Croatia's finance minister said the government would assess whether funds awarded to a robotaxi project backed by state and European Union financing could be recovered or redirected, after developer Verne offered to repay €89.7mn if it is found not to have met its contractual obligations.

Verne, part of the Rimac Group founded by entrepreneur Mate Rimac, said the project was completed on August 30 and that it was prepared to return the advance funding if a final assessment found that its obligations had not been fully fulfilled, Croatian news agency Hina reported.

Verne launched Europe's first commercial robotaxi service in Zagreb in April, allowing members of the public to book and pay for driverless rides through its app. The initial deployment uses electric vehicles fitted with Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai's seventh-generation self-driving system. The cars operate without human drivers but will carry trained autonomous vehicle operators during the early phase of the rollout.

Finance Minister Tomislav Ćorić said he was not familiar with the project's details but praised the broader autonomous vehicle initiative.

“Mate Rimac's project, in general in the form of the idea of autonomous vehicles, a research centre and production, is worthy of every possible praise,” Ćorić told reporters, according to a government statement.

The project is co-financed through Croatia's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), which channels EU recovery funds. Verne has received €89.7mn in advance funding and says it has attracted more than €140mn from private investors.

Verne said authorities had verified delivery of required prototypes of fully autonomous electric vehicles and completion of testing, Hina reported. Remaining targets include 50,000 free travel vouchers for people with disabilities, adapted autonomous vehicles and specialised infrastructure.

The Central Finance and Contracting Agency for EU Programmes and Projects will assess the project's final documentation before determining whether targets have been met, according to Hina.

Asked whether any recovered money could be redirected, Ćorić said the August 31 deadline for completing NRRP reforms and milestones left him uncertain about the scope for reallocating funds.