A historic year for Croatia! 

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the former Yugoslavian republic joining the EU. On the 1st of January, Croatia joined the border-free Schengen zone and ditched its own currency — the kuna — adopting the euro. The adoption of the euro comes on the back of a long campaign to demonstrate that Croatia can adhere to the currency zone’s requirements for economic management.

The entry into the Schengen zone means the removal of land and sea border checks with Croatia’s European neighbors. Airport checks from the 26 other countries that participate in the scheme will end in March. The fall of these barriers to movement is “the final affirmation of our European identity, for which generations of Croats fought and fought,” said Interior Minister Davor Božinović,

On 19 January, policy makers, stakeholders and industries leaders will gather to raise awareness among the community of public and private financiers about the many business opportunities brought about by the EU Innovation Fund.

The European Green Deal has defined the strategy for the development of a globally competitive, resilient and carbon neutral industry by 2050. The European industry is keen to become a front runner of decarbonisation through clean tech solutions with breakthrough technologies. To achieve the latter, the EC has launched the EU Innovation Fund programme, one of the world’s largest grant funding programmes for the demonstration of first-of-a-kind low-carbon technologies to support European industries.
  
The Innovation Fund is 100% funded by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and is expected to provide around EUR 38 billion of support during the period from 2020 to 2030.