Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in Osijek on Friday that visible steps forward had been made for the Slavonia region in the past six years by implementing Project Slavonia thanks to synergy between the national and local levels.

The project is aimed at helping the region’s revitalisation, demographic recovery and economic growth by investing in infrastructure, agriculture and education, he told the press after meeting with Osijek Mayor Ivan Radic and Osijek-Baranja County head Ivan Anusic.

Plenkovic said he was pleased that HRK 1 billion worth of projects were being carried out in Osijek in the last year.

During our term, investments worth HRK 3 billion have been contracted in the city and over HRK 7 billion in the county, he added.

Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Nataša Tramisak said the results were visible in the economic, social, municipal and road infrastructure after six years of investments co-funded by the EU.

She said plans for regions in industrial transition had been approved in operational programmes until 2027. We are looking forward to the new opportunities, notably in the economic sense, she added.

Mayor Radic thanked the government for investing in Osijek and said the bulk of the current investments in the city, over HRK 1 billion, was financed by the EU. For the first time in ten years, we have more people moving in than out, which interests us the most, he added.

Prefect Anusic said this region was making progress in demography, the return of emigrants and tourism development thanks to cooperation and the promotion of positive trends.