Connecting Croatia: Advancing Sustainable, Green, and Inclusive Transport through Effective Legal Regulation

Project title: Connecting Croatia: Advancing Sustainable, Green, and Inclusive Transport through Effective Legal Regulation
Project acronym: CroConnect
Project number: uniri-iz-25-99
Project financing: European Union – NextGenerationEU
Project duration: 1 October 2025 – 30 September 2029
Total value of the project (EUR): 47.145,61
Legal disclaimer: The project has been funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.

Name and surname: Assoc. Prof. Iva Tuhtan Grgić
E-mail: iva.tuhtan.grgic@uniri.hr

• prof. dr. sc. Dorotea Ćorić, dorotea.coric@uniri.hr
• prof. dr. sc. Emilia Mišćenić, emilia.miscenic@uniri.hr
• prof. dr. sc. Vlatka Butorac Malnar, vlatka.butorac@uniri.hr
• izv. prof. dr. sc. Danijela Vrbljanac, danijela.vrbljanac@uniri.hr
• izv. prof. dr. sc. Iva Savić, iva.savic@pravo.hr
• nasl. izv. prof. dr. sc. Adriana Vincenca Padovan, avpadovan@hazu.hr
• izv. prof. dr. sc.  Daniele Casciano, daniele.casciano@uniud.it
• dr. sc. Zuzanna Pepłowska-Dąbrowska, zpeplow@gmail.com
• dr. sc. Darja Lončar, darja.loncar.dusanovic@gmail.com
• Marijana Liszt, marijana.liszt@lipo.hr
• Agata Dajčić, agata.dajcic@uniri.hr
• Elson Thana, elsonth@yahoo.com

The project “Connecting Croatia: Advancing Sustainable, Green, and Inclusive Transport through Effective Legal Regulation” is of immense legal, political, and economic importance for strengthening the regulatory framework and transport policy of the Republic of Croatia. The significance of the topic arises, on one hand, from the EU’s strategic commitment to the digital and green transition of the European Single Transport Area. On the other hand, according to the European Commission’s 2024 study on trends and issues in transport, Croatia, despite being strategically and geographically one of the key transport hubs in the EU, ranks at the bottom within the EU in achieving the set objectives. The digital and green transition introduces a range of legal challenges into the already complex transport system, such as the need to protect the privacy and personal data of all stakeholders, the need to develop an entire legal framework for the successful introduction of autonomous vehicles and vessels, a unified legal framework to enable the effective use of digital technologies in transport at the EU level, efficient regulation to ban greenwashing, a regulatory framework to reduce gas emissions and introduce a circular economy, while simultaneously ensuring effective market competition within the internal market.

Project goals:

Bearing these challenges in mind, the project has three main objectives: 

• to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the regulatory framework, 
• to identify challenges and weaknesses in the Croatian legal framework, and 
• to propose legal solutions of high standard that are also sustainable in the long term. These solutions a prerequisite for the creation of a sustainable, green, and inclusive transport system and strengthening the position of the Republic of Croatia in the Single European Transport Area.

Expected results:

• The sustainability of the project results is ensured through a dissemination strategy, as well as through the application and further development of the research outcomes. The project results will continue to be used through several key channels. The results are planned to be published in open access, thereby ensuring that all stakeholders have access to the research findings, de lege ferenda proposals, and recommendations addressed to actors in the transport sector. Therefore, in addition to the academic community, the main long-term and sustainable users of the project results are expected to be institutional bodies of the Republic of Croatia and key economic stakeholders in the transport sector.
• The ambitiously designed work plan contributes to all strategic programme objectives, but above all to the strategic goal of enhancing scientific excellence. The research will enable the identification of contentious areas, which will serve as a basis for submitting one or more competitive scientific research projects. The academic community will benefit through round tables, conferences, and a series of presentations. This will also contribute to strengthening the international network of researchers, which is important for future collaborations through the activities of faculty departments and professional associations in cooperation with the business sector.
• The third project objective is to develop and propose adequate legal solutions aimed at improving the regulatory framework. It is therefore expected that the primary users of the project results will be government institutions, regulatory bodies, and legislative authorities, which will be able to use these outcomes to align national regulations with EU policies. The sustainability of results in this area is planned to be ensured through cooperation with relevant institutions. The project publications will also include recommendations for harmonising national court practice with EU law, thereby contributing to the achievement of legal certainty.
• Private sector stakeholders will be able to use the project results in their day-to-day operations to align their business practices with the new legislative framework and to develop relevant autonomous rules, contributing to the sustainable development of the transport sector and the reduction of its environmental footprint. Finally, through science communication and outreach activities, the project will contribute to raising legal awareness and educating consumers about their rights and obligations in the transport sector. Furthermore, the introduction of a new university course will support the education of future generations of legal professionals in this field.

Key words:

• transport, sustainability, green transition, digital transition, smart mobility, Single European Transport Area