The Development Agency of Varaždin County (AZRA) has submitted a total of 28 projects for this year that would be financed from the European Union’s pre-accession funds, with a total value of 32.5 million euros, emphasized the director of AZRA, Emil Tkalec, at today’s annual press conference.
"Which projects are accepted will be known in about six months as bureaucracy is still slow. Since these projects are co-financed by Varaždin County, 2.5 million kuna must be secured for all 28, although it is difficult to expect that all will ‘pass’", said Tkalec. Currently, 19 employees of the Agency are involved in the preparation and implementation of projects, and this year’s budget of the Agency is 8.5 million kuna, of which 2.23 million kuna is secured from the county budget, while the rest will be secured through EU funds, donors, and commercial projects of the Agency.
The annual conference was also used to present last year’s results when the Agency independently implemented five projects and provided assistance in the implementation of two more projects. Last year, we achieved a budget of 11 million kuna, of which 2.9 million came from the county budget, and the rest through projects and EU funds, Tkalec pointed out. Among the most important projects currently being implemented, he mentioned REDEEM, which focuses on assessing potential renewable energy sources in Varaždin, Međimurje, Sisak-Moslavina, Zagreb, and Vukovar-Srijem counties, as well as the Office of Croatian Regions in Brussels, which has so far been joined by six Croatian counties and cities and two development agencies. The coordinator of the Office is the Development Agency of Varaždin County. (H)
