Page 85 - bne IntelliNews Southeastern Europe Outlook 2025

post-season underscored progress in positioning Croatia as a year-round destination.
However, concerns persisted over housing shortages in tourist-heavy regions, prompting the government to introduce legislative measures aimed at regulating short-term rentals. These reforms, which proposed higher taxes on tourist properties, sought to ease housing pressures for local residents.
In technology, Infobip, a leading Croatian communications platform based in Vodnjan, garnered international recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024.
The energy sector attracted crucial foreign investment, particularly in renewable energy projects. Spanish company Acciona Energía committed €100mn to build wind farms near Split and Šibenik, aiming to produce over 200 GWh of clean electricity annually.
The EBRD also extended a €43mn loan for onshore wind farm projects in the Zadar region.
Defense modernisation emerged as another notable area, with Croatia planning to acquire up to 50 Leopard 2A8 tanks from Germany. The decision aligned with the government’s broader strategy to replace outdated Soviet-era equipment while supporting international defense efforts by transferring older tanks to Ukraine.
5.5 Real Economy – Kosovo
5.5.1 Retail
In August, the retail trade turnover index, excluding trade in vehicles and motorcycles, dropped by 20.76% compared to August 2023, according to statistics institute data. Despite the overall decline, certain sectors showed significant growth: retail trade via mail order or the internet surged by 276%, retail trade outside stores or markets rose by 188.21%, cultural and entertainment goods in specialised stores increased by 20.69%, food products, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores grew by 16.36%, and other goods in specialised stores saw a 7.08% rise.
Conversely, notable decreases were observed in retail trade of information and communication equipment (-64.92%), automotive fuel (-40.88%), other household appliances (-23.89%) and non-specialised stores (-12.28%).
In Kosovo, Lidl has begun recruiting staff for its upcoming stores, as announced on the LinkedIn page of the Kosovo branch of HR services provider The HeadHunter Group.
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