Tuesday criticised the government's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, noting that investing in the public sector will not finance economic recovery but rather cause new scandals and clientelism.

"Each kuna invested in the private sector will yield a return of four kuna and each kuna invested in the public sector means a maximum return of one kuna, if the money is used efficiently, which in Croatia is not the case," Bridge MP Zvonimir Troskot said at a news conference.

He said that he condemned the stigmatisation of people who think critically about the National Recovery and Resilience Plan as "people whose patriotism is dubious."

Ruling HDZ MP Grozdana Perić last week said that those who criticise the National Recovery and Resilience Plan "do not love Croatia."

"Grozdana Perić and the prime minister's special advisor on economy, Zvonimir Savić, are not the only economic strategists. There are the Institute of Economics, the Croatian Employers' Association, the Entrepreneurs' Association as well as independent economists who are saying that the National Plan is not good," said Troskot.

"If entrepreneurs are again disregarded, we won't have money for wages, pensions or COVID allowances," he said.

Bridge against banning "For homeland ready" salute

Bridge MP Nikola Grmoja commented on initiatives to ban the Ustasha salute "For the homeland ready."

"As regards the insignia of the Croatian Defence Force (HOS), that is a legal unit of the Croatian Army. We are not for bans but rather for education and clear distancing from all totalitarian regimes, Fascism, Nazism and Communism alike," said Grmoja, noting that one should not link HOS with the 1941-45 Independent State of Croatia and the Ustasha.

"Banning symbols turns them into a fetish, and we don't want that," he said.

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ZAGREB, 9 April, 2021 - The Voice of Entrepreneurs association considers that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, as proposed by the government, will destroy the chances for economic recovery, and calls for a radical change in the document.

In order for the National Recovery and Resilience Plan to have a greater impact, priority should be given to investments in the private sector, the association said in a statement issued on Friday.

Entrepreneurs think that the plan will not direct enough funds to small and medium-sized enterprises and that that will have a negative impact on the entire economy.

Unlike other countries, they add, Croatia does not intend to direct most of the funds from the recovery plan to the business sector and the most affected companies, sectors and citizens.

The current recovery and resilience plan relies mainly on state and local government projects and projects with low and long-term returns, and in some cases negative returns, which is contrary to the general goal of rapid recovery, the association said.

It is true, they add, that the plan envisages distributing 54% of the funds for the business sector and 46% for reforms in the public sector, but the 54% intended for the business sector includes investments in public companies that have so far demonstrated low efficiency, such as wastewater projects, waste management, road and transport infrastructure construction.

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan is thus not aimed at helping the private sector and encouraging the competitiveness of the Croatian economy, the association of entrepreneurs said, stressing that the existing plan is not oriented towards rapid recovery of domestic demand, investment in high return projects and technological innovation.

They call for prioritising private sector investment and focusing on high return projects.

Last week, the government presented the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for 2021-2026, which contains project proposals in six areas, worth a total of HRK 49.08 billion.

Of that, 54% is intended for projects in the business sector, 15% for education, science and research, 12% for building reconstruction, 10% for public administration and justice, 5% for health care and 4% for the labour market and social protection.

Digitisation and green energy transition feature in all six areas in the document.

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ZAGREB, 1 April, 2021 - The National Recovery and Resilience Plan for 2021-26 is the government's plan for the reform and transformation of Croatia, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday, presenting the plan after a cabinet meeting.

Investment in education, science and research, labour and welfare legislation, healthcare and post-earthquake reconstruction is estimated at HRK 18 billion.

The plan will contribute to the development of a quality education and science system, the stimulation of excellence and innovativeness in children, youth and scientists, and the creation of new and innovative employment policies, Plenković told press.

The plan will also contribute to enhancing the pension system, to quality social protection, the modernisation of healthcare, and to energy-efficient and earthquake-resistant buildings, for which additional funds have been ensured, he said.

Modernising science and education system for more resilient economy

The government plans to reform the education system and raise research and innovation capacities, strengthening scientific excellence and stimulating open science and cooperation with the business sector.

The plan also envisages raising the quality of vocational programmes relevant to the labour market. Another objective is to increase investment in the research infrastructure, strengthening Croatia's innovativeness.

Investment in education, science and research is estimated at HRK 7.5 billion.

Increasing employability of all age groups

The general objective of the labour market and welfare component is to keep workers employed and increase the employment rate, create prerequisites for job creation, reduce unemployment and curb unreported labour.

The plan aims to facilitate access to adult education and reduce in-work poverty by redefining minimum wage and ensuring just pay.

The government plans to improve the pension system by increasing pension adequacy as well as the social welfare system by reducing poverty risk and social exclusion and ensuring additional and better accommodation in care homes.

Investment in the labour market and welfare is estimated at over HRK 2 billion.

Increasing healthcare system's resilience

As for the healthcare component, goals include strengthening the system so that it can respond to the challenges posed by chronic non-infectious and emerging infectious diseases and ensuring accessible and quality healthcare, said Health Minister Vili Beroš.

The system will be modernised, among other things, through accelerated digitalisation and the application of new methods and technologies, hospitals will be functionally integrated, while the reduction of their number and the expansion of public procurement is expected to cut costs and markedly improve the financial viability of the system.

Investment in the healthcare component is estimated at over HRK 2.5 billion.

Full transformation of building sector

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan also envisages the reconstruction of buildings, also as a contribution to economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, reducing the environmental impact of energy consumption and pollution, and increasing the energy efficiency of buildings.

Other goals include meeting climate targets, efficient and coordinated post-earthquake reconstruction and increasing earthquake-resistant construction.

Investment in this component is envisaged at nearly HRK 6 billion.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

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ZAGREB, 29 March, 2021 - Unions and employers said at Monday's meeting of the Economic and Social Council (GSV) that they were pleased with the draft 2021-23 national recovery and resilience plan, assessing it as encouraging.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told the press the GSV was presented with a summary of the draft plan, on which all departments had been working on for eight months now.

"It's a document containing reforms and investments amounting to €6.3 billion which is part of the Next Generation EU programme. Croatia is one of the member states that received more than the others."

He said the money involved was important so that Croatia can recover after the economic crisis caused by the pandemic and become stronger and faster in achieving the economic growth it had before the COVID crisis.

Plenković said the GSV was presented with the outlines of the national recovery and resilience plan, and that the government would endorse the information on it on Thursday and then present the plan to the press.

The intention is to finish the plan by the end of April, after which it needs to be approved by the European Commission.

"That will be followed by the payment of an advance of 13%," Plenković said, adding that "we should receive HRK 6.1 billion in August or September, to be followed by the realisation of projects through reforms."

He said some of the criteria for obtaining the funds were that 37% of all applications must contribute to the green transition and 20% to the economy's digital transition.

The criteria also include not causing significant damage in terms of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, water protection, and the circular economy.

"In the next ten years Croatia will have €6.3 billion in grants at its disposal, then almost €13 billion in the new multiannual financial framework, another €3.6 billion in Next Generation EU loans, most probably about €1 billion for earthquake recovery, plus almost €1 billion from ReactEU and the Just Transition Fund," Plenković said.

Employers and unions say the document is encouraging

Unionist Vilim Ribić said Plenković's arrival at the GSV meeting constituted a good approach to social dialogue.

"A truly spectacular amount of money is expected," he said, adding that unions were pleased "that education has received a very relevant percentage of the funds, about 15%."

Ribić said the unionists had underlined the link between those funds and Croatia's prospects in terms of emigration and economic transformation, adding that the unions had insisted on the social aspect and on reducing inequalities in society.

Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) president Mihael Furjan said the national recovery and resilience plan summary looked encouraging and that its presentation marked the beginning of formal consultations with social partners.

"HUP is looking forward to a public consultation. We'll try, with our experience, knowledge, expertise, to help the government so that the final version of the document looks as well as possible in the interest of the Croatian economy," he said, adding that it was very important that employers and unions agreed throughout most of the discussion.

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ZAGREB, 16 March, 2021 - The Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (HOK) on Tuesday said that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan should include trades and crafts.

HOK said that a survey of 1,722 HOK members indicates a huge interest in EU grants.

Most of them (85%) consider investing in tangible and non-tangible assets to be the most important, notably purchasing equipment and machinery, and upgrading and building new production capacities.

The estimated value of projects that would be submitted by the majority of trades ranges from HRK 150,000 to 750,000, HOK said, adding that trades are willing to invest their own funds too.

HOK in particular noted that more than 73% of trades do not plan to use financial instruments in the coming period.

HOK is investing significant effort in preparing programme documentation for the 2021-2027 EU financial period.

The aim is to raise awareness of the needs of trades and that adequate calls for applications for grants are ensured.

HOK said that the needs of trades should be recognised through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan due to the consequences of the COVID pandemic and the negative economic trends. Hence HOK has sent its recommendations to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in an effort to find the best possible solution for trades.

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ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - Brussels will leave it to Zagreb to decide on how to distribute money from the EU Recovery Fund, the Friday issue of the Jutarnji List daily reports, noting that there are no restrictions on aid to enterprises. 

There are no strict limits in drafting the national recovery and resilience plan, through which around HRK 45 billion of EU funds will be made available to Croatia to help it recover from the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, in terms of how much funds can be allocated for public investments and how much for private investments, as there is no such distinction in EU regulations.

This conclusion is based on a reply from the European Commission, after the Croatian Employers' Association asked that at least 50% of the available money be disbursed in direct grants for investments by the private sector, instead of spending most of the HRK 45 billion on investments in the public sector.

According to an interpretation presented earlier by Croatian negotiators and published by Jutarnji List, entrepreneurs would have access, through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, to direct grants and loan subsidies and guarantees in the maximum amount of HRK 4.5 billion, or only 10% of the available amount. In citing the amount, Croatian negotiators referred to restrictions imposed by the EC.

Zvonimir Savić, PM Andrej Plenković's advisor and national coordinator for the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, has nonetheless said that around 30% of the HRK 45 billion could end up in the private sector, if one takes into account the involvement of businesses in planned public projects, from research and development, energy transition and development of innovative tourism to stronger food supply chains, the daily says.