Under the chairmanship of the President of the Croatian Parliament, Gordan Jandrokovic, a meeting was held between the Praesidium of the Croatian Parliament and the leaders of the deputy clubs.

After the meeting, Jandrokovic issued a statement.

“I was surprised by the way some MPs, and even some clubs, spoke disparagingly about a man who represents probably the most powerful military organisation in the world, which Croatia joined in 2009 after demanding negotiations. It has brought us stability, peace and economic progress, and now some MPs are talking about NATO in a very provincial and even primitive way,” Jandrokovic said, referring to NATO Acting Deputy Secretary General Boris Ruge, who will speak about the NSATU mission on Wednesday before the Croatian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and the parliamentary delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

“They should think carefully about what they are doing”

“Do you think he has no experience and would allow himself to be instrumentalised? Do you think we are so powerful that we can instrumentalise the NATO deputy secretary? The opposition will now invent reasons and come up with the idea that we are instrumentalising someone. They should think carefully about what is important for Croatia,” said Jandrokovic, as reported by the news website tportal.

The question was raised as to how many is the two-thirds majority, as the parliament functions with one less MP. “In my opinion, it would be 100, but it is complex,” he added.

“At the moment it’s frivolous to play around with it. Those who will vote should think carefully about what they are doing and how history will remember them. It may benefit them in the short term, but in the long term it will be a mistake, just as the SDP made a mistake in 1991. The SDP has had moments in history when it made decisions that were bad for Croatia,” Jandrokovic said.

“NATO is a service for us”

He said he did not like statements such as “we don’t need anyone to tell us what to do” “ “Well, NATO is a service for us. These people also work for us,” Jandrokovic said.

“We will vote when the conditions are met,” Jandrokovic said, but did not say when that would be.

“We will do everything we can to make that decision,” he added, without saying when that would be.

He accused the SDP party of toying with joining NATO and the EU. “All strategic decisions were carried on the shoulders of the HDZ. What they are doing now shows me that they have learnt nothing,” Jandrokovic said.

“I don’t care what Bulj, Grmoja and Bauk will say…”

“I don’t care what Bulj, Grmoja, Bauk will say, only what the citizens think. And the citizens are confused because the highest Croatian officials are lying. These stories about false sovereignty can lead to a worse future for our youth,” Jandrokovic said.

The parliamentary speaker agreed with former president Ivo Josipovic’s idea to postpone future presidential elections until spring. “The time between Christmas and New Year is unfavourable because people go on holiday,” he said.

“This is a non-partisan issue with long-term consequences for Croatia’s status in NATO, and I think it must be decided,” Jandrokovic concluded.