Labour Minister, Josip Aladrovic, said that the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) had formed mobile teams that visit places to which refugees from Ukraine come and that the HZZ worked together with social welfare centres.

So far, about 400 people have expressed interest in employment in Croatia, and they have to obtain a temporary residence permit for that, so we have accelerated the procedure with the Interior Ministry (MUP) in order to make them a priority, he added after the Economic and Social Council held a meeting on the inclusion of Ukrainian refugees in the labour market.

It is encouraging that 40% of them have a post-secondary degree, and we will try to enable the recognition of their diplomas and enable them to learn the Croatian language at the expense of the HZZ, Aladrović said.

He noted that about a hundred companies had expressed readiness to employ displaced Ukrainian nationals and the role of the HZZ was to act as an intermediary.

He added he didn’t expect disturbances or abuse on the labour market, where there was great demand, especially seasonal. Aladrovic also expected greater involvement of the State Inspectorate in the control of labour relations.

Ukrainian nationals will have the same rights and obligations as everyone else on the labour market, Minister Aladrovic said.

Ivan Misetic said on behalf of the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP) that they strongly supported the GSV conclusions, adding that it was reasonable to expect more than 8,500 refugees from Ukraine to come to Croatia.

HUP has thus decided to help its members to present their employment opportunities themselves. It has also become actively involved in delivering aid to refugees here and in Ukraine, and we believe that together we will respond appropriately to the crisis, Misetic said.

Asked about the possibilities of their employment, he said that that was possible in the services and the IT sector and that there was also a significant number of women with a medical education, adding that they hoped there wouldn’t be bureaucratic problems with regard to their knowledge, skills and the recognition of their degrees.

Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said his ministry was engaged in co-ordinating efforts to implement the EU temporary protection directive, which had its own reporting methods, not only in Croatia, but also toward the European Commission and relevant councils.

As the ministry in charge of the issue of asylum and migration, that is temporary protections, we are the ones who will collect data, and the Ministry will react promptly in case of rule violation, he stressed.

Regarding available capacities, Bozinovic said that it was in the interest of social partners and Ukrainian refugees to place those people in individual accommodation. It is also necessary to find a way to motivate Croatian citizens who have surplus living space and want to make it available.

I think that is a better solution for refugees from a humanitarian and economic point of view than collective housing we had to rely on in the first phase. Contracts will be available to everyone through a website set up yesterday, Bozinovic said. He said 27 properties had been mobilised to date, and reimbursement would be possible retroactively from the day refugees were accepted.

As for compensation for the accommodation of refugees, Bozinovic said he couldn’t provide any specific information for now, but he recalled that some countries had set it at €5 to 8 per person, which would cover accommodation and utilities.

We are also counting on money from the EU, he added.

He announced a meeting of EU home affairs ministers for Monday, noting that consultations with member states were already under way to encourage the European Commission to start using the funds of the next budget period as soon as possible.

Personally, I think it would be best to create an ad hoc financial mechanism or some kind of emergency aid so that we would be able to cover those costs, and solutions would have to be offered quickly, said Bozinovic.