Intergovernmental Meeting 2026

CROSS-BORDER REGION LJUBLJANA–NOVO MESTO–KARLOVAC–ZAGREB WITH A CLEAR DEVELOPMENT VISION UP TO 2034

GROSUPLJE, 7 October 2026 – Yesterday, Grosuplje hosted the intergovernmental meeting of the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) Future Paths Ljubljana–Novo mesto–Karlovac–Zagreb, which brought together representatives of local communities, the Slovenian and Croatian states, the transport sector, development institutions, ministries and EGTC partners. The central theme of the meeting was the future of the cross-border region and the Ljubljana–Novo mesto–Karlovac–Zagreb railway corridor, together with the preparation of joint development guidelines for the 2028–2034 period.

The meeting was also attended by Dr Monika Kirbiš Rojs, Minister of Cohesion and Regional Development, who addressed the participants at the presentation of the EGTC's development vision. Other prominent participants included Marko Dvornik, State Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy; Milan Vuković, Head of the Railway Sector at the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure; Dr Vesna Hajsan Dolinar, Deputy Prefect of Karlovac County; Dr Peter Verlič, Mayor of the Municipality of Grosuplje; Darko Barišić, President of the EGTC Assembly and Member of the Management Board of HŽ Infrastruktura; Vesna Silič and Anton Pavlin from the Office for Interreg and Financial Mechanisms at the Ministry of Local Self-Government, Cohesion and Regional Development; Robert Piščanc of the Public Passenger Transport Management Company; and Marko Vukobrat, Director of the EGTC.

FROM A RAILWAY LINK TO A SHARED CROSS-BORDER REGION

The central project of the cooperation remains the revitalisation of the Ljubljana–Novo mesto–Karlovac–Zagreb railway corridor. The initiative dates back to 2018, when the mayors of the municipalities along the corridor signed an agreement on its revitalisation with the minister. In 2023 the cooperation took on a more permanent institutional form with the establishment of the first EGTC headquartered in Slovenia.

Today the Grouping brings together the municipalities of Škofljica, Grosuplje, Ivančna Gorica, Trebnje, Mirna Peč, Novo mesto, Semič, Črnomelj and Metlika, Karlovac County with partners on the Croatian side, Slovenske železnice, HŽ Infrastruktura and the Novo mesto Development Centre.

The partners' ambition goes beyond the mere renewal of railway infrastructure. The railway is to become the backbone of sustainable mobility and development of the entire cross-border region, and alongside it the EGTC and its partners want to systematically develop mobility, accessibility, the economy, tourism, public passenger transport and quality of life, above all in peripheral and border areas facing development challenges.

Milan Vuković, Head of the Railway Sector at the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, highlighted Croatia's ambition to build most of its main corridors by 2030, while at the same time addressing the regional railway lines that connect to the TEN-T network. These include the link between Novo mesto and Karlovac, which is expected to be re-established shortly after 2030.

Marko Dvornik, State Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, singled out the development of public passenger transport as a priority – it must become competitive, safe and accessible.

THREE DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES FOR THE 2028–2034 PERIOD

The meeting saw the presentation of the EGTC Vision 2028–2034, under which the partners are preparing three strategic project packages for the next financial perspective.

The first is dedicated to mobility and transport. The aim is to improve cross-border public passenger transport and to give residents of sparsely populated and peripheral areas better access to urban centres, jobs, education, healthcare and the European TEN-T transport hubs. In addition to passenger mobility, the project is also to address rail freight, industrial sidings, multimodality and new models of managing transport services. The EGTC is working to have the mobility project along the Ljubljana–Novo mesto–Karlovac–Zagreb axis designated as a strategic project in the next Interreg Slovenia–Croatia programme.

The second package links entrepreneurship, innovation and social integration. The partners want to connect businesses, development institutions, knowledge and the support environment on both sides of the border and to establish a cross-border platform for investment and for the more efficient use of existing industrial complexes and business zones. The aim is to increase private investment, create quality jobs with higher added value and reduce the development gap between urban centres and border areas.

The third package is sustainable tourism, with a focus on the revitalisation of traditional rural, agricultural and railway buildings. Following the good practice of zidanice.si, the EGTC wants to develop a joint tourism story along the entire corridor, linking heritage, local providers, accommodation capacities and sustainable mobility. Tourism is thus also to become a tool for reactivating demographically threatened areas.

AMBITION TO ESTABLISH A CROSS-BORDER FINANCING MECHANISM

An important part of the presented vision is the initiative to establish a cross-border "ITI" mechanism for the Ljubljana–Novo mesto–Karlovac–Zagreb area.

Such an approach would make it possible to link the various European, national, regional and local sources more systematically and to gradually close the investment gaps along the entire corridor. In developing this model, the EGTC wants to work closely with the competent Slovenian and Croatian institutions.

At the same time, the Grouping is strengthening its own institutional capacity. Following the appointment of its first director in 2025, one of the key next steps is the development of a permanent project office and the expansion of the expert team, capable of preparing and implementing more demanding cross-border projects.

FROM INITIATIVE TO IMPLEMENTATION

In 2026 the EGTC further stepped up its activities. In addition to taking part in the spatial planning of railway infrastructure, it is involved in the preparation of regional transport strategies and the development of cross-border public passenger transport.

The Grouping also works with European institutions and international partners. Within the IMPACT project, DG REGIO and the OECD selected the area covered by the EGTC as an EU pilot cross-border region. Together they are preparing development guidelines for the cross-border region for the 2028–2034 period; the EGTC is part of the European cross-border cooperation platform, takes part in the Interreg Europe Peer Review programme and, within the B-solutions initiative, is working with partners to address legal and administrative obstacles to establishing cross-border public passenger transport.

The meeting in Grosuplje thus marked above all the transition from individual initiatives to a joint long-term development vision for the cross-border region.

"Our goal is not merely to reconnect Ljubljana, Novo mesto, Karlovac and Zagreb by rail. We want to connect the area along this railway – people, the economy, public services and development opportunities. The railway must become the backbone of a cross-border region that is better connected internally and with the European transport corridors," said EGTC Director Marko Vukobrat at the presentation of the vision.

In the coming years the partners want to build on the existing cooperation with concrete investments and strategic projects and to shape the Ljubljana–Novo mesto–Karlovac–Zagreb area into a functionally connected cross-border region in which the state border is not an obstacle to development but an opportunity for cooperation.