Agreement Reached on Appointments to Open and Unfilled Command Posts in the Croatian Armed Forces  

Following numerous inquiries from the media, the Office of the President hereby informs the public that after a series of talks and negotiations over the past few weeks, an agreement was reached regarding appointments to unfilled and open command positions in the Croatian Armed Forces. It concerns appointments to important duties, some that are even more significant for the regular functioning of the defense system and management and command in the Armed Forces, than the duty of the Director of the VSOA.

In talks and consultations, an agreement was reached regarding the appointment of the Director of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, the Commander of the Croatian Military Academy, the Commander of the Coast Guard, the Military Representative of the Republic of Croatia to NATO, the Director of the VSOA and all other leaders who should be appointed to military posts that are unfilled as a result of the rotation of command staff.

To complete the appointment procedure, only the implementation of the internal procedure in the Ministry of Defense, related to the two appointments, which the Minister of Defense claims he must carry out, is still pending.

The President of the Republic will sign the agreed appointment proposals as soon as the Minister of Defense completes the internal procedure that he himself insists on. The President of the Republic expects that the Minister of Defense will carry out the aforementioned procedure as soon as possible, no later than 10 August 2023, so that the Decision on granting the authority to coordinate tasks within the scope of the VSOA does not have to be extended, and so that he can appoint new leaders to vacant and unfilled command posts. The President of the Republic, who as the Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces is responsible for the defense of the Republic of Croatia and for the functioning of the security system, firmly stands on the point of view that appointment to positions in the Armed Forces must be done in a systematic and planned manner, taking into account all the components of the system.