The government will Thursday release its forecast that the GDP would grow by about 5% in 2021, while a drop in GDP of 8% is expected for 2020, according to revised estimates, compared to an initial forecast of 9.4%, Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said on Wednesday.

This year’s budget deficit should remain, according to Maric, at 6.7% of GDP, as was estimated earlier.

Following a presentation of the budget execution in the first half of 2020 in the Croatian parliament, Maric said that in the present circumstances it was extremely difficult to make macroeconomic forecasts.

“I think we have made credible and defensible macroeconomic forecasts, which we can present to both the domestic and international public,” Maric said.

The forecasts are based, he said, on the latest available data and there are negative and positive risks.

“The uncertainty regarding COVID-19 remains to be a negative risk while positive risks are primarily those related to the New Generation EU fund, that is, recovery and resilience,” the finance minister said.

He added that he considered EU funds to be an opportunity for Croatia, but that the focus should now be on implementation.