ZAGREB ZAGREB, March 24 (Hina) - A two-day round table discussion of "The Economist" with the Croatian Government finished in Zagreb on Wednesday. A representative of this renowned British magazine, William Crisp, said at the end of
the conference that Croatia was facing a difficult year, from the macroeconomic point of view. Crisp added that a significant economic growth should not be expected this year. He spoke of 12 basic indicators and conclusions of the round table. Crisp assessed that Croatia's economy was at the turning point and that the Government put the emphasis on the economy. Efforts to decrease deformations from the past are visible, according to him. The economy has been affected by the failure of some banks and the State must get rid of such problems, he added. Crisp positively assessed the efforts of Finance Ministry to prevent cases of tax evasion. He ad
ZAGREB, March 24 (Hina) - A two-day round table discussion of "The
Economist" with the Croatian Government finished in Zagreb on
Wednesday.
A representative of this renowned British magazine, William Crisp,
said at the end of the conference that Croatia was facing a
difficult year, from the macroeconomic point of view.
Crisp added that a significant economic growth should not be
expected this year.
He spoke of 12 basic indicators and conclusions of the round table.
Crisp assessed that Croatia's economy was at the turning point and
that the Government put the emphasis on the economy. Efforts to
decrease deformations from the past are visible, according to him.
The economy has been affected by the failure of some banks and the
State must get rid of such problems, he added.
Crisp positively assessed the efforts of Finance Ministry to
prevent cases of tax evasion.
He added that urgent and clear reforms are necessary in the system
of financing the public health.
In term of European integration processes, Croatia is lagging
behind the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Poland for some
five or ten years due to the war and other events, according to this
journalist.
The forthcoming entrance of Croatia into the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) will be a first direct step of the country on the
path toward the European Union membership.
Commenting on the currency rate of kuna, Crisp pointed to the
"obsession" of the relation between kuna and German mark. He
stressed that the real currency rate depends on the basic economy
and its effectiveness.
He described the new law on banks as good because it enables the
Croatian Central Bank to have more authorities to intervene in
cases of illiquidity of banks.
He considered the further privatisation of companies such as the
oil industry (INA) or the Croatian telecommunications as
important.
During the two-day round table, held behind the closed doors,
Croatian ministers, the Central Bank's governor and directors of
some Croatian companies discussed with about 100 businessmen from
Croatia and abroad plans of the economic policy of the Croatian
government.
(hina) ms