Ministers dismisses possibility of reopening all businesses on 15 May

Economy and Labour Ministers Tomislav Ćorić and Josip Aladrović on Wednesday dismissed a proposal by the UGP entrepreneurs' association that all businesses in Croatia should be allowed to reopen as of 15 May.

The Voice of Entrepreneurs (UGP) civil society organisation, led by Hrvoje Bujas, on Wednesday sent a request to the national COVID-19 crisis management team to allow the reopening of all businesses, including those in the event industry, hospitality establishments that have only indoor spaces, and businesses specialising in organising weddings and fairs.

"That is one more nonsense proposal from Mr Bujas. That's all I can say on that topic," Ćorić said.

Minister Aladrović said he could not agree with the proposal to completely relaunch economic activities, explaining that there were still some health risks.

"The successive opening of the economy will be exclusively in line with the anti-epidemic rules," he said, adding that assessment of health risks will be crucial.

Public health comes first, the economy right after that, he said.

Aladrović added that the government had managed to preserve the economy, as evidenced by the data of the Croatian Pension Insurance Fund (HZMO) showing that there were now 17,000 more employees than in the period just before the outbreak of the epidemic in the country.

The economy is not at risk, signs of recovery can be seen, he explained.

Furthermore, data from the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) also indicate a rising demand for workers, according to Aladrović.

He announced that Economy Minister Ćorić as well as Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac, Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek and Transport Minister Oleg Butković would hold consultations on the situation in the occasional transport sector and the event and travel industries, which are hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.

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