Completed demining works according to the Croatian safe steps project
With the issuance of all the planned certificates of exclusion from the mine-suspected area, the demining activity within the Croatian safe steps - CROSS project was completed, and 34.5 square kilometers of forests and forest lands were returned to the community for use.
CROSS is the first project from the Competitiveness and Cohesion Program 2021-2027. in the Republic of Croatia, with the aim of demining forests and forest land in the area of 5 counties - Karlovac, Lika-Senj, Sisak-Moslavina, Split-Dalmatia and Šibenik-Knin.
The total value of the project is EUR 52.2 million, of which the European Union's support of 61.8% amounts to almost EUR 32.3 million, and the share of national participation EUR 19.9 million. Slightly more than 51.8 million euros have been provided for demining.
According to the CROSS project, demining was carried out by all legal entities authorized to carry out demining operations in Croatia.
During demining, as many as 2,833 explosive remnants of war were found and destroyed, of which 961 were mines.
The trend of successful withdrawal of EU funds intended for mine action continues with the imminent start of the implementation of the Croatian safe steps II project. with which 77.46 million euros will be allocated to the MUP, i.e. the Directorate of Civil Protection, for demining 48.5 km2 of forests and forest lands in the areas of Karlovac, Lika-Senj, Sisak-Moslavina, Split-Dalmatia.
Realization of the Croatian safe steps II project. the total contribution of the European Union to mine action in the Republic of Croatia since 1998 will amount to EUR 264.7 million, which is a major contribution to the fulfillment of the obligations assumed by the Ottawa Convention, i.e. to the resolution of mine pollution by March 2026.