27.04.2023.
After Vraždin, Osijek is the second stop where the Fund’s co-financing schemes for environmental and energy efficiency projects were presented.Luka Balen, the director of the Fund, opened by mentioning the three challenging years behind us, which had a profound impact on our society. “The silver lining of these past events is an even greater focus on sustainable development, something we are very familiar with. Sustainable development is the solution to environmental issues and the global climate crisis, which knows no exceptions,” said Balen, adding that the representatives of the local units, as the representatives of citizens, had a great responsibility in improving the quality of people’s lives and working conditions, in which the Fund could be their partner. “Through our programmes, we want to direct investments in the activities that support green growth and the circular economy. I believe that this is the direction you want your local areas to take – to be sustainable, clean, and efficient. All this is, of course, in line with national and European policies, and all the obligations arising from them should be viewed as a vision, the idea that will ultimately result in a better society in general,” he concluded.
The possibilities for co-financing from national and European funds were presented to the participants by experts from the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund. Aleksandra Čilić, the head of the Environmental Protection Sector, presented the environment protection and waste management programmes, while Maja Feketić, the head of the Sector for EU Funds, explained financing schemes for the national component in EU projects, and the role of support to beneficiaries in their implementation, and she also announced food waste prevention co-financing programmes. Aleksandar Halavanja, the head of a department at the Energy Efficiency Sector, talked about the programmes promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, while Predrag Čuljak, the head of a department in Intermediate Body level 2, presented co-financing possibilities offered by the EU funds, including the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.