European funds were crucial for Romania’s highway growth, contrasting with Croatia’s pre-EU construction methods.
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European funds were crucial for building Romania’s highways and recent boom, according to IonuÈ› Ciurea of AsociaÈ›ia Pro Infrastructura. In contrast, another former communist country in the region built its main highway network before joining the EU. By 2025, Romania surpassed Croatia in total highway kilometers at 1,400 km after 17 years of EU membership, with European funds acting as a catalyst for this development surge. Croatia joined the EU later (in 2013) and built much of its network using other financing methods. While Romania is now cited as an example of utilizing EU funds for highway construction, Croatia followed a different path. Croatia has over 1,300 km of highways, most built before EU accession. Currently, Croatia focuses on completing key links with European funds to consolidate its self-built central network. A comparison shows that while Romania leads Bulgaria and approaches Hungary in total kilometers, the ratio relative to land area or population is not favorable for Bucharest. Ciurea emphasizes that while pre-accession funds were used, major post-2007 infrastructure projects in Romania heavily relied on EU funding, arguing that without it, less than half of the 1,300 km built after the revolution would exist. Croatia financed its network primarily through road tolls, fuel taxes, and international loans from institutions like the European Investment Bank. Although construction costs are rising in both countries, Ciurea suggests Romania could not have achieved as much without EU financial support.
