"Golden Bridge" between two countries - Meeting of the Croatian community in Serbia and the Serbian community in Croatia
13.02.2026
Original News from SNV in Serbian:: https://snv.hr/zlatni-most-izmedu-hrvatske-i-srbije/
A meeting of representatives of the communities of Croats in Serbia and Serbs in Croatia was held at the premises of the Antun Gustav Matoš Foundation in Belgrade on Tuesday, February 10, 2025. This was the first meeting at the highest level, attended by Jasna Vojnić, President of the Croatian National Council in the Republic of Serbia and a member of Parliament, Milorad Pupovac, President of the SDSS and also a member of Parliament, and Boris Milošević, President of the Serbian National Council in the Republic of Croatia. Both minority communities are members of FUEN and AGSM (SNV and DSHV) , and have contributed to the reconciliation process.
Jasna Vojnić emphasized that such meetings are not a call for a new Yugoslavia, nor nostalgia for the times behind us, but rather an attempt to raise relations to a higher, new and better level, as well as to change people's perceptions and political will, so that hatred and mistrust would not be a permanent state of our societies.
"There are too many harsh words in the public and content that deepens the changes. We do not want to participate in that. We believe that it is time to start sharing responsibility" - she emphasized, adding that another generation must not be allowed to grow up in hatred.
Boris Milošević pointed out that problems in relations between the two states are most often reflected through minority communities, and that the idea of such meetings is to send a positive message to the public about jointly solving problems, both of minority and wider communities.
“Since 2006, Croats from Serbia and Serbs from Croatia have become a kind of golden bridge in relations between Croatia and Serbia,” emphasized Milorad Pupovac, claiming that this policy was practiced until three years ago, after which these activities were stopped.
“I must admit that we quickly realized that there is a high price for this in terms of the difficult and toxic atmosphere,” he emphasized, noting that both Croatia and Serbia are paying it, whether they admit it or not.
“That is why we decided to reactivate ourselves and move away from the stalemate in order to restore the role of a golden political bridge. This is our political obligation,” stated Pupovac, aware that the situation has deteriorated in the meantime, and that the prospects for change are weaker.
Jasna Vojnić pointed out that by loudly pointing out the violation of rights, one often harms oneself, but also that – if one does not do this – one would harm “our children.”
Read more in the press statement here: https://snv.hr/zlatni-most-izmedu-hrvatske-i-srbije/
