Croatian Members of the European Parliament clashed over a five million euro investment from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan into a hotel on the island of Ugljan. Green Party MEP Gordan Bosanac criticized the project as an example of poor use of European funds, citing a lack of clear investment performance indicators and unclear final beneficiaries. He accused the Ministry of Tourism of allocating funds to a company linked to a member of the HDZ party. HDZ MEPs, including Sunčana Glavak and Nikolina Brnjac, defended the investment, emphasizing that the project is part of a sustainable tourism and regional development strategy and that Croatia has effectively utilized EU funds. The debate highlighted differing views on the transparency and efficiency of European fund usage in Croatia.
Political Perspectives:
Left: The left-leaning perspective, represented by Green Party MEP Gordan Bosanac, emphasizes concerns about transparency, accountability, and the proper use of European funds. It criticizes the allocation of public money to private commercial projects without clear indicators of success and questions potential political favoritism in fund distribution.
Center: The centrist perspective tends to focus on the factual aspects of the investment, acknowledging both the need for regional development and the importance of oversight. It presents the debate as a necessary democratic process to ensure funds are used effectively while recognizing the challenges of managing large recovery funds.
Right: The right-leaning perspective, represented by HDZ MEPs, stresses the positive impact of the investment on regional development, sustainable tourism, and economic recovery post-pandemic. It defends the use of funds as strategic and well-managed, highlighting Croatia’s success in utilizing EU recovery funds and warning against unfounded criticism that could harm the country’s image.
