Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Saturday that the digitalisation of the Croatian state and society, and especially of the economy, would be one of the fundamental goals for this decade in order to catch up with the fourth industrial revolution.

“Digital transition is the only possible way to catch up with the fourth industrial revolution and to be able to monitor what artificial intelligence is doing and how to regulate it,” Plenkovic told a conference of the youth organisation of his Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party.

He said that technological giants were so fast that international and regional organisations, as well as states and governments, lagged behind technological progress. “First something comes up and then we regulate it. That’s the reality,” the PM noted.

He told the young people that adapting to such rapid technological development was having an impact on them and their choice of profession, university and position on the labour market.

Demographic revitalisation is a structural problem

Another important goal in the years ahead will be demographic revitalisation of Croatia because that is a structural problem of both the Croatian people and society, Plenković said, adding that the Strategy for Demographic Revitalisation of Croatia would be put to public consultation later next week.

Speaking of the importance of the green transition, he said that climate change, global warming, energy transition and phasing out of fossil fuels were the most important topics among young people in Europe and the world.

“It is you who should provide an impulse to the government and the party to formulate such policies,” Plenković said.

He said that the government would continue investing in education so that young people from preschool age to university could acquire general and special knowledge and skills.

Plenkovic called on the 20,000 members of the the HDZ Youth organisation to make a maximum effort to be more visible on social networks for next year’s Croatian and European elections.