Croatia in 2015 Withdraws More Than It Contributes to the EU Budget

In 2015, Croatia contributed just over 3 billion kuna to the European Union budget, while at the same time, funds exceeding 4 billion kuna were allocated to Croatia from the EU budget, meaning that Croatia will again be in the positive this year, say officials from the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds.

According to preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance, Croatia’s contributions to the EU budget for 2015 amount to 3.01 billion kuna or 394 million euros, while a total of 4.24 billion kuna, or 556 million euros, has been allocated to Croatia from the EU budget this year. This means that 1.23 billion kuna has been paid out from the EU budget this year more than was contributed. The Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds emphasizes that part of the payments goes directly to the beneficiaries of specific programs, so the amount is even higher than what has been recorded by the Ministry of Finance. Final and precise data will be known when the European Commission publishes its financial report in mid-next year, and the Ministry reminds that according to previous reports from the EC, Croatia achieved a positive difference of 49.6 million euros in 2013, and for 2014, the surplus amounts to 173.6 million euros.

Significant Investments in Science

Among the projects co-financed this year with funds from EU funds, the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds highlights projects funded from the Operational Program “Regional Competitiveness 2007-2013,” which have achieved significant investments in science, i.e., scientific infrastructure. Among these projects is, for example, “BIOCenter,” or the Incubation Center for Biosciences and Technology Commercialization within the eastern campus of the University of Zagreb in Borongaj. For this project, 98.8 million kuna was obtained, within which a Center of approximately 4,500 square meters has been arranged, encompassing a central laboratory with auxiliary laboratories intended for small, newly established high-tech companies in the field of biosciences and biotechnology, as well as office spaces necessary for their operations.

Additionally, the Ministry mentions the project for the development of research infrastructure at the University of Rijeka campus, which has a contractual value of over 180 million kuna. This project will soon be completed and will include a new Center for High-Throughput Technologies in Biomedicine, a Center for Micro and Nano Sciences and Technologies, a Center for Advanced Computing and Modeling, laboratories of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, a Hydrotechnical Laboratory, a Geotechnical Laboratory, a Laboratory for Roads, a Materials Laboratory, and a Structures Laboratory. The Regional Research and Development Biotechnological Center of Brod-Posavina County, within the Matija Antun Reljković High School in Slavonski Brod, with a contractual value of 11.23 million kuna, has included the construction and equipping of laboratories, chambers, and greenhouses for the production of seedlings from virus-free planting material, over more than 1,400 square meters. Entrepreneurs operating in the agricultural sector will be able to receive assistance for improving their own business in this center, while the educational component of the center aims to assist existing and potential agricultural entrepreneurs as well as unemployed individuals who wish to develop a business in the agricultural sector.

Only through the Operational Program “Regional Competitiveness” this year, a total of 87.12 million euros of eligible expenditures have been reported to the EC, of which the EC has already paid 43 million euros, while the remainder will be paid during 2016, along with an additional 10.98 million euros that Croatia can receive at most before the official closure of that program. For the Operational Program “Competitiveness and Cohesion,” it is expected that the European Commission will pay 194.05 million euros for the advance in 2016, and Croatia plans to submit payment requests in a minimum amount exceeding 100 million euros, the Ministry states, adding that this should also include other operational programs for which managing bodies are other ministries, such as transport, environmental protection, human resources development, etc.

In 2016, within the Operational Program “Competitiveness and Cohesion,” the continuation of the implementation of 12 procedures for the allocation of grants initiated in 2015 is planned. The total value of grants made available to beneficiaries within these procedures amounts to 464 million euros, of which 424 million euros will be withdrawn from the EU budget. Additionally, the initiation of an additional 54 allocation procedures is planned, through which a total of approximately 2.5 billion euros in grants will be made available to beneficiaries, of which about 2 billion euros are EU funds.

Projects on the “Juncker Plan” List

In the current situation, after an extended economic crisis and high indebtedness of the private and public sectors, Croatia is primarily turning to European Structural and Investment (ESI) funds, i.e., grants for financing investment and economic activities as the most favorable and cost-effective form of financing. However, the Ministry says this does not mean that the possibilities for investments from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the so-called Juncker Fund for Croatia, should be underestimated. Given that the areas of investment are quite broadly defined, Croatia needs to decide for itself which investments it wants to nominate for EFSI, they add.

– Currently, projects and investments that cannot close the financial structure using EU funds and other available sources are being considered, including projects from the energy sector and digital infrastructure. The segment of health tourism, which represents a potent niche in Croatia that is still not sufficiently exploited, but for which there are relatively favorable preconditions, is also under consideration, the ministry states.

Currently, there are about 20 projects from various sectors on the project list, both public and private. Discussions are already underway with HBOR, the main contact point for the Investment Plan for Europe in Croatia, and with the EIB.

– It is expected that Croatia will achieve several larger infrastructure investments through EFSI, but also that the small and medium-sized enterprise sector and medium-capitalized companies will significantly benefit through financial instruments and schemes that will be implemented with the support of the EIB and EFSI via HBOR, for example, risk-sharing schemes for medium-capitalized companies and other priorities, the ministry says. They also add that the project list is not of a closed or final type and is constantly being adjusted.