{"id":43703,"date":"2026-06-16T21:22:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/?post_type=news&p=43703"},"modified":"2026-06-17T12:24:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T10:24:41","slug":"president-milanovic-i-believe-in-the-eu-as-a-project-of-free-trade-tolerance-and-peace-not-as-a-political-superstate","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-i-believe-in-the-eu-as-a-project-of-free-trade-tolerance-and-peace-not-as-a-political-superstate\/","title":{"rendered":"President Milanovi\u0107: I believe in the EU as a project of free trade, tolerance and peace, not as a political superstate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cMe\u0111imurje has generally lived in a certain form of peace, stability, and predictability. There have never been grandiose projects, or too much money. It has developed slowly and systematically. It has always been known that the boat is sailing in one direction. You know that the one who does not row rocks the boat, and here everyone has always rowed, so that boat was going in a beautiful, good, and positive direction. And that is what Croatia needs, which historically did not have that because parts of our most beautiful and only homeland have had different histories, occupations, perils, arson, and death,\u201d said the President of the Republic today at the ceremonial session of the Municipality Council of Donji Vidovec in Me\u0111imurje, celebrating its Municipality Day and 800 years since the first documentary proof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He told the people of Donji Vidovec that they knew best what was good for them and how to develop, but also encouraged them to use the EU funds. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter that you are a small municipality. You use the EU funds because it\u2019s our money, too. Don\u2019t be too grateful when receiving the money \u2013 neither to the general government which is only channelling the money, nor to the European Union which is giving us what was agreed in the deal. We didn\u2019t enter the European Union as a poorhouse to receive charity. We opened our market and worked at the expense of our own production. The ratio of has been given and received from the EU membership could be a matter of debate,\u201d said the President.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, President Milanovi\u0107 said that he believed in the European Union primarily \u201cas a project of free trade, tolerance, and peace.\u201d \u201cNot as a political project of a common superstate because it is not clear how many rowers are there, who is rowing, and who is rocking the boat. The EU as a space of free trade, open market, tolerance, and understanding \u2013 yes. The EU as a superstate which will arm and wage wars \u2013 no,\u201d said President Milanovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President reminded that Croatia had been in a joint state with both the Hungarians and Austrians, which did not suit us best, and now the European Union counts \u201ctwenty states and a few small ones, like us.\u201d \u201cThis doesn\u2019t lead anywhere. The people must learn lessons from their history and stick to our own. Let\u2019s be calculated, even selfish in certain things. As Croatia, we should look after our own interest, and not to be carried away by grand ideas, imperial projects, arming, and defence. We should push our own agenda and avoid the troubles we can avoid. But sometimes you can\u2019t avoid trouble and need to tackle problems,\u201d concluded President Milanovi\u0107 and congratulated the Municipality Day, wishing the people as less as problems possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from President Milanovi\u0107, the President of the Donji Vidovec Municipality Council Doroteja Kranjec, Municipality Mayor Bojana Petri\u0107, and Me\u0111imurje County Prefect Matija Posavec made an address and handed in commendations to the to the most deserving individuals and organizations for their contribution to the development of the Municipality at the ceremonial session. President Milanovi\u0107 was accompanied by the Adviser of the President for local and regional self-government relations Nik\u0161a Peronja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia \/ Ana Marija Kati\u0107<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMe\u0111imurje has generally lived in a certain form of peace, stability, and predictability. There have never been grandiose projects, or too much money. It has developed slowly and systematically. It has always been known that the boat is sailing in one direction. You know that the one who does not row rocks the boat, and here everyone has always rowed, so that boat was going in a beautiful, good, and positive direction. And that is what Croatia needs, which historically did not have that because parts of our most beautiful and only homeland have had different histories, occupations, perils, arson, and death,\u201d said the President of the Republic today at the ceremonial session of the Municipality Council of Donji Vidovec in Me\u0111imurje, celebrating its Municipality Day and 800 years since the first documentary proof.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":43702,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-43703","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPresident Milanovi\u0107: I believe in the EU as a project of free trade, tolerance and peace, not as a political superstate - 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-i-believe-in-the-eu-as-a-project-of-free-trade-tolerance-and-peace-not-as-a-political-superstate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President Milanovi\u0107: I believe in the EU as a project of free trade, tolerance and peace, not as a political superstate - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cMe\u0111imurje has generally lived in a certain form of peace, stability, and predictability. 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