SDP MP Sanja Bjezancevic said on Tuesday that the impact of Andrej Plenkovic's government and the Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem project had not been as successful as the Prime Minister had claimed. She noted that since Plenkovic's "enthronement", 90,000 people have emigrated from Slavonia.

“Since the enthronement of Andrej Plenkovic and the launch of this project, 90,000 people have emigrated from Slavonia, 7,500 family businesses have collapsed and two out of five Slavonian counties are among the 2.5% of the least developed regions in the EU,” said the MEP.

Bjezancevic emphasised that the unemployment rate in Osijek-Baranja County, the most developed county in the eastern region of Slavonia, is twice as high as the national average.

Wages in Slavonia have increased by 12% less than the national average, and from January 2020 to March 2024, Slavonians received a monthly wage that was €192 lower than in the rest of the country, she said.

She estimated that by 2028 and the end of the current government’s term, the difference in the growth of gross wages would continue to increase and that in 2028 Slavs would earn on average €280 less per month than workers in the rest of the country.