President Milanović: Defence Council should meet to discuss the introduction of compulsory military service, I call on Plenković to discuss this
“We haven’t discussed the introduction of compulsory military service. I learn of this in the media which shows a lack of seriousness and a tendency to experiment totally outside of the constitutional framework. I am President of the Republic and Commander in Chief and will be for another five years, and without the commander in chief one must not do such things. This is further indication of how Plenković sees the Croatian constitution, how he implements and interprets it. I call on Plenković to discuss this. I am not against military service, but appropriate acts and orders should be passed to implement it. You are considering issuing orders without me? How do you plan to do so? By force? By overvoting in the Parliament? By sending messages in the media? How many people are we planning to mobilize? Mobilization plans and activities are the job of the Ministry of Defence, but the general condition of the army is my business, for which I am responsible according to the Constitution, not Plenković, and even less Anušić“, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović stated on Friday when answering a question on the introduction of compulsory military service which Minister Anušić announced for the first day of the coming year.
Further commenting on the introduction of compulsory military service, President Milanović said that he was not against such an idea and that the Defence Council would meet. “I preside over it according to the Constitution and the law, and we will talk about it, Plenković and I convene it as commander in chief.” That is completely clear. I have no negative attitude towards the idea, but it should be considered through several prisms. What do we gain and what do we lose? How many people do we hire for that job? How many non-commissioned officers are we chronically short of at the moment – a few thousand to even fill the planned structure that exists according to the plans. How far have we come in forming an infantry brigade according to NATO standards that we are obliged to form – we have not and we are far from it. It costs a lot of money, and we lack people who will now be transferred to the eight-week training, which was decided by the Cabinet, not by the General Staff”, he pointed out, adding that eight weeks is a base that must be upgraded and specialized.
President Milanović wondered how many people would be motivated for military service. “We had military service, which we cancelled because no one signed up due to an appeal to conscience. Will we gather 4,000 soldiers annually, which is also someone’s plan, but I don’t know whose? Therefore, the valid question is, do we have these people? Or is someone doing that to please someone politically? Therefore, first the Defence Council, then some orders can be issued and other things. Don’t toy with this, yet Plenković is doing it all the time. He tries to force some things past the Constitution and then tells others that they are violating the Constitution. I have been defending the Constitution for five years and I will defend it even further”, the President noted, adding that there is no rush to introduce compulsory military service, except for a “political agenda”. The only motive is because Primorac is running for office. And he has no position on that, as he doesn’t have on anything”, considers President Milanović.
The President of the Republic also referred to the fact that Serbia is buying French Rafale fighter jets. “It’s their business, we have no business in this matter. All of that is a charade, and so with the Rafale. The Serbs are arming themselves for a week-long fictive war, which will never break out”, he said.
Asked by the press, President Milanović commented on the disclosure of information on future flights of protectees in state helicopters. “The Interior Ministry, therefore Plenković’s ministry officially informed the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) and the Military Security and Intelligence Agency (VSOA) of this phenomenon. This is an internal matter for the system and it is being investigated”, he noted, adding that “there are classified data and the protection of such data is not irrelevant. Their disclosure jeopardizes security. That can be found out later, not before,” he explained.
President Milanović also touched on the announced increase in the price of gas, for which he expects the government to maintain protective measures for citizens. “Pensioners, whose material status lags behind dramatically, especially need assistance,” he warned.
Speaking about the introduction of real estate tax, he said that the Government should be careful. “Plenković can‘t surprise us because the proposals will always be political and there is no deeper reflection, it’s all PR”, he stressed.
Speaking further about the announced tax, the President of the Republic said that, unlike America, where real estate is taxed, a tax on vacant real estate would be introduced in Croatia. “That sounds good, but it doesn’t make sense because most people buy real estate to live in or rent it out. And when the rent is paid, tax is paid. Will this have a beneficial effect on the real estate market and will there be a drop in prices? This depends on a number of factors, on supply and demand, and there is not enough construction in Croatia. One-time measures will not reduce real estate prices, if there is a shortage of them in Zagreb. People who keep vacant apartments are a minority, although someone who has ten vacant apartments is suspicious in itself,” he pointed out.