Brussels (Brussels Morning) The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed an agreement with the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) to support development of investment projects in important sectors of the Croatian economy, states an EC press release issued on Tuesday.
According to the agreement, the EIB will help HBOR to build its advisory services, boosting its capacity to support projects in sectors related to environmental protection, circular economy, resource efficiency, social infrastructure and smart cities.
The European Investments Advisory Hub (EIAH), an offshoot of cooperation between the European Commission and the EIB as part of the Investment Plan for Europe, will provide financial support to HBOR to set up its advisory services and develop its capacity to provide technical assistance.
Official endorsements
European Commissioner for Econmy, Paolo Gentiloni, pointed out that the EIAH grant will enable help HBOR “to help local and regional authorities to prepare and implement projects in key sectors”.
“The project shows the benefits of tailored advisory support and technical assistance to boost the effectiveness of public sector investments to the benefit of citizens across Croatia”, he observed.
EIB Vice-President Dario Scannapieco said the EIB is “proud to support HBOR in its effort to foster a green and sustainable growth in Croatia in the aftermath of an unfortunate year”. The EIAH’s support should help Croatia “achieve a more sustainable recovery by helping to prepare good quality projects focusing particularly on lesser developed regions”, he added.
HBOR CEO Tamara Perko said “our main goal is to increase the quality and volume of sustainable public sector investments in the Republic of Croatia and thus contribute to balanced social and economic regional development, which is one of the strategic goals of our business”.She observed that providing Croatia’s public sector with additional support should improve efficiency and overall performance when it comes to absorption of EU funds.
