The Croatian government on Thursday adopted a National Reform Programme and a Convergence Programme for the 2014-2017 period.
Croatia is required to send these documents to the European Commission before the end of this month, and on the basis of them the Commission will propose recommendations for Croatia, which will then be adopted by the Council of the EU.
The National Reform Programme defines the state of affairs and plans for the implementation of key structural policies of the government, while the Convergence Plan specifies key characteristics of the macroeconomic and fiscal policy.
The two documents are part of the process of mandatory reporting and harmonising the economic policies of the EU member states with jointly defined goals and provisions of the Union.
The National Reform Programme lists reform measures in response to the conclusions of the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council, which has warned Croatia about its rigid labour market, a social protection system that discourages participation in the labour market, a poor business environment, a high deficit and general government debt, the low efficiency of the judiciary, and public-sector corruption.
To address these problems, the government has undertaken or plans to undertake reforms in four key areas -- public finance, the financial sector, the labour market and competitiveness, Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Branko Grcic said.
As for public finance, Grcic said that the government had charted a clear course for fiscal consolidation over the next three years, which he said was described in greater detail in the Convergence Plan.
As far as the financial sector is concerned, access to capital is of key importance, because right now it possibly affects industry the most, Grcic said, citing increased risks, reduced banking activity and the need to find new financial instruments to share the risk between state support institutions and the financial sector.
Grcic said that a new Labour Act was expected to substantially improve the situation on the labour market by establishing a balance between the flexibility of the labour market and the security of workers. He announced proactive employment measures, especially for young people.
In the area of competitiveness, the government plans to continue eliminating barriers to investment.
The European Commission's opinion on the proposed measures as well as its recommendations are expected in June.
(Hina)
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