Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said on Wednesday he was confident the 2020 state budget would be on the government's agenda tomorrow, adding that it would total HRK 140 billion and that pensions and wages were the two items with the highest increases.

Speaking on Croatian Radio, Maric said the budget would be discussed at an inner cabinet meeting today.

Asked if he heard that Croatian People’s Party (HNS) leader said the HNS ministers would not attend the cabinet’s meeting on Thursday if money to raise job complexity indices for public servants was not envisaged in the budget for next year, Maric said he did and that he would see what would happen tomorrow.

He said the budget envisaged lots of investment in infrastructure, road building, the construction and equipping of new hospitals, healthcare and other areas.

He said this year’s pension budget was HRK 41 billion and that an additional HRK 1.7 billion was planned in 2020.

As for wages, Maric said they would rise 6% in 2020, in three rounds.

Asked if a revised budget for this year envisaged the cost of a possible parliamentary election, he said it did not.

He said the point of the revision was to stay within the limits of the expenditures side. “Revenues are good, some even above our expectations, so we can expect the total result of this year’s budget to be better. We can again count on a balanced budget.”

(€1 = HRK 7.45)