Croatian President: No other country will join EU

Much of his address at the University of North focused on the war in Ukraine, which he described as a war of attrition, not a positional war like World War I.

This war might have been avoided had the pretentious European mindset not declared that every country has the right to choose its own military alliances, he said, adding that this kind of thinking pushed Ukraine to dramatically turn its back on cooperation with Russia.

He criticised the failure to consider how Russia would react to Western forces approaching its borders, arguing that such policies may have led to the outbreak of war.

“No more countries will join the European Union, except perhaps Montenegro. States are being misled by false promises of membership just to secure concessions,” Milanovic said, adding that countries are expected to align their foreign policies with the EU’s, which is a confrontation with Moscow. This is also being done with Georgia, which has strong economic growth due to its geographic position, he said.

Milanovic expressed the view that the EU is no longer a global power. Europe goes to China and lectures about human rights, instead of negotiating better trade for European cars, which are experiencing a significant drop in sales, he remarked.

“The main players on the global stage are the US and China,” he continued, adding that Europe lacks resources and no longer leads in innovation or knowledge.

Still, he said the EU is a success story. It has prevented conflicts and territorial ambitions between its member states, despite occasional flare-ups; countries live relatively peacefully, and Croatia has both benefited from and contributed significantly to the EU, he said. He acknowledged the concerns of countries bordering Russia but noted that Croatia is in a geographically fortunate position.

NATO Article 5 is not an absolute guarantee

Milanovic reflected on NATO’s Article 5, established in 1949 under the principle “all for one, and one for all.” He stressed that Croatia is expected to act in solidarity with any member state under attack, regardless of its location or the circumstances of the conflict.

He emphasised the part of Article 5 that states members will respond "as deemed necessary, including through military means," which he sees not as an absolute guarantee, but a matter of good faith. Croatia has always acted in good faith, he said, adding that its troops were present in Poland and Lithuania because those countries are nervous about Russia.

"We’ll send up all the cannons we have, our company-sized unit up to battalion level. But taking part in a war for the benefit of a third party? When it’s about your own defence, it's one thing, but when the family grows too big, it becomes much harder to manage," he said, adding that Croatia will act in solidarity within NATO, but only to a point.

He said the US invoked Article 5 after 9/11 and started several bloody wars involving allies.

Milanovic also criticised the unconditional support of the US for the Israeli regime, not the Israeli people, claiming it has led to today's form of terrorism against Palestinians. "The white man needs to realise he's not the centre of the world and we’ll all be better off for it."

University North has about 5,300 students across undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate programmes. In addition to Koprivnica, the university also operates in Varaždin and Djurdjevac.