ZAGREB, September 20, 2020 – Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Coric said on Saturday that Standard&Poor’s agency having affirmed Croatia’s credit rating of BBB- was a result of the government’s consistent macroeconomic policy in recent years and the political stability it had created.
“It is a fact that we introduced clear measures also during the election period, on the one hand to preserve jobs and on the other to maintain the economy’s liquidity. The GDP drop, despite a very large share of tourism in GDP, is smaller than was projected and our recovery from the crisis and return to the level of 2019 will happen somewhat sooner,” Coric said in an interview with the RTL broadcaster.
“In the coming period we will be continuously monitoring economic trends and we are confident that we will respond appropriately if necessary,” he said.
Commenting on President Zoran Milanovic’s statement that estimates by credit rating agencies were obsolete, Coric said that “(Milanovic’s) economic advisors evidently did not brief him appropriately.”
“Rating agencies’ forecasts do not refer only to interest rates and cheap money, which is what he was talking about, but also to a country’s adequacy for doing business and finally, for the overall economic relations in the country. That is why those estimates are very much relevant for all potential investors in Croatia,” he said.
Commenting on corruption scandals involving members of his HDZ party, Coric said that “corruption affects most systems.”
One should fight corruption continually, the minister said, adding that he believed the legislative changes and the action plan and strategy for the fight against corruption, announced by Justice and Public Administration Minister Ivan Malenica, would help make progress in that regard.
He also underlined the importance of making the spending of budget money more transparent.
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