President Milanović at Architects’ Conference: Space is an important Croatian resource, but the Croatian people come first
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović visited Pula today, where he attended the opening of the conference “Dani arhitekata 8.0,” [Architects’ Days 8.0]. The event, which was organized in Pula by the Croatian Chamber of Architects and the Croatian Architects’ Association, is being held under the auspices of the President of the Republic at the Croatian Homeland War Veterans’ Home from the 21st to the 23rd of March 2024.
“When I was prime minister, we carried out the legalization of illegal construction, and to this day I have a dilemma regarding that. It was necessary. This solution was simply a way out, out of necessity, a way out of a problem. And today, almost ten years later, when I listen about the problems of illegal construction, I don’t know how they will be solved. I don’t know how they will be solved through decentralization and the transfer of jurisdiction to local self-government units, because it is a matter of repression: force and fear are the only solutions. After so many decades of trying repeatedly, there is no other way,” President Milanović said in his address at the conference, in his comments on illegal construction, which remains a problem to this day.
Furthermore, the President spoke about the regulations in the EU and Croatia’s place in it. “The European Union serves us as a source of funds and as a normative framework, for me much less as an ideology. The European Union is not a superstate. It is not a community in which identities have been erased. The European Union is a community of states, most of which are nation states. And if we surrender easily and without asking questions – even without legitimate rebellions of a verbal nature – we will not exist. Let’s be sceptical of everything that happens around us and be critical,” President Milanović told those present.
He added that “we can be proud and satisfied for a reason with what we have and what we inherit” in architecture. “I am in favour of strictly managing the space, and we cannot rely on the European Union here. The European Union still does not have the authority to decide what a particular bay on Brač or Korčula will look like. That is for us to decide,” President Milanović pointed out.
In his address, he warned that for years no care was taken to restore Zagreb, which as a city was “beautifully conceived, but nothing was done for decades.” “What I have been observing for the last thirty years is depressing in terms of reconstruction, energy-efficient renovation and pure aesthetics. Compared to some European cities, we are stagnating and it doesn’t look good. This must change,” said President Milanović and added that in similar countries, people, communities and politics have a responsible attitude towards property, while this is not visible in our country’s public space.
“The attitude towards state property says a lot. This building was built more than a hundred years ago,” said President Milanović, referring to the Croatian Homeland War Veterans’ Home, erected in 1872 during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. “These are things that show how much you care about the country and how much you appreciate it. This is state property. I want capital facilities such as this to be maintained and renovated, to send a message to ourselves that we take ourselves seriously and have self-respect. As I said, we are not the world avant-garde in architecture, because after all we are too small and not wealthy enough, but we are not poor and backward either. We are tough and aware of who and what we are, and that we are capable of governing ourselves. The Deputy Prime Minister said that space is our greatest resource. I agree, our second greatest resource. The first is our people – today, the architects!” said President Milanović, declaring the conference “Dani arhitekata 8.0,” [Architects’ Days 8.0] open.
In addition to President Milanović, speaking at the opening of the conference were the President of the Croatian Chamber of Architects Rajka Bunjevac, President of the Croatian Architects’ Association Mia Roth Čerina, Secretary General of the Architects’ Council of Europe Ian Pritchard, President of the Croatian Chamber of Civil Engineers Nina Dražin Lovrec, member of the Steering Committee of the Croatian Chamber of Mechanical Engineers Vanja Glavan, Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Electrical Engineers Željko Radić, President of the Croatian Chamber of Chartered Geodetic Engineers Ivan Kalina, Director of the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Ministry of Culture and Media Tomislav Petrinec, Mayor of Pula Filip Zoričić, Istria County Prefect Boris Miletić, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Branko Bačić.
President Milanović was accompanied by Velibor Mačkić, Special Adviser to the President of the Republic for the Economy.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan