"Tenth anniversary of Croatia's membership in the European Union is an opportunity for all of us to say together how proud we are of the strategic achievements of the Croatian people and state in just over three decades of our independence", Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at the ceremony which marked 10 years of Croatian membership in the European Union.
He recalled the journey from the Homeland War, when between a quarter and a third of Croatian territory was occupied, to becoming a member of NATO and the European Union.
He said that, in that most difficult period of the 1990s, we lost the step of European integration with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe because they did not have the aggression of the Great Serbian Milošević regime, but we, led by Croatian veterans and President Tuđman, achieved freedom and independence.
He reminded that we have realized two deeper integrations - to the Schengen area and Eurozone, pointing out that we have positioned ourselves at the very core of European institutions and the European project.
He pointed out that Croatia has secured 25 billion euros in this decade from the EU, which, among other things, are used to renovate schools, educational institutions and hospitals in Zagreb and Banovina.
He referred to common values and a strong system of legal ties with the European Union, saying that all this makes Croatia respected in the international community today.
"We have become a country whose voice is heard, which has its influence on policies, on processes, on our neighbourhood, on issues of principle, such as solidarity and strong support for Ukraine and firm condemnation of Russia as an aggressor that violates all principles of international law," the Prime Minister said.
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