The surface radiation budget is a crucial factor that directly affects the climate, and surface downwelling shortwave (RSDS) and longwave (RLDS) radiation are essential parts of the surface radiation budget. In the thesis, RSDS and RLDS values from three EURO-CORDEX regional climate models (DMI-HIRHAM5, GERICS-REMO2015 and KNMI-RACMO22E) forced with one global climate model (MOHC-HadGEM2-ES) were analysed. The analysis was done for the European domain (except Northern Europe due to the smaller number of available data) with a particular focus on the wider area of the Republic of Croatia. The CLARA-A2 dataset was used for the reference values of RSDS and RLDS. Systematic errors of each model, as well as their spatial distribution, were examined. Regional climate models (RCMs) mostly underestimate RSDS values over the sea, while over the European land they overestimate RSDS values. The biggest differences between CLARA-A2 data and RCMs data can be seen in spring and summer in high-altitude areas, such as the Alps. Compared to RSDS errors, the systematic errors of the RLDS are usually lower. RLDS errors do not have a regular spatial distribution, as RSDS does, but the slight overestimations of RLDS over sea surfaces were noted. In the thesis, the signal of future climate changes until the end of the 21st century for RCP4.5 scenario was also explored. By comparing the reference period (1985-2004) with four twenty-year climate periods in the future, it was observed that the northern part of the observed European domain mostly recorded a decline in RSDS, while the southeastern and western parts recorded an increase in RSDS. RCMs unanimously simulate an increase in RLDS in the future with the largest increase in the Mediterranean area in the summer season. Moreover, observing the RLDS time series, the statistically significant increases in RLDS (1.67-1.76 W/m2) were detected for the European domain, as well as for the Croatian domain (1.76-1.78 W/m2). However, regional climate models suggest stagnation of RLDS after 2070, which corresponds to stagnation of CO2 concentrations for the RCP4.5 scenario. Unlike the RLDS, the RSDS does not show a clear trend, although some models suggest a slight increase. Furthermore, indications of the brightening period were observed from the 2030s to the 2060s, after which the dimming period can be noticed.