POPOVACA, Dec 27 (Hina) - Croatia's President Stjepan Mesic has said that a five-percent rise in the Gross Domestic Product and a low inflation have been the greatest successes this year, but he is unhappy to see a high unemployment
in the country.
POPOVACA, Dec 27 (Hina) - Croatia's President Stjepan Mesic has said
that a five-percent rise in the Gross Domestic Product and a low
inflation have been the greatest successes this year, but he is
unhappy to see a high unemployment in the country.#L#
Visiting the Ivanic oil field (50 kilometres east of Zagreb), Mesic
told reporters that the 5.2%-rise in GDP and a low inflation rate were
successes that marked 2003, but not everybody in Croatia had the
benefit of this.
"Those who have low pensions or salaries cannot feel the advantage
from those statistical figures," Mesic said.
In the political sense Croatia could be satisfied with its efforts to
harmonise its legislation with European standards and its bids to
enter the European Union as soon as possible, he added, expresing
confidence that Croatia can accomplish this strategic objective by
2007.
Asked what he was most discontended with, Mesic answered that it was a
high number of the jobless.
"I do not think that we have used all chances. We should have opened
more free business zones, where tens of thousands of jobs could be
expected," he said adding it was now up to the new government to
create new jobs.
(Hina) ms