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1. Structure of Decision-making

2. Main Themes

3. The National Agency for Youth

4. Policy monitoring and evaluation

Structure of decision-making

National level

Youth Policy decision-making primarily occurs at a central government level, with main responsibilities assigned to:

• Ministry of Science, Education and Youth (MSEY). Within the MSEY, there is a Directorate for Support and Empowerment of Youth.

• In June 2025 Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted the Decision on establishing the Council for the development of youth policies of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. The Council is expected to be advisory body of the Government of the Republic of Croatia with the task of participating in development of public policies that affect young people.

  The Council is being established and will consist of representatives of the state administration bodies, civil society organizations, National Youth Council of the Republic of Croatia, Croatian Youth Delegate to the United Nations, representative of Croatian Student Union and National Student Council of the Republic Croatia.

• Parliamentary Committee on the Family, Youth and Sports 

Local and regional self-government

Apart from central government, regional and local self-government units also coordinate regional and local youth policy, although this coordination is not explicitly mandated by the  Local and Regional Self-Government Act.

The Republic of Croatia comprises 21 counties (including the City of Zagreb), 128 towns, and 428 municipalities. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and the Local and Regional Self-Government Act, counties, cities, and municipalities have independence in deciding on matters within their self-governing sphere.

Counties, towns, and municipalities autonomously allocate financial resources annually for various youth-targeted activities.

Youth councils

Youth councils are advisory bodies of regional and local self-government units that promote and advocate for the rights, needs, and interests of young people at regional and local levels. They are established in accordance with the Youth Councils Act, and their members and deputy members are elected for a term of three years.

Main themes

The National Programme is based on the results of the Analysis of the Situation in the Youth Sector in the Republic of Croatia conducted in December 2021. The analysis included a review of existing literature based on key concepts from scientific and professional research on young people, public databases on young people, and documents on public policies for young people. It covered priority areas related to employment, housing, young people in tourism (support for deficit occupations), and financial literacy of young people. 

The National Programme areas are aligned with the goals of the:

• National Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia until 2030

• The Government Programme of the Republic of Croatia for 2020-2024 

• The principles and guidelines of the EU Youth Strategy (2019-2027)

• The European Youth Goals, which are part of the EU Youth Strategy itself (2019-2027) and cover eleven topics of importance for young people recognised by young people themselves at the European level, were also taken into account during the drafting process

Additionally, some measures will be achieved through the implementation of reforms and investments within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021-2026 which have demographic effects, including the position and quality of life of young people. 

The national agency for youth

The Republic of Croatia has no National Agency for Youth. However, there is a national Erasmus+ agency, the Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes, which actively participates in the youth policy framework.

Policy monitoring and evaluation

Local self-government units are required by the Youth Councils Act to annually submit a report on the youth councils programme.

The only evaluation ever conducted for the National Youth Strategy (Baketa, 2017), performed by an independent youth researcher in December 2017, pertained to the former National Youth Strategy 2014-2017. The evaluation revealed that only 36.4% of the measures were implemented.