Annual Meeting of the EBRD on May 14 and 15 in Zagreb

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will hold its annual meeting this year in Zagreb on May 14 and 15, with key highlights focusing on the speed and scope of recovery from the financial crisis.

Ahead of the official opening of the assembly, the Croatian government will host the Croatian Investment Forum, which will take place on May 13, showcasing the investment opportunities that Croatia offers. During the EBRD assembly, the Board of Governors will review how the EBRD responded to the crisis and determine the strategy for the next five years. Alongside the General Assembly, the EBRD will organize the annual gathering of the Board of Governors and a Business Forum titled “Building Sustainable Growth.”

Discussions at the forum will primarily focus on finding ways to support the region during the recovery period and beyond, as well as reflecting on the lessons learned from the crisis. Panel discussions within the Business Forum will address how to strengthen financial markets, how companies can regain the interest of strategic and financial investors in the post-crisis period, and what the role of the state should be in this context. One of the important topics will also be energy.

Additionally, mayors of major cities in the region will discuss the social impacts of the economic crisis, particularly on public infrastructure projects and services. Each of the countries where the EBRD operates will have the opportunity to present its investment opportunities, and representatives of state authorities, as well as business and financial experts, will present the latest trends in the business environment. EBRD representatives will also hold meetings with civil society representatives to discuss EBRD projects.

Since 1994, the EBRD has invested €2.05 billion in 102 projects in Croatia. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is an international financial institution that supports projects in 29 countries across a region that spans from Central Europe to Central Asia. The bank primarily invests in private sector clients whose needs cannot be fully met in the market, thereby promoting private entrepreneurship and nurturing the development of open and democratic market economies.

The EBRD was established in 1990 as a joint response from Europe and other countries to unprecedented changes in Central and Eastern Europe following the fall of the Berlin Wall, when the entire region shifted from a centrally planned economy to a market economy and the establishment of free democratic institutions. The idea for its creation was proposed on October 24, 1989, by French President Francois Mitterrand in the European Parliament, and it was founded on May 29, 1990, through an agreement between the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, and 40 countries.

The bank primarily invests in private companies, usually alongside commercial partners, and finances projects in the financial sector and the real economy, equally supporting new investments and those in existing companies. It also collaborates with publicly owned companies to support privatization, restructuring of state enterprises, and improvement of municipal services. (H)