Today, the Commission has decided to exceptionally grant Croatia the possibility to extend until 30 June 2023 the deadline for the use of the financial contribution from the EU Solidarity Fund to compensate for the damage of the earthquakes that severely hit the country in 2020 and 2021.
- 20 May 2022
Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said: “Croatia was hit twice by strong earthquakes, first in Zagreb and then in city of Petrinja and the Sisak-Moslavina county. All of that happened during the first wave of the Covid pandemic, considerably hampering the recovery efforts. Ensuring that Croatia can fully benefit from the financial support from the EU Solidarity Fund for the reconstruction of the two regions is of utmost importance for the population and a sign of strong and concrete solidarity by the European Union”.
Background:
Croatia recently suffered two series of earthquakes, the first in March 2020 in Zagreb and its surroundings, and the second in December 2020 – January 2021, in the city of Petrinja and the Sisak-Moslavina county.
Croatia has twice received assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) of a total amount over €1 billion to compensate for this damage. On the basis of the request from Croatia and after a careful assessment, the Commission concluded that the circumstances fulfil the force majeure criteria justifying an exceptional prolongation of the implementation deadline for the EUSF assistance regarding the Zagreb earthquake until 30 June 2023 (to align the implementation deadlines for both earthquakes).