{"id":45539,"date":"2026-11-09T15:44:26","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T14:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/?post_type=news&p=45539"},"modified":"2026-11-09T15:44:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T14:44:34","slug":"president-milanovic-at-the-faculty-of-political-science-the-european-union-is-not-a-state-there-is-no-eu-foreign-policy","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-at-the-faculty-of-political-science-the-european-union-is-not-a-state-there-is-no-eu-foreign-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"President Milanovi\u0107 at the Faculty of Political Science: The European Union is not a state; there is no EU foreign policy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 attended today a formal session of the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Zagreb, marking the 64th<\/sup> anniversary of its founding and Faculty Day. In his address, the President said that, after thirteen years of Croatia\u2019s membership in the European Union, it was necessary to continually reassess the national interests and economic benefits of membership, stressing that the European Union \u201cis not and cannot be a state\u201d and that it has no common foreign policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCroatia has been an EU member for 13 years, and it is both legitimate and necessary to ask ourselves what we gain from this membership in terms of our national interest, which is lasting and constant. We should ask ourselves these questions and seek answers, not because we intend to call a referendum on leaving the EU, since that is neither realistic nor wise. Nevertheless, asking these questions is necessary because, in politics, particularly in statecraft, those who do not act in accordance with national interests deserve pity,\u201d said President Milanovi\u0107, adding that he \u201cis trying to determine what our national interest is\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs security in our interest? Certainly. Is it economic growth, and if so, how much growth? Is it an increase in living standards? These are the parameters we measure, not to cry out for help, but to help us find our bearings and decide what to do next. Only the national interest, if we understand it and begin to live by it, gives meaning to the whole story of the EU,\u201d the President explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning to foreign policy, the Croatian President argued that European legal acts had remained unchanged for decades because the mechanism for reaching agreements that existed during the earlier stages of European integration, which began in 1987, was no longer in place. As a result, he said, Croatian foreign policy, like that of other EU member states, effectively does not exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe EU is not a state and cannot be a state. It was never conceived that way. It has no foreign policy. The price of this is that Croatian foreign policy does not exist, and neither does that of other countries. Are we satisfied with remaining silent on a range of issues and being represented at international forums by former politicians who have taken up these positions without a mandate? Should we oppose this verbally and at the conceptual level, or should we remain silent and simply move on?\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also addressed the current state of global democracy, drawing parallels between internal conflicts within Croatia\u2019s Constitutional Court and international events, such as the storming of the U.S. Capitol and political developments in Poland. He questioned \u201cby what right these circles lecture us on democracy today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President therefore considers it important that the Faculty of Political Science remain a place where international relations and democracy are examined critically, provocatively and without inhibition. I would like to see some newspaper editorial offices, too, inspired by you, begin to write and reflect on how international relations actually unfold: who is truly good, who is a cynic, who is constantly lying, and what democracy really is. These are all legitimate questions, and if we start asking them, perhaps not by providing answers, but by provoking thought, believe me, we will avoid actual conflicts,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to President Milanovi\u0107, the formal session was addressed by the Dean of the Faculty of Political Science, Associate Professor Dario Niki\u0107-\u010cakar; the Rector of the University of Zagreb, Professor Stjepan Laku\u0161i\u0107; the Deputy Mayor of Zagreb, Danijela Dolenec; the delegate of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Dijana Mandi\u0107, Director of the Directorate for Higher Education at the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth; and the representative of the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Member of Parliament Ivan Malenica. Awards and recognitions were also presented to outstanding students, professors, retired professors and partner organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Adviser to the President of the Republic for Education Jadranka \u017darkovi\u0107 attended the event alongside President Milanovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\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 \/ Tomislav Bu\u0161ljeta<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 attended today a formal session of the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Zagreb, marking the 64th anniversary of its founding and Faculty Day. In his address, the President said that, after thirteen years of Croatia\u2019s membership in the European Union, it was necessary to continually reassess the national interests and economic benefits of membership, stressing that the European Union \u201cis not and cannot be a state\u201d and that it has no common foreign policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":45540,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-45539","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPresident Milanovi\u0107 at the Faculty of Political Science: The European Union is not a state; there is no EU foreign policy - 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-at-the-faculty-of-political-science-the-european-union-is-not-a-state-there-is-no-eu-foreign-policy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President Milanovi\u0107 at the Faculty of Political Science: The European Union is not a state; there is no EU foreign policy - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 attended today a formal session of the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Zagreb, marking the 64th anniversary of its founding and Faculty Day. 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