The latest on the migrant crisis in Croatia.
From midnight to 9 pm on Saturday, 7,787 migrants and refugees entered Croatia. During the night, there were 4,425 people housed in the temporary reception centre in Opatovac. From the beginning of the migration crisis, 152,711 migrants and refugees have entered Croatia, reports Vecernji List and Jutarnji List on October 11, 2015.
On Saturday, there was a significantly greater influx of refugees than in the last few days. According to the volunteers at the camp in Opatovac, there were periods when the number of refugees was so great that there was lack of space in tents. The media in Macedonia and Serbia also report about a great new wave of refugees coming into these countries as well. In the last few days, Macedonia has received over 10,000 refugees from Greece, which are being transported to Serbia and then to Croatia.
It is assumed that the main reason for the new refugee wave is media speculation about a possible upcoming agreement between the European Union and Turkey about stopping the refugees on their way to Europe. Another reason is that a significant number of refugees have decided to come to Europe before winter when travelling will be much more difficult due to weather conditions.
In southern Serbia, there are currently about 500 refugees, but a new wave of between 6,000 and 7,000 migrants is expected, said on Saturday Aleksandar Vulin, Serbian minister of social welfare. He added that Serbia is “the only country in the region which provides care for the refugees”.
Vulin said that the financial assistance of 17 million euros sent by the European Commission was substantial, but insufficient. “We could not foresee everything in the budget and we have asked for financial assistance. This amount is significant, but not sufficient. We have registered more than 182,000 people in Serbia, and some countries have not done anything”, the Serbian minister concluded.
Hungarian ruling party Fidesz said that the recent statements by Croatian prime minister Zoran Milanović about Hungary and Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban are the result of his concern with the outcome of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Croatia. Milanović on Friday criticized Hungary and its prime minister, saying that Hungary was an “appendix” of Europe and that Viktor Orban is a politician who was “first an active communist, then a liberal, he was everything”. Fidesz says that Milanović’s words have little in common with the facts.
The head of the Fidesz parliamentary club Lajos Kosa said that, while the Croatian refugee accommodation plan “disintegrated”, Hungary registers anyone who enters the country and sends the data to the European register. He added that he considered Milanović’s comparison of the Hungarian state with a body part as “indecent”.
No one talks about Hungary in that way, said Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto commenting on Milanović statements. Minister said the statements were “uncivilized and contrary to European values”, and Budapest send a letter of protest to the Croatian ambassador in Hungary.
Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs said that it had not received a protest note by Hungary, but just that the ambassador had a meeting at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
