Economic Council of the President of the Republic Calls on Government to Target Society’s Most Vulnerable Groups with its Aid Measures
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović participated in the 4th session of the Economic Council of the President of the Republic held on Wednesday at the Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism of the University of Split. The Government’s autumn aid package of measures to protect households and businesses against rising prices was analyzed at the Economic Council’s session and economic expectations for 2023 were presented.
According to an analysis by the Economic Council of the President of the Republic, the GDP growth rate for 2022 is expected to be six percent along with an expected inflation rate of ten percent. Projections are subjected to downward revision due to geopolitical uncertainties related to the price and availability of energy sources as well as available indicators of economic activity (trade and industrial production) and consumer expectations. According to the Economic Council, the uncertain environment will have a negative impact on the GDP’s growth rate in the coming year as well. Therefore it is expected that GDP growth in 2023 will be one percent. The Economic Council also expects the inflation rate to slow down to 6.7 percent in 2023 due to the effect of the basis period, lower demand and a gradual normalization of raw material costs on the global market.
The Economic Council of the President of the Republic supports the Government’s efforts to help the household and business sector overcome challenges with aid packages. It is good that the Government has recognized and also incorporated in its last aid package the measures proposed by the Economic Council last July, i.e. aid package for society’s most vulnerable groups. The Economic Council of the President of the Republic further calls on the Government to target society’s most vulnerable groups as much as possible with the measures it adopts, which is in the spirit of the OECD’s recommendations and responsible action given inflationary pressures.
Participating in the meeting alongside President Milanović and the Special Adviser to the President of the Republic for the Economy Velibor Mačkić, who is also Chair of the Economic Council, were the following members: Đula Borozan, Bruno Ćorić, Ana Grdović Gnip, Marina Tkalec, Tomislav Hernaus and Vinko Muštra.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan