The European Commission has urged Croatia to take measures to align its policies with the Council’s recommendations. Contentious issues have arisen regarding energy price subsidies that will continue until spring 2024.
The EC said that in Croatia the growth of net nationally financed primary expenditures is above what is recommended and that these expenditures are growing quite rapidly. Croatia’s overall fiscal situation is not so dire, and it is positive that public investments, supported by the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, are growing quite rapidly.
According to the EU Council’s recommendations from July, eurozone countries are urged to pursue cautious fiscal policies, particularly by limiting the nominal growth of net nationally financed primary expenditures in the following year. As per these recommendations, all member states should maintain nationally financed public investments and ensure efficient utilization of funds from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism and other European funds.
Additionally, based on these recommendations, all member states should swiftly phase out support measures introduced due to high energy prices.
