The conditions have not been met for consideration of the letter from the Minister of Defense requesting the prior approval of the President of the Republic for the participation of members of the OSRH in the EUMAM mission, the Office of the President announced.
“The President of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, received a letter from the Minister of Defense requesting his prior consent to the “Draft proposal for a decision of the Croatian Parliament on the participation of members of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia in the European Union Military Assistance Mission to support Ukraine” (EU Military Assistance Mission – Ukraine – EUMAM).
In view of the justifiably great interest of the Croatian public in the announced participation of members of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia in the EU mission for military aid to Ukraine, and at the same time the unclear and unsubstantiated circumstances of the participation of members of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia in the mentioned mission, the Office of the President of the Republic informs the public that the said minister’s letter is unsuitable for the President of the Republic of for the following formal and material reasons:
1. The Minister of Defense addresses the President of the Republic, who is not authorized by the Constitution or the Law on Defense to seek the prior approval of the President of the Republic. The only subjects envisaged by the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia when making such decisions are the Government of the Republic of Croatia, the President of the Republic of Croatia and possibly the Croatian Parliament.
2. The attached Draft Decision does not specify specifically the activities that members of the Croatian Army would carry out abroad, nor the activities that members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine would carry out on the territory of the Republic of Croatia. The only thing stated in the explanation of the Decision is general information about the EUMAM mission itself.
3. The submitted Draft Decision proposal, in the part concerning the arrival of Ukrainian soldiers on the territory of the Republic of Croatia, refers to Article 7, paragraph 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, which reads:
“The armed forces of allied countries can cross the border and enter the Republic of Croatia or operate within its borders in accordance with concluded international agreements, based on a decision of the Croatian Parliament, proposed by the Government of the Republic of Croatia with the prior consent of the President of the Republic of Croatia”.
In order for the application of this provision of the Constitution to even come into consideration, it must be done: a) with the armed forces of allied countries and b) with the entry or operation of such forces in accordance with concluded international agreements.
The letter submitted to us does not state the legal basis on which it was determined that Ukraine is an allied country in the sense of this provision of the Constitution (it is not a member of any alliance of which the Republic of Croatia is a member, and by membership of which we undertake to provide military assistance), nor what would be the international agreement on the basis of which its armed forces would enter and/or operate on the territory of the Republic of Croatia.
4 It follows from the explanation of the draft Decision that the Croatian Government plans to train Ukrainian soldiers on the territory of the Republic of Croatia. In that case, the provision of Art. 7, paragraph 3 of the Constitution referred to in the Draft Decision is inapplicable. Namely, the Constitution expressly regulates the question of crossing the border of foreign soldiers for the purposes of exercise and training, and that is by the provision of Art. 7, paragraph 9 of the Constitution, which reads:
“The armed forces of allied countries may cross the borders of the Republic of Croatia for exercises and training within the framework of international organizations to which the Republic of Croatia has joined or is joining on the basis of international treaties and for the purpose of providing humanitarian aid, based on the decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia with the prior consent of the President of the Republic of Croatia”.
Therefore, if it is about exercises or training of Ukrainian soldiers on the territory of the Republic of Croatia, the only constitutional basis for making a decision on this can be the provision of Art. 7, paragraph 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, which specifically regulates these issues, and not the general provision of Art. 7, paragraph 3 of the Constitution.
The President of the Republic considers that, for the above-mentioned reasons, the conditions have not been met to take into consideration the mentioned letter from the Minister of Defense, for the purpose of making a decision on giving or not giving prior consent,” the Office of the President announced.
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