ZAGREB, 5 March (Hina) – The government will respond to any potential rise in energy prices resulting from the crisis in the Middle East, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday, adding that evacuations of Croatian citizens from the region — where war has been raging since Saturday — are under way.
“We are ready to adopt measures to cap energy prices if necessary, as well as introduce other measures that have previously helped our citizens and the economy,” Plenković said, referring to the possibility of a “prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz”.
“Globally speaking, all of this could lead to a sharp rise in oil and gas prices, as well as new inflationary pressures. The government will know how to respond,” the prime minister said during a session of his cabinet.
Tehran on Tuesday closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes. In practice, traffic through the passage has been halted for five days, after Iran attacked five vessels there.
Plenković also said that all Croatian citizens who had requested evacuation from Iran, Israel and Jordan had been evacuated, adding that the relevant ministries were taking “all available measures to return as many citizens as possible in the shortest possible time” if they request assistance.
“At this moment, a Croatia Airlines aircraft with a capacity of 149 seats is on its way to Dubai airport,” he said, adding that it is expected to land in Zagreb later in the evening.
The government is also ready to organise three additional repatriation flights using Croatian aircraft from the United Arab Emirates, a US ally that has come under retaliatory Iranian air strikes following attacks by the United States and Israel.
In addition to Croatian aircraft, the government has arranged with commercial companies from the Emirates to transport around 300 Croatian citizens on Thursday evening, while with flydubai it has arranged the repatriation of about 40 Croatians on Friday, at Croatia’s expense.
Plenković noted that most of those involved in the first phase are people staying there for a short time or on holiday, but that the government is also ready to assist residents. According to data from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, there are around 2,000 Croatian residents in the UAE and about 20 in Oman.
“All of them still have the option of returning on commercial flights to Europe,” the prime minister said, adding that Croatia is in close contact with European partners to exchange security information.
