{"id":39437,"date":"2025-09-12T15:10:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T13:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/?post_type=news&p=39437"},"modified":"2025-09-12T15:11:37","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T13:11:37","slug":"president-milanovic-the-european-union-is-a-community-of-nation-states-not-a-single-state","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-the-european-union-is-a-community-of-nation-states-not-a-single-state\/","title":{"rendered":"President Milanovi\u0107: The European Union is a community of nation states, not a single state"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cBorders between states and nations are not mere whims\u2014they exist for a reason, because they protect. The European Union is not an empire; we are a community of nation states, each with its own identity, history, culture, faith and churches, victories and defeats, loves and hatreds, prejudices and fears. Croatia, Portugal, and Finland are three completely different worlds. That is why the EU cannot be a single state. And that is why anyone who fantasizes about it, talks about it, or worse\u2014works toward it\u2014must be watched carefully. There aren\u2019t many such people in Croatia, but there are quite a few in Europe. These are the dreamers of misguided ideas and concepts that always end in human misery,\u201d warned the President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 today in Ogulin, where he attended the ceremonial session of the Municipal Council on the occasion of Ogulin Municipal Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firmly rejecting the idea of turning the EU into a superstate, President Milanovi\u0107 stated: \u201cAfter all these years of membership, I now see the true purpose of the EU: to help each other as much as we can, to ease our lives financially, to trade, to exchange ideas, and to live in a Europe without borders. Yet life without borders is only seemingly perfect\u2014it too brings its challenges and problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By contrast, he explained, \u201cwe are in NATO because of the experiences of the past war, because of the aggressor, because of Belgrade\u2014but not to wage wars and not to generate forces with the aim of going to war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his speech, the President also addressed Croatia\u2019s economic difficulties, stressing that \u201cCroatia today lives on debt.\u201d He added: \u201cWe had several years of a positive balance of payments, but now we are back in deficit. I see no way out with the current policies. Without EU transfers, the gap would be even larger. That is why it is crucial to manage our finances strictly\u2014to cover our needs without excess, but also without living on debt without thinking about how we will repay it. We are in deficit, and without European money, we are in a hole. And EU money will only keep coming for a while longer. The European Union is not America\u2014it cannot print euros at will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking about EU funds, President Milanovi\u0107 also warned that \u201cthese transfers will not improve the competitiveness or strength of the Croatian economy, nor Croatia\u2019s export profile,\u201d because EU funds are mostly used for upgrades, not for production. \u201cAlmost none of the projects financed by EU funds generate income. Meanwhile, we have fully opened our borders. Foreigners do whatever they want\u2014they produce what they want, sell what they want, without restrictions. This is a warning: we are in a tough competitive game, and if we stumble tomorrow, someone will come and collect on our debts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to President Milanovi\u0107, speakers at the ceremonial session included Marinko Herman, President of the Ogulin Municipal Council; Dalibor Domitrovi\u0107, Mayor of Ogulin; Matej Mostarac, Mayor of Kastav and Member of the Croatian Parliament; the Government\u2019s envoy, Martina Furdek-Hajdin, Prefect of Karlovac County; and the Parliament\u2019s envoy, MP An\u0111elka Salopek.<\/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 <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia \/ Marko Beljan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cBorders between states and nations are not mere whims\u2014they exist for a reason, because they protect. The European Union is not an empire; we are a community of nation states, each with its own identity, history, culture, faith and churches, victories and defeats, loves and hatreds, prejudices and fears. Croatia, Portugal, and Finland are three completely different worlds. That is why the EU cannot be a single state. And that is why anyone who fantasizes about it, talks about it, or worse\u2014works toward it\u2014must be watched carefully. There aren\u2019t many such people in Croatia, but there are quite a few in Europe. These are the dreamers of misguided ideas and concepts that always end in human misery,\u201d warned the President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 today in Ogulin, where he attended the ceremonial session of the Municipal Council on the occasion of Ogulin Municipal Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":39436,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-39437","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPresident Milanovi\u0107: The European Union is a community of nation states, not a single state - 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-the-european-union-is-a-community-of-nation-states-not-a-single-state\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President Milanovi\u0107: The European Union is a community of nation states, not a single state - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cBorders between states and nations are not mere whims\u2014they exist for a reason, because they protect. 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