Jandroković: Europe must strengthen its own security, Serbia is arming itself

“Europe must strengthen its security and the European pillar of NATO because the international order is changing,” Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Tuesday at a conference of Croatian ambassadors, consuls, and military attachés, warning at the same time that Serbia is arming itself with offensive weapons as well.

“Croatia will continue to advocate for multilateralism, international law, and international order, but it must be aware of changes and have answers to them,” Gordan Jandroković said.

He emphasized that it is important to strengthen the European pillar of NATO because Europe lived for decades with the feeling that America always stood behind it, which is why Europe and individual countries forgot about their own security.

He also commented on the expansion of the European Union, saying that it is in Croatia's interest for the countries of the southeastern neighborhood to gradually, in accordance with their own achievements, progress toward EU membership.

He warned that Croatia, in doing so, must speak clearly about the situation in the neighborhood and warn of potential security risks.

“Serbia is arming itself not only with defensive weapons but also with offensive, assault weapons. And that needs to be said to our Western allies. Not to run away from it,” Jandroković said.

He added that Croatia must explain the situation in the region to the West because new political elites often do not understand the area of the former Yugoslavia, nor do they remember Slobodan Milošević's Greater Serbian policy and the collapse of the former state.

A record year in enlargement progress

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said that enlargement has today "once again taken on the role of European geopolitical stabilizer."

She pointed out that 2026 is a record year for progress in EU enlargement, stating that in the first eight months, more negotiating chapters were opened and closed than in any single year in the last 25 years.

Montenegro has closed more than half of its negotiating chapters and could, according to her, become an EU member by 2028. “Albania has begun closing chapters, while Ukraine and Moldova have made significant technical progress,” she explained.

She added that Iceland will decide at the end of this week on whether to resume accession negotiations.

Kos warned that the EU must draw lessons from the 2004 enlargement and introduce mechanisms to ensure that new members continue to respect the rule of law and the fundamental values of the Union even after accession.

She added that the EU no longer has time to wait for candidates to go through the accession process for decades, and that it needs to develop more ambitious forms of gradual integration.

Grlić Radman: The strategic environment has significantly changed

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman said that the goal of the conference is to provide diplomatic representatives with guidelines for further action and to exchange information and opinions through their experiences and discussions.

He emphasized that the situation and strategic environment have changed significantly over the past year.

“Nothing is the same anymore,” Grlić Radman said, listing the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, the closure of the Plješivica tunnel, and crisis management among the topics of the conference.

Source: HRT