President Milanović to Croatian Emigrants in New York: Croatia will not be a puppet

President Zoran Milanović met with Croatians living in New York on Sunday while on an official visit to the United States.

"Croatia is in the European Union and NATO, which is a positive development, but it must not mislead us into turning our gaze away from our real interests even for a moment. Anyone who says otherwise and fantasizes about some kind of centralized Europe is not speaking rightly and is not telling the truth. Europe is not a state, and in such a state, I, as a Croat, do not want to live," said President Milanović to members of the Croatian community gathered at the Croatian Center in the parish of Saints Cyril and Methodius and Saint Raphael in New York.

"Croatia is a state of four million people. Having a state of four million people is an extraordinary achievement. The Croatian state is a combination of the courage and heart of the Croatian people who built it. The Croatian state is not merely a small block in the European Union. I am not disappointed with what the European Union has become, because it is within my expectations, and for us, it is only a means to an end," emphasized President Milanović.

He added that if and when Europe becomes a large centralized state, Croatia will no longer have a place there. "We have experience with such structures. Brussels should not become a center where everything and all sorts of things get mixed in, and in the end produces nothing," said the President. "We should focus on Croatia's interests. We are loyal, reasonable, sincere, and we do not act behind anyone's back, but we will not be puppets. We must not allow anyone to manipulate our interests, but we must know how to define them clearly," stated the President of the Republic.