https://tube.home.franssen.xyz/videos/watch/8100bff8-c52a-4817-8626-84a756a3ff85 The NATO Through Time podcast dives deep into NATO’s history, reflecting on how the past influences the present – and future – of the longest-lasting alliance in history. This episode features former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who was instrumental in leading her country, alongside Albania, to NATO membership in 2009. Chapter Markers: 0:00 Introduction 2:24 Learning about NATO in the former Yugoslavia 6:42 Croatia’s independence in 1991 12:49 NATO's operations in the Western Balkans 18:30 The road to NATO accession in 2009 25:33 Working with Albania to join NATO together 26:31 The situation in the Western Balkans today 30:03 Helping Ukraine deal with the impacts of war 34:35 Preparing NATO for the future 36:37 Outro + reflections on the conversation What was it like learning about NATO while growing up in the former Yugoslavia? Why did NATO launch “out-of-area” operations in the Western Balkans following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s? What was the road to NATO membership like for Albania and Croatia, and how did these countries help pave the way for other countries in the region to join the Alliance? In this episode, former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović reflects on her country’s journey to independence and its decision to “rejoin the European family” by becoming a member of NATO and the European Union. She also speaks about how Croatia has helped other countries in southeast Europe join the Alliance, and how this experience will support the future membership of further countries, including Ukraine. In addition to serving as President of Croatia (2015-2020), she was also the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (2005-2008), Ambassador to the United States (2008-2011) and NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy (2011-2014), so she played a crucial role in bringing Croatia into NATO and in its early years of membership in the Alliance. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ SUBSCRIBE to this channel https://bit.ly/NATOsubscribe SUBSCRIBE to NATO News https://bit.ly/NATONewsSubscribe SUBSCRIBE to NATO History https://bit.ly/NATOHistorySubscribe Connect with NATO online: Visit the Official NATO Homepage: https://bit.ly/NATOhomepage Receive NATO updates via email: https://bit.ly/NATOemails Find NATO on FACEBOOK: https://bit.ly/NATOfacebook Follow @NATO on TWITTER: https://bit.ly/NATOtwitter Follow NATO on Instagram: https://bit.ly/NATOinstagram Find NATO on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/NATOlinkedin Find NATO on Flickr: https://bit.ly/NATOflickr #NATO #OTAN #NATOhistory Tue, 09 Jun 2026 08:19:19 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://tube.home.franssen.xyz https://tube.home.franssen.xyz/client/assets/images/icons/icon-1500x1500.png https://tube.home.franssen.xyz/videos/watch/8100bff8-c52a-4817-8626-84a756a3ff85 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://tube.home.franssen.xyz/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.