Croatia has emerged as a further potential obstacle to Sweden and Finland’s rapid admission to Nato, with the country’s president and prime minister at loggerheads over whether to let them in.
President Zoran Milanovic’s announcement on Thursday that he would tell Croatia’s ambassador to Nato to vote against the Nordic expansion, makes him the second alliance leader to raise concerns after Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Mr Milanovic’s objection is not to Sweden and Finland, but to Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, a political rival, who supports Nato expansion and has clashed with the president on numerous domestic issues.
Mr Plenkovic, in turn, has accused the head of state of taking a pro-Kremlin stance by opposing the expansion of Nato, a position that drives much of Russia's foreign policy.
The feud is causing uncertainty over whose orders the ambassador will ultimately accept if the dispute is not settled. Croatia’s constitution says the president should co-operate with ministers in making foreign policy.
Nato membership is granted by consensus rather than formal voting, meaning a lack of consent from Turkey and Croatia could effectively hold up the process for Sweden and Finland until their objections are answered.
Read More : https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/europe/2022/05/20/croatian-president-muddies-sweden-and-finlands-nato-applications/
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