President Milanović at Pula Municipal Day Ceremony: There can be no first, second or even third-class states in the EU
The President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović attended a special session of the City Council of Pula held on the occasion of Liberation Day and Pula Municipal Day in the Istrian National Theatre – Pula City Theatre.
“Happy Pula Municipal Day, which is celebrated on today’s date when Pula was liberated. Istria was not exclusively a Croatian ethnic area, particularly not Pula. In Pula, Croats were a minority,” said President Milanović, referring to the time when, as he put it, “Croatian partisans joined Istria with Croatia.” There was a change in the population of Istria, the President added in regard to that. “Tens of thousands of people left. In order for us to be able to ask for some things from others, for moral reasons we ourselves need to admit what took place in Istria. I see that in Istria this level of maturity and fairness exists. I am pleased to see such multiculturalism and community, awareness of our own shortcomings and mistakes, but also the sheer energy and desire to build better, to get past some things and move forward,” President Milanović told the audience.
In his address, the President also touched on the COVID-19 situation from the past two years, expressing hope that the crisis is behind us for good. “I hope that we will draw some lessons and conclusions from that situation. And when it ended, Russia attacked Ukraine, war broke out, the economy slowed and people in Europe were forced to pay more for energy and food,” said President Milanović, pointing out that rising food and energy costs affect people who live off wages the most.
“Fight for every euro of European money. Croatia, including Istria, fought for and always wanted and had the European dream, and now lives the European reality. But Europe is also a Europe of first, second and even third-class states,” said the President, emphasizing that we should never accept that. “We have invested our sovereignty in Europe, what many Istrians fought and died for in the Homeland War. This has its price and a moral obligation. As a state, we have renounced certain rights that belong to us in order to invest in a joint project, Europe, and get something out of it,” said President Milanović, noting that Croatia does not absorb enough funds from the European Union. “Too little for a country the size of Croatia. As long as that is the case, I see as the only measure of success of state policy, and regional and local policy, not in ideological speeches, but exclusively in the success of taking money that is ours. This is the goal we should strive for. This is the key task of Croatian politics,” the President emphasized.
“The war in Ukraine will not in any way solve the major problems. I don’t like the term – ‘it’s not our war’, but we have to be careful what we do, say and which side we take. And we have to keep our interests in mind. Istria knows this very well – about staying clean, standing straight, being honest, while keeping your interests in mind and knowing where you belong. When the big ones fight, the little ones don’t go under the table. The little ones move away, watch and observe. They keep their thoughts to themselves and that’s the way we should act as far as I’m concerned,” President Milanović concluded.
Speaking at the special session apart from President Milanović were the President of the City Council of Pula Dušica Radojčić, Mayor of Pula Filip Zoričić and Istria County Prefect Boris Miletić. Adviser to the President of the Republic for Human Rights and Civil Society Melita Mulić was alongside President Milanović.
After the special session and in the company of the Mayor of Pula Filip Zoričić, the President of the Republic attended the opening of an exhibition entitled “Smareglia in the Metropolitan” at the Vincent of Kastav Gallery.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Ana Marija Katić