Today, the Commission has positively assessed Croatias seventh payment request for €1.1 billion under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the cornerstone of NextGenerationEU. This assessment marks a significant step towards the disbursement of EU funds to bolster Croatias economic growth and resilience efforts.
The Commission found that Croatia delivered reforms and investments benefitting citizens and businesses, focusing on the key areas of social services, labour market, business environment, digitalisation of government services, energy, transport, water and waste management as well as capital market development and academic collaboration. These accomplishments have enabled Croatia to fulfil the 22 milestones and 31 targets associated with the 7th payment under its recovery and resilience plan.
Flagship measures covered by Croatias payment request include the upgrade of the high-voltage network, strengthening the grid connections, better connecting the south-north grid in the country and increasing the uptake of renewable energy sources. 300 km of high voltage power line have been built or upgraded, alongside with 40 000 electricity smart meters, which will enhance the digitalisation and efficiency of Croatias energy system.
Croatia has also adopted its first Strategic Framework and Action Plan to accelerate the development of its national capital market, while pursuing the integration of the national stock exchange with other regional exchanges. Further measures to develop the capital markets focus on attracting institutional investors by digitalising core services and broadening financing sources.
The reform infuses new momentum into Croatias long-standing priority of improving access to finance, thereby contributing to its future competitiveness and growth.
Next steps
The Commission has now sent its preliminary assessment of Croatias fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), which has four weeks to deliver its opinion. The payment to Croatia can take place following the EFCs opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission.
Background
Croatias recovery and resilience plan includes a wide range of investment and reform measures. The plan will be financed by €10 billion, of which €5.8 billion in grants and €4.2 billion in loans.
You can find more information on Croatias Recovery and Resilience plan on this page, which features an interactive map of projects financed by the RRF, as well as on the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard. More information on the process of payment requests under the RRF can be found in this document of questions and answers.
For more information
Commissions preliminary assessment of Croatias seventh payment request
Questions and answers on the RRF payment claim process
Croatias recovery and resilience plan
Recovery and Resilience Facility
Recovery and Resilience Facility project map
Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard
Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation
