Prime Minister Andrej Plenković came to Parliament to report on a recent meeting of the European Council.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković came on Wednesday afternoon to Parliament to report on a recent meeting of the European Council. After he presented his report, several MPs wanted to take part in the debate. One of them was Ivan Pernar, an MP from Živi Zid, who strongly opposes Croatian membership in NATO and the European Union, reports Jutarnji List on October 27, 2016.
His observations provoked a series of reactions. He first said he was “irritated by Plenković’s briefings which he received in Brussels”, and accused the Prime Minister for doing only what Brussels was dictating to him. He also expressed regret that Croatia continued with the policy of sanctions against Russia, which only brought harm to Croatia. “You said that we should respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and that Russians were allegedly to blame for the crisis in eastern Ukraine, which is in my opinion wrong because in eastern Ukraine Russia does not have its own army or the police. As for Crimea, it was not taken by force, but it was the will of the people, the citizens of Crimea. Not a single shot was fired there, because citizens of Crimea alone in a referendum decided that they wanted to be part of Russia”, said Pernar.
Prime Minister Plenković responded by saying he was surprised by his words. “I find it surprising that a Croatian MP would present such positions with regards to important issues such as the relationship with Russia and the situation in Ukraine. If this kind of reasoning was applied to Croatia, then parts of Croatia that are now an integral part of our territory would very likely not be a part of our territory. However, remember that it is not you who creates the Croatian foreign policy, but that the policy is determined by the government, in cooperation with the President”, replied the Prime Minister.
Nikola Grmoja (MOST) criticized Pernar because he continually manipulates and “obviously reads Goebbels too much”, and is constantly trying to present himself as a victim. Josip Đakić (HDZ) accused Pernar for making fun of history and laws, to which he Pernar responded that Đakić’s “ignorance of history was not funny”.
Pernar reacted to criticism. “I am just doing what a child did in the story The Emperor's New Clothes, I am just saying that emperor has no clothes. You keep saying that we have great benefits from NATO and the EU, like they are some sacred cows. No one is talking about Croatian sovereignty. What are these useful things that we have from the EU, so that we must blindly obey the EU’s instructions. When we entered the EU, it was said that we would be making decisions, but the EU treats us like servants. I was listening to Plenković, but I have not noticed that he decided on anything, he was just briefed. And what is the point of that? Why did we now have to listen to Mr. Plenković? What did Brussels give us? One old man in Germany told me that they tried to take over Europe twice and failed. And now, they did it without firing a shot”, concluded Pernar.
