The country is entitled to draw some €2.27 billion from the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) in the 2021-27 period, Croatia’s Labor Minister Marin Piletic said on Monday.

Piletic’s announcement came after Piletic and Prime Minister, Andrej Plenkovic, met with Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, in Zagreb.

Piletic explained that the government intends to use the funds to focus on three primary goals. These include raising the employment rate, which currently stands at 69.9%, to at least 75%, working to include at least 55% of Croatia’s adult population in training programmes, and also lowering the figure of 300.000 Croatians which estimates say are currently at risk of poverty.

The EU’s €99.3 billion investment scheme is designed to boost employment, social, and education policies across the continent.

At the end of 2022 Croatia had 1.6 million people employed, out of a nation of 3.9 million, and the registered employment rate – the ratio of registered job-seekers vs the entire active population, was reportedly 6.8%.

(David Spaic-Kovacic | EURACTIV.com)