Advanced ICPR: 8 counties continue improving capacities for attracting FDI

OSIJEK, 22 November 2011 – A two day seminar on Advanced Information Standard was organised in Osijek in the framework of EU-IPA project “Development of Investment Climate“ gathering around 30 representatives of 8 counties' teams. This seminar is the first in a series of activities planned for the 8 counties participating in this phase of the project. The purpose of the project is to impact positively the investment climate in all participating counties and to increase Croatia’s competitiveness in attraction of foreign direct investment projects.

In the next 10 months, 8 counties will be participating in the Advanced Investment Certification Programme for Regions – AICPR and these include: Brod-Posavina, Lika-Senj, Osijek-Baranja, Požega-Slavonia, Sisak-Moslavina, Virovitica-Podravina, Vukovar-Srijem and Zagreb County. The end of this phase of the project will mark the end of the AICPR certification process for all 20 counties.

The goal of the Advanced Information Standard is to upgrade the counties’ knowledge and skills in terms of collection, processing and presentation of high quality information which will help the investors in deciding to launch investment projects in Croatia. The information collected within this standard includes information on local businesses, potential sectors for investments and information on economic trends on national and county level.  

During the two day seminar in Osijek, a team of foreign and local experts will revise the knowledge and experience acquired during the implementation of the Basic ICPR, introduce to the members of the Information Standard team, the basic ideas and the purpose of the Advanced Information standard and present the key activities it involves as well as the tasks required by this standard. In addition, the seminar will see the participation of the representatives of the two best graded counties in the previous stage of the project, Međimurje and Varaždin County, who will try to transfer to the 8 counties’ teams their experiences and the benefits brought by this project.

The project “Development of Investment Climate” is the first project financed through the IPA Regional Competitiveness Operational Programme in Croatia which was granted an extension by the competent authorities, the EU Delegation to the Republic of Croatia and the Central Finance and Contracting Agency. The project was extended for additional 12 months and the budget allocated reached 3.44 million Euro, making it one of the most complex and valuable technical assistance projects financed through the EU pre-accession funds (IPA Component III C) currently implemented in Croatia.

About ICPR3 programme:
EU project „Development of Investment Climate“ is implemented using the IPA III C pre-accession assistance and is the continuation of two previous stages of the Investment Certification Programme for Regions (ICPR). The project is designed to provide strategic development and training to 20 Croatian counties, to help them be adequately prepared for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). The Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship (MELE) is the beneficiary of the Project and is responsible for its implementation. The Project is one of the most valuable services projects financed through EU funds currently implemented in Croatia. Following the extension granted in September this year, the total value of the project amounts to €3.44 million. The project will be implemented over a period of 32 months, and it began on 1 February 2010.