23.11.2023.
As an envoy of the minister of economy and sustainable development, Luka Balen, the director of the Fund, opened the 15th “48 Hours” Conference organised by Lider Magazine in Poreč, which gathered numerous representatives from the economy and local self-government."An active role of the state and local self-government units in encouraging entrepreneurial activity is of the utmost importance, and this is especially pronounced nowadays when we’re faced with a challenging geopolitical situation, rising energy prices, and the increasingly apparent climate crisis. For these reasons, the Government of the Republic of Croatia, through the Ministry of Economy and the Environmental Protection Fund, helps the economy with a number of measures and concrete investments, putting emphasis in particular on the green transition projects. In addition, we co-finance numerous projects to counties, cities and municipalities that contribute to environmental protection and energy efficiency, and consequently a better quality of life of all our citizens," said director Balen, announcing the upcoming call for proposals for the Smart Cities project worth EUR 5 million, and the energy renovation of family houses programme worth 120 million euros.
The Lider editor-in-chief, Miodrag Šajatović, reminded that the main idea of the conference was to bring together mayors, their associates, entrepreneurs, and managers who have a number of common points and who must inform and cooperate with each other. The event drew attention to the developmental role of towns and the possibilities for attracting investment. Examples of good practice that incorporated entrepreneurial climate into permanent sustainable development were presented at the conference.
As part of the conference, a panel discussion on the Green Deal was held, which was attended by Lidija Tošić, the head of the Public Relations Service at the Fund. She pointed out that the Fund had implemented over 50 thousand different projects that, regardless of the areas of activity, had mitigation of and adaptation to climate change in common.
"Continuous increase of the population in urban areas poses a challenge for cities that are increasingly investing in smart city concepts and striving for environmental sustainability. For the second year in a row, the Fund has been implementing the Green Side of the Street Programme, which is used to co-finance green infrastructure to regional and local self-government units with the aim of adapting to climate change. In addition to incentives granted to cities and municipalities, there are also funds for green transition that we provide to companies and citizens. Moreover, local self-government units and entrepreneurs can count on EU funds for their projects that are allocated through our Intermediate Body, so it is important that they have project documentation at the ready,” said Tošić, pointing out that the Fund also co-financed scientific and research projects as cooperation between science, economy and public administration was very important.
