An amount of €179 million from the Just Transition Fund (JTF) will be invested in Croatia thanks to the approval of a multi-fund programme under Cohesion Policy.
- 06 December 2022
The Just Transition Fund will support the counties of Istria and Sisak-Moslavina in delivering a just climate transition based on the Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTP) developed by the national authorities, in cooperation with local stakeholders and the Commission.
The Istria county is the only territory with a still operating coal-fired power plant in Croatia to be phased-out at the latest by 2033 and it has a carbon-intensive cement industry. The Fund will support the switch towards renewable energy. In addition, investments will help diversify the economy thanks to reskilling and upskilling activities, the creation of hubs for sustainable technological innovation and new circular business models in the manufacturing sector. The EU-supported investments in Istria are estimated to create 300 direct and 300 indirect jobs, and to reskill 200 people, adapting the local workforce to new green jobs and providing local firms with the skills they need for economic transformation.
Sisak-Moslavina has highly polluting industries which account for a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions. The Fund will support economic diversification by investing in the uptake of innovations by small and medium-sized businesses, including through collaborations with universities, and incentivising new business models, with a particular focus on the Information and Communications Technologies industry. Finally, it will also support the reskilling and upskilling of workers in the local chemical and refining industries, thus helping to retain talents in the region.
The TJTPs identify the territories that will receive JTF support following a dialogue between the Commission and local partners in the framework of the negotiations of the 2021-2027 Partnership Agreements. The Commission approved the Partnership Agreement with Croatia in August 2022. The TJTPs also allow for financing under InvestEU (a just transition scheme) and the Public Sector Loan Facility for Just Transition (a new tool combining Commission grants with European Investment bank loans for transition regions).