What Will Happen to the Money for Verne? SAFU Announced Final Review

SAFU emphasizes that the final assessment of the achievement of the project goals for Verne‘s robotaxi can only be made after the completion of implementation and review of documentation, whereby the company, part of the Rimac group, is obliged to submit the final request for reimbursement within 30 days after the project implementation period ends, during which it can also justify the remaining part of the paid advance.

The project implementation lasted until August 30, 2026, therefore the final assessment of the achievement of the project goals can only be made after the completion of implementation and review of all final documentation. The user is obliged to submit the final request for reimbursement within 30 days after the expiration of the project implementation period, according to the response from the Central Agency for Financing and Contracting of EU Programs and Projects (SAFU) to Hina’s inquiry.

After the completion of the project and submission of the final request for reimbursement, they state, a review of all documentation will be conducted to determine the extent of fulfillment of contractual obligations and the eligibility of reported costs. The contract provides for consequences in case of non-fulfillment of contractual obligations or failure to achieve contracted results. The amount of non-repayable funds may be reduced if the project is not implemented, is only partially implemented, or is delayed, they note.

SAFU states that the production and testing of 60 verification prototypes and testing of the autonomous driving system was one of the indicators within the eighth tranche of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO). The user has provided supporting documentation for all 60 prototypes, including official inspection certificates issued by the Croatian Vehicle Center, they emphasize.

They also state that an agreement has been signed with the City of Zagreb and the public transport service provider for the issuance of 50,000 free vouchers for rides in fully autonomous vehicles for persons with disabilities and/or persons facing difficulties in using other types of public transport. These are all phases that have been successfully achieved and contribute to the overall goal of the project, SAFU representatives say.

In the event of contract termination, they note that the user is obliged to return the received funds, while, depending on the circumstances, a financial correction may be applied instead of termination.

– The exact amount of any potential return cannot be determined at this moment as it depends on the final factual state and the extent of obligations fulfilled. If part of the paid advance is not justified by eligible costs, that amount cannot remain with the user, but contractual mechanisms for financial correction and return apply – they emphasize.

The part that is not justified by eligible costs is subject to return

They explain that the contract provides for the possibility of returning already received funds if it is determined that contractual obligations have not been fulfilled. However, the return is not automatically equal to the total amount paid, but is determined after the completion of the project, depending on the extent of achieved results and the eligibility of incurred costs.

SAFU reminds that in July 2023, an advance of 89.7 million euros was paid to the user, and according to the administrative checks conducted so far, a total of 17.1 million euros has been determined as eligible costs, of which 8.77 million euros relates to non-repayable funds for which the corresponding part of the advance has been justified.

– The remaining part of the advance can be justified by the user until the final request for reimbursement. The part that is not justified by eligible costs is subject to return, and any potential additional financial correction will be decided after the final assessment of the project’s achievement – SAFU concludes.

By the time of writing, Rimac has not responded to Hina’s inquiry for a comment on the current phase of the robotaxi project.

The project ‘Research, Development, and Production of New Mobility Vehicles and Supporting Infrastructure’ includes the production of electric vehicles of the fifth level of autonomy, and co-financing from the NPOO amounts to 179 million euros.

Earlier this year, media reported that Verne had renounced a larger part of European co-financing and that the project would continue to be financed with private funds, but this has not been confirmed by the company, the government, or the relevant ministry.

– The government has not received an official request for contract termination. All key requirements so far have been duly fulfilled (…) Therefore, we expect the company P3M/Verne to continue the implementation of the project and fulfill the obligations undertaken – the government stated in May for Jutarnji list.