Local government official Zeljko Lijic said that national minorities accounted for some 10 per cent of Osijek's population and that 1.1 million kuna was annually earmarked from the city's budget for the work of six minority councils and an additional 300,000 kuna for the activities of minority organisations.
Lijic said that special minority-language school curricula were available for children of Serb, German and Hungarian origins, and that last year 1.5 million kuna was allocated for refurbishing the premises of minority organisations. He added that the city was also funding cultural events of the national minorities.
Council of Europe rapporteurs were interested in how minority activities were being funded and in the possibility of minority languages being used in official communication with the city administration.