Budget Deficit of 2 Billion Euros Despite Revenue Growth

The general budget according to national methodology was, in the first half of 2025, in deficit of two billion euros, or 2.2 percent of GDP, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Marko Primorac on Friday, presenting the semi-annual report on the execution of the State Budget of the Republic of Croatia.

The deficit of the state budget amounted to 1.9 billion euros or 2.1 percent of GDP, while off-budget users of the state budget achieved a surplus of 139.4 million euros or 0.2 percent of GDP, while local and regional self-government units and county road administrations recorded a deficit of 211 million euros.

Tax Revenues are Increasing

Total revenues of the state budget in the first half of the year amounted to 15 billion euros, which is seven percent more than in the first six months of 2024. Tax revenues increased by 5.1 percent, to 8.5 billion euros.

Contributions for pension insurance amounted to 2.8 billion euros, with a year-on-year increase of 19.2 percent. Pension expenditures amounted to 4.3 billion euros or 11.2 percent more on a year-on-year basis, primarily due to pension adjustments.

Primorac also presented a set of legislative proposals that transfer the provisions of the directive on the European Single Access Point for centralized access (European Single Access Point or abbreviated ESAP) into domestic legislation in the field of economy and finance.

The goal is the centralization, digitalization, and standardization of access to all information important for financial services, capital markets, and sustainability, said Primorac.

ESAP to be Fully Implemented by 2030

He explained that currently, this information is dispersed, published on different platforms and in inconsistent formats, making it difficult for investors, supervisory bodies, and the interested public to access. ESAP introduces a unique, publicly accessible, and free access point for all previously published data, enabling their comparability and increasing the transparency of capital markets, without imposing any additional obligations on entrepreneurs, said the minister.

ESAP will be introduced gradually in three phases: from July 2026, January 2028, and January 2030, with the scope of data and regulations expanding in each phase. Member states must designate a national body for receiving, technical verification, and forwarding data to ESAP. In Croatia, this role is taken over by HANFA.