The Covenant of Mayors at the heart of multilevel governance in Croatia

The European Union’s commitment to climate action is deeply intertwined with multilevel governance, which fosters collaboration across all levels of government, from local municipalities to national bodies. 

Setting up multilevel dialogue and cooperation 

Croatia is a relatively young democracy where policymaking, particularly in the fields of energy and climate, remains a slow process and is not yet a well-established practice. 

Over the past three years, REGEA—the North-West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency—has played a key role in facilitating multilevel climate and energy dialogues as part of the European LIFE-funded NECPlatform project. These dialogues were designed to bridge the gap between Croatian municipalities and key national ministries, fostering discussions on how cities can contribute to Croatia’s long-term path to climate neutrality. A key focus has been the update of the country’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), due in December 2024. As multilevel dialogues are an obligation under the EU Governance Regulation for the Energy Union and Climate Action, Croatian national authorities welcomed REGEA’s efforts in coordinating and structuring this exchange. 

What started as an initiative to enhance cooperation with the responsible ministry quickly evolved into a large-scale dialogue involving 45 stakeholders, including representatives from nine national ministries, the national energy company, cities, NGOs, and academia. This initial dialogue received strong engagement and set the stage for a structured, ongoing discussion. 

Between 2022 and December 2024, six multilevel dialogues were successfully held, not only bringing together key stakeholders to discuss Croatia’s NECP but also identifying practical solutions to accelerate the energy transition at the local level. These dialogues have proven to be a crucial mechanism for strengthening cooperation between national and local levels, ensuring that climate and energy policies are informed by on-the-ground experiences and challenges. The foundations have been set and the platform will remain operational after the project end. 

The local and regional levels—our counties, cities, and municipalities—play a crucial role in the energy transition and adaptation to climate change.   

Projects that drive real change are most often implemented at the local and regional levels, operating within the framework established by national ministries. For these initiatives to succeed, effective communication and cooperation between these levels is essential.  

Through the NECPlatform project, our REGEA team has created a strong foundation for this type of collaboration. The right solutions—the truly effective ones— require involvement and dedication of all levels. 

Julije Domac, REGEA’s Director, Advisor to the President of Croatia on climate and energy, member of the EU Covenant Board 

Moving from plans to implementation 

As the Climate Law has not fully been implemented in Croatia, Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) developed by Croatian municipalities within the context of the Covenant of Mayors serve as the main planning documents for integrated climate adaptation and mitigation.  

To reinforce local-level planning and its link to the national level, REGEA is striving to make SECAPs a requirement for municipalities to receive national funding for various local policies and projects, such as adapting communities to climate change. REGEA is also advocating for SECAPs to be integrated into spatial plans and development strategic documents, which are mandatory in Croatia, and ultimately for these plans to be aligned with budgeting processes at all levels of governance.  

Not surprisingly, implementation requires capacities, both in skilled municipal staff and in funding and financing for local projects - capacities that municipalities claim to be drastically lacking, despite the needs, urgency and their will to act now.  

Here again, discussions with the relevant authorities and the financing sector in the context of the multilevel dialogues proved successful. The Ministry of Finance agreed to open a newly created “Platform for sustainable finance and energy transition” to municipal representatives to discuss how to finance local action plans.  

Institutionalising Multilevel Dialogue – a way forward? 

Since stakeholder dialogues have proven to be highly effective, the next step is to institutionalise this process, ensuring structured collaboration both vertically—between different levels of government—and horizontally—across sectors and key stakeholders.   

This is precisely what REGEA is working towards in Croatia: an inter-ministerial task force that collaborates with municipal representatives to remove administrative barriers, create synergies, and accelerate the transition to climate neutrality and resilience across Croatian territories.   

The existing platform, a governance model, proved to be beneficial for all stakeholders and will continue its work in the future. The focus will be a bit different in certain aspects, not solely focusing on the NECP but on a variety of equally important topics.  

A governance model that could serve as an example for other European countries. 

Lessons learnt and next steps

• A top-down approach driven by European legislation, such as Article 11 of the Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, or clear guidelines for Member States, is essential to ensure the establishment of multilevel dialogues.
• A bottom-up mobilisation of local authorities and civil society is equally important in advocating for and supporting the creation of these dialogues, ensuring their relevance and long-term sustainability.
• A collaborative mindset that transcends political and institutional divides is key to fostering meaningful cooperation on climate and energy transition, as this challenge requires engagement from all levels of governance and society.
• Institutionalisation ensures continuity – Multilevel dialogues should not rely on project-based funding alone. Institutionalisation ensures they remain active beyond individual initiatives.
• Capacity building is crucial – Local authorities often lack technical and financial expertise to develop and implement climate and energy projects. Multilevel dialogues should also serve as a platform for knowledge sharing and training.
• Engagement of the private sector is important – Sustainable financing cannot come solely from public sources. Private investment must be actively included in the conversation to drive real change.
• Role of the facilitators is crucial, ones that are properly positioned in the system with adequate level of knowledge and understanding to be able to steer the process. 

^{Croatian 5th multilevel dialogue, speech given by REGEA’s principal, Mr. Julije Domac - Photo by: Marko Urbić, 2024}

REGEA - Croatia

Covenant Member since 2014

Area covered: National

North-West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency, REGEA serves as a knowledge centre providing innovative solutions in the energy and climate adaptation sectors through European projects.  

Key figures

• 6 multi-level dialogues held between 2022 and March 2025
• Over 200 participants from national ministries, local authorities, private sector, academia, and NGOs
• Engagement of 9 ministries, including the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy, and Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds
• Involvement of more than 100 representatives from local and regional authorities during second multi-level dialogue 

Contact

Miljenko Sedlar: msedlar@regea.org  

Velimir Šegon: <vsegon@regea.org