POSSIBILITIES OF FINANCING PROJECTS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT UNITS FROM EU FUNDS ON THE EXEMPLE OF VUKOVAR-SRIJEM COUNTY

Europski fondovi su izvor financijskih sredstva kojim Europska unija pruža pomoć državama članicama u ispunjenju ciljeva koji moraju biti u skladu s važećom razvojnom strategijom Europske unije te u skladu s nacionalnim partnerskim sporazumima i operativnim programima. Glavni cilj EU fondova je poticanje daljnjeg ulaganja u razvoj gospodarstva, inovacija i ljudskih potencijala. Republika Hrvatska koristi mogućnosti koje im EU fondovi nude i prije samog ulaska u EU, dok je nakon 1. srpnja 2013. dobila mogućnost punopravnog korištenja sredstava kao i ostale članice. U ovom je radu analizirana mogućnost korištenja EU fondova s naglaskom na jedinice regionalne samouprave, odnosno županije. Cilj završnog rada bio je prikazati mogućnosti financiranja projekata na razini Republike Hrvatske na primjeru regionalne samouprave te analizirati konkretan primjer jedne županije. U ovom slučaju to je Vukovarsko-srijemska županija koja se ubraja u najmanje razvijene županije u Republici Hrvatskoj, ali i županija koja dosta aktivno koristi mogućnost financiranja svojih projekata.The European funds are a source of funding through which the European Union provides financial instruments to Member States to meet objectives that must be in line with the current development strategy of the European Union and in accordance with the national partnership agreements and operational programs. The main goal of the EU funds is to encourage further investment in economic development, inovations and human resources. The Republic of Croatia has been using the opportunities offered by the EU funds before joining the EU, whereas after 1 July 2013 it was given the opportunity to fully use the funds like other member states. This paper analyzes the possibility of using the EU funds with an emphasis on regional self-government, that is Croatian counties. The aim of the final work was to present the possibilities of financing projects at the level of the Republic of Croatia on the example of counties, as well as to analyze a concrete example of a county. In this case, it was the Vukovar-Srijem County, which is one of the least developed counties in the Republic of Croatia