Speaking to reporters upon arriving in Brussels for a summit of the EU and Latin American and Caribbean countries, Milanovic said that neither Croatia nor other countries had a precise analysis of the impact of the TTIP on their economies.
"We do not have, nor do other countries, a detailed analysis, we have rough estimates. Croatia is a small country, free and open trade is in its interest. I don't see, at present, how US imports could threaten us. The EU has or is negotiating similar agreements with China, Japan and South Korea. I believe that the USA is a more reliable partner in that regard than, say, China. There are fewer US products someone should be afraid of. There is, of course, fear of GMO, we don't like it and we'll do our best to keep it at bay, but anything else is in Croatia's interest. Croatia is a small country that must be open, we live on trade and exchange, on tourism, foreigners visit Croatia, they buy quality and expensive services here and we cannot shut ourselves off. I think that at the moment, this is neither Croatia's main problem nor a Croatian problem at all," the PM said.
The TTIP is considered by many a controversial agreement favouring multinational companies and being to the detriment of sovereign countries.
This attitude also reflects on the European Parliament, which postponed a discussion and a vote on recommendations to the European Commission for talks on free trade between the EU and the USA, which were to have been held on Wednesday.
Parliament President Martin Schulz on Tuesday postponed the vote on recommendations to the EC for talks on free trade between the EU and the USA after Socialist members of Parliament asked that the resolution on the matter should make no mention of a mechanism for dispute settlement between private investors and states.
On Wednesday morning, MEPs voted to postpone the discussion as well.