Kirin: We do not need money, but support. Milković: Banks are doing everything to help

At the continuation of the ’48 hours’ conference, Marijana Jajčević, Executive Director of Public Institution Business at Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank, reflected in her presentation on the role of the bank as a partner to local government.

– From the very beginning in Croatia, we established good contacts with public administration, but in 2006 we made the decision to establish a separate sector to put additional focus on the public sector. People who deal with local self-government and whose clients are cities and municipalities must engage with this every day and have the necessary knowledge, thus being specialized – emphasized Jajčević.

– We also provide various information related to EU funds, we have conducted numerous workshops, and we publish a bi-monthly newsletter on EU current affairs. In individual consultations, we familiarize clients with opportunities and guide them on the right path to funding from the funds – said Jajčević, concluding that municipalities, cities, and counties have reciprocated their trust and opened accounts with them.

Ivica Kirin, the Mayor of Virovitica, opened his presentation with a humorous complaint that his young colleagues had included only statistics in the presentation that he did not have time to review in detail, so he had to add what was needed himself.

– Money is not the problem, there is no money – he stated right at the beginning, noting that the crisis had some positive effects, prompting the city authorities of Virovitica to undertake projects. He emphasized multiple times that all the cogs of the state and local government system must function as one mechanism, and he highlighted high bank interest rates as a significant problem for financing.

He touched on projects that have been realized or are planned in Virovitica and emphasized that they must not be an end in themselves but must serve as a basis for economic development. He stated that it is of utmost importance to educate personnel for industries that are strong in the city and added that farmers should return to cooperatives.

– We do not need money, just support and the removal of repression – concluded Kirin.

As part of the Conference at the round table ‘EU funds – an opportunity not to be missed’, Ljubica Ambrušec, the head of the municipality of Gradec, Ivica Kirin, the Mayor of Virovitica, Jakša Puljiz from MRRFEU, and Ivana Matković Mikulić from Hypo Alpe Adria Bank discussed.

Ambrušec and Kirin immediately complained that too much time in project preparation is wasted on administrative barriers that we have imposed on ourselves, such as years of waiting for permits to be issued.

Ambrušec explained how her municipality managed to finance projects.

– We found a very poor state in the budget which we quickly cleared up and then started on projects that were not megalomaniacal. We saved as much as possible and directed that money into projects – she said, noting that state-level politics has led to the downfall of people in the agricultural sector and that we must have an economically stable policy with support for projects in order to draw funds from the EU.

Kirin pointed out that our entrepreneurs no longer trust the system and therefore shy away from any investments and projects, reiterating that he is angry at banks due to high interest rates, while Matković Milković tried to explain to him how banks are doing everything to help in the realization of projects and praised cooperation with ministries. She stated that the biggest mistakes in applying for projects occur in the implementation of public procurement procedures.

Puljiz explained how entrepreneurs should seek EU funds for projects they cannot realize on their own, urging them not to hesitate to ask for help and concluded that we are actually just getting started in the process of applying for European money.