Croatia prepares National Reform Programme

The government on Thursday endorsed a National Reform Programme aimed at curbing the excessive deficit, and the document is to be forwarded to the European Commission.

Each European Union member-state has different economic circumstances and translates the overall EU objectives into national targets in its National Reform Programme – a document which presents the country's policies and measures to sustain growth and jobs and to reach the Europe 2020 targets.

The EU members are expected to submit their respective National Reform Programmes by the end of April.

Croatia's Deputy Prime Minister responsible for EU funds and regional development, Branko Grcic, said that the National Reform Programme prepared by the cabinet had three targets: to boost competitiveness and growth, to correct weaknesses in the public sector and to reinforce public finance management.

The document takes heed of specific recommendations which the EC made for Croatia last year, with an emphasis on reforms to be taken in ten sectors, including public finances, expenses rationalisation, pension schemes, the public healthcare sector, improvement of management of public companies and the public sector, etc.

Grcic, who together with Finance Minister Boris Lalovc outlined the National Reform Programme at a news conference, said at the government meeting that the government was confident that it was doing what the EC expected of it.

The cabinet of Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic also set up a task force in charge of monitoring the reduction of parafiscal levies, with the aim to reduce those levies by 330 million kuna annually.

Water management contributions, membership fees in tourist boards, compensation for recycled packaging, as well as levies for public roads' usage and membership fees in associations of employers and entrepreneurs, among other things, will be on the agenda of this task force that is expected to compile by 1 September a list of parafiscal levies to be reduced in 2016.

(Hina)

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