Two ministers outline key targets of national reforms

The government on Thursday endorsed a National Reform Programme aimed at curbing the excessive macroeconomic imbalances, and the document as well as a Conversion Programme are to be forwarded to the European Commission.

Croatia's National Reform Programme has three targets: to boost competitiveness and growth, to correct weaknesses in the public sector and to reinforce public finance management, said Croatia's Deputy Prime Minister responsible for EU funds and regional development, Branko Grcic, who together with Finance Minister Boris Lalovac outlined the programme, said at a news conference in Zagreb.

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 National Reform Programme 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, expense rationalisation, pension schemes, the public healthcare sector, improvement of management of public companies and the public sector, etc.

Grcic also tried to dispel scepticism about Croatia being slow in implementing reforms.

According to assessments of the EU Economic Affairs Council, Croatia is the eighth fastest EU member in the implementation of reforms, Grcic said.

As for key reforms to which the National Reform Programme refers, Grcic pointed out a reduction of parafiscal levies, new bankruptcy legislation, reduction of the number of agencies and a 20-percent reduction of regional public administration units.

In the public healthcare system, the government will continue implementing a master plan.

Commenting on the curtailing of budget expenditures, Finance Minister Lalovac said that Croatia should make savings of up to one billion kuna.

The Croatian Motorways operator (HAC) deficit should be reduced by 50 million kuna and Croatian Railways Infrastructure should cut its deficit by 200 million kuna by the end of this year.

Extra-budgetary beneficiaries are expected to save 407 million kuna.

The ministries are expected to save 435 million kuna, according to Lalovac.

Earlier on Thursday, the cabinet of Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic endorsed guidelines for putting in order state agencies, institutes, funds, centres and other legal entities with public authority, which envisage aligning salaries in the agencies with regulations on public services and merging them.

This is one of several government measures to reduce the excessive budget deficit. The government sent the set of those measures to the European Commission as part of the Excessive Deficit Procedure and they are expected to impact GDP by 0.63 percent or HRK 2.09 billion.

The government also adopted measures to suspend the execution of the budget and measures on state-owned companies.

The government plans to save HRK 500 million on the operations of state agencies.

Under today's decision, the number of agencies, institutes, funds and other public institutions will be reduced from 57 to 48 as a result of due diligence of budgetary expenditures.

(EUR 1 = HRK 7.6)

(Hina)

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