President of the Republic Starts Official Visit to Germany with Croatian Community Representatives

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović began his two-day Official visit to the Federal Republic of Germany by meeting with Croatian community representatives.

The profile of our emigrants differs from what it was fifty years ago; it is much more diverse and distinct. Today, there are more people with a higher education, President Milanović said after his meeting with representatives of the Croatian community. He described his talks as “interesting and dynamic”, and focused on improving the organization of Croatian language study in Germany.

The Croatian President will continue his Official visit to the Federal Republic of Germany with his host President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “Frank-Walter Steinmeier and I have known each other quite a long time, and in the past few months we have talked on the phone on several occasions during the corona crisis,” President Milanović told reporters.

The talks will include bilateral relations, the political situation in South East Europe as well as the functioning of European Union institutions in the extraordinary conditions of the corona crisis. “We will also discuss the status of Bosnia and Herzegovina where Germany plays an active role, however I am not so certain that German official policy sees the situation like we do. Perhaps it does not understand some things the best”, the Croatian President remarked.

After his meeting with the German President, President Milanović will meet with the President of the German Bundestag Wolfgang Schäuble. A meeting with the President of the German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (BVMW) Mario Ohoven will end the two-day visit. In announcing his meeting with the businesspeople, President Milanović indicated that the role of political officials and lobbyists in Croatia should be more clearly defined. “We act according to totally undetermined rules where rules should exist. What a president may say, on whose behalf and whom he advocates. The issue is money, financial interests”, President Milanović concluded.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Krešimir Naglić