President Milanović in Makarska: This beauty should be appreciated, preserved and nurtured
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović attended today the special session of the Town of Makarska Municipal Council. He told the citizens that the forthcoming admittance to the euro are is good for Croatia because “given our position as a service economy this will be beneficial to us”.
“Tourism in Croatia has grown into a very serious industry. If we want to have full employment and good revenues, then this is a God-given chance that we use ever more seriously”, the President added. He also referred to the overpopulated and oversaturated Makarska area, which is larger than the area in the northern Adriatic. In this sense, he compared Malta to Croatia saying that Malta is a more developed tourist destination where salaries and costs are slightly higher than in Croatia, but that the Malta area is used up to its optimum. “People come to Makarska on account of the sun, the sea and Biokovo. That’s a fact, they come here for the beauty, and that beauty is an asset we take for granted, but this beauty should be appreciated just like talent”, President Milanović noted, adding that we have to raise our children to appreciate, preserve, nurture and defend this invaluable beauty from predators.
“This town has and will generally develop without EU funds. Strive to absorb every euro that is smiling at you anywhere, that is available to us through any programme whatsoever – that’s our money. That money is expensive. And furthermore – things aren’t as great as they seemed ten years ago. Croatia annually gets 5 billion kuna more than it contributes”, President Milanović underlined, adding that it is a very small gain and that there’s not much room for progress. In his address he referred further to the recovery fund that is granted after some natural disasters and bad weather. “Therefore we cannot build our future relying on future bad weather and expecting more funds after the bad weather. At some time we shall reach a certain average in the European Union, but always up to average, because the system was designed so that the richest remain the richest”, President Milanović stated in concluding his address.
Speaking at the special session besides President Milanović were the president of the Town Council of Makarska Gordana Muhtić, the mayor of Makarska Zoran Paunović, on behalf of the mayors and heads of Municipalities the mayor of Umag Vili Bassanese, on behalf of Split-Dalmatic County the head of the Administrative Department for Tourism and Seafaring Matea Dorčić, and the State Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Sports Tonći Glavina. In the scope of the special session of the Town Council, annual awards were presented to the most deserving individuals for their contribution to the development of the Town of Makarska.
In the continuation of his stay in Makarska, President Milanović toured the Orion Observatory.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan