Page 45 - bnemagazine bne_December 2021_20211203.pdf

bne December 2021 Southeast Europe I 45
Currently, the town has two problems, explains Sabolic. “First, we have a lot of houses and building lots owned by the municipality,” he says, citing the associated maintenance costs. Under Croatian law if a person dies with no successors or their successors renounce the inheritance because of debts, ownership passes to the municipality
funds to young people or offering free kindergartens. None have yet adopted such a wide range of measures.
While Legrad is a somewhat extreme example, the problems it faces are those faced by Croatia as a whole and other countries in the region, namely, a declining population and shortages
bringing in workers from as far away as India and more recently Nepal – though most see Croatia as only a temporary place to work, not a permanent place
to settle. On the other hand, companies from Germany come to the area to recruit Croatians for jobs in Germany.
“Irrespectively of the labour market stability during the crisis, it is evident that mismatches in the demand and supply of labour will continue to be present in some core industries. The government has already relaxed the rules on entry of foreign workers when related to skilled labour. The tourism industry was struggling even before the pandemic because it was not possible to satisfy demand locally,” Victoria Zinchuk, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) director for Croatia, told
bne IntelliNews.
“If Croatia wants to retain a highly skilled workforce in the long term, it will need to create opportunities for higher value-added industries and services,” Zinchuk added.
“For me personally, in addition to enabling a better business environment, the priorities are to provide kindergartens, schools, hospitals and care for the elderly. Fundamentally, this basic infrastructure needs to be in place in order to allow young families to settle down, work, invest and promote the growth in the country.”
“We lack population here, we lack workers, so we tried to talk to get new people to come to our municipality"
or city authority. Most years, five to 10 properties pass into the ownership of the municipality in Legrad each year.
“Secondly,” says Sabolic, “We lack population here, we lack workers, so we tried to talk to get new people to come to our municipality.”
The municipality uses various incentives to bring people to live there. First, there is the sale of houses or plots of land for HRK1, a scheme similiar to that launched by some small towns in Italy also looking to revive declining populations. Alternatively, people who buy homes
or land from a third party can get a HRK35,000 grant to renovate them.
The first measure has brought 30 people to the town, while around 100 people took advantage of the second. “We are very satisfied, because we now have many more people in our municipality in just one year,” Sabolic says.
The mayor points out that while some came from as far afield as Pula or Slavonia, more than 200 km away, to start a new life in Legrad, not all are newcomers to the town. They also include, for example, young couples moving out of their parents’ homes to start their own family.
A nationwide problem
Some other municipalities have taken note of Legrad’s efforts, but according to Sabolic they have tended to cherry- pick parts of it such as extending
of workers. Croatia’s entry to the EU was followed by large-scale emigration to West European countries, leaving companies, especially those in the tourism and construction sectors, struggling to find workers. The results of the country’s population census won’t be out for another few months, but statistics office data shows that the population has declined from 4.3mn in 2001 to just over 4mn in 2019.
Located near to the industrial cities of Koprivnica and others in Mejemuru County, Legrad has a low rate of unemployment. According to Sabolic, there are a lot of working places for people who want to come to the area, so many, in fact, that local companies have employed recruitment agencies who are
Legrad was a thriving market town, benefitting from its location.
www.bne.eu