Today, the European Commission positively assessed Croatia's eighth payment request for €896,9 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility , the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU.
This is an important step in the delivery of the reforms and investments tied to this payment request, in the areas of access to health, sustainable finance, innovative mobility, water management, agriculture and the fight against corruption and organised crime.
The Commission found that Croatia has satisfactorily completed 6 milestones and 11 targets set out in the Council Implementing Decision.
Flagship measures in this payment request include:
- Expanding pharmacy access in underserved areas: the funding supports the procurement of six mobile caravan pharmacies and two boat pharmacies, which will facilitate healthcare access in remote mainland regions and island communities. This will benefit both local residents and seasonal tourists, while improving quality of life in rural, isolated, and island areas.
- Strengthening the pension system: the reforms linked to the payment request include a revision of the Compulsory Pension Funds Act, leading to reduced administrative fees, increased flexibility in fund selection and switching, allowing pension fund members to adapt their savings strategies in response to market fluctuations.
Next steps
The Commission has now sent its preliminary assessment of Croatia's fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), which has four weeks to deliver its opinion. The payment to Croatia can take place following the EFC's opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission later.
Background
Croatia submitted its payment request on 15 December 2025. Croatia's recovery and resilience plan includes a wide range of investment and reform measures supporting climate and digital transition objectives, such as green investments in businesses, electrification and digitalisation of road and rail transport, and improved measures for flood protection and drinking water access.
The plan will be financed by €10 billion, of which €5.8 billion in grants and €4.2 billion in loans.
This payment request will bring the funds paid out to Croatia under the RRF to €7.3 billion corresponding to 73% of all the funds in its national plan, with 62% of all milestones and targets in the plan now fulfilled.
With a view to the closure of the Facility at the end of 2026, Members States must implement all outstanding milestones and targets by August 2026 and submit last payment requests by the end of September.
