President Milanović in Malta: Entry into Schengen is Croatia’s interest, I expect Malta’s support

At the invitation of the President of the Republic of Malta George Vella, the President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović is on a return State visit to the Republic of Malta. After the official welcome ceremony in St. George’s Square in Valletta, the two presidents held a tête-à-tête, followed by a bilateral meeting between the official delegations of the two states.

In a statement to the media that followed the meetings, President Milanović said that they discussed topics that are important to Croatia, namely Croatia’s entry into Schengen, the introduction of the euro and the status of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In terms of the introduction of the euro, President Milanović stated that the euro in Croatia is being treated as a foregone conclusion and something that seems to him to be an unstoppable fact.

“Croatia made the decision. We’ll have to live with that decision. It’s not some worrisome decision, it’s been tested by a number of states so I hope for the best. Of course we are renouncing one of the basic tools of state sovereignty, monetary sovereignty. That’s our currency which has been created in the tumultuous and turbulent years of our recent history”, President Milanović noted.

The second topic discussed was Schengen, for which President Milanović said it is an immediate Croatian interest because as he stated, “we are an open economy as all the EU economies should be by the virtue of EU texts and European tenets of free markets”. He added that it is also a Croatian interest in terms of facilitating the flow of people who come to Croatia and participate in our tourist economy. In this regard he expects Malta’s support.

“I will not take as a foregone conclusion that Croatia is joining the Schengen zone immediately but I hope for the best. So these are the specific issues I will discuss today with the other Malta’s officials as well”, President Milanović stated who will meet with the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Republic of Malta Anġlu Farrugia, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Malta Robert Abela, and Opposition leader Bernard Grech.

President Milanović said that he availed himself of the opportunity of his meeting with the President of the Republic of Malta to also discuss the issue of the right of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina to elect their legitimate representative in governing bodies. “That is unfortunately an issue where my feeling about this topic goes from disappointment to anger, and things are changing for the worst. The latest move to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova and at the same time overlook Bosnia has nothing to do with prudent statesmanship, foresightedness and responsibility of international politics. That’s something that really disappointed me”, the Croatian President noted, and underlined that it can hardly be argued politically, tactically and ultimately ethically why the EU Council, as the  body that eventually decides, didn’t grant Bosnia candidate status. “That omission goes hand in hand with the other series of omissions that we are and have been witnessing in the western Balkans, such as the dynamics of the negotiating process of Montenegro and the failure to start accession talks of Albania and North Macedonia. And finally Serbia, which unfortunately picked its own way and is apparently not very interested in European processes and rules that have to be complied with at this very moment. Maybe they come back in reasonable time maybe not,” President Milanović stated.

Malta’s President Vella stated that President Milanović and he discussed the status of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that he understands the Croatian president’s sensitivity to this topic. The possibility of the western Balkan countries’ membership help these countries in efforts to meet the conditions and resolve mutual problems, President Vella stated. He added that one wonders about the justification of individual western Balkan countries being overlooked, referring to North Macedonia and Albania, whle at the same time, after Russian aggression against Ukraine, other individual countries are significantly making progress.

Not bringing into question the justification of the latter decisions, he underlined that decades-long efforts of some candidates from the western Balkans have not been honoured. “A greater commitment on the part of the European Union towards western Balkan countries is needed. In addition to causing discontent in these countries, there is also a danger that these countries will turn to the influence of third countries. A more serious and clearer European prospect would contribute, among others, to the stability of South East Europe”, President Vella stated.

President Milanović also talked about the importance of national identity and in this context he underlined the specificity of Malta. In terms of Croatia he said that negotiations for EU membership were conducted with the knowledge that there are about 600 thousand Croatian citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “Therefore one cannot say that those people became Croatian citizens after Croatia’s accession to the EU. They were there even before 2013. A large number of Croats who live in Croatia originate from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatia has the obligation to help these people, try to contribute to the resolution of their problems, but in a peaceful way”, President Milanović stated.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta