For the Slavonia project, a third of the planned EU funds has been contracted so far

Of the 2.5 billion euros from EU funds allocated for the Slavonia, Baranja, and Srijem project, 32 percent has been contracted so far, said Dragan Jelić, assistant to the Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds, on Friday at the extended session of the Economic Council of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Vukovar, where he represented the announced Minister Gabrijela Žalac.

– This is only about EU funds, and in addition, we plan to spend and allocate significant funds from other sources of financing, from donations from the Swiss and Norwegian governments and others to the national budget, into Slavonia. We will do this through two projects, said Jelić, adding that the first of these projects is the Development Agreement for Slavonia, Baranja, and Srijem.

>>>Tolušić: Progress in the Slavonia, Baranja, and Srijem project may not be visible today, but it will soon be

As part of it, five Slavonian county heads will sign an agreement with the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, which will define development projects essential for Slavonia, Baranja, and Srijem, which will be financed from national sources.

Advisory Services of the World Bank

An agreement on advisory services from the World Bank has also been agreed upon, which is extremely important for the development of Slavonia, he said, adding that one of the first successful projects outside EU funds is the announced realization of the research and development center Ericsson Nikola Tesla in Osijek, which will employ more than a hundred young professionals in the development of the latest 5G generation networks.

>>>Osijek is becoming a regional ICT center

According to him, this is the path the government wants to take regarding the development interests of Slavonia.

Jelić also stated that many important projects related mainly to infrastructure and the construction of business incubators have been signed so far as part of the Slavonia, Baranja, and Srijem project.

>>>The government has established a Council for Slavonia, Baranja, and Srijem

– We are also working on a new law for Vukovar, where we will try to define greater privileges so that entrepreneurs who come here do not pay profit tax for a long time, he emphasized and assessed that the years 2018 and 2019 are crucial for the implementation of the Slavonia, Baranja, and Srijem project.

Members of the Economic Council of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Vukovar were presented with EU tenders for 2018 and economic trends, and there was also discussion about alternative dispute resolution at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce Mediation Center.