Zoran Milanović and Andrej Plenković, the President and Prime Minister of Croatia respectively, are currently locked in yet another episode of political sparring. Alongside a new bone of contention – the (non-)participation of the Croatian military in a military parade in Paris – they have managed, for the umpteenth time, to drag Serbian “Rafales” and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić into the mix.
Milanović cited France’s sale of more modern “Rafales” to Serbia as one of the reasons why the Croatian military should not go to Paris, noting that, according to Croatian military analysts, these jets could sweep Croatian aircraft from the skies.
The media war between Milanović and Plenković has been raging for days, and as has become customary in recent months, the names of Serbia, the “Rafales”, and Aleksandar Vučić can be heard amidst the cacophony. The catalyst for this dispute seemed, on the surface, entirely innocuous: an invitation to the traditional military parade in Paris, which France extended to all members of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, including Croatia.
Andrej Plenković’s government is in favour of Croatia participating in the Coalition of the Willing on a political and civil level, but does not plan to send soldiers to Ukraine. On the other hand, Milanović opposes the participation of Croatian soldiers in the Paris parade because, as he claims, Croatia has no obligations arising from the Coalition of the Willing, but only from its membership in NATO and the European Union.
What is more, Milanović asserts that the Croatian military can only go to France on his orders, not on those of Plenković or Ivan Anušić, the Croatian Defence Minister.
“In 99 per cent of cases, I do nothing, but in critical situations, I react. I don’t know who Plenković intends to send to Paris – perhaps the majorettes, whom I respect, but soldiers cannot go unless I permit it. According to the Constitution and the law, the Croatian Armed Forces are represented by the Commander-in-Chief. What is unclear about that? The military will not go,” Milanović declared.
‘Trading the same goods with Belgrade that they sold to us’
The Croatian President went a step further in the bickering, accusing France of failing to participate in the Zagreb military parade because it was trading with none other than Belgrade.
“When they were supposed to bring the flag and stand among Croatia’s allies, they were nowhere to be seen. Why? Because they are trading the same goods with Belgrade that they sold to us,” Milanović stated.
He added that, following this, it would be “beneath the honour of the Croatian military” to take part in the French military parade.
Milanović even questioned the purpose of NATO membership “if one of the larger nations is going to sell us goods and then turn around and go to a neighbour (Serbia, author’s note) which is allegedly a Moscow satellite.”
‘What the Serbs are getting would sweep ours out of the airspace’
Meanwhile, Croatian military analysts have been claiming for months that Serbia got a better deal in its trade with France regarding the “Rafale” fighter jets.
Mario Galić, a prominent Croatian military analyst, said that Serbia would receive a “more advanced variant of the French aircraft” and assessed that this was an attempt to cover up a “horrific fiasco”.
“Dassault has only one production line; the same planes come out. The only difference for those within NATO is that they can carry nuclear weapons. That means nothing to us,” Galić said.
He added that what the Serbs will receive in two years is “much more advanced” than what Croatia currently possesses.
“But not because it was tailor-made for Serbia, but because it was developed for the French Air Force as an interim project until the arrival of fifth-generation aircraft. That ‘Rafale F4’ is much more advanced. The avionics have been heavily modernised. What the Serbs are getting would sweep ours out of the airspace. This is a problem of how Croatia has been functioning over the last five or six years. You have zero coordination between the Government and the President. This is unacceptable,” Galić concluded.
‘Vučić is an authentic political leader, whilst Plenković is a mere bureaucrat’
Interestingly, during his verbal clash with Plenković, Milanović also mentioned Vučić, going so far as to compare the Croatian Prime Minister with the Serbian President.
“At the same time, Aleksandar Vučić – we know who we are dealing with – is an authentic political leader, for better or worse, and the authentic architect of what he has built. That isn’t exactly a good thing. Plenković is none of those things. He (Plenković, author’s note) is a mere bureaucrat who, thanks to circumstance, rules, buys influence, and manipulates,” Milanović said.
French Minister for Europe forced to ‘justify’ why ‘Rafales’ were sold to Serbia
As a reminder, following complaints from Zagreb regarding the Serbian “Rafales”, Benjamin Haddad, the French Minister for Europe, recently had to make a public statement to “justify” why his country sold fighter jets outside of the NATO alliance.
“France, Croatia, and other partners in the European Union and NATO share a strategic interest in seeing the region, and particularly Serbia, gradually break free from its dependence on Russia and strengthen its ties with Western nations. In this context, Croatia plays a useful role – for instance, by securing alternative oil and gas supply routes for its neighbours, including Serbia. The acquisition of defence equipment from France or other Western nations, such as the United States, by non-NATO countries follows this exact same logic,” Haddad stated at the time.
A comparison of the acquisitions
| Country | Aircraft details | Total contract value / Unit price | Delivery timeline |
| Croatia | 12 second-hand French “Rafale” fighters | €999 million total | All 12 jets delivered between April 2024 and April 2025 |
| Serbia | 12 brand-new “Rafale” fighters | $100 million to $120 million per aircraft (basic configuration) | First aircraft expected in 2028; all remaining jets to be delivered by 2030 |
(Blic, 02.07.2026)