Croatia is faced with new price rises due to the introduction of the euro and inflation, which begs the question of how that will impact emigration, Vecernji List daily reported on Monday, adding that there is a risk of a new emigration wave.

If young people with an average pay of €1,000 can’t afford a flat which costs €2,000, 3,000 or more per square metre and renting is not affordable, what will keep them here, Vecernji List wrote.

The daily goes on to quote the demographer Stjepan Sterc, who said what use is free market to enterprises if there are no consumers, if only a wealthy minority and the poorest stay in the country?

In a state where emigration has not been stopped, which has a labour shortage and where the number of births will fall below 35,000 this year, which is a historical low, it’s not wise to make threats with new price rises or arbitrariness which is not in the interest of the common good, he added.

Joining the passport-free travel area, Schengen, and introducing the euro makes Croatia even more vulnerable to young people leaving and that, coupled with higher prices, will directly drive emigration, Sterc said.

Croatia is again becoming an EU border area, which will result in higher migrating pressure, he added.

Sterc said he told employers who contacted him about the labour shortage that it could not be solved only by importing labour. The political system is closed and does not acknowledge the opinion of experts, he added.

The cheap labour coming to Croatia practically subsist here and have no possibility to spend more, and given the ageing Croatian population, consumption will decrease, as will the inflow of EU funds, all of which will have serious repercussions resulting from a flippant approach to the demography issue, Sterc is quoted as saying.

Vecernji List quoted another demographer, Andjelko Akrap, who warned that Croatia does not have a demographic policy, which is key for the country’s survival.