EC approves more than €835 million for Croatia

On Tuesday the European Commission endorsed a positive preliminary assessment of Croatia's sixth payment request for €835.6 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the centerpiece of NextGenerationEU.

The Commission has preliminarily concluded that Croatia has satisfactorily completed the 15 milestones and 11 targets set out in the Council Implementing Decision for the sixth grant instalment and the second loan instalment.

The reforms and investments tied to this payment will drive positive change for Croatian citizens and businesses – notably in the areas of health, fight against corruption, geothermal exploration and hydrogen development, water management, resilience against natural disasters, the energy connection of islands, and energy security.

Other measures linked to this payment request include the digitalization of the healthcare system through state-of-the-art surgery equipment and increased patient capacity, as well as new legislation on governance of state-owned enterprises. These measures include the strengthening of the effectiveness of state-owned companies' internal control systems or establish professional and independent supervisory boards.

The Commission has now sent its preliminary assessment of Croatia's fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), which has four weeks to deliver its opinion. The payment to Croatia can take place following the EFC's opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission.

Source: HRT