Croatia has agreed to buy a batch of used fighter jets from France, PrimeMinister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday, in a deal worth one billion euros($1.2 billion).
The twelve Rafale planes will replace Croatia’s Russian-made MiGs in thecountry’s biggest arms purchase since its 1990s war of independence fromYugoslavia. The EU member chose France’s package over bids from Israel,Sweden and the United States and expects to get the first six planes by2024. Plenkovic told a cabinet session the French offer to supply theplanes for 999 million euros was the best deal. “For the most favourableprice, Croatia gets the best rated and best equipped plane,” the primeminister said.
Critics had suggested the government should be focusing its efforts onhelping the pandemic-hit economy to recover rather than spending onweaponry. But Defence Minister Mario Banozic told local media earlier onFriday the decision to buy the jets was not about giving the military “newtoys”. “These planes are simply the basis of our security,” he said.
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Croatia joined NATO in 2009 and the European Union four years later.Croatia spends slightly less than $1 billion each year on defence,according to NATO figures, falling just short of the alliance’srecommendation that members spend two percent of GDP. But Plenkovic saidthe jet purchase would take Croatia’s spending beyond the two percentthreshold.
