Outgoing Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said on Thursday there are no indications of a recession occurring this year, but noted that economic trends are heavily influenced by circumstances surrounding the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the high level of uncertainty.

Maric said that “Croatia is not an island” but a country integrated into the EU and international trends. Global disruptions, including those in economically strong countries, are then transmitted to Croatia and “we need to be aware of that,” he added.

He said that despite all the economic and financial challenges, Croatia is doing better than ever and is much more resilient to crises than before.

Maric, who decided to step down as finance minister After six and a half years, held a press conference that lasted more than an hour. In his address, which was emotional at times, he referred to the past period, including the tax reform, carried out through five rounds, the business and financial restructuring of the road and highway sector, the crisis surrounding Agrokor and Uljanik, the global coronavirus pandemic, as well as the earthquakes that hit Croatia two years ago.

He said that all this did not distract the government from its priorities and goals, including entry into the euro area, which should be formally approved by Ecofin on 12 July. He added that he will attend that meeting in person.

Maric said that he isn’t leaving a sinking Titanic ahead of an “economic tsunami” which some analysts are foretelling for the autumn.

He said that the reason for his leaving has nothing to do with the case of his staying at the Bellevue Hotel in Mali Losinj, which is owned by the Jadranka Group, which was another case opened by the Conflict of Interest Commission.

He also denied any deterioration in relations within the government, adding that everything done in previous years was the result of joint work and support. “I could have come up with great proposals for tax reforms, but if Andrej Plenkovic had said no, they probably would never have materialised,” said Maric.