Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman on Thursday said that he most sharply condemns a decision by the City of Trieste to erect a monument to fascism originator Gabriele D'Annunzio, which the ministry expressed in a diplomatic protest note, and added that anyone who promotes "ideologies that were defeated has no place in this kind of EU."

Trieste today unveiled the monument to D’Annunzio, who on 12 September 1919 proclaimed Rijeka as an independent state called the Italian Regency of Carnaro. The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs sent a diplomatic note in reaction.

“We most sharply condemned that act. The Italian Ambassador came too and in a way apologised,” Grlic Radman said in an interview with the Media Servis online news portal.

On Thursday morning, a historical flag of the Kingdom of Italy was displayed on the fence of the Governor’s Palace in the northern Croatian Adriatic city of Rijeka and Grlic Radman commended the police for their quick response.

“The Croatian police reacted promptly to the displaying of the flag of the Kingdom of Italy, the flag of the occupier, and arrested the perpetrators.”

Grlic Radman said that this is not an example of Italy’s state policy and that he considers Italy to be “one of the most important members of the EU,” but rather a decision by local authorities in Trieste. He recalled that Croatia considers D’Annunzio an occupier.

“Those are ideologies that were defeated and that introduced the horrors of the Second World War. Anyone who supports such an ideology has no place in this kind of European Union,” Grlic Radman said.

Asked about a comment from Serbia that a terrifying revision of history was occurring in Croatia, Grlic Radman said that he did not “know whether to laugh or pay any importance to that.”

“The surprising thing is that Serbia doesn’t understand the geo-political context,” he added.