Croatian MPs on Thursday supported the decision to send "up to 70 Croatian troops" to Hungary to be stationed there as part of Nato forces, with some saying that this is required by the current situation in Ukraine and also that sending soldiers is Croatia's obligation to its allies.

Before the vote, senior Defence Ministry official, Zdravko Jakop, said that the current security situation in the east of Europe was “one of the most serious threats to Europe’s security in the past decades.”

“The attack on an independent, peace-loving, democratic country is a bitter reminder that freedom, peace, security, and stability cannot exist if we are not prepared to defend them,” Jakop said.

He also said that in recent months Nato had decided to create additional rapid reaction groups, deploying additional forces in Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, while consolidating pre-existing forces in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Croatia would spend 38 million kuna (€5 million) to send these troops to Hungary.

Currently, Croatia has 181 soldiers serving abroad as part of various UN-led and Nato-led peace missions. The majority of these – 141 – are part of the KFOR mission in Kosovo.

“We must show solidarity, we must respect our obligations, this is the defence of peace and international order, MPs of both the ruling coalition and opposition parties said during the debate,” state agency Hina summarized the debate.

“That is the only guarantee that we will preserve what we had gained because we live in a crazy world, with crazy leaders that will stop at nothing to launch armed conflicts,” said MP Rade Simicevic (HDZ). “It is important to send a message that participation in Nato does matter, the message that in the event of a threat we are prepared to act together,” said leader of the Social Democrats (SDP), Pedja Grbin.

MPs also wanted to know if the Defence Ministry was considering bolstering the number of troops under the Armed Forces command, “considering the instability in Croatia’s neighborhood,” probably referring to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Nato recently deployed additional troops.

“There is a possibility of supplementing the existing armed forces with reserves, and the law also provides for civil-military cooperation,” Jakop said.

MP Marijana Petir (Independent) asked if additional Nato forces would be needed in Croatia.

“That option is not being considered,” Jakop said, adding that the security situation in the neighbourhood and in Southeast Europe was being monitored and that for the time being there was no reason for concern.