ZAGREB, 12 Feb (Hina) – Croatia is accelerating the use of EU funds and has received nearly €20 billion more from the EU budget than it has contributed to it, the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds said on Thursday.

Under the 2021-2027 financial framework, 409 calls for grants worth €10.76 billion (73.3% of the total allocation) have been launched. Contracts worth €9.71 billion (66.1%) have been signed, while €3.56 billion (24.2%) has been reimbursed. Croatia has €14.68 billion available in total under the current period, the ministry said.

According to European Commission data, Croatia ranks above the EU average in cohesion policy contracting, reaching 72.1% by end-2025, compared with the EU average of 63.3%, placing it 10th among member states.

Finance Ministry figures show the net difference between EU funds received and Croatia’s contributions to the EU budget stands at €19.92 billion in Croatia’s favour, including €6.39 billion under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

In addition, the disbursement of the eighth €900 million tranche under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan has been announced. This means Croatia has so far met all reform and investment milestones, with two remaining installments worth about €2.8 billion to be paid by the end of the implementation of the mechanism in August, the ministry said.