President Milanović at the Faculty of Economics and Business: Nobody Listens to Europe Today
“The European Union is a huge bureaucratic project, undemocratic in its nature. Elitist and unelected, the EU was conceived that way and continues to function that way. We are still in a residual period of economic upturn. Money will keep coming for a while, but after that there will be less and less of it, while the number of those seeking it will grow. Europe is tired. Twenty years ago, Europe’s GDP was identical to that of the United States, and today the gap is so large that an entire Japanese GDP fits into it. Europe grew by 12 percent, while the American economy grew by 83 percent. That is no coincidence,” said the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović today, speaking at the celebration of the 105th anniversary and Faculty Day of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Zagreb.
In that context, President Milanović recalled that the European Union “was well conceived as a project of economic integration, but it has become a system that deals with life and death, war and peace—and it was not designed that way, nor can it survive that way because it is unrealistic and inefficient.”
The Europe that once existed, President Milanović warned, is gone. “The Europe built on knowledge, technology, naval power, and the ability to produce and sell; the Europe that lived somewhat cynically in the warm shadow of the American nuclear umbrella without taking responsibility; the Europe that relied on cheap Russian energy and the hunger of the Chinese market for German cars—that Europe is no more. It has disappeared. And if we turn our heads away from that fact—if we simply obey blindly—we will face the opposite of the idea that Croatia remains the master of its own destiny,” the President explained.
“We are part of a system that, unfortunately, has begun to pretentiously overestimate itself. The European Union has effectively started living beyond its means in the realm of realpolitik,” President Milanović added, noting how EU representatives “went around lecturing others, moralizing to everyone, telling them what their life, education, religion, private life, marriage, and finances should look like.” As Europeans, “we had thousands of pieces of advice—very arrogant ones—for everyone, and today nobody listens to us.” He concluded by warning that Croatia must guard itself against external authority.
Finally, President Milanović said that the Faculty of Economics is politically important “as a kind of strength—a proof that knowledge exists here and that things can be achieved.” “I wish for you to nurture and encourage this intellectual spirit of curiosity, which is not necessarily limited to your narrow field of work, and to always remember your illustrious predecessors,” the President said, congratulating students and staff on Faculty Day.
At the ceremony marking the 105th anniversary and Faculty Day of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Zagreb, speakers included Dean Prof. Dr. Sanja Sever Mališ; Rector of the University of Zagreb Prof. Dr. Stjepan Lakušić; President of the Finance Committee of the Zagreb City Assembly and envoy of the Mayor, Damir Bakić; Minister of Finance of the Republic of Croatia and envoy of the Prime Minister, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marko Primorac; and Member of the Croatian Parliament and envoy of the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Zoran Gregurović. Awards and recognitions were presented to students and staff of the Faculty.
President Milanović was accompanied by the Adviser to the President of the Republic for Education Jadranka Žarković and the Special Adviser to the President of the Republic for the Economy Velibor Mačkić.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan