Prime Minister Andrej Plenković’s statement regarding the funds withdrawn from the European Union is accurate.
On the official Facebook page of the HDZ, on May 3, a post stated: “In these 11 years of EU membership, we have withdrawn more than 20.2 billion euros in EU funds, and Croatia is in a surplus of 14.5 billion euros! We have received more money from the EU budget than we have contributed. I think I don’t need to explain in detail what this means for the growth and development of our country.”
The statement is accurate.
According to data from the Ministry of Finance, from 2013 to May 2, 2024, the Republic of Croatia has contributed 5.65 billion euros to the EU budget, while 20.25 billion euros, including the NPOO, have been allocated from the EU budget to the Croatian budget.
The difference between the funds contributed from the EU budget to the Croatian budget and the funds contributed from the Croatian budget to the EU budget is 14.61 billion euros with the NPOO, or 10.94 billion euros without the NPOO, in favor of the Croatian budget. The amount related to the NPOO is 3.67 billion euros.
In conclusion, the difference between the funds contributed from the EU budget to the Croatian budget and the funds contributed from the Croatian budget to the EU budget is 14.61 billion euros, not as stated in the post, 14.5 billion euros. However, the statement does not exaggerate the amount to confirm the source’s position, so although not precise enough, it is considered accurate.
