Croatia today is a strong Croatia, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday at an event marking Statehood Day and the 10th anniversary of Croatia's membership in the EU, calling on everyone to use the huge possibilities offered by Croatia's strengthened international status and a stronger Croatia in the years to come.

Offering his best wishes to everyone on the occasion of Statehood Day and 10th anniversary of Croatia’s EU membership at the central commemorative ceremony held at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, Plenkovic said that 33 years ago, Croats had the opportunity for the first time to vote in democratic elections.

“The constitution of the first democratically elected multiparty parliament… marked the beginning of a process of building a modern, free and internationally recognised Croatia. It was the source of all decisions made over the following two years – from the 1990 Christmas Constitution, the May 1991 referendum, the important parliament decisions on 25 June and 8 October 1991 on severing ties with the former federation, and ultimately international recognition by the then members of the European Community on 15 January 1992, with Croatia’s admission to the UN being the crown of those events,” Plenkovic said.

Noting that this happened against the backdrop of the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall, Plenkovic said that one should commemorate the visionary decisions of Croatia’s first president Franjo Tudjman and the then parliament and government, but primarily the determination and courage of Croatian defenders who thwarted Slobodan Milosevic’s Great Serbia plan to seize Croatian territory.

“Today we can look back at those times with pride but we can also be satisfied that this year, when we mark the tenth anniversary of our EU membership, we have achieved two goals of deeper integration – membership in the Schengen and euro areas. That means that we stand firmly in the core of the European continental project of peace, cooperation and solidarity, that we are respected by our partners, and that by using our strengthened international status we can accomplish our national tasks and goals faster,” he said.

Those tasks and goals are economic progress, social welfare, an even regional development and strong democratic institutions in which the rule of law is respected, human and minority rights are protected, and a contribution is made to efforts to deal with numerous complex international issues, such as the currently acute problems of coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine and the related energy and food crises and inflation, Plenkovic said, noting that Croatia had demonstrated resilience in the face of those challenges without social fracture or unrest.

“I therefore call on everyone to use, in the years ahead, the huge possibilities provided by Croatia’s strengthened international status. Croatia today is a strong Croatia that believes in itself, respects its past, and believes in a better future. It is only with unity that the Croat people and all the others who live in this country with us can be certain to make even greater accomplishments,” Plenkovic said at the event.

The ceremony at the HNK was attended by prominent figures from all walks of life, including Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic, current and former parliament deputy speakers and deputy prime ministers, government ministers, the Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff, the Zagreb Mayor, Croatian Central Bank Governor, Zagreb University Rector, representatives of religious communities, members of the diplomatic corps, county heads, mayors, members of the Croatian Parliament and the European Parliament, and representatives of research, cultural and state institutions, as well as 1991-95 war associations.