President Milanović in Vukovar: Corruption and greed for public money are destroying trust in the authority like nothing else

The President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović attended the special session of Vukovar City Council where he congratulated the residents of Vukovar on City of Vukovar Day and the Feast of Saints Philip and James, patron saints of Vukovar. He told them to set high goals because they are capable of achieving them.

At the beginning of his address President Milanović stated that he will not talk about the Homeland War on this occasion, and referred only to the peaceful reintegration, assessing it as “smart and intelligently planned and implemented” because there were no casualties in the process. Speaking about the struggle for the Croatian state throughout history, of which it is frequently said it was a thousand-year dream come true, he said: “It’s a fact that it was the ultimate goal – the Croatian state. People here didn’t fight for integrations – the European Union, NATO, OECD, the Council of Europe – and they didn’t fight against them either. The national state was the goal. It can be achieved by all means, not really by absolutely all means because not even in that struggle is everything allowed; there are laws of humanity, respect, God’s laws, something that must never be trampled on, but that was the goal”.

Further speaking about the European Union, he repeatedly stated that every euro from the European Funds must be absorbed. But he warned that in doing so one has to be honest. “Be brutal to corruption. Corruption and greed for public money erode and destroy trust in the authority like nothing else”, he said. For Vukovar he wished that in the distribution of power, money, development, and influence it will be as it once was, thriving and rich“, and that there never be a need to say ‘Help Vukovar’, but that Vukovar be the one that will help others”.

Also addressing the special session besides President Milanović were the President of City Council Željko Sabo, the Mayor of Vukovar Ivan Penava, Vukovar-Srijem Deputy County-Prefect Franjo Orešković, the State secretary of the Central State Office for Croats Abroad and delegate of the Prime Minister Zvonko Milas, and Member of the Croatian Parliament and delegate of the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Nikola Mažar.

Alongside President Milanović was the Special Adviser to the President for Homeland War Veterans Marijan Mareković, who prior to the special session as the delegate of the President of the Republic, laid a wreath in memory of the fallen, missing, killed and deceased Croatian defenders of Vukovar at the memorial in the Memorial Cemetery of Homeland War Victims.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan