President Milanović: Waste Disposal Must Be Approached as Croatia’s Most Serious Challenge
“It is essential that we approach waste disposal and waste management as what is currently the most serious challenge for Croatia, because that is precisely what it is. There are no completely clear-cut solutions, and all of this takes a very long time, but public procurement and its complexity cannot be used as an excuse for why certain things have not already been completed. In the meantime, we must insist on this and do everything to ensure we do not saw off the branch we are sitting on, nor allow anyone else to do so or even think of doing so,” President of the Republic Zoran Milanović said today in Makarska.
President Milanović attended a formal session of the Makarska Town Council on the occasion of the Makarska Town Day, where he spoke about the natural beauty surrounding the town and its vital importance to tourism. In this context, he also drew attention to the importance of environmental protection.
“The views and panoramas Makarska offers are unforgettable. Mount Biokovo is always the same, yet never the same. You can never get enough of it, nor take it for granted as something routine. It was created by nature. I cannot stress enough how crucial this nature is for what we do, how we make our living, and how we live – and that is tourism,” the President said.
Speaking about tourism, President Milanović highlighted that we live off tourism and have become overly reliant on it. “People from across Europe and the world come because of Biokovo, the sea, and the sun. That is the primary draw. This is our competitive edge, which many others – in fact, most of them – do not have, and it requires special protection. Therefore, the incident everyone in Croatia is talking about – involving the dumping of rubbish and waste in Gospić – is, on the one hand, an unfortunate event, and it would have been better had it not occurred. However, now that it happened, in my assessment, it will foster an extra degree of resistance, caution, and intolerance among the Croatian public towards such practices, making it far harder for anything like this to ever happen again in Croatia,” President Milanović noted.
Finally, wishing the people of Makarska a happy Makarska Town Day, the President concluded: “Safeguard this beautiful region, where our ancestors settled long ago, and which we will pass on to our descendants; hopefully to our joy and pride, rather than our shame. Let us ensure Croatia remains the gem we inherited.”
In addition to President Milanović, addresses were delivered at the Makarska Town Day formal session by the President of the Makarska City Council, Gordana Muhtić; the Mayor of Makarska, Zoran Paunović; the President of the Zagreb City Assembly, Matej Mišić, speaking on behalf of the represented towns and municipalities; the Deputy County Prefect of Split-Dalmatia County, Ante Šošić; and the Envoy of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Minister of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, Marija Vučković.
President Milanović was accompanied by Nikša Peronja, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Local and Regional Self-Government Relations.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan