ZAGREB, 5 May 2022 - The €372 billion InvestEU programme, providing the Croatian private and public sectors with opportunities for green and sustainable investments, innovation and new jobs, was presented on Thursday at a conference by the European Investment Bank and European Commission Representation in Croatia.

"InvestEU aims to provide more than €372 billion to public and private investors in the European economy in the period from 2021 to 2027. These investments will be enabled based on an EU guarantee of €26.2 billion, which will be used to support investments by InvestEU implementing partners such as the European Investment Bank (EIB)," it was said at the conference, organised by the EIB and European Commission (EC) Representation in Croatia in cooperation with the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK).

The InvestEU programme builds on the successful model of mobilising investments, introduced by the Investment Plan for Europe, or the Juncker Plan, and combines the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and 13 other EU financial instruments.

As a member of the EU, Croatia has an opportunity to accelerate its green and sustainable development based on long-term financing to be provided by InvestEU, primarily through investments in digital infrastructure, innovation, technology and skills, the EIB said in a press release.

This will empower citizens and EU economy with new generation technologies and accelerate the implementation of the EU Green Deal and "mobilise private investments for the EU's policy priorities such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition," the bank says.

The conference, held for representatives of state, public and private sectors, was addressed via video link also by Finance Minister Zdravko Marić.

The event discussed opportunities InvestEU provides and its priorities, components and available financing as well as consultancy in identifying and preparing projects, provided by the EIB Group as the lead implementing and advisory arm of the InvestEU programme.

InvestEU consists of three building blocks: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal.

EIB Vice-President Teresa Czerwinska said the programme will provide a significant stimulus to investments in many critical areas of the economy throughout the EU.

The programme is a key element of what so far is the EU's largest package of measures that will boost recovery from the COVID pandemic and will help build a greener, more digital and more resilient European economy, Czerwinska said, adding that InvestEU will also help Europe meet new challenges, including those related to the war in Ukraine.

The EIB will be a vital component in implementing the programme, which will increase investments in clean energy, education, digitisation and urban infrastructure, she said, calling on Croatia's public and private sectors to learn how to absorb as much funding as possible from this programme in cooperation with the EIB.

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ZAGREB, 12 Sept, 2021 - Three Croatian schools and a pre-school institutions are recipients of the European Innovative Teaching Award (EITA), introduced this year to encourage the establishment of the European Education Area by 2025, the Croatian Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes has reported.

The new award has been created to enhance the best teaching practices implemented under the Erasmus+ programme and to recognise the work of teachers and their schools that make a contribution to the development of the teaching profession.

The awards are given in four categories: early childhood education and care; primary education; upper and lower general secondary education; upper and lower professional secondary education (technical/vocational institutes).

Each of 33 countries participating in the programme had the opportunity to select four Erasmus+ projects for this prize. 

The first Croatian EITA award winners: Dječji Vrtić Matije Gupca Matija kindergarten from Zagreb, Osnovna Škola Josipa Matoša primary school from Vukovar, Gimnazija Dr. Ivana Kranjčeva secondary school from Đurđevac, and Vrapče Nursing School from Zagreb.

The  kindergarten was awarded for its project on different approaches to the creative teaching of preschool children.

Josip Matoš Primary School won the award for the preparation of guides, picture books and a website involving animals in the educational processes. The project was coordinated with primary schools in Turkey, Hungary and North Macedonia and an institute in Italy.

The secondary school from Đurđevac was awarded for a project aimed at developing civic competencies through the promotion of tolerance, equality and human rights. During the project, the students successfully cooperated with schools in France, Spain, Sweden, Romania and Italy.

The Nursing School published an interesting manual for wound care, infection prevention and nurses+ training protocols. working together with a medical school in Ljubljana and a hospital in Turkey.

The recognition, which has a purely symbolic value, aims to celebrate the achievements of the teachers and schools and give greater visibility to their work, identifying and promoting innovative teaching and learning practices. The goal is to promote mutual learning between teachers and school staff and highlight the value of the Erasmus + programme for the collaboration of teachers at European level.

After the announcement of the winners, the award-giving ceremony in Croatia is scheduled for 18 October online.

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