The European Investment Bank (EIB) has completed a year-long advisory programme aimed at helping Croatia’s five largest cities accelerate the delivery of affordable and social housing. The initiative supported the cities of Zagreb, Split, Osijek, Varaždin, and Rijeka in developing structured housing strategies, action plans, and project pipelines designed to increase the supply of affordable homes.
Delivered under the InvestEU Advisory Hub, the programme provided municipalities with practical planning tools, technical guidance, and implementation-ready frameworks to support housing investments that respond to local needs while remaining financially and institutionally sustainable. The EIB stated that the advisory assignment was designed to strengthen local capacities for planning, managing, and implementing affordable housing projects more effectively.
The programme also aimed to help Croatian municipalities translate the country’s new Affordable Housing Act and related European Commission support into practical housing projects. According to the EIB, the initiative created a framework that can be replicated nationwide to assist municipalities in delivering affordable housing more efficiently and at greater scale.
The advisory support included city-specific action plans, institutional capacity assessments, and project selection toolkits. These resources remain available to participating cities after completion of the assignment and are expected to support long-term planning and implementation of housing projects.
Croatian officials emphasized that affordable housing has become a major social and economic priority for the country. The Government of Croatia has introduced measures under its National Housing Policy Plan and Affordable Housing Act to increase access to housing, support long-term rentals, and improve balance within the housing market.
The EIB noted that improving local institutional capacity is essential for accelerating affordable housing delivery. This includes helping municipalities identify financing models, establish partnerships, and strengthen governance structures needed to manage housing investments successfully.
The initiative forms part of broader European efforts to address housing affordability challenges and expand access to social and affordable housing across EU member states. The assignment complements the European Commission’s European Affordable Housing Plan, which focuses on increasing investment, preventing housing exclusion, and improving access to sustainable housing solutions.
The EIB Group stated that housing remains a strategic priority for the institution and that it is increasing both financing and advisory support across the European Union. Over the past five years, the EIB Group has invested more than €18 billion in affordable and sustainable housing projects throughout Europe, with plans to increase support to approximately €6 billion in 2026 alone.
Working in partnership with the European Commission, national governments, cities, and promotional banks, the EIB aims to support the development of more affordable, energy-efficient, and sustainable homes while strengthening social cohesion and quality of life across Europe.
The EIB Group also highlighted the broader role of InvestEU, which combines multiple EU financial instruments into a unified framework designed to support sustainable investment, innovation, climate action, digital transformation, and social infrastructure across the European Union.
