The new bill on social welfare, which is expected to go into force on 1 January 2022, will increase the monthly social assistance payment paid to unemployed people to 1,000 kuna (€133), or 20 percent up, for all single-member households "entitled to this social welfare benefit," the Jutarnji List daily reported on Friday.

The daily cited Social Policy Minister, Josip Aladrovic, as saying that the government and the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) “found the current monthly social aid payment inadequate.”

Aladrovic told Jutarnji that the HDZ’s campaign platform planned in cash welfare from 800 (€105) to 1,500 kuna (€200), and described this increase in 2022 as the “first step” towards achieving that. According to Aladrovic, the government’s budget currently “allows for this 200 kuna increase.”

He also said that the eligibility criteria for this welfare allowance would be changed, with more favorable conditions for children and the disabled.

(€1 =7.57 kuna)