Zagreb - Finance Minister Marko Primorac said in Parliament on Thursday, while presenting the proposal to revise the 2024 budget, that this year Croatia will meet the Maastricht debt and deficit criteria for the first time in history.
According to the ESA methodology, which is used in reporting to the European Commission, the consolidated general government deficit is 2.6% of GDP, while the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to fall to 58.9% by the end of the year.
Thus, for the first time in history, Croatia will fully meet the Maastricht criteria and have the general government deficit below 3% and the debt-to-GDP ratio below 60%, Primorac said.
He added that this was recognised by the credit rating agencies, which have awarded Croatia a historically high rating of A-, and that now citizens should also feel the benefits of this rating.
Croatia currently has the debt-to-GDP ratio well below the EU average of 82.9% and the eurozone average of 90%. As for the general government deficit, many EU member states have higher deficits than Croatia, the EU average being 3%. "We can be proud of this," Primorac said.
Speaking of fiscal policy, he said that some of Croatia's trading partners are expecting an economic slowdown, adding that the government has taken this into account and left room for a prompt response in the event of a crisis.
"Croatia has a strong fiscal position and is ready to respond strongly, if necessary, in the future as well," Primorac said.
Under the budget revision proposal, revenues are increased by €1.8 billion compared to the original budget and expenditures by €976 million.
The budget revision is based on the revised GDP growth projection for this year of 3.6%, an inflation rate of 3.0%, an employment growth rate of 3.0%, and a projected increase in gross wages of 14.7%.