Croatian President Ivo Josipovic and Parliament Speaker Josip Leko attended the launch and Leko underscored that the publication was intended for the scientific and expert public, but primarily for politicians as the demographic and migration trends were most concerning and required urgent measures.
"These demographic and migration trends are the consequence of several years of recession. All governments were urged to take steps to change these trends but that has not occurred," said Leko, recalling that Croatia is currently faced with a high rate of unemployment of young higher educated people.
"They are going abroad and Croatia is at a loss. However, we can bring them back but that requires a long-term national strategy of economic development adopted with a wide social consensus, something like an 'economic constitution'," he said.
A balanced development is also needed and an investment boost for other regional centres, in addition to the four largest centres (Zagreb, Rijeka, Split, Osijek), as well as aligning Croatia's education system with domestic and European markets.
The editors of the publication, Professor Josip Tica, Davorko Vidovic and Vlado Puljiz, consider that the migration of young highly educated people out of the country could be an opportunity to develop a network in the Diaspora.
Another major problem is that Croatia's population is ageing and Tica says that a key problem on Croatia's labour market is the institute of 'early retirement'. There are 500,000 people in retirement who are of working age.
Vidovic claimed that certain prejudice still existed in the country such as the fear that foreigners represented a threat to the local labour force and the national and cultural identity.
Billions of people in the world or every seventh person is mobile, 8.8% of the population in the EU is in migration, Vidovic said.