Government on inflation, reconstruction and investments in development projects

A Government session is underway at the National and University Library, where ministers will, among other things, decide on the allocation of financial resources for the project to procure battery-powered electric trains and build a charging station for them.

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković referred to the celebration of Statehood Day, Croatian Armed Forces Day and Croatian Land Army Day, and thanked everyone who participated in organizing the events.

“The celebration of Statehood Day was truly dignified, and all activities were at a high level, he said.

Plenković: Inflation is slowing down, and unemployment is at its lowest level ever

Speaking about economic indicators, he pointed out that the annual inflation rate in May was 5.2 percent, which is a slowdown compared to April when it was 5.8 percent.

“In 13 eurozone countries, the inflation rate accelerated in May compared to April, and we, for example, along with Luxembourg, are one of the countries where there was a visible decline,” said Plenković. He added that the government's measures to limit the prices of petroleum products are also contributing to the reduction of inflationary pressures.

He also referred to the start of work of the Central Population Register, which citizens can access from 1 June.

“This is an important step forward in the functioning of public administration bodies, which will enable us to direct and calibrate various measures and support in crisis situations with better, higher-quality, more complete and comprehensive insight,” he said.

He announced that from January 1st the register will become the official basis for the exercise of social and other rights, and that continuous data updates will enable the abolition of the ten-year population census.

The Prime Minister also spoke about investments in Zagreb, emphasizing that the city's revenues have increased from 600 million euros to 1 billion and 350 million euros in the last nine years.

“The government has allocated 2.9 billion euros for reconstruction,” he said.

He also commented on the situation on the labor market and pointed out that there are currently around 61,500 unemployed people in Croatia.

“This is the lowest unemployment rate ever. The unemployment rate is below four percent, or 3.7 percent,” he said.

Speaking about the islands, he recalled the session of the Island Council held in Postir on Brač, where 104 contracts worth 25 million euros were awarded to local communities.

“In total, we have invested more than five billion euros in the islands during our mandates,” said Plenković.

Plenković also referred to projects in healthcare, social welfare and reconstruction. He recalled the opening of the renovated Biokovka Special Hospital in Makarska, a project worth 10 million euros aimed at green and digital transition.

Speaking about his visit to Osijek on the occasion of the Day of Osijek-Baranja County, he highlighted investments in the new Clinical Hospital Center Osijek.

“It is time to replace the existing pavilion hospital with a state-of-the-art hospital. This is a major step forward for healthcare and the provision of health services in Slavonia that will follow in the coming years,” he said. He added that five billion euros have been invested in counties in eastern Croatia through the Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem Project so far.

He also referred to the opening of the Center for the Elderly in Našice, worth 13 million euros, with 130 beds and 260 non-institutional services.

“This is one of 18 centers for the elderly that we are opening across Croatia,” he said.

Plenković also recalled the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Croatian Catholic University and the opening of the renovated university campus in Zagreb's Črnomerec.

“An investment of 34 million euros and excellent infrastructure conditions for all studies and programs that will take place there,” he said.

Speaking about reconstruction after the earthquake, he pointed out that today in Sisak, the keys to the apartments in the largest single building damaged in the earthquake in the Banovina were handed over.

“These are 145 apartments in Hrvatskog narodnog preporoda Street, a completely new building. This process has come to an end and represents a great contribution to the people of Sisak in the post-earthquake reconstruction,” he said.

Bačić: Almost 15,000 post-earthquake reconstruction procedures completed

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property Branko Bačić reported that 14,937 reconstruction procedures have been completed so far after the Zagreb and Petrinja earthquakes, of which 14,097 are relate to private buildings and 840 to public reconstruction projects.

198 reconstructions were completed in May, including 11 public projects. Reconstruction is active at 1,784 locations, and 197 replacement family houses are under construction.

Bačić pointed out that the building on Hrvatskog narodnog preporoda Street in Sisak has been completed, the largest single residential building damaged in the earthquake in Banovina.

“The value of the removal and construction of the new building amounts to 20.3 million euros, and today we will hand over the keys to the tenants,” he said.

Speaking about public renovation, he stated that 1,309 projects worth a total of 3.85 billion euros have been contracted, of which 128 of the most complex projects have already been completed, while 77 are in the construction phase.

Among the recently completed projects, he singled out the City Library in Petrinja, the Buba Mara kindergarten in Glina, the educational and sports center in Sisak, and the renovated complex of the Croatian Catholic University in Zagreb.

Bačić also pointed out that the online application for monitoring reconstruction in real time has received international recognition from the European Institute for Public Administration.

“The project has been recognized as a practical tool that provides citizens with a very quick insight into the state of reconstruction at each location that is being reconstructed or has been completed,” he said.

He added that the total value of reconstruction after the earthquake currently amounts to 4.84 billion euros, of which 2.89 billion euros relate to the Zagreb earthquake and 1.95 billion euros to the Petrinja earthquake.

At the Government session at the National and University Library, ministers, among other things, decided on the allocation of financial resources for the project to procure battery-powered electric trains and build a station for their charging.

Also on the agenda is the granting of consent for the implementation of the second phase of the comprehensive reconstruction of the Amruševa - Petrinjska block.

The ministers also reviewed the reports on the work of the Foundation of Croatian Homeland War Veterans and Members of Their Families and the Governing Board of the Croatian Accreditation Agency for 2025.

Source: HRT