Gordan Bosanac becomes a negotiator in a key fund of the European Union that brings 16.8 billion euros to Croatia

Brussels, 9 January 2025

Gordan Bosanac, Member of the Možemo! party in the European Parliament, has become within the Committee on Regional Development, the chief negotiator of the Greens group for the establishment of a new Fund for Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion, Agriculture and Rural Areas, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Prosperity and Security which will weigh almost 900 billion euros, becoming the largest source of funding in the history of the European Union.

”My task is to ensure that all the money allocated to Croatia really reaches the people, that it is spent transparently and in cooperation with local communities. I also aim for cities, counties and civil society to have a real impact on decisions through the National and Regional Partnership Plans and that the new structure of the fund respects the social, environmental and regional objectives of the European Union”..

From this position, he will be the rapporteur for the group Green/EFA in the Committee for Regional Development (REGI), and will negotiate key decisions of the Fund which will have a direct impact on the final appearance of the Regulation establishing the Fund for Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion, Agriculture and Rural Areas, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Prosperity and Security.

For the first time, the European Commission has proposed grouping several funds into one mega fund, giving Member States the flexibility to set their own priorities within that fund. One of the Bosanac's key tasks of will be to work on decentralizing the fund so that not only central state bodies participate in its planning and implementation, but also that regions, cities and municipalities have equal weight in order to ensure that EU funds capillary reach every part of Croatia.

In particular, it will advocate that the money for agriculture and fisheries really reaches small and medium-sized farmers and fishermen, in order to strengthen domestic production of quality food and protect the environment. Also, one of the objectives will be to ensure that the simplification of access to EU funds is done not only at EU level but also on national level, which often makes it difficult to absorb funds for small and medium-sized beneficiaries through bureaucratic unnecessary measures.

”According to the Commission's proposal, €16.8 billion is earmarked for Croatia, and this money should be allocated to three main categories: €14.6 billion for general purposes, which includes regional development, agriculture and cohesion policies, €1.3 billion for migration and security, and €1 billion from the Social Climate Fund, which helps the most vulnerable groups in the society to more easily bear the costs of the green transition. This aims to ensure that funds are better channelled and managed more easily. National and Regional Partnership Plans should allow local communities and counties to have a real influence on decisions.” interpreted Bosanac.

Through the negotiations, Gordano Bosanac's goal will be to ensure transparent spending of funds that is in line with real needs. From his position, he will play a key role in shaping the European Parliament's position on this most important piece of legislation in the package of the new Multiannual Financial Framework, including negotiating funding priorities, safeguarding cohesion policy, strengthening the role of local and regional authorities in the management of the Fund and the implementation of the programme, respecting the rule of law and ensuring that the new structure of the Fund does not fail. It underpins the social, environmental and territorial objectives of the European Union.

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