Zagreb - In the parliamentary debate on the report on the use of EU funds fin the first half of 2024, HDZ MPs said on Tuesday that Croatia is successful in absorption of funds and that the results are visible at every step, while the Opposition stated that the situation is far from perfect.
"There is no municipality or city where an EU project is not being implemented," said Anamarija Blažević (HDZ).
The results are visible at every step throughout the country, EU funds are changing Croatia for the better, agreed another two HDZ lawmakers, Nikola Mažar and Marko Pavić.
"We rank second in the EU in drawing from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), and all institutions in Brussels confirm that Croatia is successful in drawing from EU funds," Pavić said.
"The situation is far from perfect," assessed Sanja Radolović (SDP), citing highly bureaucratic and complicated procedures, as well as the delay in the payment of Croatia's sixth tranche under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism because it failed to meet the basic prerequisites for payment related to improving the efficiency of state-owned companies and modernising public procurement.
Radolović believes that the implementation of projects through the NRRP has completely failed, and while the situation has improved somewhat with the new financial perspective until 2027, the payment of funds to beneficiaries remains very low, at about 3 to 4 percent.
"We have completely failed in the control of European funds," said Dalija Orešković (DOSIP), noting that we do not even know the basics – how much money is going for a specific purpose for which beneficiary.
Sandra Benčić of the We Can! finds controversial the statements made by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, claiming that he personally allocates EU funds for specific projects in Croatia.
"The way EU funds are implemented is such that through mechanisms controlling the expenditure of funds, political arbitrary allocation of funds is prevented. If someone in this country is arbitrarily allocating funds for projects, we in Parliament will organise and write a report to the European Commission about it," she said.
State Secretary: € 3.75 bn contracted until mid-2024
State Secretary in the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, Domagoj Mikulić, presenting the report on the use of EU Structural and Investment Funds and pre-accession assistance programs, said that by 30 June 2024, a total of 13.75 billion euros had been contracted, which amounts to 121% of the total allocated funds of 11.33 billion euros.
Total payments amount to 11.4 billion euros, or 97% of the total allocated funds, and a total of 11.57 billion euros has been certified, or 102% of the total allocated funds.
Croatia has made significant progress in numerous areas thanks to EU funds.
In the cohesion policy alone, there are over 12,000 projects across Croatia, from investments in cultural heritage, transport connectivity, active employment measures, waste management, etc., emphasized the state secretary.
With the new perspective from 2021 to 2027, he added, further investments and a new wave of investments will be secured, focusing on stronger and more balanced regional development, improving living and working conditions in all parts of Croatia, the development of cities and urban areas, mountainous and assisted areas, sustainable islands, and industrial transition.