Unless Croatia undertakes profound structural reforms, it will not move up in the competitiveness rankings for a long time to come, the chief economist at the Croatian Employers Association (HUP), Iva Tomic, said on Thursday.

Her statement came after Croatia was ranked 59th out of 64 countries in this year’s IMD global competitiveness index.

Although Croatia has moved up one spot, it is still near the bottom of the ranking and at the very bottom among EU member states, Tomic said.

“This means that we cannot speak of an improvement in competitiveness, and we cannot blame our present ranking on the COVID-19 pandemic given that all world economies struggled to a certain degree with the consequences of the corona crisis in 2020. Actually, we have been stagnating in these international competitiveness rankings for a while now, and I am afraid that without profound structural reforms we will not be able to leave the present place between Peru and Mongolia,” Tomic said in HUP’s comment on the IMD survey.

She said that Croatia should change its entire mindset, both in corporate governance and primarily in public policy management, to create a stimulating business environment that would attract foreign investment.