The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) parliamentary bench on Thursday criticised the Opposition for its evasive position on the decision on the Croatian Army's engagement in in the European mission to train Ukrainian soldiers (EUMAM).

Some of the Opposition MPs said earlier on Thursday that the government’s proposal for the engagement of Croatia in EUMAM is not in line with the Constitution, which prompted the ruling HDZ to accuse them of siding with Russia in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

“It is obvious that the Opposition, by trying to explain that such a proposal is unconstitutional, is siding with the Russian Federation, not wanting to get involved in Croatia’s clear, unequivocal aid to Ukraine, which is a victim of Russian aggression,” Branko Bacic, the whip of the HDZ club of deputies, told reporters.

Bacic says that it would have been more acceptable to him if the political parties that “hide behind the possible unconstitutionality of this decision” had clearly declared their position, as the Croatian the Sovereignists did.

The Sovereignists claim that accepting such a decision would practically be “setting a target on Croatia” and thus Croatia would expose itself unnecessarily to the Russian Federation. “This is their legitimate position, which is unacceptable for us, but it is clear and is not an attempt to hide behind unconstitutionality,” Bacic said.

He stressed the proposed decision on EUMAM is a lower level of military aid to Ukraine, after Croatia supplied it with weapons, and on the other hand, it represents a continuation of the principled and credible policy of solidarity with the Ukrainian people who are under threat.

He adds that it is a decision of the Council of Ministers of the EU, which was supported by almost all members of the bloc, and Croatia and Ukraine are members of the Partnership for Peace, as an organisation and alliance associated with NATO.

Bacic said that it was time to ask the President and the Opposition if they wanted to be part of the Western democracy or if they wanted, in this critical moment for Ukraine’s survival, to side with Russia and Putin.

It should not have come to this, the decision should have been supported, and they should not have not cowardly hide behind legal issues after the parliament decided on 44 proposals  of similar content and almost identical merits in the last ten years.

“A credible MP would have done the same for the 45th time, especially at an important, crucial moment for Ukraine, Europe and the world,” Bacic said and added that the Constitution, Articles 7 and 3 and 5 were fully respected.

He is confident that by the time the decision is voted on, attitudes will change, as they did in the case of the blocking of Sweden and Finland’s entry into NATO.

The door for talks is open, here we have no room for vanities, but exclusively for the political interest of Croatia to be on the right side of history, he said to all those who are hesitating about accepting that decision.

Bacic emphasised that it was almost unimaginable for him that Croatia would be the only country that would not implement the decision of the European Council.

Earlier in the day, Opposition lawmakers from the SDP, the Social Democrats and the Most party said that a decision on Croatia’s participation in EUMAM did not fall within the purview of the parliament and that the government’s draft decision on the matter is not in line with the Constitution.

They said that the matter should be decided by the government with the consent of Croatia’s President.

Bencic: This was not autonomous decision by government

Sandra Bencic of the Green-Left Bloc said that one should take into consideration that this was not an autonomous decision of the government and that it was based on an EU decision.

Considering Article 7 of the Constitution, we must make a difference between a situation in which allies’ troops enter Croatia and when our troops are sent to the territory of another country, and also Items 7 and 8 about military training, she said.

We have proposed an initiative that amends the content about what the training should be and to get out of this impasse. Croatia could provide training and assistance to Ukraine as military aid through a civilian component, that is through de-mining, humanitarian aid and aid to displaced people, said Bencic.