The impact of European funds on Croatian economy

Ulaskom u punopravno članstvo Europske unije, Republika Hrvatska postala je korisnica sredstava iz europskih fondova. EU fondovi su važni za gospodarski razvoj Hrvatske kako zbog svoje financijske izdašnosti, tako zbog realnih ciljeva koji se žele ostvariti. Europskim fondovima mogu se nazvati svi programi koje financira Europska unija te potiču održiv rast i razvoj gospodarstva bez obzira radi li se o privatnom ili javnom sektoru. Kroz pojedine fondove europska unija provodi razne programe pomoći putem kojih se žele postići ciljevi određeni u ključnim javnim politikama EU-a. Svrha rada je detaljno napraviti pregled svakog pojedinog fonda prema prioritetima te izvršiti usporedbu Hrvatske s drugim zemljama, analizirati koliko je dostupnih sredstava Republika Hrvatska uspješno alocirala te utjecaj istih na gospodarstvo. Analizom ciljeva koji su doneseni unutar Strategije Europa 2020. vidljiv je pozitivan pomak od 2014. godine do danas. Zaključeno je kako alokacija ESI fondova raste iz godine u godinu te doprinosi gospodarskom razvoju Republike Hrvatske.By becoming a full member of the EU, the Republic of Croatia has been able to access the benefits of European funding. These funds are of a major economic importance for Croatia, as their significant amounts allow for realistic goals to be achieved. European funds are all the programs which are financed by the EU and which foster sustainable growth and development of the economy in the private and public sector. Through certain funds, the EU manages different aid programs whose purpose is to achieve different critical goals within the public policies of the EU. The purpose of this work is to conduct a detailed analysis of each funding, according to the priorities of the European Strategy and to compare Croatia with other countries; to determine how much of the available funding the Republic of Croatia has successfully implemented and to analyse the impact this has had on the economy. By analysing the goals that were determined by the European Strategy 2020, there has been noticeable positive growth from 2014 until today. It has been concluded that the ESI fund's allocation grows on a yearly basis and fosters the positive economic growth of Croatia