National Security Strategy draft presented

The presentation was attended by State Secretary of Ministry of Defence Pjer Simunovic, Advisor of the President for Defence Zlatko Gareljic, representative of the Office of National Security Council Josip Estereicher, Director of the Directorate for European Integration and International Relations from the Ministry of the Interior Filip Dragovic, Assistant Director of the National Protection and Rescue Directorate Anto Zelic and Director for Multilateral Affairs at the Foreign Ministry Mario Nobilo.

State Secretary of Ministry of Defence Pjer Simunovic in his presentation pointed out that the main guidelines in the draft Strategy which was attended by an interdepartmental commission, established by Government decree, which consisted of representatives of the 19 state bodies and institutions led by the Ministry of Defence, were modern, comprehensive and systematic approach to the complex and multi-layered threats, through the integration and synergy of national capacities. “One of the essential elements of the new draft of the National Security Strategy was, inter alia, Croatia’s NATO membership, which significantly strengthens the national security of the Republic of Croatia, and the NATO collective defence as the backbone of national security”, MOD State Secretary Simunovic said. He noted that in preparing the draft, the expected Croatia’s joining to the EU was taken into account, which implied the adoption and promotion of EU standards, and by the membership, acting as the EU member and a frame for ensuring the most interests of the Republic of Croatia. He also noted that the National Security Council, at its session on 14 December 2010, accepted the draft and concluded that the draft would be given for a public hearing for a period of 30 days. After public hearing, before adopting it in the Croatian Parliament, the Government will organize a “round table” on the draft. He added that in this way, we sought to ensure the participation of professional, scientific, and general public in the process of developing the Strategy, as the fundamental document of Croatian national security.
Advisor to the President for Defence Zlatko Gareljic thanked to all government bodies that participated in the drafting of the Strategy for their cooperation and pointed out that it was a comprehensive approach to protecting national security which sought to consolidate the integration, coordination and synergy of national capacities. “National Security Strategy seeks a balanced way to identify all major potential threats, so we could undertake and develope the appropriate skills and measures against them”, Gareljic said.
Speaking about the importance of the Strategy Director for European Integration and International Relations Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior Filip Dragovic said that the strategy clearly defines the obligations of the Republic of Croatia to NATO, including participation in international peacekeeping missions.
Presenting the work on the document, the main features and contents of the document, as well as the conclusion of the National Security Council, Deputy Head of Defence Policy and Planning Department of the Ministry of Defence Marko Vucak said that the draft Strategy supports all the major efforts of NATO determined by the new strategic concept of the Alliance as the collective defence, crisis management and cooperative security. He also pointed out that according to the Allied Command Transformation (ACT, Norfolk) the draft Strategy was rated as an excellent document that well integrated NATO policy.