Croatian President Stjepan Mesić held lecture at MFAEI’s Diplomatic Academy

President Mesić spoke about Croatia’s acceding to the EU and the necessity the reforms to that end. He noted that the aim of the negotiations with the EU is Croatia’s full EU membership. Along with Croatia’s full EU membership, the other strategic priority, said President Mesić, is joining NATO. He pointed out that NATO membership is important to Croatia for political, and not only security reasons, adding that NATO membership is crucial for the democratisation, pacification, and the insurance of peace and stability in the region.

Speaking about the regional relations, President Mesić stressed that Croatia’s interest is to be the region’s leader, stressing in that regard, among other regional initiatives Croatia has a prominent role in, the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) that Croatia will be presiding over from May this year.

President Mesić also talked about the bilateral and multilateral relations on a global scale, emphasizing the role of the UN and Croatia’s positioning within in. He pointed out that international terrorism is the biggest global problem, stressing the need to eliminate its causes.

Attendees of the One-Year Expert Diplomatic Study will have lectures on the Croatian history, political system, international relations and policy, European integration and NATO, diplomacy and diplomatic skills, diplomatic protocol, international and diplomatic-consular law, and other subjects concerning the functioning of diplomacy.