Five years since Croatia joined NATO, it has become clearer than ever, as confirmed by the latest developments, that the Alliance has its 'raison d'etre', Croatia's top leaders said at a ceremony in the national parliament on Monday marking the fifth anniversary of Croatia's NATO membership.
"Today it is clear that there is the raison d'etre for NATO," Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said in his speech, referring to the developments in Ukraine and Russia's moves.
"Russia is not our enemy and we do not want to perceive it that way," Milanovic said, adding that, however, Russia breached rules "which we find unacceptable". Nonetheless, this does not close the room for cooperation and dialogue".
During his speech, President Ivo Josipovic also referred to the situation in Ukraine explaining that the developments in that country showed how much more important it was to be in NATO than outside the alliance.
NATO membership "offers the hope of freedom and democracy" and gives rise to hope that these values will not be put at risk, Josipovic said.
However, the reality is something else. The recent example from Ukraine shows how much better it is to be within NATO than outside it, Josipovic said.
Josipovic, Milanovic and Parliament Speaker Josip Leko also spoke about the criteria which Croatia had had to fulfil in order to join NATO.
Croatia had to prove that it embraced fundamental standards and values such as the protection of human rights, the rule of law, and that its behaviour is predictable, the three top officials said,
"You do a gross injustice when you start annulling rights and making up new things," Milanovic said.
"It is a lesser evil to change tax rates each year than to change fundamental human rights. Had we treated minority rights as they are treated now, Croatia would not have been admitted to NATO," Milanovic said.
NATO today safeguards peace, borders and prospects, and the values that serve as the alliance's pillars turn out to be worth their while, the Croatian highest-ranking officials said.
NATO promotes not only military but also political cooperation, according to them.
Over the past five years, Croatia has reaped from NATO membership more than it hoped for. We are a part of an organisation that offers and safeguards peace, borders and prospects, Leko said.
Milanovic said that Croatia might be happy to be "a part of this chosen society, the best society".
Josipovic said that the membership in the alliance provided Croatia with guarantees for freedom and that "there will be no power to undermine this freedom", but the membership also entailed responsibilities. In this context he spoke about Croatia's contribution to the NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan.
Leko said that Croatia has an augmented responsibility towards its neighbours, notably Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Josipovic agreed on the importance of security in the region.
"Being a country in the southeast of Europe, a Central European country, a Mediterranean country, Croatia is in a specific position. Unfortunately, our part of Europe has not been completely consolidated in a political and security sense and our NATO membership can help us make our position better and more reinforced and we may be optimistic about Croatia's further development," the head of state said.
(Hina)
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Zoran Milanović
