Croatia's plan of recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is brilliant and ambitious, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.

The Commission has given the green light for Croatia’s €6.3 billion national recovery and resilience plan which could increase GDP by 2.9percent and create 21,000 jobs by 2026.

Von der Leyen brought to Zagreb a positive assessment of the plan which, she said, balances investment and reforms in the economy, administration and health.

She said the plan now had to be approved by the European Council and that then the real job, implementation, would start.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic thanked the Commission for its solidarity at a time when Croatia was faced with devastating earthquakes in Zagreb and the central Croatian Banija region, and not just the pandemic.