The Croatian Youth Network, an umbrella association of NGOs bringing together young people, on Thursday stated that as many as 76.9 percent of young Croatians aged 18-34 still live with their parents - the highest proportion in the European Union.

The group listed “rising unemployment levels, housing insecurity, lack of high-quality education, and insufficient participation of young people in policy-making” as key problems “adversely affecting the status of young Croatians,” state agency Hina said.

They also criticized the government for recent funding cuts which saw the pre-crisis budget for youth NGOs slashed from 700 million kuna (€93 million) to only 100 million kuna (€13.3 million), which they said could jeopardize their survival and the jobs of some 16,000 people they employ.

(€1 = 7.49 kuna)