President of Croatia Mrs. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović has delivered the lecture in the Polish Institute of International Affairs, Warsaw, January 29th, titled – The role of Croatia in strengthening Central Europe in the turbulent world.
Here are some not authorized fragments of this speech.
President Duda and me, both of us came about the same time to the idea of necessity to connect the North and the South of Central Europe, because this truly is authentic Central Europe, to connect the Baltic, The Adriatic and the Black See. The Polish abbreviation ABC is a very good term for cooperation between ABC because it will be the bases for what we should be doing in the future concerning the states in our environment, specially with the respect to the new threatening challenges to our security but also to many other challenges in the economic and in all other sectors.
I do see much stronger role for Croatia. I have never kept in a secret that so far I am not entirely happy with Croatian foreign policy. I refuse the fact that some states call others – small. That’s not about numbers, it’s about initiatives, it’s about assertiveness, it’s about confidence, it’s about vision and strategy. And I believe that we can do it, and we can do it naturally with you, with Poland. So with Croatia on the southern flank of Central Europe, and with Poland at the north flank connecting the area in terms of transportation, energy, and also people to people contact, ideas, strategy and working together in the context of EU, NATO, the UN and elsewhere, we can reinforce each others policies, each others interests and together we can be much stronger. For each of us we have the possibilities – responsible members of our societies, the politicians, academicians, businessmen, we have the role in this process. Each century, each decade, and each year curries its own challenges. We are increasingly faced with global facts at the local level. Conflict and challenges are not contained by borders and therefore demand collective actions. National disasters and conflicts are becoming more and more evident.
During the month of January we often see a lot of forecasts that we expect in this year. And it is difficult not to concerned when we realized that everybody seems to involved in a bleak picture related to economic growth and global security in 2016. When it comes to Europe even the Time Magazine forecasts unified sense of crisis. Unfortunately we have seen the same when it come to other aspects of the crises which we are facing – the Middle East, North Africa, Mediterranean basin.
So we really are in a vacuum of power in international politics? Is isolation inevitable? It is forecasted too pessimistic? Whatever we decide I believe we need to act, as leaders and individuals, working with you to prevent further challenges and counter these acts demanding developments from our countries. Shortly after I became the president of Croatia I had a long conversation with leaders of our political parties, with workers unions, with experts, with business, etc., and we determined 7 the prime areas which are the crucial importance to Croatia, which are the biggest challenges to Croatia, and I believe that looking at those challenges, from economics to other, we all face the same.
The first challenge that came up is demographic. The fact that we are loosing people, that the population is aging, that still we will do not have enough work force to feed the whole country, and those who have retired, and that we are dying out as a nation. And demographic is not an issue in that area per se. The fact that is related to economy is also the national security issue. Haw to deal with it in the EU will be one of the challenges which we will be face with. And also many different crises from poverty to extremism and terrorism to war and human suffering. In my view the right answer is to strengthen cooperation with your neighbors and your natural allies. For Croatia this is Central Europe, with its historical ties, with its common heritage and many shared distresses. In may view the right answers is to reinvigorate our historical ties, our economic, trade, culture, people to people ties, build century ago along the amber road, and to work together to find innovative ways to address the new challenges.
We do believe in the EU, both in Poland and in Croatia. For example according the last Eurobarometer test Creation and Polish citizens are among the most optimistic about the future of EU. In Croatia 69 proc., and in Poland 70 proc. respectively are confident about the image of the EU despite of challenges we are facing. Consolidating and strengthening the ties within Central Europe is crucial in our efforts in addressing both existing economic trends and security challenges. Central Europe as I see it from the Adriatic and the Baltic Sees and the Black See to Baltic See faces common economic challenges as well as geopolitical, security challenges, for both the East and the South. Historical ties between the countries are strong.
We are all faced with the similar negative threats and we have to find ways to encounter them. Many of us straggle with the low GDP, with high unemployment rates, particularly among the youth, aging population, slow growth, emigration and dying industries. Poland is in a different position then Croatia, however many or our challenges are similar. Poland managed to avoid recession thought the 2008-2009 economic downturn and successfully utilized EU structure funds and attracted foreign investments, unlike Croatia so far, unfortunately. However Poland and Croatia, as central European countries have economic indicators significantly below the EU average, and this needs to change. We need to find the innovative ways to boots our economies. WE have to rebuilt or ties and thought modern technology and infrastructure we need to create an atmosphere producing for many future projects.
Yesterday I participated in Polish Croatian economic forum I I was happy to see that there are the interests among companies to cooperate, to do business together, to work together in many markets. Over 50 Croatioan companies and more than 80 Polish were present. It is our job, as politicians, state people, to create an environment which makes their cooperation possible. When we uniting or consolidating Europe we have focused too long in building stronger East West links and neglecting North South ties. So President Duda and I share the opinion that we should strengthen the cooperation among the central and European new member states, both in terms of economic and security cooperation. So for these reasons I support ABC Initiative as Croatia arguing to encourage and to promote the cooperation.
Our aim is no to create a new regional organization, not to duplicate with the existing initiatives and organizations that we have, no to have a formal secretariat, but only to have a platform of action, of concrete action which will lead to concrete result, to concrete projects in the area of economy, the transportation, of energy security that will connect our region and will make it stronger. For instance by strengthening the Polish ports in the north and Croatian ports in the south, and by connecting them with the modern reailways and infrastructure we can do a lot to use the opportunity and the fact that Suez Canal has been extended and more traffic will go from Asia to Europe by our own roads, if we will create them. An other example is connecting the energy sector. We intend to build an energy terminal in Kirk. By connecting them and by building connectors from our side to Hungary we insure the economic independence for energy security.
We plan to focus on very concrete projects, and I plan to have our first formal meeting this early summer in Croatia. It will be a political summit, but also will be devoted to different meetings, beginning with young people for instance, with people to people contacts, and of course with different economic meetings and round tables that will again lead specific projects. In all of that we also have to be able to come for EU founding for investments, if they are available. If we work together, I believe, the potential to get them is much greater. Also looking at possibility of creating another tape of Interreg program for Central Europe would be one of our goals and which we will be explicating in the month to come.
Even China has recognized the potential and significance of Central Europe’s projects. And the Chinese have expressed an interest in fusing the transportation and take action in order to place their own products in the EU and the have started and fallowed up own discussions with very specific and concrete initiatives.
So we have the responsibility to break the competitiveness of our industries, we have the responsibility to be more assertive, and the potential to be more active. What it required of course is to be mo re assertive in our joint cooperation. We need to insure security for our citizens and the environment which will be more predictable and more secure.
Referring to my discussion with your leadership over the last two days I leave Warsaw confident that we creating such a partnership, which is needed to lead Central Europe the EU forward. So allow me to conclude my remarks by quoting a dear friend of Croatia, someone who has inspired me and my nation and who has worked in getting people and nation together, the holy father , saint Jean Paul the 2nd… who once said “ the future starts today, not tomorrow”. Thank you.
