Commenting on the EC Autumn 2020 Economic Forecast which projects a 9.6% contraction of Croatia's economy in 2020 and a 5.7% rebound in 2021, Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said on Thursday that uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus pandemic were an essential element in all projections.

In both the EC report and the government’s projections, the uncertainty about how long the epidemic will last is a key element, Maric told reporters in the parliament.

It remains to be seen whether the epidemiological situation is going to deteriorate and whether this will entail more stringent restrictions, as has been the case in some European countries, Maric said.

As for the positive risks, Maric pointed out the effects of the absorption of the European funds.

Both the government and the EC hold that domestic consumption can be the main trigger for recovery.

Thus, the Commission has seen that we have managed to survive this period without a marked rise in unemployment, and in parallel with the accumulated savings and moratorium of the debt enforcement proceedings as well as the tax changes in 2021, this could give an impetus to the personal consumption in 2021, he added.

The minister admitted that the situation was still challenging, and that everything had been done to prevent it from turning into a dramatic scenario.