Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday that labour will be in high demand in Croatia for a few more years as Croatia continues to raise its development average and receives EU funds.

In Croatia, post-earthquake reconstruction continues, roads, railways and bridges are being built and we lack construction companies and labour for these projects, Plenkovic said at a meeting of the Association “Prsten” of Bosnian-Herzegovinian Croatian businessmen in Zagreb.

He rejected claims that the European Union would stop its financial support.

In the last 11 years since the country’s accession to the EU, EU payments have exceeded Croatia’s contributions to the EU budget by 14.5 billion euros, he said.

In 2023, Croatia’s growth rate was 2.8%, five times higher than the EU average. This was felt in the tourism sector, services, hospitality, transport and activities related to the tourism industry, he said.

Revenues from the tourism industry have increased by 80% in the last eight years, and this also requires a higher quality of services and a sufficient labour force for the extended tourist season, the Prime Minister said.

In the past, labour has traditionally been recruited from Bosnia and Herzegovina and other south-eastern European countries, and now Croatia needs to seek labour from further afield.

The amendments to the Aliens Act are currently under public consultation. The amended legislation will regulate the qualifications required for employment in Croatia and for filling vacancies, taking into account economic growth and demand in Croatia, he said.

Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said that Croatia will be an open and prosperous country that enables Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina to participate in its development and growth, and that shows that it knows how to deal with the problem of illegal immigration.

Bozinovic said that the number of work permits issued had increased by 38 to 52,000 compared to the previous year.

Labour Minister Marin Piletic said that the government is committed to strengthening the status of Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina and that Croatia would be a poorer country without immigration.