President Milanović in a letter to the Prime Minister: Our duty is to fulfil our constitutional powers in the interest of Croatia, we owe it to the citizens who elected us

Guided by his constitutional duty and concern for the regular and coordinated functioning and the stability of the state authorities in the Republic of Croatia, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović sent a letter on 22 December 2022 to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenković in which he repeatedly proposed the convening of a meeting at which they would try to solve problems in the areas of foreign policy, defense and national security.

Not only did the Prime Minister not reply to the letter of the President of the Republic, but showed no interest for a meeting or talks thereby directly thwarting the resolution of problems in the area of foreign policy, defense and national security and obstructing the functioning of the Croatian state authorities.

We remind that in the past year President Milanović sent seven letters to the Prime Minister with the aim of solving problems in the areas of foreign policy, defense and national security, however the Prime Minister did not reply to any one of them, showing no interest for finding solutions to these problems.

The content of the above-mentioned letter follows in its entirety:

“Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, it is my duty to care for the regular and coordinated functioning and the stability of the state authorities in the Republic of Croatia. Unfortunately, the Croatian state government, at least in the case of foreign policy, defense and national security does not act in a coordinated fashion, the situation is not regular.

I will provide just a few examples. In the area of foreign policy, the Government on behalf of the Republic of Croatia takes certain initiatives and obligations from time to time without us discussing it ahead of time and making attempts to adopt a common position, which is in contravention of our constitutional obligation to cooperate in shaping and implementing foreign policy.

Due to a lack of communication and agreement, we are not rotating or filling vacant diplomatic posts and other missions of the Republic of Croatia abroad, therefore today four posts are vacant while as many as 45 heads of diplomatic missions are serving a term longer than the usual four years, some are even entering the eighth year of their term. I note that next year the regular term of a further 36 chiefs of mission is expiring, therefore the number of those serving a longer term will amount to as many as 81 out of 88.

The Republic of Croatia is not allowed to participate in the EURFOR ALTHEA operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which even states that are not members of the European Union participate. With such an approach, the bodies of the European Union are treating the Republic of Croatia, a full-fledged member, in an unacceptable way and we must oppose this. Unfortunately, no consultations and agreements have taken place on this issue either.

As I indicated at the last Defense Council session, and in the letter that I sent to you on 13 October 2022, I once again warn you of the poor state in the area of defense. The state of the ordnance in individual segments is critical and calls into question the Croatian Armed Forces’ defense capabilities. Unfortunately, no action is being undertaken to remedy the situation. On account of the war in Ukraine, the situation regarding the purchase of necessary ordnance is even more complex, because delivery dates are being extended, yet at the same time current ordnance resources are expiring.

Furthermore, in the Croatian Armed Forces a whole series of commanding posts are vacant: from the commander of the Croatian Defense Academy, to the commander of the Croatian Coast Guard, the head of the Directorate for Logistics of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, the head of the Directorate for Operations of the GSCAF, the deputy director of the Military and Security Intelligence Agency (VSOA) to the military representative in NATO and EU, putting the Republic of Croatia in a situation of having no military representative in NATO and EU for an entire year during a major war crisis. This additionally reduces the Croatian Armed Forces’ capabilities.

More than three months have passed since I initiated a procedure for the dismissal of the director of the VSOA, after which he even tendered his resignation. You refused his resignation until “the appointment of a new individual”, yet, to this day, your Defense Minister has not proposed a candidate. Because you are ignoring the situation in VSOA, we have not even started discussion on the appointment of a new director, and the one who has resigned is being kept in the position in spite of his liability as head of the institution.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

Regarding each of the topics mentioned I wrote a letter to you, sometimes I pointed out the problems repeatedly, and proposed meetings in order to solve them. Unfortunately, not once did I receive a reply.

Nonetheless, for the well-being and prosperity of the Republic of Croatia, and in order to fulfil our obligations stipulated by the Constitution, I decided once again to propose a meeting at which we would try to solve at least some of the above-mentioned burning issues.

Mr. Prime Minister, we owe this first of all to the citizens who elected us. I am confident that you will agree that we must put our personal relations aside and fulfil our constitutional obligations in the interest of the Republic of Croatia.

As for the format and timeline of the meeting, I am open to your suggestions.

In the hope that you will respond affirmatively to my request for a meeting,

Respectfully yours, the President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović.”