In an exclusive interview for Matica magazine, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenković, talks about the importance of Croatia’s entry into the euro area and Schengen, looks at the position of Croats in the European neighborhood and highlights the significantly increased budget funds for strategic projects of the Central State Office for Croats Abroad for the needs of our entire emigrant population, including incentives for repatriation under the I Choose Croatia! scheme.
You pointed out that Schengen and the Eurozone are projects initiated and implemented by the HDZ Government. What concrete steps did the Government take before these events, which both the Croatian public and Croats abroad agree are historic steps forward?
More than 30 years ago, the completion of Croatia’s European integration was the dream of generations of the Croatian people, both at home and abroad. Membership in the euro and the Schengen area is an excellent starting point for Croatia in a time of geopolitical uncertainty and additionally protects our citizens and economy. This is the result of our policy of modern sovereignty referring to the use of strong international position for a better quality of life for citizens and competitiveness of the economy. The effort and commitment of all departments and stakeholders who worked to achieve these goals is also visible in the fulfillment of the 281 criteria that were set as a prerequisite for entry into Schengen. At the same time, we undertook comprehensive reforms and prepared the system and the economy for a quick and easy transition for the introduction of the euro. All this happened in the period of the pandemic, two devastating earthquakes and the circumstances of the energy crisis and inflationary pressures. I think we can be proud of the fact that Croatia, a country that was under aggression and territorial occupation and was not an international subject, managed to firmly position itself today alongside 15 other countries of the world as a member of the European Union, NATO, the Eurozone and Schengen. In addition, we have started negotiations with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Everything we are achieving today would not be possible without the courage, determination and sacrifice of Croatian veterans under the leadership of the first Croatian president, Franjo Tuđman, who emphasized the process of European integration in his famous speech on June 30, 1990, at the time of the establishment of the first multi-party and democratically elected Croatian Parliament.
What exactly does the single currency market and the removal of borders mean in a practical sense today for citizens in Croatia and what advantages will it bring to expatriate Croats?
With abolished currency costs, an open market for investments and better protection against crises and financial disturbances and shocks, Croatia now has stronger preconditions for development. This will immediately be followed by more favorable borrowing conditions for the private and public sector, as well as lower transaction costs. Membership in the euro area opened Croatia’s access to additional sources of financing in the monetary operations of the European Central Bank and with loans from the European Stabilization Mechanism (ESM), which are available only to countries that have introduced the euro. The European Stabilization Mechanism as a common protection mechanism, in addition to directly helping countries affected by financial difficulties, also has a positive effect on the confidence of the financial markets in all members of the euro area, including in Croatia. We felt the benefit as soon as the introduction of the euro was announced as the credit rating of Croatia was raised by all three rating agencies (Fitch, S&P and Moody’s) to the highest level so far.
In terms of Schengen, open borders and access to the space we share with more than 400 million people means free movement for Croatian citizens, easier travel to and from Croatian airports, easier and cheaper cross-border transport of goods and services, a strong boost to the growth of tourist traffic and competitiveness tourism and greater security of the external border and Croatian citizens. This now gives us a new framework and provides new development opportunities so that we can strengthen our economy even faster and raise the quality of life of our fellow citizens.
The European Council granted candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was not easy for the country to receive. In which segment did the Government of the Republic of Croatia provide the most support to make it happen?
After acquiring the status of a candidate for membership in the European Union, for which we strongly and constantly advocated at the level of the European Council, we want to help Bosnia and Herzegovina to continue the reform path in order to acquire the prerequisites for the opening of accession negotiations as soon as possible. Our approach towards Bosnia and Herzegovina is benevolent, with the aim of strengthening good neighborly relations and with the primary interest in achieving full equality of all three constituent nations without which Bosnia and Herzegovina can hardly move forward. We are pleased that the Council of Ministers has been established, led by its chairwoman Borjana Krišto, who paid an official visit to Croatia on February 16. We will hold a joint session of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina in June of this year in Zagreb in order to put all important topics in the relations between the two countries on the agenda. After the pandemic, economic exchange in 2022 reached four billion euros. Along with Austria, Croatia is the most important investor in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We want to intensify cooperation regarding the realization of transport projects, as well as energy. We will not build walls, barriers or barbed wire between Croats in the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Instead, it is necessary to improve cooperation regarding the control of illegal migration.
In your opinion, how important is it for the political coalition of eight parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina to survive? In the political sense, what will this bring to Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovins, but also to Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country in the future?
With numerous diplomatic efforts, a political breakthrough was achieved in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was also contributed to by the decisions of High Representative, Christian Schmidt. His intervention is the first step towards the equality of the three constituent peoples which must be achieved by amending the Electoral Law in negotiations between political actors. Croatia, as the closest neighbor and supporter of Bosnia and Herzegovina, remains a constructive partner primarily taking care of the equality of Croats as a constituent nation, as well as the improvement and functionality of the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In this context, the establishment of the Government in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as possible is extremely important for the stability and functionality of the country. I welcome the efforts of Dragan Čović and the Croatian National Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who in this process are not only legitimate representatives of the Croatian people, but also those who are constructively advocating for the unblocking of the process and the further progress of the entire country. Therefore, it is extremely important that the political actors, in accordance with the agreement, take the second step after the election and reach an agreement on the Electoral Law. Such a result is also expected by the Croats who must be able to achieve legitimate representation at all levels of government as a constituent nation. This would protect the collective rights of the Croatian people, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole. When it comes to the election of a member of the Presidency in which the member of the Presidency from among the Croatian people was always chosen by the other majority people in the Federation, the practice in the last four out of five election cycles has not been good and it is high time that it be changed. This would benefit the establishment of harmonious relations between all three constitutive peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In this year’s budget, the funds for the Central State Office for Croats Abroad have been increased. The goal is to strengthen the infrastructure of cultural institutions in the emigration. What are the strategic projects?
We have been strongly supporting numerous projects that are important for Croats abroad for many years. Therefore, we increased the budget of the Central State Office for Croats Abroad by more than eight times – from HRK 21.5 million in 2016 to HRK 175 million in 2023 (EUR 23.2 million), and we also support the projects of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Government Council for Croats Abroad. Accordingly, at the constituent session of the third convocation of the Government Council for Croats Abroad in July of last year, we sent messages about the importance of preserving the unity of the homeland and expatriate Croatia. I also emphasized the need for greater involvement and contribution of emigrants in the economic development of the country. Therefore, we support all projects aimed at improving the status of the Croatian minority and emigration for which more than 10,000 projects have been implemented in the past six years – almost HRK 460 million. Among the significant projects, I will highlight the construction of the Croatian House in Subotica, the institutional strengthening of the Croatian community in the Republic of Serbia, and support for the Croatian Theater in Pécs.
In addition, we work with other programs to promote and support Croats abroad with whom we establish a collaborative relationship. These are the Program for Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Program for the Croatian minority, Programs for Croatian emigration, the Scholarship Program for students belonging to the Croatian nation and the Program for learning the Croatian language in the Republic of Croatia.
We will continue to support all projects, support universities and educational programs with the aim of strengthening the position of members of the Croatian minority. Croatia wants to support Croatian emigrants as strongly as possible in such a way that other countries and national minorities especially are approached with respect. Only in this way, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, can we expect the highest level of respect for the rights of Croats living in other countries.
How many results did the “I choose Croatia” scheme achieve?
The “I choose Croatia” scheme is an upgrade of the existing support for self-employment, the main goal of which is to enable people who have acquired knowledge and skills abroad an additional incentive to return to Croatia and the development of economically less developed areas. The 137 approved requests last year prove that the scheme is gradually being used, and based on their experiences, we are sure that there will be more and more people who realize their business ideas by returning to their homeland in the period of economic recovery. This is just one of a series of measures that we implement for young people and their employment, tax relief, education, as well as housing. The key topic of the future for Croatia is demographic revitalization, while the Government will be especially dedicated to digitization and the energy and green transition in which the new generations will play an important role.
From 2023, we have expanded the list of countries from which we encourage return. With the mentioned scheme, an incentive of a maximum of EUR 27,000 can be realized for returning to Croatia from abroad (EUR 7,000 return + EUR 20,000 self-employment), or EUR 23,500 for internal mobility (EUR 3,500 relocation + EUR 20,000 self-employment). In 2023, an amount of EUR 46.5 million is planned for Support for self-employment, which also includes support for self-employment, support for green/digital self-employment and support for business expansion.
To what extent do politicians of Croatian roots in the European neighborhood help in bilateral relations, for example in Serbia?
The institutional framework of the Croatian community in Serbia is strengthened by the activities of Croatian politicians, the Democratic Union of Croats in Vojvodina and the Croatian National Council, as well as by the continued support of the Croatian Government. Croats in Serbia got a new life in terms of institutional representation in the ministry, namely with the position of Mr. Tomislav Žigmanov. This opens the possibility for the Croatian people in Serbia to articulate their interests even better which represents an important and demanding task. We will support all the efforts of key Croatian institutions in Serbia and protect their national, cultural and identity interests. For the seventh year already, we have been achieving quality cooperation with representatives of minorities in Croatia who are part of the parliamentary majority. In terms of relations with Serbia, Croatia is always open to dialogue, but we will continue to seek answers to crucial questions that burden relations between the states.
Tekst: Jelena Badovinac
Foto: Pixsell / Boris Scitar
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