Finance Minister Boris Lalovac and EIB sign EUR 300 million loan agreement

Finance Minister Boris Lalovac and European Investment Bank Vice President Dario Scannapieco on Monday signed an agreement on a EUR 300 million loan designated to co-finance projects financially supported with European Union funds in the 2014-2020 period.

The EIB loan will co-fund projects envisaged in the Operational Programme "Competitiveness and Cohesion" for the sectors of transport, energy, environment, health, development and research, environmental protection etc.

The Operational Programme is estimated at EUR 8.1 billion, and of this sum, EUR 6.8 billion is to be allocated from EU structural and investment funds.

Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and EU Funds Minister Branko Grcic, who attended the agreement-signing ceremony, said that the funds would be primarily used for key infrastructure projects, notably in the rail sector as well as in water management, waste management, education and public healthcare.

Grcic described this loan as a "strong lever" for the country's economic recovery and growth. He said that borrowing conditions were favourable, with the indicative interest rate of 1.3%.

He reiterated that the cabinet of Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic had recently forwarded to the European Commission a preliminary draft of reforms and that the talks with the Commission on the matter were under way.

EIB Vice-President Scannapieco commended the Croatian administration for enhancing its capacity for the inflow of money from the EU funds, admitting that it is not always easy for EU newcomers.

The EIB is very satisfied with Croatia's progress in that sense, he said.

Scannapieco said that the EIB Board of Directors might on Tuesday greenlight a loan for a project in Croatia whish he described as important but he stopped short of specifying it. According to unofficial reports, the project is in transport infrastructure.

The EIB is the European Union's bank and the bank owned by and representing the interests of the European Union Member States. This lender works closely with other EU institutions to implement EU policy.

(Hina) ms

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