During the ceremony, held under the auspices of President Milanović and Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović who also attended the event in Zagreb, the Croatian head of state highlighted the European identity and values characteristic of the Montenegrins. Milanović praised them for being distinguished by that “unique and ineradicable” identity.
Croatia strongly supports Montenegro on its journey to the membership of the European Union and would like that the country could complete that journey as soon as possible, he stressed.
“You can count on my support and on the support of the Croatian government for that process to be completed as soon as possible. Your country deserves its membership, it has made huge progress n the last 20 years,” said the Croatian president.
“Montenegro deserves its place in the European Union. Montenegro is a member of NATO and it is good that it is is so.”
There are some attempts to depreciate and undermine that recently. I do not want that a delicate situation may endanger the stability of Montenegro, Milanović said adding that dialogue and talks should be conducted between the Montenegrins and members of the Montenegro society that believe that their prospects are northeast, thus alluding to local Serbs in that country.
Milanović said that he was happy with the presence of Montenegrins in the Croatian society.
It is a special community, those people are part of our space and of our cities, Milanović said praising the contribution of ethnic Montenegrins to the Croatian society, culture, economy, the business sector and arts.
Preserve your culture and identity, it is part of Europe and part of the eastern Christian heritage, it is part of the Orthodox denomination, it is modern and secular. All that is the present-day European Montenegro, said the Croatian president.
President Đukanović spoke about the role of Montenegrins in Croatia and thanked Zagreb for support and assistance during Montenegro’s journey towards NATO and towards the membership of the European Union.
He highlighted the role of the National Community of Montenegrins in Croatia as a bridge between the two nations.
Đukanović commented on the contribution of the associations of ethnic Croats in Montenegro to efforts to develop good neighbourly relations after “unfortunate developments in the early 1990s.”
The chairman of the Croatian Council for Ethnic Minorities, Aleksandar Tolnauer, said that over that last 30 years, the National Community of Montenegrins in Croatia had made a great contribution to efforts to overcome the repercussions of the war in the 1990s and to promote the reputation of the ethnic Montenegrin community.
