ZAGREB, 12 April 2022 - Olga Pascenco, the European Investment Bank's Global Relationship Manager in Croatia, said on Tuesday that this European Union bank would finance and support projects for the construction of storage facilities for energy generated from the renewables.

Addressing a news conference at which the EIB presented its results in Croatia in 2021, Pascenco said that there was great potential for the construction of renewable energy storage facilities.

The EIB is ready to offer financial, technical and advisory support to the private sector in such projects, she said.

The EIB representative spoke about the importance of developing rail and maritime connectivity and about transport connections between islands and the mainland.

Concerning the rail sector, she pushed for improving train services between Zagreb and Rijeka, having in mind the great potential of the seaport of Rijeka.

The EU's lending arm will place emphasis on direct financing of local communities, that is cities, in a set of essential projects such as affordable housing, improvement of energy efficiency and the post-quake reconstruction, she added.

The bank's assistance to Ukraine

The EIB Board of Directors has recently approved a EUR 668 million loan as immediate financial support for Ukraine.

"This initial support package for the war-torn country benefits from the EU guarantee under the External Lending Mandate and complements other initiatives announced by EU institutions," the EIB says on its website.

In addition, the Board agreed that the EIB should pursue further initiatives under the emergency Solidarity Package for Ukraine, worth four billion euros. It includes help to countries in Ukraine's neighbourhood and within the EU that are welcoming refugees from Ukraine or are affected by the war in other ways.

ZAGREB, 23 July 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday that the Serbian National Bank (NBS), which contests Croatia's intention to put the image of Nikola Tesla on euro coins, could express its opinion on the matter and could take a stand, but that that had no influence in the decision making.

"Nikola Tesla was born in Smiljan on the territory of Croatia. And he lived most of his life in the USA. It is citizens who have recommended that one of the future euro coins should include the image of Nikola Tesla, we do not appropriate anybody," Plenković said after the NBS said on Thursday that putting Tesla's image on the national side of euro coins if Croatia joined the euro area "would represent appropriation of the cultural and scientific legacy of the Serb people."

Plenković elaborated that the suggestion made by Croatians amounted to a great gesture, having in mind the fact that Tesla was of Serb descent and his own merits globally were unquestionable.

We can be proud of that. I cannot see why somebody may deem it as a problem. If I were on the helm of the National Bank of Serbia, I would send congratulations (for such a decision), the Croatian PM said.

The NBS responded with its objections after Plenković announced that Tesla's image would appear on 50, 20 and 10 cent euro coins when Croatia joined the euro area.

The Croatian National Bank Currency Committee on Wednesday defined a final proposal of motifs for the national side of Croatia's future euro coins. This will now be considered by the National Council for the introduction of the euro as Croatia's official currency, after which the government will adopt a conclusion.

The Croatian coat-of-arms, a geographical map of Croatia, the marten (after which the Croatian currency is named), the Glagolitic script and Tesla are motifs that have been proposed.

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