ZAGREB, May 17, 2018 – Croatian Interior Minister Davor Božinović met with his Slovak counterpart Denisa Sakova and talked about the Schengen Area, migration problems and how Croatia and Slovakia have organised their crisis management services.
“This is yet another indicator that our cooperation with Slovakia’s interior ministry is becoming more and more substantial,” Božinović said. He recalled that Slovak police have for years patrolled along Croatia’s coast during the tourism season and once again this year 84 officers will be at the disposal of Slovak tourists on the Adriatic.
Božinović added that the two officials discussed Slovakia’s experience related to chairing the European Union as well as migrations, the Schengen Area, civil protection and new regulations that will raise responses to crisis situations to a new level.
Sakova added that Croatia was the top destination for Slovak tourists and that she was pleased that Slovak firefighters, because of their module for putting out wildfires, have been invited to an exercise with their Croatian colleagues.
During the bilateral meeting we dealt with Croatia’s desire to enter the Schengen Area, seeing that Slovakia entered it in 2007 and has gained a lot of experience that it could share with its Croatian friends, Minister Sakova said. She added that it is her wish that Croatia join the Schengen Area as easy and fast as possible. She invited Božinović to visit Slovakia, particularly the border with Ukraine, which is the EU external border.
Asked whether they discussed the migrant route across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Božinović said that Croatia and Slovakia aren’t in the same situation. He said that Croatian police, particularly on the eastern border, are doing a good job and that the increase in the number of migrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina isn’t dramatic. He said that Croatia has matters under control with its involvement but also through diplomatic activities, all the more so, since supervising the border is one of Europe’s priorities.
