The City of Zagreb has absorbed about €150 million of EU funds over the past four and a half years and the latest project to be financed this way is the roundabout in the Zagreb suburb of Remetinec, Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic said on Tuesday in Brussels.

“Even though the previous government set some limits, the City of Zagreb managed in the past four years to activate €150 million from EU funds. Our latest project is the roundabout in Remetinec, for which will receive some 200 million kuna (€27 million), 85 percent of the total value of the investment which the city won’t have to finance from its budget,” Bandic said in Brussels where he was attending a covenant of mayors from EU capital cities.

The conference is dedicated to cohesion policy, public investments and the urban agenda in the context of the next multi-annual EU budget for the period 2021-2027.

European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, attended the conference as did the Commissioner for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, Jyrki Katainen.

Bandic announced that European funds will also be used to finance a rail link to Zagreb’s airport, as well as a waste management centre.

During the covenant, the mayors adopted a declaration calling on the EU to secure and boost capacities for public investments, and to contribute to social cohesion and competitiveness, as well as better living standards in cities.

In the declaration, the mayors said they regretted that the European Commission has proposed to cut funding for cohesion policy for the next seven-year budget, adding that this budget was especially important as one of the EU policies which most visibly affect people’s daily lives.

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