The Strategy for Digital Croatia 2032 was adopted at the session of the Croatian Parliament.
Bernard Gršić: We are setting new standards of communication between the state and Croatian citizens, and we are aiming for a multiple increase in the share of the ICT sector in Croatia's GDP, from today's 4.5% of the national GDP to 13% by 2032. The Digital Croatia Strategy for the period until 2032 is a multi-sectoral strategic planning act aligned with the National Development Strategy until 2030 and the basic documents and policies of the European Union and the Republic of Croatia, including the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO) of which it is an integral part. The adoption of the Strategy constitutes the fulfillment of the goal of the NPOO reform - Digital Croatia Strategy and the strengthening of inter-institutional cooperation and coordination for a successful digital transition of society and economy. The strategy was prepared in accordance with all valid legal regulations. The development started at the end of last year through preparation, and this year in May, workshops and the development of the analysis of the situation and the draft proposal of the Strategy began actively. 101 members from 40 institutions were appointed to the working group for the creation of the Strategy, and 140 representatives from 41 institutions of the public sector, economy, academic community and associations related to the mentioned areas participated in the work itself through subgroups.
After the adoption of the Strategy in the Croatian Parliament, State Secretary Bernard Gršić pointed out: "The result of the implementation of this Strategy will be that Croatia will be improved through digital transformation and positioned as an economically competitive country on the digital map of Europe." We are aiming for a multiple increase in the share of the ICT sector in Croatia's GDP, from today's 4.5% of the national GDP to 13% by 2032," the state secretary concluded. Pursuant to the defined vision, which determined what is to be achieved through digitization, and based on the analysis of the current situation and identified development needs and potential, 4 strategic goals were established in four priority areas, with the aim of digitizing Croatian society, public administration and the economy in the period up to 2032. years. The first strategic goal "Developed and innovative digital economy", which will support digital innovation centers and digitization in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises through planned interventions, digitize public services for entrepreneurs and ensure the availability of anonymized data, transform and strengthen the competitiveness of creative and cultural industries and optimize Croatian tax and parafiscal legislation and administration. The second strategic goal "Digitalized public administration" will be achieved through upgrading the state information infrastructure and advanced software solutions, achieving full interoperability of public administration and enabling access to data for citizens and businesses, strengthening organizational and human institutional capacities, digitizing all key public services and promoting digital services and customer support among citizens. The third strategic goal of this strategy "Developed, available and used networks of very large capacities" will be achieved by providing prerequisites for spatial planning and faster construction of networks, regulating the impact of real estate use costs on network development, providing support for network development in areas where there is no commercial interest for investments and by encouraging the use of high-speed services. The fourth strategic goal is "Developed digital competences for life and work in the digital age" which, through planned interventions, will increase the number of ICT experts on the labor market, develop citizens' digital skills for life and work with the use of ICT, and implement the digital transition in support of the development of educational and research system. The strategy is recognized as an extensive and comprehensive act of strategic planning that directs the development of society, economy and public administration. The plan is for Croatia to become a country of digitally and economically competitive companies and digitized public administration by 2032, where it is important that all levels of government and citizens are actively involved in digital processes.
