President Milanović: I will keep Croatia out of conflicts
“As long as I am President, and for how long and in what way I do this will be decided by Croatian people, I will keep Croatia out of conflicts, and where we don’t belong and don’t need to be, we won’t be. This is a matter of national selfishness, to which we have the right after all these years, after confusion and belief in help that never came,” the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović said today in Samobor, commenting on the current situation in Europe and the world.
“Today, when I listen to political leaders of EU member states, if I didn’t know how things are at the moment, I would conclude that war has already broken out, that armies are mobilising, that war is inevitable, especially in the East. And that this is not the case and doesn’t have to be. In the Middle East and in Palestine, as well as in relations between Israel and Iran, we are facing events that could have an unimaginable impact on world peace, order, and the global economy if the Israeli government decides to attack Iran in the next two weeks, potentially dragging the world into a new cycle of war. These are not unrealistic things, this is happening before our eyes,” President Milanović cautioned.
At the special session of the Samobor Town Council, held on the occasion of Municipal Day, President Milanović also touched on the use of European funds. “This is European money, but it is also our money, which must be used to the fullest. But for Croatia to receive it, we need to reflect on what we have given. We opened ourselves completely; entire industries collapsed, not just due to theft but because we had to play by rules that suited the stronger players that entered the Croatian market,” he said. Nobody forced Croatia into this, the President added, “we accepted it, it was our free will, but we also have the right to the other part of the deal, and that is European funds, it is our money.”
The President of the Republic further stated that we must ensure that “what we have now remains, survives, and grows, and that the country remains stable and strong.” He also emphasized that Croatia must not be a puppet state, but a country that “takes care of itself, of what was built over the years, which at one point was nearly destroyed thirty years ago, and which was ultimately created thanks to the will, determination, and sacrifices of Croatian fighters, defenders, and liberators after 1991.” All of this, according to President Milanović, places Croatia in the position of a special country, explaining that he is referring to the fact that “Croatia’s experience over the last thirty years has been different from that of any other member of the European Union.”
“We must align ourselves with models and general rules because it’s impossible to live without them. These rules are both European and ours, but our experience compels us and warns us to use it so that we do not go through it again. We need to look at the opportunities that EU membership offers, as well as relations with neighbouring countries, as they are Croatia’s strategic partners,” he added.
Finally, President Milanović, while congratulating the people of Samobor on Municipal Day, also commented on the town’s budget, saying that it is a significant amount for a town of 40,000 people. “This is a budget comparable to Dubrovnik’s, but without tourism, and that’s a big deal. It’s money earned in a more complex way, and if there were more places like this in Croatia, the country would be stronger. Countries that produce and have technology, and generate large earnings through more complex means, are stronger countries. Tourism, which we’ve perhaps relied on a bit too much, is wonderful, but being dependent on it is risky,” President Milanović concluded.
In addition to President Milanović, speakers included the President of the Samobor Town Council, Miran Šoić, the Mayor of Samobor, Petra Škrobot, the Mayor of Valpovo, Matko Šutalo, and the Deputy Prefect of Zagreb County and delegate of the President of the Croatian Parliament and the Croatian Government, Ervin Kolarec. As part of the special session of the Town Council, an agreement on friendship and cooperation between the towns of Samobor and Valpovo was signed, and annual public awards and plaques were presented to the most deserving individuals and associations for their contributions to the town’s development.
Melita Mulić, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Human Rights and Civil Society, accompanied President Milanović in Samobor.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta