State budget increased to 40.59 billion euros, deficit redu…

The State Budget of the Republic of Croatia for 2026 has been increased to 36.58 billion euros in revenue and 40.59 billion euros in expenditure, while the planned deficit is reduced to 4.02 billion euros. The amendments and supplements to the budget were adopted by the Croatian Parliament at a session on October 30, 2026, and the act was published in the Official Gazette (Narodne novine) no. 126/2026 of November 3, 2026, under number 1494 and class 011-02/26-02/81. This is a rebalance that changes the distribution of funds across all budget holders in the Special Part of the budget.

Legal Framework and Proclamation

The amendments and supplements change Article 1 of the existing State Budget for 2026 (“Official Gazette” no. 152/25), specifically the summary of the revenue and expenditure account and the summary of the financing account, and Article 3 distributes the total amount of 40,592,365,163 euros of operating expenditures and acquisition of non-financial assets, as well as 4,178,126,552 euros of expenditures for financial assets and loan repayments, among users and programs.

The decision on proclamation was signed by the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović, based on Article 89 of the Constitution, with official number 71-10-01/1-26-2. The final provisions stipulate that the amendments enter into force on the first day following the date of publication in the Official Gazette, under class 400-06/26-01/22; the signature was provided by the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković.

What is Changing in the Total Figures

Total revenue: 35,723,618,748 euros planned, increase of 853,204,617 euros, new plan 36,576,823,365 euros
Total expenditure: 39,847,052,094 euros planned, increase of 745,313,069 euros, new plan 40,592,365,163 euros
Deficit: reduced from 4,123,433,346 euros to 4,015,541,798 euros, i.e., an improvement of 107,891,548 euros
Operating expenditures increase by 1,304,054,496 euros, to 38,085,525,953 euros, while expenditures for the acquisition of non-financial assets decrease by 558,741,427 euros, to 2,506,839,210 euros
Tax revenues increase to 19,608,159,321 euros, and contributions to 6,457,792,154 euros
In the financing account, receipts are reduced to 8,100,025,837 euros, and net financing amounts to 4,015,541,798 euros

Healthcare and Transport with the Largest Amounts

The largest increase in the Special Part relates to the healthcare sector: the Ministry of Health grows in total from 5,181,304,283 to 5,404,455,973 euros, of which the amount for the ministry itself increases by 190,133,500 euros, to 1,029,310,926 euros, and for state-owned health institutions by 57,908,137 euros, to 4,247,153,078 euros.

In transport and infrastructure, the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure grows by 62,040,807 euros, to 2,101,562,814 euros. The largest individual jump is recorded by Croatian Motorways (Hrvatske autoceste), whose plan grows from 606,673,216 to 2,067,238,675 euros, primarily due to debt servicing and borrowing. The Ministry of Defense receives an additional 6,208,755 euros, and the Ministry of Finance a total of 193,644,606 euros more.

Consents for Public Enterprises and New Borrowing Restrictions

Along with the budget rebalance, nine decisions were published granting consent for amendments to financial plans, adopted at the same session on October 30, 2026:

HZZO: revenues 7,270,810,996 euros, expenditures 7,243,053,743 euros, surplus 27,757,253 euros
Hrvatske ceste: deficit 154,300,750 euros
Hrvatske vode: deficit 102,275,005 euros
HŽ Putnički prijevoz: deficit 45,186,915 euros
HŽ Infrastruktura: deficit 31,147,750 euros

Additionally, the Act on Amendments to the Act on the Execution of the State Budget for 2026, class 011-02/26-02/82, was published, which, among other things, replaces the amount of 9,090,089,762.00 euros with 7,588,709,502.00 euros in Article 47, paragraph 1, and introduces provisions on receipts from European Union financial instruments as well as the possibility of increasing the amount in the event of unplanned receipts from loans from European Commission institutions.

Significance for Budget Users

The rebalance affects the plans of all budget users, from hospitals and universities to judicial bodies, agencies, and public enterprises; therefore, contracted obligations, investments, and programs during the final months of the year will be implemented according to new quotas. The reduction in expenditures for non-financial assets, coupled with a simultaneous increase in operating expenditures, indicates that the focus is shifting from capital investments to current obligations and debt servicing.

I proclaim the Amendments to the State Budget of the Republic of Croatia for 2026 and the projections for 2027 and 2028, adopted by the Croatian Parliament at the session on October 30, 2026. Class: 011-02/26-02/81 Reg. No: 71-10-01/1-26-2 Zagreb, October 30, 2026. President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović, signed (Narodne novine No. 126/2026, November 3, 2026, act 1494)