Prime Minister Plenković brings another holiday present to Croatians.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković confirmed on Saturday in Zagreb that electricity prices will not go up and that, in that regard, the government would pass a special decree to postpone the increase in electricity prices, reports Nacional on December 24, 2016.
Plenković said that the ministry responsible for energy sector regulation would prepare the decree, and that during 2017 the government would try to find a long-term solution. Asked about possible lawsuits by distributors of electricity, the Prime Minister said that the government would find a solution for that and added that at this moment it was important that citizens will not be paying higher electricity bills.
Asked if people will be happier in the new year, Plenković said that this year was “very political” and added that economic indicators were good and expressed his hope that the trend of economic growth would continue. “You saw that yesterday we paid Christmas bonuses to government and public sector employees. We have also increased the minimum wage for the next year and we have reached an agreement with trade unions of government employees about the increase in base salary for the next year”, he said. Hopefully, he continued, the government will come to a similar agreement with trade unions representing public sector employees.
Plenković added that the next year would be a year of the economy and entrepreneurship, with as much simplification of bureaucratic procedures as possible, with a lot of legal certainty, predictability and incentives for investment.
“The stable credit rating outlook which was given to Croatia by Standard and Poor’s rating agency suggests that Croatia, if it continues with the current trends and in the context of wider European positive atmosphere, could even have its credit rating upgraded to the investment level, which would then have repercussions on interest rates for both the state and the citizens. That is our goal – to continue economic growth and fiscal consolidation”, he added.
Plenković said that he would not go on longer holidays and would continue with his activities on Tuesday after Christmas, and noted that on Thursday the government would have a lot of items on the agenda of its regular meeting, which will be followed by preparations for a very intensive 2017.
Asked to comment on Croatia’s unblocking of Chapter 26 in accession negotiations between Serbia and the European Union, Plenković said that the issue should not be dramatized and that it was vital that Croats and Croatian minority in Serbia were satisfied. “We expect the implementation of the agreement which was signed and we will monitor this issue with great care”, he added.
At the end, he wished everyone Merry Christmas and all the best in 2017.
