Croatia hopes to use more EU financial aid

(ZAGREB) - Croatia, set to join the European Union in 2013, last year used only around one-third of aid funds from Brussels and wants to double that figure, a top official said on Thursday.

"We used only 37 percent of pre-accession assistance funds last year," Deputy Prime Minister Branko Grcic told journalists.

He added that Zagreb hopes the use of EU funds would "at least double" in the coming years.

The government for now lacks enough staff skilled in preparing the complex documentation required by Brussels to release the money for viable projects.

Croatia currently has at its disposal 140 million euros ($177 million) in EU funds. In the second half of 2013, after it joins the bloc on July 1, it will be allocated 450 million euros, Grcic said.

In 2014, the EU funds available to the Balkan country would amount to 1.08 billion euros, he added.

The minister spoke at a press conference held jointly with visiting EU regional policy commissioner Johannes Hahn.