"Croatia supports Finland's and Sweden's potential bid to join Nato, because that would help strengthen Croatia's security," Foreign Minister, Gordan Grlic-Radman, said on Thursday.
“We feel that Nato membership for Finland and Sweden might serve to strengthen our security and defence,” he told reporters at Zagreb airport after talks with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, adding that “all Nato member countries have the same stance on that.”
Grlic-Radman said that he had talked to his Finnish counterpart, Pekka Haavisto, two days earlier, and that he also taked to Sweden’s Foreign Minister, Anne Linde, on Wednesday, reassuring them that Croatia supports “their future membership application, as an important contribution to trans-Atlantic security.” His comments came after Croatia’s President, Zoran Milanovic, called for Croatia to block Sweden and Finland from joining Nato unless the US steps in to change Bosnia’s election law to the benefit of Bosnian Croats. He also described the potential NATO membership for Finland and Sweden as a “very dangerous adventure.”
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In Croatia, the head of state is largely a ceremonial role and has little effect on politics or international agreements. NATO membership for any future members must be ratified by all existing countries, and in Croatia this is done through Parliament, which is controlled by the conservative HDZ party led by Prime Minister, Andrej Plenkovic.
One of the few powers the head of state has is the formal title of the commander-in-chief of armed forces. Since becoming President in February 2020, Milanovic – formerly Prime Minister and leader of the Social Democrats – has become known for provocative statements and rants usually involving bickering with PM Plenkovic or his ministers.
In late January, as Russian forces began amassing on Ukrainian border, Milanovic dismissed the notion of Ukraine becoming part of the NATO alliance and in early February accused Western countries of “warmongering” in Ukraine. His statements also earned him inclusion into the infamous Ukrainian Myrotvorets online blacklist which publishes information about people deemed “enemies of Ukraine,” where he has been accused of “disseminating Russian propaganda.”
PM Plenkovic and the rest of the Croatian government responded by distancing themselves from Milanovic. On Thursday, Grlic-Radman said that by joining Nato, Croatia agreed to the alliance’s open-door policy, which says that any country that meets Nato criteria is free to join should they want to. Szijjarto said Finland and Sweden had not yet applied for membership, but that Hungary would also have a positive view of their application if they did.
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