Overview of the Scientific Colloquium The Scientific Colloquium on European Space Perspectives was held on 11 December at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb. The event gathered researchers, industry representatives and the European Space Agency to strengthen Croatia’s position in the space sector.
ESA Funding and Croatia’s National Space Strategy Hrvoje Meštrić, Director of the Science and Technology Directorate, stated that Croatia has submitted more than one hundred project proposals so far, fifty five of which are currently funded by ESA. He announced that a national space strategy will be adopted next year. According to Meštrić, Croatia already has a capable scientific community, but the public still underestimates the potential of space technologies.
Current Structure of Croatia’s Space Ecosystem ESA data shows that Croatia has 150 registered space related entities. One third of them are based in Zagreb and almost half work in Earth observation. The total national budget dedicated to space activities has reached 10.5 million euros.
Italian Support and Bilateral Cooperation Italian Ambassador Paolo Trichilo highlighted the importance of cooperation between Italy and Croatia in artificial intelligence, renewable energy and major research infrastructures. Italy is the third largest contributor to ESA and has more than five hundred companies active in the space sector.
ESA’s Perspective on Croatia’s Development ESA’s representative for Croatia, Karol Brzostowski, explained that Italy will invest 3.5 billion euros in ESA over the next three years, while Croatia contributes between two and two and a half million euros annually. He stressed that Croatia’s fastest path forward is collaboration and participation in national programmes across Europe.
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