Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday that in the coming weeks the government would regulate Sunday work, raise the minimum wage, address a proposal to introduce additional profit tax, and continue the dialogue with the unions.
The circumstances in which enterprises operate are anything but usual, he said in Koprivnica at the Večernji List daily's conference "The Croatia we need", which focused on the economic policy in the function of raising the competitiveness of the Croatian economy.
Plenković said those circumstances were "demanding" due to "several interwoven crises which require a strong response from the state and economic entities."
He said the government's policy and his goal was to focus on maintaining political stability and social cohesion, and on avoiding a social fracture when a portion of citizens feel helpless, have lower incomes, see no prospects and, he added, use undemocratic methods to show their discontent.
Speaking of the government's policy over the past six years, Plenković said public finances were managed responsibly in the good years and that the current crisis had shown that only the state could help everyone.
"Our job is to be strong enough to deal with the new challenges," he said, adding that the government's forecast that GDP would grow 5.7% this year "is a signal that we are ensuring a reserve for potential new crises."
He said the government forecast that GDP would grow 0.7% in 2023, and that the economic policy would see to it that aid packages corresponded to the threat, reiterating that those from April and September totalled €26 billion.
If there had been no pandemic and the Russian aggression on Ukraine, everyone would be focusing on digitalisation and green transformation, he said, adding that a strategy for Croatia's digital development is in public consultation and that the government is constantly focusing on renewables.
Plenković said inflation was expected to drop to 6% next year.
Speaking of Sunday work, he said the government "came out with a rational, well-balanced proposal." He reiterated that as of next year the net minimum wage would be HRK 4,220.
In two months' time, he went on, Croatia will be one of 15 countries in the world which are members of NATO, the EU, and the Schengen and euro areas, and it has begun membership negotiations with the OECD.
The conference also discussed the INA energy company in the wake of a corruption affair involving the sale of domestic gas below the market price.
Text: HINA