Croatian businesses will have a wide range of opportunities in the new financing period, Minister for Regional Development and EU Funds Natasa Tramisak said on Tuesday while presenting the new Multiannual Financial Framework under which Croatia will have access to €14.4 billion.

Tramisak attended a business breakfast hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia, which focused on the opportunities of the business community to use funds from the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027.

She said that of the €14.4 billion made available to Croatia under the MFF, about €9 billion concerns cohesion policy which is coordinated by her ministry.

“A large portion of funding will go towards targeted public calls for our businesses, for investment in tangible and non-tangible assets and the green and digital transition of the economy, which includes productive investment in research, development and innovation. We will also embark on a new direction regarding plans for the industrial transition of regions, because we want to strengthen the regional economies of Pannonian, Adriatic and Northern Croatia,” Tramisak said.

She said that calls had already been issued last year as part of the Next Generation EU instrument and the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU) programme for investment in the manufacturing industry for the green and digital transition, and more than 1 billion kuna worth of projects had been agreed for Croatian enterprises.

New calls are expected before the end of this year, after the MFF is approved by the European Commission, she added.

Tramišak recalled that the value of the entire allocation for Croatia over the next nine years is €25 billion, while Croatian businesses will have direct access to about €5 billion from the entire package, which includes the MFF and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

She also noted the possibility for investment through the common agricultural policy, where the allocation for Croatia amounts to about €5 billion, and this process will be coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture.

(€1 = 7.52 kuna)