Bosilj: EU funds for smart solutions are often distributed based on ‘relatives’

Cities should focus more on directly applying for European funds for smart solutions, given that EU funds in Croatia are often distributed through rigged competitions, it was heard at the Lider conference Smart Cities held on Wednesday. During the panel ‘Digital Transformation of Cities – Green and Smart’, Neven Bosilj, the mayor of Varaždin, stated that there is ‘easier and harder EU money’. – The easier one is the one that the European Union allocates to the state, which then distributes it to local governments. However, in many such competitions, the money is distributed based on ‘relatives’ – said Bosilj.

Varaždin has therefore opted for ‘harder’ European money, an example of which is the ‘InterAct Green’ project, with a total value of 5.1 million euros, of which 80 percent is co-financed by the European Urban Initiative (EUI). Moreover, with this project, Varaždin is one of 14 selected cities among 99 candidates. As Bosilj explained, the project combines two trends that are currently very relevant in the EU, namely green and digital.

InterAct Green deals with the revitalization of the Drava Park Forest and its connection with the urban space. The city of Varaždin plans to revitalize and arrange selected parts of the forest, organize paths and walkways through the forest, and revitalize the Drava tip and riverbank. The project will also apply innovative IT solutions for the management and monitoring of the forest for the needs of the city, and this digital platform will be developed by the local Faculty of Organization and Informatics (FOI).

A similar example comes from Zadar, which has achieved much thanks to the ITU mechanism. Through this mechanism, 30 million euros have been invested so far, said Mayor Branko Dukić, with plans for 43 million euros. In addition to investing in educational institutions, Zadar has used this money to open a business zone and two entrepreneurial incubators, and a significant amount has also been invested in traffic infrastructure due to congestion during the tourist season. – We have invested a lot in cultural heritage – said Dukić.

Smart solutions for cities are offered by the company Odašiljači i veze (OiV), and board member Denis Nikola Kulišić stated that they have been working intensively with a number of cities in Croatia over the past five years. – In Varaždin, we have a solution for measuring air quality, and in Belišće for reading water meters – Kulišić provided a few examples. When asked how the strategic project of the aggregation broadband network, which is supposed to bring fast Internet to all parts of the country, is progressing, Kulišić said that OiV is responsible for the implementation of this project, and a contract was signed at the end of last year. – We are currently in the implementation phase of the project. It is an investment worth 210 million euros for laying 5,500 kilometers of optical cables. The project will last 4.5 years – explained Kulišić.

Cities are soon facing the implementation of important regulations concerning a large number of citizens, namely improving cybersecurity, or the protection of citizens’ personal data, emphasized Marijana Bačić, a member of the Management Board of Hrvatski Telekom and Chief Operating Officer for business customers of that telecom. – Cities are still not aware of the importance of data security, but they will be forced to invest in cybersecurity. Implementation begins next year – emphasized Bačić.