ZAGREB, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Croatia President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic presented the measures for demographic revitalization here on Monday, naming it as the most important national issue for the country's future.
Grabar-Kitarovic suggests tax reform to reduce the cost of labor for employers and increase salaries for employees. Among the measures that will be directed to the Croatian government are the increase of maternity benefits and one-off fees for every newborn child. The president also proposes to increase the child allowance, a kindergarten place for every child and free shuttle transport for school children.
"Everyone will ask how much it cost, and I will answer by countering: How much does the future cost" Grabar-Kitarovic said.
She also proposed amending the Law on Croatian Citizenship in order to allow equal conditions for all, from returnees to immigrants.
For the great emigration of young people from Croatia, the president cited unemployment, low salaries, discrimination against young women and the problem of indebted citizens as the reasons.
"The collapse of education, pension system and education is awaiting us in Croatia if we do not stop emigration," she said, calling for national consensus for the implementation of the measures.
Grabar-Kitarovic will also send a proposal to the Croatian Government for the demographic revitalization.
Although she proposed a joint session of the Croatian government on which she would put forward her proposals, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic did not accept it.
The population of the southeastern European country stands at around 4.2 million. The average age of them is currently 42, while demographers expect that in 15 years this number will grow to 50 years old.
Over the past seven years, 89,000 people died in Croatia, more than that were born. Croatia is also faced with the emigration of a large number of people to other EU countries, and three quarters of the 165,000 people who left Croatia between 2011 and 2014 are at working age. In 2016 alone, 57,000 Croats went to work in Germany, and 23,000 in other EU countries. The ratio of the number of employees and pensioners is 1: 1 in Croatia today.
