Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that Croatia would use all the funds from the EU Solidarity Fund for post-earthquake reconstruction by the end of June and would have another €1.2 billion available for this purpose from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).

To date, Croatia has absorbed €700 million from the Solidarity Fund for post-earthquake reconstruction. According to current estimates, Croatia will manage to use the full allocation of €1.003 billion  by the deadline of 30 June, the prime minister said.

For the remaining reconstruction projects, other sources of funding will be found, including from the state budget over the next few years, he added.

Plenkovic noted that a new package of government aid had entered into force and that initial one-off aid payments to unemployed persons had begun, to be followed by payments to vulnerable energy buyers, recipients of assistance and care benefits, veterans, recipients of child benefits, and pensioners.

The prime minister extended his best wishes to all Christian believers for Easter, announcing that he and some of his cabinet ministers would attend Easter Mass led by Cardinal Josip Bozanic in Zagreb.