Mljet has been given the responsibility of caring for Dubrovnik-Neretva County's very first firefighting boat, which has been procured thanks to EU funds.

As Morski writes on the 2nd of March, 2019, Dubrovnik-Neretva County prefect Nikola Dobroslavić handed over the first firefighting vessel in Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Dubrovnik's port on Friday. The vessel is named Sveti Florijan, named after the patron saint of Linz.

The vessel was handed over by the prefect to the mayor of Mljet, Đivo Marketa, who immediately presented and subsequently handed it over to commander of Mljet's fire brigade, to Mario Dabelić.

Prefect Nikola Dobroslavić stressed that this is an excellent example of good use of the money made available to Croatia from European Union funds.

''The ship is largely financed by EU funds through a project conducted by Dubrovnik-Neretva County. This is the first firefighting boat in our county, and JVP Mljet (Mljet fire brigade) will be responsible for it, but of course it will be available to the whole of this southern area. Another firefighting vessel is coming to the City of Dubrovnik soon and this is a significant addition to the safety and the possibility of interventions being made at sea. This ship will be used for firefighting on boats, as well as in some other emergency situations,'' stated Dobroslavić, among other things.

Sveti Florijan is the first firefighter in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, otherwise Croatia's southernmost county, area acquired by the southern Dalmatian county as part of the scope of the European project AdriaMORE, which is otherwise one of the projects currently being implemented by the Interreg Croatia-Italy cross-border program.

The project activities of Dubrovnik-Neretva County are worth around 350,000 kuna, of which 85 percent are being co-financed with the very welcome funds of the European Regional Development Fund, and the remaining 15 percent are financed by the county's own funds.

A shipbuilding contract, worth about 950,000 kuna, was signed last September with Damor d.o.o., and, as previously mentioned, the new firefighting vessel will be taken care of by Mljet's fire brigade and by Mljet Municipality.

Dubrovnik-Neretva County organised the ceremony as part of the activities on this year's International Civil Protection Day, which was marked on March the 1st.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated lifestyle page. If it's just Dubrovnik and southern Dalmatia you're interested in, give Total Dubrovnik a follow.

What can Croatia do to up its currently extremely poor investment game? With non-EU countries like Macedonia and Serbia, which are typically considered to be less developed than Croatia, making things far easier for entrepreneurs than Croatia, and our neighbour to the north, Slovenia, pulling huge sums of cash for investment from Europe, just where is Croatia going wrong?

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes on the 22nd of February, 2019, Croatia has one of the most incentive boosting legal frameworks for investment in Europe, which is openly recognised by everyone in the EU, but there is a problem in implementing these investments, as there is in the projected image of Croatia as a tourist destination rather than an investment destination. This was stated at the opening of the recent conference " InvestCro - Is Croatia Ready for New Investments'' which was organised in Zagreb, it is held as a year-round multimedia project jointly organised by Poslovni Dnevnik, Večernji list and 24sata.

Darko Horvat, Minister of Economy, addressed the conference:

"Everyone sitting here today has the same desire: If we can't make Croatia more desirable for investments, we at least should become aware that we're not that bad either. We have to work on our own confidence, because if we don't believe in ourselves, how will those who come here to invest feel when they encounter problems. It's especially important that people from the field - mayors and entrepreneurs, who can share the problems they encounter on a daily basis - also participate in the conference.

When you analyse today's renowned global and Croatian TV stations, portals, newspapers... you'll see that Croatia is a country offering the sun and the sea. To sum up how much Croatia has invested into being recognised as a tourist destination, it's clear why we're not seen as an investment Mecca. We don't have any marketing that would allow investors to see and recognise our country as being desirable for investment.

Our only "marketing" is a negative one through investors who did come to Croatia and haven't managed to succeed, and are talking about that abroad. Those who succeeded and didn't encounter any serious problems, and that's the majority, are generally silent and just do their work because nobody else asks them anything,'' Horvat said.

He added that the huge problem Croatia has is that during the accession period for EU membership, negotiations were carried out and the EU's laws were taken on without question, and they weren't "localised'' through the implementing of acts, which is why the bureaucracy and the judiciary system are so slow and dysfunctional today.

"Now that we're a full member [of the EU], we have to work harder to purge the regulatory framework that hampers us and prevents us from developing. With all the problems we have, Croatia has been growing steadily by 2-3 percent, but the problem is that those around us are growing 2-3 times faster than we are. Therefore, we must implement processes that will accelerate investment and the ease of doing business. When it comes to opening a company, we have seven steps and the whole process for the company to start doing business lasts longer than 30-40 days, although the registration itself lasts just fifteen minutes. We must take for example Estonia or Macedonia, which are at the top of the competitiveness ladder, and not be 150 places behind,'' noted Minister Horvat.

He also pointed out that the issue of the speed of issuing building permits is the biggest problem in big cities, primarily in Zagreb.

"Things are happening and they just need to be promoted. If the Slovenes have managed to attract 14 billion euros in investment from Western Europe, and we've only had 3.8 billion, then it's clear to see that we have some serious problems," said Minister Darko Horvat.

Zdenko Adrović, Director of the Croatian Association of Banks (HUB), highlighted the importance of public debate on the challenges of investing in Croatia.

"The aim of this project is to open up a series of investment issues in Croatia, and this year marks the 20th anniversary of HUB, and this year we want to stimulate the discussion about investments and the role of the banking sector in it. The IMF concluded that there is a need to alleviate bureaucratic obstacles and that would be very welcome, as would providing stronger legal certainty involving a fast and efficient justice system. Without a proper justice system there's little hope in expecting any sort of investment wave, we're not even among the top thirty [countries for investment]. A very well-known British business paper recently concluded that the sun and the sea  aren't enough,'' Adrović warned.

He also added that the establishment of a company in Croatia lasts several times longer than it does in our immediate neighborhood, including in countries like Serbia and Macedonia, both of which are outside of the EU, and which we usually consider to be considerably less developed than Croatia. Vladimir Nišević, editor-in-chief of Poslovni Dnevnik, stressed the importance of the media in promoting important social values, and Croatia's investment climate is certainly one of them.

"Without healthy investment and economic development there will be no other social advances such as curricular reform and the like, although the current Uljanik problem is one of the burning issues of the Croatian economy and society, it's much more important to look at how our country and our society will look in twenty years,'' Nišević rightly concluded.

Make sure to stay up to date with news on Croatia's investment and business climate and everything you need to know by following our dedicated business and politics pages.

Click here for the original article by Darko Bicak for Poslovni Dnevnik

Croatia has many issues, and rather surprisingly, a big one is with the proper withdrawal of EU funds. What exactly is the problem, and how can it be fixed? The topic of EU funds in Croatia and the upcoming financial period is explored by Ana Fresl.

As Lucija Spiljak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of February, 2019, Poslovni Dnevnik sat down with Ana Fresl, the director of the PJR consultancy group to discuss the EU's new seven-year financial period and expectations, Croatia's severe lack of EU project experts, common mistakes, how the country made the most of the last financial period and what awaits us as the ''How to prepare for the 2021-2027 financial period'' conference. Croatia is looking to learn from other EU member states and their own respective experiences when it comes to strategic development and implementation of EU projects on the 6th and 7th of March, 2019, in Trakošćan, Croatia. How can the problem with the withdrawal of EU funds in Croatia be rectified?

You've been the director of Croatia's largest companies for EU funds since the very beginning. How many people and companies have you consulted with and educated on EU projects?

When it comes to EU funds, it's correct to say that I've really been around since the very beginning, from the Ministry of Finance and the Central Financial and Contracting Agency, to EU programs and projects, after which I opened my own company in 2009 and I was recently re-elected as the president of HUP - Association for Professionals for EU Funds. I have offered consultation for over 350 EU projects, I've been a public advisory expert on 20 technical assistance projects. I have more than 500 days of education in Croatia and beyond behind me. The interest in EU funds is very high, as can be seen from the recent tenders for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs who were applying for available funds within mere seconds.

The Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds, Gabrijela Žalac, stated that we lack 2,700 experts for the implementation of EU projects. How can we attract and interest people, what are we doing in that regard, do we have any specific figures?

The figure of 2,700 experts was obtained by my own company, PJR, based on the extensive research that we carried out within the project of the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds.

We have investigated the absorption capacity of about 500 EU funded users, and that's the number of qualified experts which confirmed that we're missing that number at the Croatian (domestic/national) level. There's a lot involved, lots of education, training, seminars just for training. In PJR, we launched an EU mentorial program, EUment, which is aimed at educating students, all those looking for or changing jobs, or those who are juniors in organisations and want to learn to be better, and see a chance for that with EU funds.

The program lasts for six weeks and the person passes through each department in the company and meets and works with experts. There is a big interest in this, and I believe there is in other programs, too. Our oldest and most visited educational program is the PJR Academy - a simulation of EU project implementation through five days of education. After all the years that we've been doing this, we're seeing more and more interest because we have new enthusiasts who are interested in learning.

Who mostly uses and withdraws EU funds? How successful are we when it comes to withdrawing, and how much are we to use?

Most of the money is withdrawn by Finland, the least is withdrawn by Spain. There is enough time for improvement until the end of the funding period, and in parallel, Croatia has to prepare for the new (financial) period of 2021-2027, in which many rules will be changed, and higher financial capacities will be being expected from users, not just human. When it comes to witnessing the real effects of the EU funds on employment, the economy, the quality of public administration and various areas that have been invested in in the Republic of Croatia, we still have to wait, and in a couple of years, most of the projects will be over and their effects will start to affect society.

How should we then get going on the eve of a new era, and in what area are we usually making the most mistakes?

The biggest problem is undoubtedly the slow system and unrealistic goals. At the beginning of each year, indicative plans are published with the lists of all of the tenders that are planned to opened during that year and the date of the call for the tenders is always listed. All of these tenders are always late, some of them by five to six months.

At this point, for the European Social Fund, there are still no announcements for 2019, and it's already mid-February! Each tender is unique, requiring the special consideration of opportunities, some time of preparation, and the most important part - human and financial resources. Once a tender is opened and the project is sent, a wait for the results commences, which is known to have lasted for as long as one year, and that's too long for entrepreneurs and their markets.

Those who manage to succeed end up encountering new problems in project implementation, the most common mistakes lie in public procurement and the lack of project success indicators. What each consultant would say is that they need to be realistic. It's tempting to write that you'll hire ten workers because it does, for example, bring in the most points in project evaluation but you should be realistic because if you don't end up opening up the ten new jobs at the end of the project, then you haven't met the indicators, you need to take responsibility, and you have to return part of the EU funds awarded to you.

What will the 2021-2027 financial period bring us? What challenges lie ahead of us?

The new financial period brings with it a large number of changes. For Croatia, this is a very challenging period because this is the first time in which we'll be participating from the very beginning in the planning and the creating of a new seven-year financial framework.

This year and next year are set to bring changes within the current programs because there will be less money, and therefore, there will be less tenders, too. Some of the most important changes are that total allocation in ESI funds will be reduced due to the United Kingdoms's exit from the European Union; the plan is have money in the amount of 351.8 billion euros for all members, and the amount will be available through several different funds together.

The amount of 8.8 billion for Croatia for the period 2021-2028 can be seen as a significant reduction compared to the previous period if absolute allocations are being considered, but if we look at how much this is per capita, there is no relative reduction because of the fall in the number of residents in the Republic of Croatia. The biggest change is that the maximum funding rate for less developed regions, of 85 percent, in which Croatia falls, will be reduced to 70 percent.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated politics and business pages for more on EU funds in Croatia and much, much more.

Click here for the original article/interview by Lucija Spiljak for Poslovni Dnevnik

''We need to give young people the ability to learn and improve, to be informed about the measures implemented by the EU through EU funds and self-employment,'' stated the mayor of Virovitica.

As PD i VL native tim/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 4th of February, 2019, Virovitica is the fourteenth Croatian city in which the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds organised an informative-educational event entitled Regional Days of EU Funds, with the aim of informing the general public about the possibilities of financing from EU funds and strengthening regional development, as well as the possibilities for overall social and economic growth of Croatia which derive from EU fund availability. The event was held at the Virovitica Cultural Centre, which, ironically with the help of the EU funds, is about to be reconstructed soon.

Since Virovitica is mainly made up of agricultural land, its projects are mostly reported by small and medium-sized entrepreneurs and farmers, and according to the latest statistical data, Virovitica-Podravina County is among the best in Slavonia and Baranja in terms of EU cash withdrawal for rural development funds and for micro and small enterprises - up to 3,400 kuna per capita. "EU funds concern everyone, we're working on public projects in the public sector to set standards, and it's important to utilise them and improve business," said Ivica Kirin, Virovitica's mayor.

National development strategy

Virovitica-Podravina County Prefect Igor Andrović presented some statistical data according to which the VIDRA Development Agency in 2018 carried out 194 projects for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs and farmers, totaling a massive 450 million kuna.

"We've started on projects which concern Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem, such as the renovation of the hospital, the construction of a network of entrepreneurial incubators, the construction of a technological innovation centre, the hall for the Viroexpo fair and the energetic renewal of the cultural centre.

This year, we expect the realisation of about 150 projects we submitted last year,'' Andrović said, pointing out that with the new division in the four statistical regions, small and medium entrepreneurs in their area as well as in Sisak-Moslavina and Karlovac County will receive up to 75 percent of support from the EU funds, as opposed to the previous 45 percent.

State Secretary at the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, Velimir Žunac, reminded attendees that by the year 2020, the seven-year financial period during which Croatia learned, made mistakes and matured will end, and more opportunities in the next financial period of 2021-2027 will come.

"EU funds are our reality - this county and this city are a good example of how European Union money can be used, as statistics show. In January 2017, Croatia was [withdrawing] under 9 percent of the contracted funds and by the end of last year, that number was more than 62 percent, or 6.6 billion euros of contractuality, we've made a significant step forward. In Croatia, 80 percent of public investment comes from the EU and it's important to maximise its use," Žunac pointed out.

He announced that the Croatian Government is ready and that the budget is stable for the new cycle and financial period from 2021 to 2027, recalling that the National Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia is under development up until 2030, with twelve thematic and working groups working intensively.

An interesting panel discussion was then held, entitled "The development of Virovitica through European Union funds", involving representatives of various institutions as well as local entrepreneurs with experience of using money provided by EU funds. At the very beginning, Mayor Ivica Kirin emphasised that in the near future they want to identify the strategies and priorities that Croatia needs to develop which will create faster and better economic growth.

"We need more staff, especially those who will write projects. At the same time, we must give young people the ability to learn and improve, to be informed of the measures that the state is implementing through EU funds and self-employment," Kirin said.

The results were presented by Tihana Harmund, Director of the VTA Development Agency, who works for all institutions in Virovitica, companies, institutions, as well as for entrepreneurs and farmers, to whom she offers advice and assistance in writing up and implementing EU projects.

"We have prepared the documentation for all projects, including Pejačević Castle worth 82 million kuna, the improvement of Virovitica's water and communal infrastructure of 150 million kuna, as well as the renovation of schools, kindergartens and other institutions. For smaller projects, we provided the necessary funds to farmers, entrepreneurs and civil society organisations,'' stated Harmund.

Cooperation between the city and the county

''Services and institutions were networked for the preparation of projects, and the cooperation between the City of Virovitica and Virovitica-Podravina County is excellent,'' said Neda Martić from the VIDRA Development Agency.

"An entrepreneur can now get a valid building permit in two days, and in addition to being a regional coordinator, our agency is working on strategy and writing up infrastructure projects. We currently have 245 projects related to the economy,'' Martić added.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated politics page for much more.

Click here for the original article by PD i VL native tim on Poslovni Dnevnik

After a decade of silence and complete inactivity, the Croatian Government is moving once again towards the temptation of a highway construction project towards Dubrovnik, a move initially started by former PM Ivo Sanader.

As Kresimir Zabec/Novac writes on the 2nd of February, 2019, after a rather unnecessarily lengthy and of course unclear title, the conclusion of the ''study documentation for the road connection of southern Dalmatia to the motorway network system of the Republic of Croatia from the Metković junction to the future Pelješac bridge and from the Doli junction to the City of Dubrovnik'' (yes you can take a breath now), which was adopted during Friday's Government session held in Dubrovnik, has actually led back to the beginning of re-activating the old plan to build a highway to Dubrovnik.

The last time constructing a highway to Dubrovnik was mentioned was way back in 2009, ten whole years ago, when a construction contract worth 3.675 billion kuna was signed in Osojnik in the presence of the controversial former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, an amount which didn't include the VAT for the planned Doli - Dubrovnik section. Although the contracts were indeed signed, the money for this project was never secured, therefore the works never started and all in all, time went by and people simply forgot about it for the most part.

Although there are permits, projects and designs from that time that still exist and could be acceptable today, Croatian roads (Hrvatske ceste) will spend 4.06 million kuna this year to take a better look at the southern Dalmatian transport system in the area of ​​Dubrovnik-Neretva County and its link with the existing highway network, and determine the feasibility of any highway construction from the existing Metković junction to the future Pelješac bridge, and then from Doli to the City of Dubrovnik. They'll also rule whether or not it is simply better to use the highway through neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.

EU co-financing

Croatia's Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, has already jumped the gun when it comes to the talks held on Friday, stating that the Ploče - Dubrovnik motorway will be built, but the question is when. He is counting on the EU being prepared to co-finance the project in the next operational period. However, some insist that a study is needed because the road image itself has changed over the past ten years, not only in southern Croatia, but also in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The motorway was built behind Ploče and the where the future Pelješac bridge will be, in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, the construction of part of the Vc corridor from Počitelj to the border with Montenegro through Popovo polje has also begun.

Compared to ten years ago, the highway would now be changed somewhat. Back then, the route went from Ploče to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina at Neum and then continued on the other side down south to Dubrovnik.

It was estimated that eighty kilometres of highway from Ploče to Dubrovnik could cost around 732 million euros.

Today, it is assumed that the direction would go from the current Karamatići junction to the Pelješac junction, from where traffic will go down to Pelješac bridge. That equals approximately twenty kilometres of brand new highway sections. The traffic would continue along the new Pelješac road to the Doli junction, and from there 29.6 kilometers of highway would be built leading down to Dubrovnik.

According to the old 2009 project, a total of thirty objects needed to be built, of which there were ten viaducts, nine tunnels, and eight underpasses. Back then, the price of one kilometre of construction was 16.5 million euros without VAT, equalling a total of almost half a billion euros without VAT. The price of the construction of the highway from Karamatići to Pelješac is as yet unknown, but this section is also a very demanding part of the project as the route passes through the Neretva valley, so a high level of environmental protection will be required. Owing to all of the above, estimates are that the entire highway from Ploče down to Dubrovnik could stand at a massive 800 million euros.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated lifestyle and politics pages. If it's just Dubrovnik and the extreme south of Dalmatia you're interest in, give Total Dubrovnik a follow.

Click here for the original article by Kresimir Zabec for Novac.jutarnji.hr

Concrete steps are being made to better acquaint Croatia's students with the importance of knowledge about EU projects, knowledge which will be advantageous on the labour market.

As Lucija Spiljak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 27th of January, 2019, representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds and the Faculty of Economics of the University of Zagreb signed a cooperation agreement worth three million kuna, which will enable students to acquire skills and knowledge in the field of EU funds for professional practice.

This is a project that has been being discussed in the aforementioned ministry for a long time, and now partnerships through signing this contract have been formalised by the dean of this higher education institution, Jurica Pavičić, and Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds, Gabrijela Žalac. Another partner of the project is the Department of Economics of the University of Zadar, whose representatives will subsequently sign the same contract.

"It's a great pleasure for our students to have the opportunity to improve themselves in something that is important for them, their careers, and to their future employers. Students have recognised the importance of knowledge about EU funds and have shown great interest in this area, aware that this will be an important component when they go out to look for a job. We're glad that we've partnered with the Ministry and that the University of Zadar is ready to join in with this project,'' said the Dean.

The cooperation agreement also concerns the strengthening of the Regional Development Academy, which has been in existence for many years within the ministry and cooperates with the University of Zagreb and faculties at the project level, in the interest of enhancing cooperation on the issue of student education, which is the backbone of regional development and the management of EU structural and investment funds.

"We want to strengthen our capacities at all levels so that through the professional knowledge and mentoring of our people in the Ministry of Economics, students from Zagreb and Zadar are able to train for the labour market. Our students have a decisive role in the dynamics of fundraising and the socio-economic progress of the coming period. The aim is to build a strategic partnership with healthcare institutions in the Republic of Croatia. We've been a full member of the EU for five and a half years and I think it's now time to allow students to acquire knowledge and skills in the area of ​​EU funds management and their use,'' said the minister, adding that European structural and investment funds make up 80 percent of public investments in the Republic of Croatia.

"Since we're the youngest member state of the EU, we're still at the beginning. This seven-year financial period, when we'll use European funds for the very first time, will certainly be a great experience for what follows in 2021,'' said Žalac, mentioning that MRRFEU and the Central Finance and Contracting Agency for EU Programs and Projects conducted research with results which show that there are 2700 experts missing in Croatia for the field of implementing EU projects.

"Therefore, we'd like to enable our students of economic orientation to provide professional practice with the help of EU funds, to provide new useful facilities for building a business career, with additional values ​​that strengthen their competence on the labour market," added Minister Žalac before thanking everyone who participated in the implementation process of this project.

Make sure to follow our dedicated politics page for more information on EU projects and much more.

Click here for the original article by Lucija Spiljak for Poslovni Dnevnik

Croatia boasts many positive attritubes, and while a steady economy and trustworthy politicians might be lacking, natural resources are aplenty. Croatia's geographical position gives it a very usual array of climates, landscapes, weather systems and natural resources, and fresh water, along with solar power, is one of the country's most plentiful resources and can be found up and down the country in abundance. Despite that, Croatia is of course struggling to get any real use out of it.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of January, 2019, the Republic of Croatia boasts the largest supply of fresh water in the whole of the territory of the European Union. You'd think that would be an advantage worth making proper use of, but this is Croatia and you'd unfortunately be wrong, as when it comes to domestic water supply systems there are some enormous losses, and in some, up to 80 percent of that water is lost through leakage.

The reasons for this hardly forgivable lack of foresight when it comes to what arguably makes a country incredibly rich - its water, are that most of the country's pipes are more than fifty years old. People who are naturally becoming rather bored of excuses often accuse the country's city waterways of using their frequent price hikes simply to tune their budget more.

The solution to this embarrassingly bad situation with the country's water supply network is seen by many in withdrawing money from the available European Union funds. Croatia has around 200 utility companies, and in order to increase the efficiency of the system, the solution is seen in their eventual unification, meaning that the market should consist of forty water pipelines.

People of course pay for their water, but less losses owing to more efficient waterways would result in significantly lower costs because the aforementioned outdated water supply network is a problem throughout the country, HRT reports.

Give our dedicated lifestyle page a follow for much more.

The proposal, according to Goran Pauk, will contribute to increasing the quality of life in Croatia's counties and increasing the withdrawal of European Union money. The Croatian Government will soon offer the proposal to Brussels.

As Marija Brnic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 16th of January, 2019, the Croatian Government will submit a proposal for a new division of Croatia's regions to Brussels on the 24th of January this year, in which the current division into two regions will be replaced by a new ''map'' with four divisions.

The existing model was set up back in 2012, with seven coastal counties included in the Adriatic, while thirteen counties and the City of Zagreb are united as continental Croatia. From the very outset, the main weakness of this form of division was showcased by the Croatian capital, the only one with more than 100 percent of development according to the EU average, which unintentionally yet severely limited the potential of withdrawing and using European Union funds in other continental counties.

As in the meantime the number of inhabitants of Zagreb exceeded 800,000, a study was carried out, in which the Institute for development and international relations was engaged. Of the nine analysed divisions, it was determined that it would be best to distinguish Zagreb as a separate region. Adriatic Croatia remains the same, while Northern Croatia would be consist of Krapina-Zagorje, Međimurje and Koprivnica-Križevci counties. Central and Eastern Croatia would be made up of the Slavonian counties plus Bjelovar-Bilogora, Karlovac, Sisak-Moslavina, with the option of Bjelovar-Bilogora also being part of Northern Croatia.

While the Croatian Government will of course be the official body which sends the final proposal, the decisions will be made by the involved counties themselves next week, but in any case, the new divisions, like the other continental ones, will see many counties enjoy far better positions and a greater degree of regional support than the current divisions have. In the counties of Eastern Croatia, and in Sisak-Moslavina and Karlovac, the level of regional aid would increase by 25 percent with this new model when compared to the present situation.

Those in the northwest would be entitled to a 10 percent increase in regional aid while Adriatic Croatia would remain nominally at its current level, but in reality things would also increase there, too. By having Zagreb as one region, the level of compulsory national co-financing on its territory would come up to 60 percent instead of the current 30 percent.

It has been estimated that the Croatian Government's new proposal will certainly contribute to increasing the quality of life in all of Croatia's counties, as well as increase the withdrawal of cash from EU funds. Positive effects will be especially felt by Croatian entrepreneurs in the counties of continental Croatia, because they will be able to receive more support from the available funds.

Keep up with what the Croatian Government's next moves are and much more by following our dedicated politics page.

Click here for the original article by Marija Brnic for Poslovni Dnevnik

Excellent news at the very dawn of the brand new year for Donje Čelo on the island of Koločep (Kalamota) as a huge cash injection for port infrastructure is on its way. Getting enough cash for Croatian islands is something in the forefront of the minds of many, and this move will work to ensure higher quality for all.

Koločep is one of a group of islands close to the mainland known as the Elaphite (Elafiti) islands, made up of Koločep, Lopud and Šipan, which lie just north of the City of Dubrovnik. The islands attract many visitors on the numerous excursions which leave from the popular Pearl of the Adriatic on a daily basis during the warm summer months.

As Morski writes on the 11th of January, 2019, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure has decided on allowing the financing of a massive 24 million kuna's worth of renovation and reconstruction works for Donje Čelo's port on the southern Dalmatian island of Koločep, in a move conducted by the County Port Authority of Dubrovnik. 

This is otherwise one of the eight local and regional port projects that Dubrovnik-Neretva County is preparing for owing to very welcome funding from non-refundable European Union funds, meaning that while standards are still not matching those on the mainland cash for Croatian islands is no longer just a pipe dream.

More cash for Croatian islands will be channelled through further projects currently planned for the Perna port in Orebić, Polačište on the island of Korčula, Trpanj harbour in the Trpanj Municipality, Prigradica in the Blato Municipality, a ferry-passenger terminal in Vela Luka and Luka Ubli on the island of Lastovo. The total value of the aforementioned projects stands at about sixty million euros, as has been reported from Dubrovnik-Neretva County.

Stay up to date by following our dedicated lifestyle page. If it's just Dubrovnik and the extreme south of Dalmatia you're interested in, don't forget to give Total Dubrovnik a follow.

Many places in Croatia have been making good use of EU funds, but others need time to catch up. The opportunities provided by accessing the funding has been showcased in one excellent Croatian example, Zaprešić.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 27th of December, 2018, last Friday, Zaprešić was the final host of the Regional EU Funds seminar for this year. The seminars aim to inform the public about the funding opportunities provided by EU funds by the Ministry of Regional Development and EU funds.

Zaprešić is just one example of good EU funds practice, and this is also backed up somewhat symbolically by the fact that the education seminar about the use of EU funds was held in the Vršilnica building, which was rebuilt with the very welcome help of 4,855,637.50 euro, co-financed by European structural and investment funds.

EU funds are one of the key sources of funding for urban investments and large capital projects across the Republic of Croatia, without which the City of Zaprešić simply could not have realised many projects. As explained by Mayor Zeljko Turk, in the period from 2017 until now, nearly 33 million kuna of contracted funds outside of the city budget have been spent, which have helped to deal with large capital projects, raise the overall quality of life, and accelerate the development cycle of Zaprešić in general. The fact that EU funds are a huge part of Croatia's present and future, was emphasised by the state secretary at the Ministry of Regional Development and EU funds, Velimir Žunac.

"We're the youngest member of the European Union, so we're learning, growing and maturing at the same time, and this government has made significant gains. Back in January 2017 we contracted a mere 9 percent of EU funds, and this year, we'll be at 60 percent, that speak volumes about how successful we are,'' stated Žunac.

The 2017 economy analysis shows that the most prominent economic branches in Zaprešić are trade (23 percent), followed by service activities (16 percent) and professional scientific and technical, construction and manufacturing industries, holding a total of 33 percent.

"The city is doing a lot to improve the infrastructure and conditions for its entrepreneurs, and for this purpose, funds amounting to 6 million kuna have been secured, and this is 100 percent co-financed with European Union money in the entrepreneurial zone in Pojatno, where a completely new road will be built which will attract new businesses and create new jobs,'' said the head of the Zaprešić finance and economic development department, Miljenko Šoštarić.

Satisfied entrepreneurs are the souls of the city, and just how it is to actually be an entrepreneur in Zaprešić, with his own experience of using the EU contribution, is the owner of the Mihaliček company, which employs 50 people with a turnover growth of 10 to 15 percent per year.

"We applied for the tender because the appetities within our company grew, we developed new jobs and got more people. We applied for a crane and a laser machine for installing and processing concrete, and we received 300,000 kuna in non-refundable funds, which was 55 percent of our investment,'' said Stjepan Mihaliček, stating that such a form of contribution to them was relevant because renting or buying used machinery could be at the expense of safety in the workplace. 

''In order to encourage as many entrepreneurs as possible to use EU funds, entrepreneurs may submit their email addresses to receive a newsletter containing all the available information on various financing options, including funding opportunities from EU funds with the aim of developing new business ideas and boosting competitiveness on both domestic and foreign markets,'' explained Šoštarić.

Make sure to stay up to date with our business and politics pages for more information on EU funds, how Croatian companies can make use of them, and for everything going on in the political and business world in Croatia.

Click here for the original article by PD i VL native tim