Medved on Veterans' Pensions: Možemo's Proposal Was Blanket and Partial
Amendments to two laws go to public consultation tomorrow, with special recognition for time served in combat zones. 'Their proposal was blanket and partial,' the minister said.
Amendments to two laws go to public consultation tomorrow, with special recognition for time served in combat zones. 'Their proposal was blanket and partial,' the minister said.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Croatian Veterans Tomo Medved announced on Thursday that amendments to laws aimed at increasing veterans' pensions will be released for public consultation tomorrow during the day. The goal, as he stated, is to allow all interested parties to give their opinions before the proposals reach the Croatian Parliament session in September 2026.
The amendments concern the Law on Croatian Veterans and the Law on Active Military Personnel and Authorized Officials. Medved made this statement following the ceremony naming a bridge over the Mrežnica river as "Bridge of the 14th Home Guard Regiment Slunj," symbolically emphasizing the importance of recognizing combat service.
The minister reminded that since 2016, the government has already abolished two pension reductions that previous governments had imposed to the detriment of Croatian veterans. "We still need to abolish the third reduction, the one from 2002, and that's why through amendments to the Law on Active Military Personnel, we will eliminate the reduction of 8 to 20 percent for those Croatian veterans, soldiers, and police officers who retired under that basis," Medved announced.
Regarding the amendments to the Law on Croatian Veterans, the minister emphasized that this law was crafted in partnership with veterans' associations and that it corrected many injustices. The new amendment will address the calculation method and supplements for veterans who retired under this law.
As a particularly important novelty, Medved highlighted the recognition of time spent in combat zones. "What I will single out as especially important, and today's occasion here on the Mrežnica, where the 14th Home Guard Regiment Slunj set out to liberate Slunj, is the recognition of combat service - every month spent in a combat zone will be specially valued and reflected in the financial calculation of their pension," he announced.
He stressed that this is the fairest form of calculation. "For many years, we have monitored and recognized the need to correct the pensions of these Croatian veterans, but what I emphasize as the fairest form of calculation is precisely the time spent on the wartime path in the combat zone. For every Croatian veteran, especially those who spent the entire Homeland War in combat zones, that time will be specially valued in the pension calculation," Medved said.
The minister noted that disability and family pensions are a separate category, and that the new amendments apply to Croatian veterans who do not hold the status of Croatian war invalids and who are retired on other grounds.
In response to a journalist's comment that the government recently rejected a similar model proposed by the Možemo party, Medved replied that it has nothing to do with the current proposal. "That bill was blanket and partial. They didn't even foresee or recognize the combat zone, and it applied to a smaller number of Croatian veterans. Here, we're talking about a comprehensive approach," he said.
He reiterated that these amendments specifically recognize participation in combat zones, unlike the rejected proposal, which, in his words, did not provide answers to the issues now being addressed.
When asked by journalists whether the amendments also apply to members of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), given that the government has previously largely equated them with Croatian veterans, Medved declined to give a concrete answer. "I won't answer that question at all. I invite everyone who engages in discussions on this topic to first study the laws and see the bases for pension calculation," the minister replied briefly.
