President Milanović in Rome: The euro can be good for Croatia, but I also have to warn about negative things
At the invitation of the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović is on a daylong official visit to the Italian Republic.
The official visit of the President of the Republic of Croatia began with an official welcoming ceremony at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, which was followed by a meeting between Croatian President Milanović and the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella, and a bilateral meeting between the two presidents and delegations.
“The talks were very substantial. Good topics were coming from both sides and they included the demarcation in the Adriatic and the exclusive economic zone. Governments and experts work on that, but it something that should be closed so that we finally have a fully clear border on one side at least. There are too few states with which we have regulated the border,” President Milanović said after meeting with his Italian counterpart President Mattarella.
President Milanović assessed the relations between the two states as very good. “We also discussed the euro, about what the euro meant for Italy, the good as well as the bad. Croatia’s economy is different as it is more based on services and tourism, which could be a challenge as well as a good thing. So in that segment the euro can be good for Croatia. The euro is not for everyone and it’s not for everyone in the same way,” President Milanović pointed out, adding that one should ‘calculate’ about that. “I have to warn about some things, while others are good for Croatia. It will be good, but we will lose sovereignty,” the Croatian President emphasized.
President Milanović said the talks with President Mattarella also addressed the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, noting that this is a subject with which he always acquaints his interlocutors. “I am in contact with everyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina and this communication is ongoing. I am pleased with some headway achieved in the dialogue with Bosniak leader Bakir Izetbegović. It could be better, but there’s nothing without effort. I informed President Mattarella about that as well. It needs to be repeated over and over again because it is the right of the Croats to elect their own representatives, which they currently do not have,” said President Milanović.
President Milanović said that the status of national minorities was also discussed at the meeting and that President Mattarella expressed satisfaction with the position of ethnic Italians in Croatia. “The status of Croats in Italy is good. Croatia is a model for regulating the rights of national minorities. Croatia is the supra-standard in European and global terms. The rights which minorities enjoy in Croatia are rare elsewhere. In fact, no one has them,” the President underscored.
Current European issues were also discussed at the meeting, including EU enlargement. In that regard, the two presidents also discussed the situation and challenges facing Southeast Europe, as well as the European perspective of the countries in the region.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Ana Marija Katić