President Milanović Calls on Prime Minister to Convene Defense Council Session
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović visited the town of Delnice, where he attended a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Croatian Army’s special units and Special Forces Command Day. After the ceremony, the President made a statement to the media in which he commented on the planned purchase of military jets and announced that he had invited the Prime Minister to call a session of the Defense Council on this topic.
When asked by journalists to comment on the absence of the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces in Delnice, President Milanović said: “I agreed to postpone this event so that the minister could come, but he did not come because they have a Government briefing at which the Chief of the General Staff is also present. I am his Commander in Chief, he is my adviser. I allowed him not to go to Brussels for a meeting of the NATO Chiefs of the General Staff, but the Prime Minister decided to have a briefing today. Frankly, I don’t know what the Chief of the General Staff would say at the briefing; he participated in the work of the Commission which concluded its work half a year ago. I have been informed about everything in detail. Now, between two rounds of elections, the Prime Minister called a briefing,” said President Milanović.
“Today, I sent a letter to the Prime Minister to convene the Defense Council, given that the entire procedure began at the Defense Council. I am confident that he will want to do it between the two rounds of local elections, that’s obvious, so he should go ahead and do it. Considering that as far as experts are concerned, the procedure was completed six months ago and that he called a briefing for today, I am concluding that the matter is done and that we have to call a session of the Defense Council at which we will formulate our positions, and the final decision will eventually be made by the Government,” said the President.
He noted that he had not changed his mind and that he would support the Government’s choice, regardless of what it might be. “We know what has been offered, all of it is OK. I know what’s on the table, whatever is chosen will be OK,” said President Milanović.
Asked by reporters if he thought that Prime Minister Plenković was trying to influence the elections by choosing the timing for the decision on military aircraft during the current election period, President Milanović said: “It is indicative that this is (going on) between two rounds of elections. If he thinks that it helps him, let it be so. It is high time a decision was made. I don’t see what positive or negative effects it could have on the elections.”
President Milanović also commented on the Supreme Court’s decision not to support any of the five candidates who applied for the position of Supreme Court President, noting that the Supreme Court’s opinion was envisaged by the Constitution and should be respected.
“It is good to have the opinion of the Supreme Court; it is a sign of respect for the Supreme Court. It has no influence on the election whatsoever and should not have it. I am fascinated that Zlata Đurđević got one vote. Of course, they do not want anyone who is not one of them. In management theory and practice, new forces should always be brought in from the outside. We know that the person elected will not be in an exactly friendly environment there,” said President Milanović.
“It is evident that they would prefer… electing the President from among themselves, but that’s not good. There is huge autonomy, even lack of responsibility and self-will on the part of courts at all levels, so I guess the Parliament can elect the Supreme Court President,” said President Milanović.