At Lider’s 2nd Financial Forum in Zagreb, Croatia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Tomislav Ćorić set out how fiscal policy should respond to an exogenous shock, arguing that adaptation is needed through stronger economic resilience, investment in defence and energy security, and maintaining sufficient budgetary space to respond to further shocks. On financing conditions, he described Croatia as operating in a favourable environment, citing very high bank liquidity and credit terms for the non-financial sector that are more favourable than in other European Union member states. Despite this, he called for diversification away from a bank-centric corporate financing model through a deeper capital market, and stressed the need for responsible, timely communication that avoids populism, particularly in the context of the energy shock. He also highlighted digitalisation and artificial intelligence as key investment themes, including for traditional industries. The remarks flagged a stronger near-term focus by the Ministry of Finance and the government on capital market development and stated that the new financial envelope for 2028–2034 will be oriented towards those able to advance adoption of artificial intelligence and digitalisation.

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