1/28/2010

Croatia to speed up preparations for use of EU funds

ZAGREB, Croatia - The European Union Commissioner for Regional Policy, Pawel Samecki, called on the Croatian authorities to speed up preparations for the use of EU cohesion funds.

Samecki met with Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and government and parliament officials in Zagreb on 25 and 26 January 2010 to discuss the progress of Croatia's EU accession negotiations, focusing on regional policy and conditions Croatia needed to meet in order to make full use of EU funds.

EUR 2.2 billion has been set aside in EU cohesion funds for the first two years of Croatia's membership in the EU in 2012 and 2013, which is 20 times more than the support it now receives through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA), he said.

I invite the Croatian authorities to accelerate preparations in all areas in order to make full use of that financial package, Samecki told a press conference in Zagreb.

Samecki said that Croatia should establish an appropriate administrative structure for the management and control of the use of EU funds. That will require competent staff, whose number will need to be substantially increased for that purpose, he added.

It will also be necessary to secure funds for co-funding projects at both local and national levels, because EU funds cover up to 85 per cent of the total amount, he said.

Contracting projects with Croatia within pre-accession funds has been going well so far, but it is necessary to speed up their implementation, he added.

I believe that the Croatian authorities will achieve their plans and finalise the negotiations with the EU by the end of this year, but that's not guaranteed yet and it largely depends on how much effort Croatia will invest, Samecki said.

Source: HINA, 26/01/10