Croatia rejects joining EU mission of Ukrainian military support

Croatian lawmakers on 27 Jan 2023 narrowly rejected a proposal the country should join an EU mission in support of the Ukrainian military after hours of heated debate reflecting deep divisions between the premier and the country’s president.

A majority of two thirds was needed to agree the proposal that would have included allowing up to 100 Ukrainian troops to be trained in Croatia over the next two years, which President Zoran Milanovic who is the supreme commander of the Croatian armed forces, opposed.

What is EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM Ukraine)?

EU Member States endorsed the establishment of a military mission on EU soil to address Ukraine’s urgent military training needs and adopt additional funding for military assistance to Ukraine through the European Peace Facility. On 17 October 2022, the Foreign Affairs Council established the EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM Ukraine) in response to Ukraine’s urgent request for support. The Mission aims to help regenerate the Ukrainian Armed Forces through large-scale training.

The EU objective is to train on EU soil a first batch of 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers through both basic and specialized as well as individual and collective training in order to respond to the urgent short-term needs expressed by Ukraine. The Mission’s mandate is flexible in order to adapt swiftly to the evolving Ukrainian needs. It will provide a sustainable platform for the support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces’.

EUMAM Ukraine will enhance the overall training coordination and scale, building on the existing training support, which Member States are already providing bilaterally to Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Mission also enables EU Member States that are not (yet) offering bilateral training to contribute to the overall effort.

The Council also adopted assistance measures under the European Peace Facility (EPF) that will allow the EU Member States to continue supporting the capabilities and resilience of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to defend the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders of the country. A sixth tranche of support will add €500 million to the resources already mobilized under the EPF for Ukraine, thereby bringing the total amount to more than €3.1 billion. The scope of the equipment to be provided in the new support package is in line with the current priorities as expressed by the Ukrainian government.

Croatian lawmakers on 27 Jan 2023 narrowly rejected a proposal the country should join an EU mission in support of the Ukrainian military after hours of heated debate reflecting deep divisions between the premier and the country’s president.

Croatian lawmakers on 27 Jan 2023 narrowly rejected a proposal the country should join an EU mission in support of the Ukrainian military after hours of heated debate reflecting deep divisions between the premier and the country’s president.