October 5, 2023 – The selection of the best cities in Croatia is a project run by Jutarnji List, the Gradonačelnik portal, and other partners. They select the best cities in Croatia in a number of categories, as well as the best EU projects in the country. 2023 was the sixth year of the contest, and the awards ceremony was held at the Esplanade Hotel in Zagreb. There were 59 city contestants, while 39 EU projects entered the competition for awards in four categories.
The double triumph of Dubrovnik and the city of Rab in the selection of the best cities in Croatia and the dominance of Sisak-Moslavina County with two victories in the selection of the best county EU projects are the most important results of this year’s selection, writes Jutarnji List.
“Six years of persistent and continuous work and a strong team of people involved in the city’s projects are proof that this kind of award does not come by itself”, said the mayor of Dubrovnik, Mate Franković. Dubrovnik received the award for the best city in the category of quality of life among the big cities in Croatia. Franković was soon presented with the Smart City award as well, for the city with the greatest achievements in digitization and the application of smart technologies in public services.
“This competition forces us all to improve life in our communities. I am extremely proud of this recognition, but also of the work of local entrepreneurs, associations, and clubs”, said the mayor of Rab, Nikola Grgurić. Rab won the award for the best city in terms of quality of life and economy among small towns. The best medium-sized city in terms of quality of life for 2023 was Poreč, which already won this award in 2018 and 2019.
The Best Medium and Small Cities in Croatia
Varaždin won the award for the best Croatian city in terms of economy, a category in which Sveta Nedelja triumphed among medium-sized cities. Sveta Nedelja mayor Dario Zurovec dedicated the award, as he said, to the entrepreneurs of Sveta Nedelja, who have had several difficult periods behind them.
Samobor won first place in the category of “greatest progress,” and the award was presented to the mayor by Svetlana Tešić, head of the Mayors of Europe project in Brussels.
“Three major investments are coming in Varaždin, among which the largest data center in this part of Europe, the ‘Podravka’ tomato processing plant, and the new facilities for ‘MIV’ (Metal Industry Varaždin), i.e. its German owner,” pointed out the Deputy Mayor of Varaždin, Miroslav Marković.
The winners of the category ‘Education, demography, social policy, and young people’ include Vukovar and Umag as medium-sized cities, and Cres among small cities.
“It is really good that the work is monitored, measured, valorized, and emphasized. A better Croatia is built through this type of competition,” said Vukovar mayor Ivan Penava.
Significant Use of EU Funds for Green and Digital Croatia
The “champion” city in terms of withdrawing money from the EU funds was Zagreb, which, according to Deputy Mayor Luka Korlaet, will, in the coming months and years, try to withdraw 200 million euros for the reconstruction of the city through the EU Solidarity Fund alone. The list of this year’s winners in the categories of the best cities in Croatia was concluded with Samobor winning the award for the city that achieved the greatest progress in terms of quality of life.
The project to expand the port of Unije on the island of Lošinj in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County won the category ‘Contribution to the local community,’ while Osijek-Baranja’s project ‘Together we are stronger’ won in the Cross-Border Cooperation category.
Dubrovnik-Neretva County has the best EU project in the category “Contribution to science and innovation for its ‘Green Economy’ project. Sisak-Moslavina County triumphed in the categories “Contribution to entrepreneurship”, with the CROWN project, and “The best EU project as voted by Jutarnji List readers for the Natura project.
Awards of the competition ‘From source to sea’ of Coca-Cola, Konzum, Jutarnji list, and the Association of Cities were awarded at the Esplanade ceremony as well, intended for cities that were most advanced in waste collection and the involvement of volunteers. This year’s winners were the cities of Lipik, Vinkovci, and Varaždin.
