Minister Picula held a speech on the topic "National Security in the Process of Joining the EU and Integration to NATO" at the island of Brijuni...

Mr. Tonino Picula, the Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs, held a speech on the topic “National Security in the Process of Joining the EU and Integration to NATO”, at the session of the Internal Policy and National Security Committee, which took place today at the island of Brijuni.

Minister Picula emphasised that “threats do not come so much form other states, but they manifest in other forms. Here, I primarily mean terrorism, organised crime, illegal trade in people, and drug and weapon trafficking. Croatia is aware that it cannot isolate itself form this phenomena, and that it has to raise its standards in order to deal efficiently with these challenges. The achievement of these standards is a precondition for our future entry into the European Union and NATO”.

Further, the Minister pointed out that during the past three years of its mandate, the Government has succeeded to make large steps towards the realisation of its goals, the most important of which are: signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and submission of the application for full membership in the EU, and successful implementation of the first cycle of the Action Plan for Membership in NATO. A constructive dialogue and cooperation with the Hague Tribunal has been achieved, as well as numerous internal and political reforms which contributed to the better democratisation and strengthening of civil society, as well as to civil control of the armed forces. A significant step has been done in our legislation in creating legal framework for more efficient combating of terrorism and organised crime.

Minister Picula also said that Croatia is no longer a subject of security issues, but a subject of stability, conscious of its international responsibilities and commitments. Not so long ago, peace-keeping forces were present at the territory of the Republic of Croatia, while today, members of the Croatian Army are part of the international mission in Afghanistan, which has recently come under the competence of NATO, as well as in UN missions in Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

“Parallelly with the integration with NATO, a comprehensive integration of Croatia into new security structures of the European Union will take place. I consider that it is not necessary to stress that all our capacities developed in the field of crisis management in cooperation with NATO are at the disposal of the European Union”, Minister Picula concluded.

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