Despite joining the European Union more than a decade ago, Croatia has struggled to meet European Union standards for environmental protection, especially in water and waste collection, management and treatmen
To support Croatia’s efforts at the local level, the European Commission, in March 2024, approved financing of almost 39 million Euros for upgrading and improving the process of wastewater collection and treatment in Velika Gorica, a few kilometres south of Zagreb. The project forms part of the 2021-2027 Cohesion policy programme, where 16.9 billion Euros is projected to be invested to support water access and sustainable water management. Of this figure, 13.2 billion is provided by the EU and amounts to 3% of the total Cohesion policy funding.
The Velika Gorica project will provide Croatia with crucial support in reaching certain obligations under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD). The current treatment facilities of Velika Gorica currently fail to meet the legal requirements for sewage collection, biological or sewage treatment and, as specified by the project announcement, are unable “to handle existing flows, which results in untreated wastewater being discharged into a nearby local river”. This situation is part of a larger, nationwide problem, as only 7% of Croatian urban waste water is treated according to the requirements of the UWWTD, far below the European Union average of 76%. Additionally, according to the European Commission, “93% of urban wastewater in Croatia is not collected and/or does not meet the requirements for biological treatment”.
The UWWTD, was adopted in 1991 with the objective to “protect the environment from adverse effects of wastewater discharges from urban sources and specific industries”. Urban waste water is one of the most common sources of water pollution. When treated properly, organic matter, phosphorus, nitrogen and other harmful chemicals are removed from the water. While over 90% of urban wastewater is in line with EU standards, 10 million Europeans still lack access to basic sanitation services.
Although Croatia, according to their Accession Treaty, should have met their obligations under the directive by 2023, the EU approved a provisional political agreement on a proposal to review UWWTD. This agreement gave newly admitted countries like Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia time to implement the current directives, rather than implementing the new proposal in January 2024. While Member States must comply with the new directive by 31 December 2035, the countries mentioned above may derogate from the deadline for a maximum of 12-14 years depending on the specific cirumstances.
The Velika Gorica project will service almost 76,000 inhabitants and consist of 106 kilometres of an underground sewerage system, 18 kilometres of pressure sewer and 39 pumping stations. While Croatia still has improvements to make in order to fully comply with European standards on water collection and treatment, Cohesion funds are helping support these efforts and bridge that gap.
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