Croatia lashes out at EU for Bosnian peacekeeping snub

BELGRADE, Serbia

Croatia’s president on Wednesday slammed the EU for rejecting the country’s demand to be included in a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In September, Croatia asked the EU to include its soldiers in Operation Althea, the bloc’s peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The request, however, was denied by the EU and its foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a letter to Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, according to local media.

President Zoran Milanovic denounced Borrell’s letter as “scandalous, rude, lying, manipulative,” the reports said.

He said the EU official’s letter “invents (UN) Security Council resolutions and decisions of the European Council” to keep Croatia out of the peacekeeping force.

Milanovic said he did not bring up the issue earlier to avoid jeopardizing Croatia’s bid to be included in the EU’s passport-free Schengen area, which was approved this month.

He called on Grlic Radman to make Borrell’s response public so that people see how “Brussels treats the Croatian government.”

“We are treated like ordinary, miserable losers,” Milanovic added.

According to the local media reports, the Croatian president plans to demand Borrell’s resignation.

More than 20,000 soldiers from 20 countries are part of Althea, but Croatia remains excluded due to opposition from Bosniak politicians and some European countries.

Zeljko Komsic, the Croat member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency, and Bosnian Foreign Minister Bisera Turkovic, known for their moderate politics, have both opposed Croatia’s request.