Filipović – if necessary, we will limit the prices of 300 items

Those who have unjustifiably raised prices could lose their subsidies for electricity, said Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Davor Filipović while discussing the price increases following the entry into the Eurozone and what the Government will do to revert prices to their previous levels, reports Večernji list.

– Regarding this significant achievement of the Government, which is the entry into the Eurozone and Schengen, we have witnessed that from January 1, there has been an increase in prices both in retail and in services. The Government has decided to react. Everyone who has unjustifiably raised prices must return them to the price that was on December 31. There is no justified reason for such a price spike. We have an inflation rate of 13.5 percent. The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages contribute the most to this inflation, and they have been rising throughout last year – said Filipović.

He added that nothing happened over the weekend from December 31 to January 1 that would cause such a price spike. In retail, the price increase is from 3 to 19 percent, for example, bakery products, chocolate, butter. In hospitality establishments, inspections recorded a price increase of 1 to 10 percent, and when we talk about services, from 10 to 80 percent. No input has increased over the weekend for anyone to raise prices like that, said the minister.

Some, he added, have started to fish in troubled waters; there is no justified reason for such a spike, and all businesses should return prices as the Government has prescribed.

– It is not my whim, nor Plenković’s, to limit prices, to interfere in the market economy. However, we are in a situation where the market is not functioning. We have seen a surge in energy prices; everyone has called for Government assistance. The Government intervened to save everyone, so that both people and the economy could function – he said.

– We entered this process in good faith. Why was there no punishment before? One cannot punish someone in advance. Penalties are prescribed by the Euro Law and the Consumer Protection Law. When we talk about the Euro Law, penalties can go up to one hundred thousand kuna for a legal entity, about 13,200 euros. According to the Consumer Protection Law, when we talk about a legal entity, penalties can exceed 26,000 euros. These are penalties that can be imposed – added the minister.

– If some things are not put in order by Friday, we have several moves we can make. Just as we limited the price in September for nine basic products, which we wanted to help our most vulnerable citizens with, we can expand this to 100, 200, or 300 products and revert the price to a specific date, concluded Filipović.