Croatia has the highest amount of money available from all European funds so far, as much as €25 billion, which it must absorb by 2029 and this is an opportunity of a generation, Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Sime Erlic said on Tuesday in the central Croatian town of Karlovac at a workshop on EU 2021-2027 allocations.

This is an exceptional opportunity for the Croatian economy and all segments of society, it was underscored at the workshop, with the message that the system for tapping European Union funds should be improved, which will sustainably and successfully serve all beneficiaries.

In the new financial perspective, “we are going strongly forward one step further,” said the minister.

“This time we are ready because we don’t need to build the system. We have the people, the know-how, and development agencies. (…) They will be in charge of smartly directing European funds. Now we are more experienced and we have to find those projects that provide the greatest added value for the community and that have a strong component of sustainability,” the minister underlined and added that more focus should be placed on investments in “digital” and “green” because more than half of the available money is intended for this.

Erlic assessed that European funds proved to be important for Croatia.

With the support of EU funds, the development cycle of the entire country was accelerated and more than 70 percent of all public investments were financed from this source.

He also said that an “investment boom” awaits us by 2029.

“Investments will be made in innovation and research, business competitiveness, energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, sustainability, waste management, water utility management and so on. We have a green transition ahead of us and we have suitable means for it,” Erlic noted.

He highlighted investments in the least developed regions and exploiting their potential as the biggest development challenge.