The sixth meeting of the Council for Slavonia, Baranja, and Srijem began on Friday in the eastern town of Beli Manastir, hosted by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

“I’m particularly pleased that, since our last meeting in Vinkovci (on September 10) we have made progress of about 5.6 percent, having contracted projects valued at some 1.1 billion kuna (€), which means that all the relevant factors are working on this project, and when we look back on it we will be able to see the full effects of this policy for the development of the Slavonia region,” Plenkovic said.

The Council was founded in March 8, 2017, with the aim to coordinate and oversee the use of EU funds within the Slavonia, Baranja, and Srijem Project, which aims to secure €2.5 billion from EU funds exclusively for development projects in five counties of the Slavonia region.Some 7.9 billion kuna (€1.06 billion) was already contracted, making up about 42 percent of total funds planned.

Completing the international traffic corridor 5C, which enables a better connection to Hungary, was a project of particular importance, Plenkovic said, adding that continuing the corridor in the direction of the neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina would give the Croatian motorways “a whole new dimension from the perspective of tourism development and better connectivity of the entire central Europe with the Adriatic.”

EU Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu attended today’s session, and Plenkovic said her presence is proof that “we aren’t the only ones who recognised the importance of developing the five counties of Slavonia, but that the whole of European Commission is fully aware of the importance of the project.”

Upon arriving in Beli Manastir, the prime minister met with the city mayor, Tomislav Rob, and Osijek-Baranja County Prefect Ivan Anusic.
Corina Creţu said that it was important that Croatia had set up the Council for Slavonia and Baranja in 2017, considering the major development disproportions between individual parts of the country.

The Council has results and contracts on concrete projects have been signed, Cretu said, adding that it was very impressive to see quality projects that were eligible for EU funding and met the necessary criteria.

The World Bank’s regional director for EU countries, Arup Banerji, expressed satisfaction with the government’s activities as part of the Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem project, adding that it provided an excellent opportunity for Croatia to do more for the development of its regions and its overall development.

After the Council meeting, 11 contracts will be signed, valued at 640 million kuna (The Research and Development Centre of telecommunications equipment manufacturer Ericsson Nikola Tesla (ENT) formally opened its office in the eastern city of Osijek on Friday. 86.1 million) in total, 70 percent of which will come from the EU funds.

The funds are intended, among other projects, for equipping and modernising the Clinical Medical Centre in the city of Osijek, to the city of Vukovar for a kitchen for preschoolers, for mine clearance, and for recovery and protection of forests in the Danube-Drava region.

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