The latest on the migrant crisis in Croatia.
Despite rumors about the possible closing of the Hungarian-Croatian border by Hungary, the refugee corridor through that country is functioning normally, said Croatian Interior Minister Ranko Ostojić at the Opatovac reception camp. Whether that will change depends primarily on Germany and the capabilities of that country to continue receiving the refugees, reports Index.hr on October 5, 2015.
Ostojić announced that the EU commissioner for migrations Dimitris Avramopoulos will visit Zagreb on Tuesday. He and Croatian officials will discuss various topics, including the EU plans about ways to solve the refugee crisis. “Finally, we are coming to the solution which we have been talking about since day one. The problem has to be solved at the source. I am glad that the EU leaders, Juncker and Tusk, will talk with Turkish President Erdogan and that we are approaching a solution which is long overdue. There should be ‘hot spots’ located at the refugee reception centres in Turkey”, said the minister. The construction of reception centres in Turkey and tight control of the Turkish-Greek border would provide an overall solution for the refugee crisis, he added.
He also said that at this moment, except Opatovac, Croatia does not have any other location which is linked to the refugee crisis. Asked about the ways security checks of migrants and refugees entering Croatia are being executed, the minister explained that certain checks are being done at the entry points, as well as in the reception center in Opatovac. “It is possible that someone is a potential terrorist, but they cannot bring anything with them into Croatia or into the camp.”
Yesterday, 5,065 migrants entered Croatia at the Bapska and Tovarnik border crossings. During the day, they have been transported to the Hungarian border in buses and trains. From midnight to 9 am this morning, 2,466 additional migrants entered Croatia. At 10 am, about 300 people were located at the Opatovac reception centre. According to the Interior Ministry, Croatia has received a total of 114,237 migrants since the beginning of the migration crisis on September 16.
