December the 3rd, 2022 - Croatian pessimism is usually given in somewhat healthy doses, but it seems that it is on the increase according to a new citizens' survey.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Josipa Ban writes, as many as 44.3% of people living here in Croatia believe that their overall quality of life will be worse in the years to come, and more than half of them (more precisely 61.2% of the respondents) stated that they experienced a decline in purchasing power over the past year.

Croatian pessimism is on the rise, they're distrustful and worried, according to the Zero Quadrant survey on citizens' attitudes, beliefs, fears and expectations, conducted by the Val Group agency in collaboration with Ipsos.

This higher dose of Croatian pessimism is also reflected in the expectations for 2023 because, according to the research, as many as 88.8% of consumers are significantly or very worried about further price increases as the country introduces the euro during a period of high inflation. As such, 41% of them will have to spend more, and only one in four respondents will actually work to actively reduce their personal consumption.

As many as three quarters of those surveyed (73.9%) are worried about the crisis unfolding for the domestic economy. In addition, Croats are losing confidence in all sectors, trusting the media the least - with only 13.3% of respondents saying they have much faith in it. The state institutions, trusted by 13.6% of people, fared a little better. In the real sector, however, insurance companies enjoy the least trust (18.1%), and tradespeople the most - 57.7%.

As for healthcare services, people are more satisfied with private healthcare facilities - 46% of them in total. On the other hand, only 26% of citizens are satisfied with public healthcare.

The finding on the impact of price increases on consumer attitudes towards brands is also interesting, and today, the social responsibility of companies and their impact on the environment is less important to them as prices soar. For example, back in pandemic-dominated 2020, as many as 58% of respondents said they bought brands from socially responsible companies. Today, just 45% of them say the same. As far as investments are concerned, as many as 82% of people have singled out investing in knowledge as the most profitable type of investment.

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ZAGREB, 16 Oct, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Saturday that his cabinet would not allow a decline in the living standards of the Croatians due to the energy prices, now when the funds for the post-coronacrisis recovery were secured.

Visiting the agriculture ministry's fair promoting the Croatian farming sector in Zagreb, PM Plenković reassured the general public that in the event of a further rise of the energy crunch prices, there were additional tools available to his government  to use them to calibrate the prices in the country.

He underscored that the internal discussions in the government and also their talks with international partners over the last two months had been focused on the energy prices, including the trends in prices of electricity and natural gas.

Regarding the prices of gas supplies and electricity, Plenković said that "the situation is stable in Croatia" and that the country "is in a much better position than many others."

Concerning petroleum products, since 2014, fuel prices in the country have been fully defined by the market, he recalled.

Until the latest developments considering the fuel prices globally, the government had never applied Article 9 of the Law on Petroleum Products that envisages the adoption of a decree on capping the prices, Plenković said.

That article stipulates that only in exceptional circumstances, the government can determine the maximum retail prices of fuels for a period no longer than 90 days in order to protect consumers or for some other justified reasons.

On 14 October, the government passed a decree limiting the retail price of petrol to HRK 11.10 (€1.48) per litre and the price of diesel to HRK 11.00 (€1.46) per litre for the next 30 days.

Plenković today explained that the government had opted for that interventionist move when it found that the conditions were met.

"We managed to overcome the biggest health, economic and financial crisis and consequently avoided the potential biggest social crisis in the last 600 days, without large-scale lay-offs and without a series of bankruptcies and social fractures, while all the state services continued to  function as usually, and we managed to retain the country's investment rating and good reputation  on the domestic and international financial markets, with a clear roadmap for Croatia's accession to the euro area. Therefore, we will not let  a decline in the living standards of our citizens due to the energy  prices, now when we managed to ensure funds for the economic recovery," Plenković said.

Describing the government's response to the energy crunch prices as agile and prompt, he added that in the event of the escalation, his cabinet had additional tools at its disposal to address the situation.

He said that he expected energy producers and distributors to assume a part of the burden. "I believe that they are sensible. They are not the companies that cannot endure such burden on their margins and or that it would adversely affect their business," he said.

He added that the government would follow the developments in the period to come and that the next moves would be considered in three week's time before the expiry of the current 30-day price limiting.

Asked by the press about aid to agricultural producers faced with high fuel prices, Minister Marija Vučković recalled that farmers and fishermen could use the so-called blue-dyed fuels that have the government-subsided prices.

The minister said that the authorities were taking other measures to help the whole sector to be more competitive.

Use of blue-dyed diesel in 2020 approved for 97,200 farmers

In January 2020, the Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development granted 97,200 farmers the right to use blue-dyed diesel in 2020 in the total amount of 173.1 million liters, .

The farmers could use cards with allocated amounts of blue-dyed diesel as of early January last year.

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ZAGREB, 24 June 2021 - The standard of living in Croatia in the pandemic year 2020 was a third lower than the European Union average, despite the fact that consumer price levels were a third lower, according to data from the EU statistical office Eurostat.

Eurostat measures the standard of living by actual individual consumption per capita, which shows how many goods and services individuals consumed, regardless of whether they paid for them by themselves or the costs were borne by their governments or non-governmental organizations. Actual individual consumption per capita is expressed in purchasing power standards, which enables the elimination of the differences in price levels between countries.

Last year, the highest standard, as expressed by actual individual consumption per capita, was registered in Luxembourg and was 31% higher than the EU average.

Italy, Cyprus, and Lithuania closest to average

Luxembourg was followed by Germany and Denmark, where the standard was 23% and 21% higher than the average respectively. Cyprus, Italy, and Lithuania were closest to the average, where actual individual consumption per capita was up to 4% lower than the EU average.

Spain, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Malta, Poland, and Slovenia registered actual individual consumption per capita of between 10% and 20% below the EU average.

Croatia alongside Bulgaria

In Romania, Estonia, Greece, Slovakia, Latvia, and Hungary, actual individual consumption was between 20% and 30% lower than the EU average, while Croatia and Bulgaria had the lowest standards. Actual individual consumption per capita in Croatia in 2020 was 33% below the EU average, compared with 34% in 2019, while Bulgaria was 39% below the EU average.

Highest consumer prices in Luxembourg

Eurostat also showed differences in consumer prices between EU member states, using purchasing power standards.

Luxembourg had the highest price level index for actual individual consumption in 2020, half as high as the EU average. It was followed by Denmark, Sweden; Ireland, and Finland with price levels more than 20% higher than the average.

Consumer prices in Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy were slightly above the EU average, while those in Spain and Cyprus were up to 10% lower. Price levels in Latvia and the Czech Republic were about 30% below the average.

Croatia placed alongside Latvia, with price levels 35% lower than the EU average.

Prices in Hungary, Poland, and Bulgaria were between 40% and 50% below the EU average. 

GDP per capita

Luxembourg remained in the top spot as the country with the highest GDP per capita in the European Union. Expressed in purchasing power standards, it was two and a half times higher than the EU average.

Luxembourg was followed by Ireland, with GDP per capita slightly more than twice as high as the EU average, and Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, and Germany with GDPs roughly a fifth higher than the average.

France's GDP per capita was slightly above the average and Malta's slightly below, while Italy and the Czech Republic had a GDP per capita of less than 10% below the average.

The countries with GDPs per capita of between 10% and 20% below the EU average included Slovenia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Estonia, and Spain. Portugal, Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Slovakia, and Romania had GDPs per capita of between 20% and 30% lower than the average.

Croatia placed alongside Greece, with a GDP per capita of 36% below the EU average, up from 35% in 2019. Bulgaria was at the bottom of the ranking with a GDP per capita of 45% below the EU average.

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