Funding leveraged by ESIF in Croatia

Through four national programmes, Croatia has been allocated EUR 10.74 billion from ESI Funds over the period 2014-2020. With a national contribution of EUR 1.9 billion, Croatia has a total budget of EUR 12.67 billion to be invested in various areas, from research and innovation to employment, education and training, social inclusion, public administration and civil society as well as infrastructure and environmental protection.

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All funds are designed to support Croatia’s socio-economic development. The expected results (targets) give an overall view of where Croatia should be on key parameters by 2020.

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The list of programmes available in Croatia:

National

Competitiveness and Cohesion - HR - ERDF/CF, Efficient Human Resources - HR - ESF/YEI, Croatia - National Rural Development, Maritime and Fisheries - Croatia

Cross-border

Interreg V-A - Hungary-Croatia, Interreg V-A - Slovenia-Croatia, Interreg V-A - Italy-Croatia,

Transnational

Interreg V-B – Danube, Interreg V-B - Central Europe, Interreg V-B – Mediterranean, Interreg V-B - Adriatic-Ionian,

Interregional

Interreg Europe, Interact, Urbact, ESPON

IPA-CBC

IPA CBC Croatia – Serbia, IPA CBC Croatia – Bosnia and Herzegovina - Montenegro

The strong focus on smart and sustainable development in Operational Programmes for 2014-2020 paved the way for more intensive engagement on 13 concepts such as smart cities, social innovations, green cities, green energy, green mobility, green economy, green tourism and others. The importance of these themes is widely acknowledged in Croatia as relevant for the development of sustainable local communities and cities, with meaningful contributions aiming at raising quality of life. A positive fact is that all these concepts and new themes are given due attention both in the main regional development document – the National Strategy for Regional Development 2020 - as well as in county development strategies and strategies for the development of urban areas eligible for the ITI instrument.

Along with the very strong financial and investment impact, through participation in cohesion policy Croatia has had the chance to significantly change the structure of its public investments and, consequently, increase their effects on the country’s long-term competitiveness. This is clear if we consider the sectoral distribution of ESI funds. The most abundant allocations are in the area of environmental protection which mostly covers large infrastructure projects in water and waste treatment facilities. The support for the competitiveness of small and middle-sized enterprises (SMEs) is the second most significant funding area. Research, development and innovation (RDI) has also been allocated significant funds earmarked for various types of support, ranging from investments into public and private RDI facilities to support for the development of new products and services. Other areas with significant investment increases are energy efficiency and other activities supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.