Zagreb - The State Audit Office on Friday issued a qualified opinion on the government’s 2025 budget execution report, citing shortcomings in budget planning and execution, unpaid state company profits and growing healthcare liabilities.
The State Audit Office submitted its audit report on the 2025 state budget execution to Parliament, issuing a qualified opinion and making 17 orders and recommendations.
The opinion was affected by shortcomings in the planning and execution of revenues and expenditures transferred between budget users, as well as the treatment of balance-sheet items in budget planning and execution.
Auditors also found that a €192m increase in the capital value of public assets acquired through the repayment of loans taken out by HŽ Infrastruktura had not been recorded, although they noted that current regulations do not specify in whose accounts the change should be entered.
They further found that more than €42m in profits from state-owned companies had not been paid into the 2025 budget, affecting the reported deficit under the national accounting methodology. Of that amount, €24.1m was paid in 2026 rather than 2025, while €18.6m remained unpaid at the time of the audit. Auditors said the government decision governing such payments was adopted only in November 2025, after companies had already decided on profit distribution.
Irregularities were also identified in the collection of claims arising from state guarantees called for the 3. Maj shipyard.
Borrowing receipts reported in the 2025 financing account totalled €9.1bn, exceeding the statutory borrowing limit by €235m, or 2.6%, due to the unplanned drawdown of a €465.5m tranche of a Recovery and Resilience Facility loan at the end of the year.
The auditors also highlighted fiscal risks for future budgets and pointed to rising liabilities in the healthcare system. According to Finance Ministry data, total liabilities of healthcare institutions and the Croatian Health Insurance Fund, excluding loans, reached €2.9bn at the end of 2025, up €458m, or nearly 19%, from a year earlier.
Liabilities of healthcare institutions founded by the state and local and regional government units rose to €2.1bn at the end of 2025, up 16.8% from 2024 and 42% from 2023.
The 2025 state budget recorded revenues of €32.6bn and expenditure of €35.9bn, resulting in a deficit of €3.37bn, €1.2bn higher than in 2024.
State budget debt stood at €45.1bn at the end of 2025. Including contingent liabilities from active state guarantees of €5.5bn, the total amounted to €50.6bn.
The audit also reviewed implementation of previous recommendations. Of 23 recommendations issued earlier, seven had been implemented, seven were still being implemented and nine had been partially implemented.