Minister Primorac says budget revision will cut spending

The Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance defended government’s planned revision of the 2025 state budget in Croatian parliament on Thursday, noting that the aim is to help everyone who needs help.

In Parliament on Thursday MPs debated government’s proposed revision of the 2025 state budget. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Marko Primorac told MPs that the primary reason for the revision was to ensure funds for higher pensions, salaries, social benefits and government's measures to mitigate the negative consequences of inflation. He added however, that the revision would cut spending in other areas: “If you take into account that previous budget revisions traditionally increased expenditures, then I am personally proud of this revision, which lowers state, or public spending by roughly two hundred million euros.”

However, the opposition said the revision fails to address the core issues facing citizens, with MOST MP Miro Bulj asking Minister Primorac what he and the Croatian National Bank are doing to address the problem of spiraling inflation. Primorac responded that government has limited options in fighting inflation, and is trying to help citizens through aid packages.

For SDP MP Boška Ban the revision fails to address the debt in the healthcare system, which remains a major concern. Minister Primorac responded by saying that the health system is continuously facing difficulties in financing, and that this is no different in other countries. He also pointed out that the debt was primarily linked to costs associated with increasing the standard of healthcare services, but also with demographic aging. For this reason Primorac said that increased investment in the healthcare system will be needed.

Asked whether Croatia is successfully using European funds and whether there will be more of that money in the future, the Finance Minister said that Croatia is one of the countries with the fastest absorption of EU funds and stressed that there is no reason to fear that these funds will disappear.

Source: HRT