President Grabar-Kitarović: It is better to invest money in Syria than in migrants.
Investing money in passage of migrants to European countries is worse than investments in the country where conflicts are taking place and where the money could be used for stopping the war, said Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in Bratislava in Slovakia where she is attending the GLOBSEC 2016, a forum on global security, reports Index.hr on April 15, 2016.
“When you compare the fact that Croatia spent around 20 million euros on migrants, and that we will invest in Syria one million euros in four years, you can see the discrepancy, how much money has been spent and how much could have been invested in the country where the conflict is taking place to stop the war, to help with the reconstruction and refugee camps”, said Grabar-Kitarović in a statement to journalists in Bratislava.
Talking about the present security situation in Europe, she pointed out that the refugee crisis was a humanitarian issue, but also a very complex issue concerning national security as well.
She said that a few days earlier she talked with a group of people in Macedonia who “all wanted to go to Germany”. “They said they felt invited and wanted to take advantage of the opportunities they had in Germany”, said the President. “No one doubts that everyone is entitled to a better life, but the issue is the integration capacity of European countries.”
In addition to Croatian President, the forum will include presidents of Slovakia, Bulgaria and Macedonia, prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the German Defence Minister and foreign ministers of several countries.
“I believe that conferences such as GLOBSEC are extremely important”, said the President, adding that she would meet with numerous foreign officials. She also announced that she would meet with representatives of several very large companies, “which is expected to establish a relationship between those companies and the Croatian economy”.
President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović will speak on Friday at a panel on global security devoted to young leaders in European politics, then she will participate in the opening of the GLOBSEC, and she will also make a speech on Sunday during a panel on the European response to the “Year of Migration”.
