{"id":42965,"date":"2026-04-29T17:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T15:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/?post_type=news&p=42965"},"modified":"2026-04-30T11:42:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T09:42:48","slug":"president-milanovic-we-should-not-entertain-the-illusion-that-the-eu-will-become-a-powerful-state-governed-from-a-single-center-of-power","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-we-should-not-entertain-the-illusion-that-the-eu-will-become-a-powerful-state-governed-from-a-single-center-of-power\/","title":{"rendered":"President Milanovi\u0107: We should not entertain the illusion that the EU will become a powerful state governed from a single center of power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cOur policy is one of clean accounts, respect for others \u2013 for other religions and other communities \u2013 but also an awareness of who we are, what we are, and what is ours. Because when it comes to a nation, that aspect of selfishness is present; otherwise, a nation has no meaning \u2013 if you are not aware of what is yours, what belongs to you, and what you are ready to defend,\u201d said today in Slavonski Brod the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanovi\u0107, speaking at the commemorative ceremony marking the 35th<\/sup> anniversary of the formation of the 3rd<\/sup> Guards Brigade of the Croatian Army \u201cKune.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Milanovi\u0107 told Croatian war veterans and members of the Brigade that in the Homeland War, above all, they defended Croatia and helped create a new, better Croatia that had not existed before, and that the European Union \u201cin which we live today is an important aspect of Croatia\u2019s present and its state activity.\u201d \u201cYou guarded the house, and that house was defended; it was not destroyed, though they tried to destroy it; it was not set on fire, though they tried to set it on fire. And then we got a fa\u00e7ade for that house, and that is the European Union,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 said, adding that the European Union is a good project and a good idea as a trade union and \u201cthat is the framework in which I see the European Union and Croatia within it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything beyond that is an integrationist fantasy, some new world in which there is no place for Croatia, because it is a world we do not see and over which we cannot have any influence,\u201d said the President, emphasizing that this is also important for the Croatian Army \u201cbecause I do not want a crazy head and excessive bureaucratic ambitions to take us somewhere we neither have the resources to go, nor the interest, nor the desire to go and, most importantly, where we do not control events.\u201d Especially since global events are turbulent and unpredictable and \u201crecently depend on the mood of one person or another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn such a system of relations, giving guarantees to someone else or a third party that we will expose ourselves for them in some situation is very problematic, not to say dangerous,\u201d the Croatian President said, emphasizing that we are a small country and nation \u201cwhich must, like any sensible person, be careful about the signals it sends, what it suggests to whom, and what it promises to whom.\u201d \u201cOur primary and only interest is the defense of Croatia. Everything else, for me, includes loyalty and good faith toward those with whom we have certain alliances \u2013 not acting behind their backs, having good intentions, and not being unrealistic in our expectations; being realistic, not entertaining the illusion that the European Union will become one large, powerful state governed from some major center of power,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a time when the wildest things are happening in the world, the President believes that Croatia primarily \u201cmust put its own house in order and try to regulate its relations with its neighbors \u2013 with Serbia and with Bosnia and Herzegovina \u2013 as well as the status of the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.\u201d In this context, he also recalled the contribution of the 3rd<\/sup> Guards Brigade, which fought legally in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. \u201cIt fought honorably, but not to break up Bosnia and Herzegovina and annex parts of it to Croatia; that was never Croatian policy,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 emphasized, reiterating that without the Croatian Army there would have been no Dayton Agreement, nor Bosnia and Herzegovina in its current form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking about neighboring countries, President Milanovi\u0107 said that Croatia \u201cdoes not see anyone as an enemy, and I hope that no one seriously sees us as an enemy either, except those who talk nonsense about Croatia, Albania, and Kosovo preparing to attack Serbia.\u201d \u201cIt is difficult to work with such people and build normal and friendly relations, which is what we strive for,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 added. \u201cWe know who we are, we know what we are capable of, we know that we have no enemies, and that we want to build peaceful and civilized relations for mutual and comprehensive benefit,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to President Milanovi\u0107, the commemorative ceremony was also addressed by Kre\u0161imir \u0160ipo\u0161, President of the Veterans\u2019 Association of the 3rd<\/sup> Guards Brigade of the Croatian Army \u201cKune\u201d; Mirko Duspara, Mayor of the City of Slavonski Brod; Danijel Maru\u0161i\u0107, Prefect of Brod-Posavina County; Mladen Kruljac, wartime commander of the 3rd<\/sup> Guards Brigade \u201cKune\u201d; Lieutenant General Tihomir Kundid, Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces; and Tomo Medved, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Croatian Veterans, Envoy of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The marking of the 35th<\/sup> anniversary of the formation of the 3rd<\/sup> Guards Brigade of the Croatian Army \u201cKune\u201d began with the laying of wreaths at the memorial to fallen Croatian war veterans of the Homeland War. The President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces was joined at the wreath-laying by Lieutenant General Tihomir Kundid, Chief of the General Staff; Marijan Marekovi\u0107, the President\u2019s Adviser for Homeland War Veterans; Brigadier General \u017deljko Marinov, Commander of the Guards Armored-Mechanized Brigade \u201cKune\u201d; and Major Zoran Sokolovi\u0107, Commander of the 1st<\/sup> Tank Battalion of the Guards Armored-Mechanized Brigade \u201cKune.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the wreath-laying ceremony, incentive awards were presented to members of the Guards Armored-Mechanized Brigade \u201cKune,\u201d along with the awarding of berets and the ceremonial oath-taking of new members of the Brigade.<\/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 \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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cOur policy is one of clean accounts, respect for others \u2013 for other religions and other communities \u2013 but also an awareness of who we are, what we are, and what is ours. Because when it comes to a nation, that aspect of selfishness is present; otherwise, a nation has no meaning \u2013 if you are not aware of what is yours, what belongs to you, and what you are ready to defend,\u201d said today in Slavonski Brod the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanovi\u0107, speaking at the commemorative ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of the formation of the 3rd Guards Brigade of the Croatian Army \u201cKune.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":42964,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-42965","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPresident Milanovi\u0107: We should not entertain the illusion that the EU will become a powerful state governed from a single center of power - 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-we-should-not-entertain-the-illusion-that-the-eu-will-become-a-powerful-state-governed-from-a-single-center-of-power\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President Milanovi\u0107: We should not entertain the illusion that the EU will become a powerful state governed from a single center of power - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cOur policy is one of clean accounts, respect for others \u2013 for other religions and other communities \u2013 but also an awareness of who we are, what we are, and what is ours. Because when it comes to a nation, that aspect of selfishness is present; otherwise, a nation has no meaning \u2013 if you are not aware of what is yours, what belongs to you, and what you are ready to defend,\u201d said today in Slavonski Brod the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanovi\u0107, speaking at the commemorative ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of the formation of the 3rd Guards Brigade of the Croatian Army \u201cKune.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-we-should-not-entertain-the-illusion-that-the-eu-will-become-a-powerful-state-governed-from-a-single-center-of-power\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-30T09:42:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DSC_1283-1-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3240\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2160\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/news\\\/president-milanovic-we-should-not-entertain-the-illusion-that-the-eu-will-become-a-powerful-state-governed-from-a-single-center-of-power\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/news\\\/president-milanovic-we-should-not-entertain-the-illusion-that-the-eu-will-become-a-powerful-state-governed-from-a-single-center-of-power\\\/\",\"name\":\"President Milanovi\u0107: We should not entertain the illusion that the EU will become a powerful state governed from a single center of power - 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