{"id":38435,"date":"2025-06-25T16:16:43","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T14:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/?post_type=news&p=38435"},"modified":"2025-06-26T12:46:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T10:46:33","slug":"president-milanovic-after-nato-summit-military-procurement-cannot-be-left-to-the-market","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-after-nato-summit-military-procurement-cannot-be-left-to-the-market\/","title":{"rendered":"President Milanovi\u0107 after NATO Summit: Military Procurement Cannot Be Left to the Market \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 participated today in the NATO summit held in The Hague, where discussions and decisions focused on joint security policy and further increases in defense spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement to the media following the summit, President Milanovi\u0107 emphasized that the joint declaration had not been adopted during the summit itself, but had been agreed upon beforehand: \u201cIt was finalized a few days ago\u2014it\u2019s never adopted here. These things are coordinated in advance, and if there\u2019s no consensus, then we have a crisis. That didn\u2019t happen this time, as it usually doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting on the declaration, he said that it is a very brief and general document that \u201crefers almost exclusively to defense spending in a very general way, which is rather vague and lacking in clear definition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the proposal to raise defense spending to five percent of GDP, President Milanovi\u0107 expressed scepticism about setting nominal targets without clearly defined real value: \u201cThat means very little\u2014those are just nominal figures. What matters to me is how far I can get on my dollar. When I go shopping, what can I actually buy with it?\u201d He cautioned that if military equipment prices keep soaring, \u201cthen we\u2019re not doing a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President stressed that Croatia must be mindful of the return on every euro invested and that military procurement cannot be left to free-market forces: \u201cWe\u2019re here to plan and coordinate our joint efforts. We can\u2019t just hand things over to private investors, investment funds, and shareholders to gouge us\u2014selling us goods at inflated prices because of limited suppliers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the topic of new capabilities or commitments Croatia might assume, President Milanovi\u0107 said: \u201cThere was no mention of that here. That brigade would cost six to seven billion euros. Do you realize how much money that is? That\u2019s roughly what Montenegro\u2019s nominal GDP was just yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Touching on geopolitical dynamics and the atmosphere at the summit, he stated there was no room for sycophancy toward U.S. President Trump: \u201cI wasn\u2019t flattering him\u2014rest assured. I tried to be polite.\u201d He added that Trump\u2019s support for Israel was \u201cnot good,\u201d calling it \u201ca disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milanovi\u0107 expressed regret for not mentioning Gaza during the summit but believed it would have had no effect, given the closed nature of the meetings: \u201cI said what I wanted to say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked about his reportedly strong criticism of Israel, he replied: \u201cStrong? Very mild\u2014spoken with three-layer gloves on.\u201d He made it clear that he would not be answering to anyone for his views: \u201cI certainly won\u2019t be accountable to the American or German president or prime minister. That\u2019s out of the question.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what he would like to see Croatia do in response to the Gaza crisis, President Milanovi\u0107 said: \u201cRecognize Palestine!\u201d He explained: \u201cWe began from the premise of the Jewish people\u2019s right to a state after the Holocaust. \u2018A land without a people for a people without a land\u2019\u2014that was the slogan. But it wasn\u2019t a land without a people. A million Arabs, Muslims, lived there. They were driven out, exiled, destroyed. That\u2019s how Israel began its existence. If we talk about Israel\u2019s security and right to exist, what about the Palestinians\u2019 right to have their own state? That\u2019s been part of official documents for seventy years. We can\u2019t pretend it doesn\u2019t exist.\u201d He went on to say that he is critical of his own nation\u2019s history during World War II and feels a moral obligation to call out those who behave like aggressors: \u201cOtherwise, we\u2019ll be saddled with guilt for the next hundred years about who we were in the war. We hold ourselves to account because it\u2019s the right thing to do\u2014and that gives us the right to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Milanovi\u0107 also commented on the U.S. strike on Iran: \u201cTrump is the American president\u2014but he\u2019s also a businessman. He sells American goods, and he doesn\u2019t even try to hide it.\u201d When asked if he believed President Trump\u2019s actions had resolved the crisis in the Middle East, he responded: \u201cI\u2019m afraid this is leading Iran toward acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran\u2019s allies are nuclear powers\u2014do we really believe Iran, with all the scientific knowledge and technological progress of the last thirty years, wouldn\u2019t have developed nuclear weapons by now if it wanted to? We need to return to diplomacy\u2014this hasn\u2019t solved anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, President Milanovi\u0107 commented on his choice of Supreme Court judge Artukovi\u0107 Kun\u0161t and whether it would impact his relationship with Prime Minister Plenkovi\u0107 in the realm of diplomacy: \u201cThe position of the Supreme Court president is honourable and symbolically important, but it doesn\u2019t carry real power. The public was given no explanation as to why an experienced judge isn\u2019t deemed fit for the role. The process was handled dishonestly, and I won\u2019t go into the details,\u201d he said, adding that he would not nominate another candidate: \u201cThey should have told me upfront that the candidate was unacceptable. We entered into the process, and suddenly, she\u2019s not impressive enough. As for ambassadorial appointments, I\u2019ll go along with the ministry\u2019s suggestions as long as the candidates aren\u2019t entirely unacceptable\u2014even if they don\u2019t impress me. Most of them won\u2019t impress me, but they\u2019ll likely be appointed. We\u2019re looking for reasonable solutions,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia \/ Dario Andri\u0161ek & NATO & Daniel Novakovi\u0107\/STA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 participated today in the NATO summit held in The Hague, where discussions and decisions focused on joint security policy and further increases in defense spending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":38419,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-38435","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPresident Milanovi\u0107 after NATO Summit: Military Procurement Cannot Be Left to the Market \u00a0 - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-after-nato-summit-military-procurement-cannot-be-left-to-the-market\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President Milanovi\u0107 after NATO Summit: Military Procurement Cannot Be Left to the Market \u00a0 - 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