Croatia wants to join the European Union, regardless of the current crisis in the Union, and now is the time when it is better to belong to a club than stand alone, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic has said in an interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel.
The interview was published in English online on Monday, ahead of Milanovic's meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel scheduled for Wednesday.
"You can't just view our step through the short-term lens of the present. After all, it is better to be a part of the club than to stand alone -- even if the club is perhaps having problems at the moment. Accession requires that we fulfil high standards in economic and political areas," Milanovic said when asked if joining the EU now was worth it.
Asked if he would follow the advice of London Mayor Boris Johnson, who recently recommended that Croatia eschew the euro, Milanovic said he did not know when Croatia would introduce the euro. "If we were to hold a referendum now on the issue, I'm not sure that we would get the support of the Croatians."
Asked about his assessment of the management of the euro crisis, he said the EU was "a success story."
"I was born in Yugoslavia, a multiethnic entity -- and there we had structural aid for the poorer regions. Despite this, the economic divide between Kosovo and Slovenia always remained deep. With the euro rescue fund and the fiscal pact, Europe has now added new tools it can use to combat the crisis. I also think the European Central Bank is doing good work."
Asked how Croatians viewed Merkel, Europe's most powerful woman, Milanovic said: "We have no fear of the chancellor here," adding that "Germany is a role model for us, with its German rationality, its industriousness and even its frugality."
He said Croatia's accession to the EU would have more advantages than shortcomings. "For 10 years, we will receive twice as much money from Brussels as we pay in. We will have an entire generation of time to catch up with the rest of Europe."
Asked if Brussels had been stricter with Croatia because of the opinion that Romania and Bulgaria were granted membership too soon, Milanovic said he "would not say that we are being penalized for Romania and Bulgaria."
"We Croatians are suffering from an overdose of history during the past century. Of course we still have some nationalism. But the feelings are slowly cooling down. We Social Democrats were elected, despite the fact that we never divided people based on their language or religion and despite the fact that we are anything but nationalistic," Milanovic said when asked if being a part of Europe was stronger in Croatia than nationalism.
Speaking of relations with neighbours, notably Serbia, Milanovic said: "There has already been a good neighbors treaty in place for the past 16 years. Much has improved since then. Prejudices between Serbs and Croatians are disappearing, even if this is happening slowly."
Croatia will push for the continuation of EU expansion, he said, "but of course it is going to be very difficult. Expansion fatigue has prevailed for a long time now. But we would also like to see our neighbors become members. Serbia, too, of course."
