Government Hides How It Spends €10.5 Billion from NPOO: Transparency or Secret Game?
Imagine this: The Croatian government receives €10.5 billion from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO), money meant to rescue the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. But instead of publicly showing how this massive amount is spent, the government decides to keep the spending report behind closed doors! Yes, you read that right – €10.5 billion, and citizens are not allowed to know where and how it is spent.
Why is the report closed?
The Ministry of Finance claims the report is of a technical nature and is regularly submitted to the government in closed sessions. Allegedly, this is standard practice due to the operational nature of the report. However, when the report was presented in an open session, it was hailed as a “special expression of transparency.” So transparency only exists when it suits the government?
Millions for Rimac’s company – but where are the results?
One of the biggest scandals is the allocation of 250 million kuna (about €33 million) to Mate Rimac’s company Project 3 Mobility (P3M) for developing fully autonomous taxis, i.e., level five autonomy robotaxis. But what happened? The company has not delivered a single prototype, with the deadline being the first quarter of this year. The Ministry of Transport claims the delay is not significant, but the reality is that level five autonomy does not exist anywhere in the world and is not expected to develop in the next 10 years! So the money was given for something that is pure science fiction.
Where is the transparency?
The government has never clearly defined criteria for when reports can be public and when they must be closed. The law states that government sessions are public, but the government has discretionary power to decide what is closed. Thus, huge millions of euros are spent in secrecy, and citizens remain in the dark.
Why is this a problem?
This approach opens the door to corruption, non-transparent spending, and political games. While NPOO money is considered crucial for the country’s recovery, citizens have no right to know how it is used. And when problems arise, like in Rimac’s case, no one is held accountable.
What next?
The government must open the doors and let citizens see how their money is spent. Transparency is not just a nice word but a fundamental pillar of democracy and trust. If this continues, we can only watch billions of euros vanish in the fog of bureaucracy and political deals.
What about you? Do you believe the real truth about this spending will ever come out? Or is this just another show for the public? Drop a comment, share your thoughts – maybe together we can shed light on this mysterious billion-euro game!
Slug: vlada-skriva-trosenje-npoo-milijardi-eura
