Urban Development Council holds inaugural meeting

Hina - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković chaired the inaugural meeting of the Urban Development Council in Velika Gorica on Wednesday, where 12 contracts worth €67 million were awarded to five cities under the Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) mechanism.

"We have prioritised balanced political development since the beginning of our first term, striving to align all national policies, budgetary allocations, public enterprise funding and EU resources in order for Croatia to catch up with EU member states, particularly those in Central Europe that joined before us. In this regard, we have made significant progress," Plenković stressed.

A key message, he added, is that the government has decided to increase funding through the ITI mechanism, which is directly allocated to cities that are county seats.

"We started with the four largest cities plus four major cities and a budget of around €350 million. In this financial framework, the government has made a major step forward, increasing funding to €800 million and including all 23 county capitals. This ensures that each of these cities receives its own financial package to implement projects benefiting citizens and the economy," Plenković stated.

New Regional Development Act announced

Ahead of the Urban Development Council meeting, 12 contracts worth €67 million were awarded, including €29 million in grants.

The contracts were allocated to Zagreb, Split, Osijek, Vinkovci and Sisak, with ITI funds designated for investment in green infrastructure, cycling paths, modernisation of public urban transport, redevelopment of town squares, sports and recreational infrastructure, business infrastructure and new technologies.

"This provides cities with a strong development lever, allowing them to achieve high growth rates, maintain high employment levels, create quality new jobs and foster a living environment tailored to families and young people," Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds, Šime Erlić, said.

He noted that the ITI mechanism has also introduced an Urban Development Fund through the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), aimed at enabling local authorities to invest in affordable housing.

The Mayor of Velika Gorica, Krešimir Ačkar, emphasised that "regardless of political affiliation, it must be acknowledged that mayors have never had access to so much funding to improve the quality of life in ITI cities." The president of the Association of Cities, Željko Turk, also praised the government for this.

During the meeting, the adoption of a new Regional Development Act was announced. "It is time to revise our goals and be even more ambitious," the prime minister said.

Minister Erlić said that the Act had been modernised and would soon be put to public consultation.

"We have placed greater emphasis on urban areas, defined the type of cities we want to develop, recognised this Council as a key platform for dialogue, and envisaged the formation of ITI urban areas with government support," he added.

Bačić: Local leaders will be obliged to develop housing programmes, we will reduce documentation for house construction

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Branko Bačić recalled the adoption of the National Housing Policy Plan, which envisages the amendment and adoption of nine laws this year. The Building Management and Maintenance Act has already been adopted, and the Affordable Housing Act has been submitted to the parliament.

"The Affordable Housing Act is scheduled for debate in the parliament next week, after which we will start adopting a programme through which we will renovate all flats owned by the Republic of Croatia and rent them out during this and next year, and with an exceptionally high subsidy to private owners for renting out their flats, we will encourage the numerous flats that are currently empty, of which there are 595,000, to be put on the market," said Bačić.

Speaking about the fundamental law from the National Plan, the Affordable Housing Act, Bačić announced to local leaders that they would be obliged to develop local housing programmes. The Physical Planning Act will enable faster access to construction and securing new zones for affordable housing, and the Construction Act will reduce the documentation necessary for the construction of family houses and multifamily residentials, he said.

Fuchs: Investments in education have never been higher

Minister of Science, Education and Youth Radovan Fuchs stressed that investments in education had never been higher.

"We are currently witnessing unprecedented investments in infrastructure worth €2.7 billion - from kindergartens to universities and scientific institutes," he said.

He recalled the government's main goal was that by 2030 every child had a place in kindergarten and that every school be single-shift.

"By the end of the year, despite some bombastic statements, we will realise all €100.3 million that are available to us," Fuchs said.

The minister also underscored that the government has recognized the key role of teachers and professors and is continuously investing in improving their working and financial status.

Puljak and Korlaet: Funds from the ITI mechanism have not been distributed fairly

The mayors and deputy mayors present praised all the government's efforts.

However, Split Mayor Ivica Puljak (Centre) and Zagreb Deputy Mayor Luka Korlaet (We Can!) also expressed their support and criticism, claiming that there was injustice in the allocation of funds from the ITI mechanism, especially given the number of inhabitants. However, Pazin Mayor Suzana Jašić did not agree with that.

She called on the prime minister to pay attention to the development index of cities in the new Regional Development Act, warning that many cities fall into the seventh and eighth categories of development, and the difference, she stressed, is enormous.

"I ask that something be done so that Pazin is not in the same development category as Dubrovnik or Poreč," said the mayor of Pazin.

She pointed out to Minister Fuchs, however, that for many cities, including Pazin, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, through which they received only one third of the funds for the construction of kindergartens, "is not a recovery and resilience programme but a program of additional borrowing."

Puljak mentioned the problem of local units regarding road construction, and Minister Bačić said that he was aware of this, and that the new laws would simplify and speed up the steps for obtaining building and location permits.

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