ZAGREB, 3 January 2022 - Last week, the European Commission disbursed a grant of €277.8 million from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to help Croatia repair the damage caused by the earthquakes that struck central areas of the country at the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, the Commission said on Monday. 

The Commission has awarded €319 million of EUSF support to Croatia following the devastating series of earthquakes that hit Sisak-Moslavina, Karlovac, and Zagreb Counties in December 2020 and January 2021. €41 million was paid as an advance in August 2021, and the balance payment of €277.8 million was made on 30 December 2021.

"Croatia has gone through two terrible earthquakes in March 2020 and again a series of earthquakes in December 2020 and January 2021. The financial support from the EU Solidarity Fund to Croatia will contribute to the essential recovery efforts after the devastation brought by the earthquakes and it is a visible sign of EU solidarity,” said the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira.

In late October, following an application by Croatia for compensation for the damage caused by the earthquakes, the Commission proposed a financial contribution from the EUSF of €319 million, which was approved by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament in mid-December.

Croatia had previously received a grant of €683.7 million to repair the damage caused by a devastating earthquake that struck  Zagreb in March 2020, which makes up more than €1 billion in total support.

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ZAGREB, 17 Oct, 2021 - European Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica of Croatia believes Croatians are insufficiently interested in participation in the Conference on the Future of Europe, launched by the EU to convince citizens of its 27 member-states that their opinion, too, is important in decision-making.

Numerous citizens believe they have no influence on decisions made by EU politicians and bureaucrats so the EU's three main institutions - the European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament - have launched an online platform where citizens can offer their proposals on topics important for the bloc.

"More is expected of Croatia and Croats because so far they have reported 25 events and made 500 proposals and around 100 comments on our platform," Šuica, Commissioner for Democracy and Demography, told the Yammat FM radio station.

She considers these figures to be low.

"We (Croatians) like to speak when it is too late," she said, calling on Croatian citizens to present their ideas on the Conference on the Future of Europe website.

Debates can be organised by citizens and groups of citizens at county and local levels and conclusions can be reported on the digital platform by the end of the year.

"Their ideas will be taken into account in an analysis next spring," Šuica promised.

On Friday, she opened in Strasbourg the last of four panels at which randomly chosen EU citizens discuss topics relevant for the EU.

Among the 200 EU citizens whose travel and accommodation expenses as well as daily allowances have been paid for are three Croatians - two pensioners and a student, from Istria and Zadar- They will present their opinions on the EU in the world and migration at the panel, to last until Monday.

In September and October, 800 EU citizens have taken part in the panels, after which additional online panels will follow. Their proposals are expected to be formulated into a proposal to the European Commission in spring.

Šuica claims that the EC will take those proposals into account, mostly when making laws.

"The main purpose of this conference is to debunk the myth about the Brussels bubble and make EU citizens participants in the creation of European policies, so they can see that they themselves can influence the final outcome," she said.

"Until now people thought that that was not possible or happened only here. That's not true but such is the perception," she said.

Fifty-eight percent of Croatians do not trust the EU and only 38% trust it, shows a survey by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, conducted in September 2020.

On average, 47% of EU citizens trust the EU while 45% do not.

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ZAGREB, 11 Sept, 2021 - The green transition must be just and Croatia's biggest challenges are transport and the energy renovation of buildings, heard a panel on the challenges and opportunities provided by the European Green Deal, held in Fažana on Saturday.

"There is no green transition without a just social transition," said Lidija Pavić-Rogošić, a member of the European Economic and Social Committee.

The Commission has proposed the establishment of a new social climate fund to help citizens invest in energy efficiency, new heating and cooling systems, and cleaner mobility. The Commission is proposing up to €1.4 billion for Croatia for the 2025-2032 period.

Pavić-Rogošić called for including relevant stakeholders in defining policies and for adopting solutions that met the needs of the local population.

Hana Huzjak of the European Commission Representation in Croatia said the Fit For 55 targets could be met if every individual contributed.

The Fit For 55 legislative package envisages reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the EU by 55% by 2030 from those in the 1990s, the end goal being to make Europe the first climate neutral continent by 2050.

Thanks to many hydroelectric power plants and the development of wind parks, Croatia is above the EU average in electricity production from renewables, said Dražen Jakšić, head of the Hrvoje Požar Institute, adding that transport and the energy renovation of buildings were Croatia's biggest green transition challenges.

The participants in the panel were agreed that it was necessary to educate and inform citizens about how to get involved in the green transition.

Funding for the energy renovation of buildings may be obtained via the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, said Tin Bašić, editor of the Zgradonačelnik.hr. platform, adding that it was necessary to educate people that by investing in their building, they would save in the long term and have lower utility bills.

In the EU, buildings account for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Besides having a positive effect on the environment, the energy renovation of buildings is expected to reduce the risk of energy poverty. In 2018, 17.5% of Croatian citizens could not pay their utilities in time, while the EU average was 6.6%.

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