Before the start of a vote on the 2023 budget, the parliament on Tuesday rejected a motion by MPs Franko Vidovic (Social Democrats) and Arsen Bauk (SDP) that a debate on the training of Ukrainian soldiers not be put on the parliament's agenda, and the parliament is expected to discuss the topic on Wednesday.

With 77 votes MPs of the parliamentary majority refused an objection in writing by the two opposition MPs to the amendment of the parliament’s agenda to include the topic “Draft decision on the participation of Croatian Armed Forces in the EU Military Assistance Mission – Ukraine”.

Vidovic and Bauk said in their objection that it was clear from the reasoning of the decision that it concerns the departure of up to 80 members of the Croatian Armed Forces and the arrival in Croatia of up to 100 members of the Ukrainian Army for the purpose of individual and collective training.

The two believe that it is clear that this concerns paragraphs 8 and 9 of Article 7 of the Constitution, namely that the decision is not within the remit of the parliament but of the government. Putting that item on the parliament’s agenda would therefore be in violation of the Constitution and of Articles 159 and 161 of the parliament’s Standing Orders, they said.

The two MPs sent a letter to the Parliament Speaker calling on him to ask the government, in line with Article 170 of the Standing Orders, to remove the shortcomings of the proposed decision within 15 days.

Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic said that objections to the parliament’s agenda are decided at a session without discussion, after which the two MPs’ objection was rejected with 77 votes in favour.

Vidovic and Bauk’s proposal was supported by 46 MPs, while three abstained, after which the topic of the military training of Ukrainian soldiers, which has been causing high tensions lately, was put on the parliament’s agenda.

Earlier today the Justice Committee accepted the government’s proposal with seven votes in favour, and later in the afternoon the matter will be discussed by the Defence Committee.