Croatia's gross international reserves reached, €24.4 billion in September 2021, an all-time high, up by €300 million or 1.3 percent from August, the central bank said.

The increase was mostly thanks to the European Commission’s payment of €818 million, the first tranche of the so-called National Recovery and Resilience Plan, a EU funding mechanism designed to help EU economies deal with the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. The sum, paid in September this year, represents 13 percent of the total €6.3 billion earmarked for Croatia by Brussels.

Over the first nine months of 2021 Croatia’s gross international reserves have increased by €5.4 billion, or 28.6 percent, from about €19 billion at the end of 2020.

“Every indicator of the adequacy of the country’s gross international reserves suggest that they are sufficient to ensure the smooth running of the central bank’s monetary policy,” state agency Hina said, citing the central bank’s press release. Meanwhile, Croatia’s net reserves have remained almost the same as in August, at €19.5 billion.