ZAGREB, 4 Nov 2021 - The defence ministry on Thursday refuted President Zoran Milanović's claims that the early retirement of Colonel Elvis Burčul was an act of abuse of the minister's powers, saying that in this case, it was the cessation of active military service with the right to a full age pension.

It is in the remit of the defence minister and not the armed forces' chief-of-staff to define the needs of the service for active military service personnel, in compliance with the law.

Responding to President Zoran Milanović's letter which he sent to Prime Minister Andrej Milanović accusing Minister Mario Banožić of wrongdoing, the ministry's statement says that the President cannot appoint a military commander without the consent of the defence minister.

The ministry also points out that sending Colonel Burčul into retirement is not within the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces' Chief-of-Staff, and proposals to that effect need not be made by the army chief-of-staff, and retirement is within the powers of the defence minister.

The explanation for the cessation of the service of Colonel Burčul as the commander of the Honorary and Protection Battalion cited the plan for the cessation of the active service of personnel in 2021 and not a list, as claimed by the president.

The plan is a document based on the law regulating service in the armed forces, the ministry says.

The plan was adopted unanimously at a college meeting chaired by the defence minister, and in attendance were the Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff and his deputies, says the ministry, adding that this plan also specifies a law-based criterion under which Colonel Burčul's active service ceased.

Concerning the President's objections to the poor equipment of the armed forces, the ministry recalls that the revised budget for 2021 increased defence outlays by HRK 2.387 billion.

The current financial plan has increased from HRK 4.8 billion to nearly HRK 7.2 billion, according to the statement.

The president accused Banožić of attending ministerial meetings in NATO and the EU without informing him "as the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, and without obtaining consent for the positions he is presenting there on behalf of the Republic of Croatia."

The minister responded by saying that he had attended the EU and NATO ministerial meetings in accordance with the Constitution and laws.

The statement also dismissed the allegations about irregularities in the employment of staff at the Defence Ministry and countered that there were irregularities at the Office of the President.

Minister accused President of nepotism

Earlier on Thursday, Banožić reiterated his claims that Milanović had insisted on a specific officer to succeed Burčul, although the man concerned had no qualifications, that is necessary ranks, for that position.

Banožić elaborated that he had been asked to promote the officer concerned in an extraordinary procedure so that the candidate could meet the requirements for the new commander of the Honorary and Protection Battalion, which he refused to do. The minister described this as a pure example of nepotism on the part of the president.

He went on to say that he could forget all that had happened in recent days provided that all the activities are back within the framework of the Defence Act.

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ZAGREB, 4 Nov 2021 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović on Thursday reiterated the idea for representatives of the three constituent peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina to sit down together with him and the presidents of Serbia and Turkey "because in such a setting a satisfactory solution can be found" to the crisis in that country.

"I would like to see Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan as some sort of guarantors. There will be misunderstandings, but let's see what can be done for Bosnia and Herzegovina to remain whole," Milanović told the press in Zagreb.

He believes that "only in such a setting can a satisfactory solution be found." 

"Each side, and that means the three ethnic sides, would have someone they trust as well as someone they do not fully trust. I'm not sure how much the Bosniaks trust Vučić, but the Serbs do. That is enough for me," Milanović said.

The president recently called Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to coordinate the policy towards BiH, to which Plenković retorted that Milanović was "a staunch advocate of Željko Komišić whom he supported against the HDZ member," and that now he seems to be "mates with Dodik."

Milanović responded by saying that the prime minister needs to explain why he is making statements in Brussels that "are detrimental to the Croats."

"I am saying we need to maintain a common front, not in discipline but in views. Each one of our disputes in Croatia causes bitterness and nausea in Mostar, Široki Brijeg, and Vitez," said Milanović.

During the EU-Western Balkans summit in October, Plenković said the EU was following Dodik's statements about the functioning of Bosnia and Herzegovina "with caution and disapproval".

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ZAGREB, 4 Nov 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that the government was firmly opposed to any politicization of the Croatian armed forces, stressing that the position of Defence Minister Mario Banožić in his cabinet was absolutely stable.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Plenković said that the matter would be discussed by the Defence Council on Tuesday and that the meeting would be preceded by a preparatory meeting on Monday with the college of military commanders so that he could "hear first-hand what problems are facing the military and see how the government can help resolve them."

The pace of the fourth wave of the pandemic determined by those not vaccinated

Commenting on the largest daily count of new coronavirus cases in the country since the start of the pandemic, Plenković said he would see what would happen with case numbers in the coming days, adding that colder weather had contributed to the considerable increase in the number of confirmed cases.

He said that the monthly report submitted by the Croatian Public Health Institute showed that the epidemiological situation and the pace of the fourth wave of the infection were mostly determined by people who have not been vaccinated.

Last month, 65,558 new coronavirus cases were registered, of which 77 percent were people who were not fully vaccinated. 554 infected persons were placed on ventilators and 427 or 77.1 percent of them were not vaccinated. 578 people died and 75 percent of them were not vaccinated, the prime minister said.

He added that the majority of the people who had died from COVID-19 in October had underlying health conditions and were elderly. All 22 people aged below 50 who died from coronavirus last month were not vaccinated, he noted.

Plenković once again appealed to elderly people who are at risk of contracting COVID-19 to get vaccinated because nearly one in four people aged above 65 have not been immunized yet, which is more than 230,000 people.

He said that 1,922,763 people have been vaccinated to date, which is 56.7 percent of Croatia's adult population, expressing satisfaction that recent days have seen a rise in the number of newly-vaccinated people, albeit small.

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ZAGREB, 4 Nov 2021 - President Zoran Milanović on Thursday sent a letter to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, warning him of "unacceptable and unlawful conduct by Defence Minister Mario Banožić" and calling on him to take action to enable the normal functioning and development of the Armed Forces.

In the letter, sent to Plenković on 28 October, the president claims that Banožić abused his powers by sending into early retirement the commander of the Honorary and Protection Battalion, Colonel Elvis Burčul.

Minister harassing, discriminating HV officer

Milanović says that Burčul's case is extremely important because it shows the minister's behavior pattern, notably in light of the fact that Burčul is a decorated officer, Homeland War volunteer, and commander of the unit in charge of the security of the President and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief.

He recalls that the proposal to extend Burčul's term was sent to Banožić by the Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff, based on an assessment that it is in line with operational reasons and is a common procedure, with none of the former defence ministers ever having withheld their consent.

This time, the minister "not only withheld his consent but told the Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff and my defence and national security advisor that he would never sign any decision (to that effect) for the officer in question and that he must leave the army, without giving any justified reason for his position," Milanović says.

Milanović recalls having asked Banožić directly why he was withholding his consent and telling him that he would withdraw his proposal if there was a serious reason for the minister's position, to which the minister, without going into detail, repeated several times that "the Colonel is a bad person."

"The minister has the right to give or withhold his consent but he does not have the right to abuse that power," Milanović says in the letter, noting that sending Burčul into retirement was just that and that Banožić also falsely claimed that he had acted in line with the retirement plan for 2021 while Burčul's name was not on that list.

Noting that Banožić's decision was motivated by personal reasons, Milanović expresses hope that those reasons are not political, adding that the minister's conduct is an act of abuse of powers and harassment and discrimination of a Croatian Army officer.

Burčul's retirement is an attempt to politicize the Armed Forces and divide officers into suitable and unsuitable ones, those whom the minister likes and those he does not like, says Milanović.

"Neither you, as Prime Minister, nor I, as President and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief can tolerate that," the president says in the letter.

He also cites a number of cases in which the defence minister enabled a set of personnel decisions at the Defence Ministry that is entirely contrary to the law.

Milanović notes that the minister was warned about and informed of problems regarding army personnel matters and the material situation and level of equipment of the army on a number of occasions but failed to act on it.

"That is why I have requested a session of the Defence Council to focus on that topic... The situation is not good and it requires urgent action," the president says in his letter.

Banožić makes statements in NATO, EU without the president's consent

The president further notes that Banožić attends NATO and EU ministerial meetings without informing him, as President and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, of it, and that he makes statements at those events on Croatia's behalf without his consent.

"The positions expressed that way, without prior agreement, can only be the positions of your government, naturally, if you give your consent for them, but they are not Croatia's positions because I, as President of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, do not give my consent. Any obligation which your minister may undertake in that way and which concerns the constitutional powers of the President of the Republic and the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, is potentially unimplementable," Milanović warns, adding that such conduct on the minister's part can cause damage to the country's international reputation.

"Mr. Prime Minister, if your government continues with such conduct and your minister insists on the politicization of the Armed Forces, I will, if necessary, resort to Article 144(5) of the Croatian Constitution in the defence segment, for the purpose of protecting the interests of the Republic of Croatia," Milanović says in the letter.

Article 144(5) of the Constitution reads: The Republic of Croatia shall be represented in the Council and the European Council by the Government and the President of the Republic of Croatia in accordance with their respective constitutional powers.

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ZAGREB, 1 Nov 2021 - The Defence Ministry said on Monday that in March it prevented an international scandal involving the participation of the Honorary and Protection Battalion in a commemoration in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The ministry said in a press release that on 17 March President Zoran Milanović's office informed the military Chief-Of-Staff, Admiral Robert Hranj, that the president's advisor Marijan Mareković would be his envoy at an event marking the 27th anniversary of the exchange of prisoners of war in Bugojno, BiH.

The president's office also made it known that, under the president's decision, members of the Honorary and Protection Battalion would also attend the event, the ministry added.

Under the Defence Act, a decision on platoons and smaller units attending ceremonial activities abroad is made by the defence minister, the ministry said, adding that according to its information, members of the Honorary and Protection Battalion were sent to BiH before the minister made a decision to that effect.

However, the ministry said, it was realized that they would not be able to cross the Croatian border without the minister's decision and an order for official travel abroad, which is within the ministry's remit. 

By such course of action, the president's office "unnecessarily exposed the Croatian Army," the ministry added.

Upon the realization that the request from the president's office could not be carried out without the minister's decision, the ministry said, Hranj wrote to the minister on 18 March to ask that the request from the head of the president's office, to engage members of the Honorary and Protection Battalion abroad, be authorized.

In line with his powers, the ministry said, the minister gave his authorization the same day for the battalion to accompany Mareković to the commemoration in BiH.

The ministry said the battalion's participation in the commemoration was not contentious, but the president's office should have respected the procedure as envisaged by the Defence Act.

"The Ministry of Defence, by adopting the decision, prevented an international scandal," the press release said, adding that the course of action by the president's office was inappropriate and that it should have forwarded the request to the minister.

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ZAGREB, 28 Oct 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Thursday people not vaccinated against COVID were getting sick, urging people to get vaccinated to avoid another lockdown and saying that children should get vaccinated too and go to school as distance education no longer made sense.

Speaking to the press in Delnice, the president said he sympathized and understood, but added that the situation was much more different than a year ago.

As for Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's statement that he would not interfere in the retirement of Honorary and Protection Battalion commander Elvis Burčul, Milanović called it childish and said the problem could not be solved by the Minister of Defence but the Prime Minister.

"The conditions for retirement are clear and as long as I am the president and the (Armed Forces) commander in chief, no one will be harassed by petty politicians," he said, referring to Defence Minister Mario Banožić, who sent Colonel Burčul into early retirement.

As for illegal drugs in the military, including dealing, Milanović said he would consider irresponsible all commanders who did not pay the most serious attention to the problem.

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ZAGREB, 28 Oct 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Wednesday that Croatia would have more benefits than disadvantages from the euro adoption and that Malta could help Zagreb with its experience in the euro area.

Malta has been in the euro area since 1 January 2008, and today when Milanović met with his Maltese counterpart George Vella, he said that he believes that country can help Croatia with its experience.

"This is a country which has been inside for a long time, it has the experience and that experience is good," said Milanović and added that the Maltese economy is "exposed to the services sector and in particular to tourism," and has several common points with Croatia's economy.

"Our economy, unfortunately, or luckily, or just as a point - is not exceptionally export-orientated. We are a service-based economy and that is one of the reasons why I think the euro would be better for Croatia than it would be worse," said Milanović.

The president underscored that introducing the euro "isn't pittance" and that "it seems we will relinquish our national currency forever."

"That is not done with an excited heart, but with a sober head."

Milanović asked Malta to support Croatia, as the youngest EU member state, and its accession to the Schengen Area and criticized the Union for "procrastination and delay."

Romania and Bulgaria have been members of the EU since 2007 and are still waiting for a green light to access that area.

The time has already ripened for them to join the Schengen Area, however, political mainstream in the largest countries simply have a problem, which I understand, and that is the problem of right-wing voters hence they need "to tread on eggs cautiously," as the saying goes, he said.

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ZAGREB, 27 Oct 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Wednesday that Croatia's problem is that it is on the "external border of the Schengen Area, yet it isn't Schengen," he said, criticizing the EU for procrastination in allowing Croatia to join this passport-free area.

That is being prolonged yet Croatia is expected to act as if it is playing in the first four Series A or premiership league teams, Milanović said after meeting with his Maltese counterpart George Vella.

Apart from strengthening cooperation, the presidents discussed foreign policy topics including migration which has once again come to the fore with the Afghanistan crisis.

Milanović believes that Croatia is in an unfavorable situation due to its position.

"This puts us and our reputation in a bad situation because if the Croatian police don’t control the border then Croatia is unreliable and isn’t doing its job. If the Croatian police do their job and make mistakes at times, exceeding their authority, then it is something that Europe points its finger at Croatia. That’s not fair," said Milanović.

Milanović asked Malta to support Croatia, as the youngest EU member state, and its accession to the Schengen Area and criticized the Union for "procrastination and delay."

Romania and Bulgaria have been members of the EU since 2007 and are still waiting for a green light to access that European area without border controls.

Vella said that the migration issue is a huge challenge for the EU, however, he expects a consensus from all 27 members of the bloc.

Saying that his small country is full of migrants, the only solution is to proportionally distribute migrants and refugees among member states prepared to take them. 

We are trying to find countries - 20, 22- as many as possible willing to work together and try and implement a system of distribution (of migrants), said Vella.  

Milanović praised Malta for its treatment of the migration issue.

"A small nation such as Malta, in the middle of the Mediterranean – with a special culture, language and identity, is different from others yet open in every aspect the whole time – it is able to deliberate the difficult topic of migration maturely, soberly and humanely, while some Central European states are just about to arm their population. Incredible difference! This just says how openness, especially for small economies, is important. Well done, Malta!"

This is the second meeting between the presidents in a few weeks and Vella said that it confirms "the splendid relations between the two countries and the friendship that has been developing between our nations."

EU enlargement: The bloc "is buying time and the years are passing"

The two presidents talked about the countries in Southeast Europe and their journey towards the Union.

Vella said that Malta has "always advocated for the Western Balkans to become part of the EU."

"Countries such as Croatia and Slovenia have become members and can definitely help, they can show the way. The process of EU accession is lengthy, certain sacrifices are necessary, but I am sure that there is a strong will both in the EU and in the Western Balkans for them to join the EU," said Vella.

During the recent EU-Western Balkans Summit organized by Slovenia as the incumbent chair of the Council of the EU, membership prospects for those countries were once again confirmed however they were not given any time frame for that.

I wouldn't want this to be transformed into some kind of procrastination, delay. "A lot indicates that the EU has such a policy because, in fact, it hasn’t got one, it’s buying time and the years are passing," said Milanović.

There is an election here or there, hence the fear of leading mainstream politicians of right voters and rivals on the right (...) and then countries with an Islamic population which is one of the prejudices we have to talk about, are some of the reasons why the EU is not clearly stating what it wants, believes Milanović.

Croatia's President said he wants a more stable neighbor and that in the context of the Western Balkans it is necessary to talk about stability, predictability, security, and money.

"When we talk about the Western Balkans, we must talk about stability, predictability, and security, and ultimately we talk about money too because those are fundamentally impoverished states," he said.

Malta's President Vella and his wife are on a state visit to Croatia at the invitation of President  Milanović.

Vella is expected to meet with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković. He will also visit Varaždin.

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ZAGREB, 27 Oct 2021 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović on Tuesday held talks with Milorad Dodik, the representative of the Serb people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the president's office said in a press release.

The meeting with the Serb member of the tripartite BiH Presidency was part of Milanović's activities that are aimed at achieving the stability and functioning of BiH as well as the legitimate representation of all three constituent peoples in line with the Dayton peace agreement, the press release said.

For that purpose, the president already met with Bakir Izetbegović, the representative of the Bosniak people, and with Dragan Čović, the representative of the Croat people, it added.

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ZAGREB, 21 Oct 2021 - A commemoration for 56 civilians killed 30 years ago was held on Thursday at the mass grave in Baćin, the second largest mass grave in Croatia after Ovčara.

The victims were residents of Baćin, Cerovljani, and Hrvatska Dubica. A dozen residents are unaccounted for. Nobody has been imprisoned for the crime as seven perpetrators are out of the reach of the Croatian authorities.

In his address at the commemoration, President Zoran Milanović asked who were the criminals who could execute so many old and infirm people in such a cowardly and cold-blooded manner.

He said not all victims were the same as these were especially vulnerable people who only wanted to stay in their homes.

"If there is heaven and hell, I want to know which place in hell is reserved for such guys. People who were our neighbors, policemen, butchers, shopkeepers until yesterday all of a sudden become brutal murderers and have no problem executing dozens of old and infirm people," Milanović said.

"I'm confident that, thanks to the defenders and the Croatian knights, that time is over and that a happier and mora banal time of human kindness has come."

He said the culture of remembrance which he promoted included reciprocity.

"That means, if I respect the victims of another close people, then I also have the human expectation that a representative of that people be here, that we shake hands. That's what we're missing. This is an invitation, an extended hand, and the other one is not on the trigger, it's also extended, but without reciprocity and understanding, without admission, not repentance, there is no normal living. This is my invitation to those who are the successors or representatives of those who besmirched the Serbian name here, that we sit down, talk and respect each other," the president said.

Parliamentary envoy Marijana Petir said the municipality of Hrvatska Dubica suffered greatly in the Homeland War, becoming a symbol of resistance and, with 137 killed, a symbol of suffering.

Government envoy Špiro Janović said it was necessary to turn to the future and called on war veterans "to invest new effort so that Croatia can become the country we wish it to be."

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