The prime minister of Croatia discussed the country’s growing influence in global alliances, its advocacy for Ukraine and the significance of the United States’ partnerships with the European Union and NATO at the Elliott School of International Affairs on Thursday.
Andrej Plenković, who has served as Croatia’s prime minister since 2016, discussed the country’s transformation from the Croatian war of independence against Yugoslavia in the 1990s to one of Europe’s rising economies, touching on global security, energy independence and democratic alliances. The Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies hosted Plenković, with Elliott School Dean Alyssa Ayres moderating a question and answer session following his remarks.
Plenković said the global landscape is “definitely shifting” during the current period of economic challenges and rising conflicts, like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war in Gaza and recent rising tensions between India and Pakistan. He said there is a “big global issue” surrounding trade right now, like the ongoing tariff conflict between the United States and China and attempts by many eastern European countries to shift away from Russian energy because of its invasion of Ukraine.
“We have the attempts of the countries who are authoritarian in their nature to change the global governance, less international law, more powers of the strongest and less of international forum and institutions that have been built over the last 80 years,” Plenković said.
Plenković said Croatia is a “young country,” declaring its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and becoming formally recognized by the United States in 1992, but has an “unwavering commitment” to NATO and is a member of the European Union, alliances it joined in 2009 and 2013, respectively.
He said since becoming prime minister, he set the objective of aligning Croatia with western Europe by joining more international organizations and agreements, like the Schengen Area, a compact between 29 European countries that allows people to travel between countries without border controls, and Eurozone, a group of 20 countries that use the Euro as their official currency, both of which Croatia joined in 2023.
He said despite challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, earthquakes and an energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Croatia “delivered” on its objectives by joining international agreements. He said Croatia will solidify its “international position” because it has met the requirements and gained approval to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development next year, an organization of 38 countries that promotes global trade and economic development.
Plenković said issues like gender equity and climate change are “extremely important” in Croatia because implementing policies to reduce inequality and greenhouse gas emissions will bring it closer to the priorities of other EU countries. He said Croatia remains behind the EU average in gender representation, especially in politics but has passed laws mandating women serve on the boards of corporations and to close wage gaps.
He said climate change is a “serious issue,” and when he went to high school in Croatia’s capital 40 years ago, temperatures would reach minus 20 degrees, but now the temperature is “never below” minus 5 degrees, and there is little snow.
Plenković said during his time as prime minister, he has led Croatia to invest in renewable energy to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, but it and other countries are still reliant on natural gas for their energy needs. He said transitioning to renewable energy will require a greater financial investment and commitment from all countries, including Croatia.
“The only problem with this policy is, since it’s a global issue, no matter how much you do if you are small, if someone bigger continues something else, there is no effect,” Plenković said.
Plenković said Croatia is well-positioned to assist other Balkan countries facing threats from Russia because of its status as a member of NATO and the EU, like Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has long sought NATO membership and where officials have warned that Russia is attempting to interfere in elections through disinformation campaigns.
“That puts us in a position to be the one that transfers the knowledge and support to countries that want to join the European Union, and we are extending this and support, especially to our neighbors,” Plenković said.
Plenković said Croatia has “invested heavily” in energy infrastructure in recent years, building new natural gas pipelines to become energy-independent of Russia, and bolstered its military capabilities, purchasing American-made armored vehicles and helicopters. He said it is “critically important” that the partnership between eastern European countries, like Croatia, western Europe and the United States is made “stronger rather than weaker” in the coming years to defend against Russia and its allies.
When asked what role the United States should play in the Baltics, Plenković said the EU and United States should invest more in defense spending for NATO and work more closely with Croatia to build better “mutual trust” and “reliability.”
Plenković said Croatia is serving as a partner for Ukraine during its war with Russia, accepting over 30,000 Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in 2022 and hosting several events for Ukraine, like international panels discussing how to remove landmines from Ukrainian battlefields.
“Now we are faced with a situation that we have a serious war of aggression in European territory, and literally no one, no one, no citizen, no country, no business, has been untouched in this process,” Plenković said.
