Plenkovic told reporters the Croatian people loved the Croatian army and that the idea to reintroduce conscription was to make it attractive to new generations who do not remember the 1991-95 Homeland War. The idea will be discussed in the months ahead, he added.
Defence Minister Damir Krsticevic has been thinking about this for a long time and this initiative has a solely national dimension, Plenkovic said when asked whether it was a coincidence that Croatia and Serbia were simultaneously thinking about reintroducing conscription.
Asked if the government had the money to reintroduce conscription, he said it would not demand excessive funds and that, financially, it would not be difficult to implement.
As for the procurement of new combat aircraft, Plenkovic said the defence minister had the task to prepare the best option and that the government would make its decision based on that, consultations, real needs and financial feasibility.
He recalled that the government had increased the defence budget after many years and was drawing up a homeland and national security strategy and new defence legislation.
Minister Krsticevic said the Croatian Air Force squadron was ready to carry out any task relating to the control of Croatia's 113,000 square kilometre airspace but that it needed new combat aircraft. He hopes a decision to buy them would be made by year's end.
As for the reintroduction of conscription, he said that this referred to basic military training and not conscription, and that the Croatian army should expand its base. "We are preparing a project and will analyse every possible option. We will be financially responsible and our goal isn't to militarise society."
It's up to the state and society to decide on a model, but we want the training, which would last three or four weeks, to be attractive and modern for young people and train them how to respond in certain situations, Krsticevic said.
Let professionals give a solution that is best for Croatia. We have the premises, the barracks and the infrastructure, and we should connect them, he added.