Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that in the coming period Croatia should invest a lot of effort to address the challenge of a population decline and demographic deficit.

“It is up to us to have a higher-quality state and society and to cope with a serious challenge of a drop in the birth rates and a demographic deficit which is becoming an essential concern of the Croatian people and society,” he said at a two-day conference organised by the Regional Development EU Fund Ministry in the seaside resort of Opatija.

We must apply all good practices and mechanisms to at least decelerate the negative trends we are faced with, he added.

In his address Plenkovic noted all the recent EU-funded projects, such as the completion of Peljesac Bridge, as a symbol of the first seven years of Croatia’s EU membership.

The PM underlined that Croatia’s forthcoming admission to the euro area and to the passport-free Schengen area meant that during its two terms in office, his cabinet managed to fulfill those strategic  objectives.

After its international recognition 30 years ago, Croatia is now joining a club of the 15 countries in the world that are members of NATO, the EU, the euro area and the Schengen zone, he said.

Plenkovic added that the war of aggression launched by Russia against Ukraine had triggered off energy price hikes and soaring prices of water and food products. Inflation pressure has adversely affected households, which has required strong intervention, he said adding that his cabinet was among the fastest EU members in the response to this crisis.