Over 560,000 Croatian workers registered for government’s job preservation measure

(Photo: HINA/ Edvard ŠUŠAK/)

ZAGREB, April 9 (Hina) – To date, about 563,000 workers have been cited in applications submitted by employers for the job preservation measure and 92,000 requests have been made for taxation payment deferral, of which 76,000 have been already settled, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday.

Regarding the government’s measure to help employers to retain their workers, to date 294,000 kuna has been paid for that purpose, Plenkovic said at the start of his cabinet’s meeting presenting the data collected by the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ).

Commenting on the scheme prepared by the Croatian development bank HBOR to boost liquidity, Plenkovic recalled that the European Commission had approved that €790 million Croatian liquidity guarantee scheme for export-oriented companies affected by the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, assessing that it is in accordance with EU state aid rules.

“This Croatian guarantee scheme of approximately €790 million will support companies with a certain amount of export activities in these difficult times. We continue to work in close cooperation with Member States to find workable solutions to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, in line with EU rules,” Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, said last Tuesday.

The Commission concluded that the Croatian guarantee scheme for exporting companies will contribute to managing the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak in Croatia. 

Plenkovic recalled that on Wednesday, 3.1 billion kuna had been paid as an outlay for pension allowances.

Regardless of how long the corona crisis may last, the government will find ways to ensure funds for pensions, the premier said.

(€ 1= HRK 7.6)