EU Covers All Croatia Migrant Crisis Costs, Slovenian Fence Looking Likely

Slovenia’s border fence looking increasingly likes, as EU refunds Croatia for all its migrant crisis costs.

The European Commission has approved 16.4 million euros to help Croatia deal with the refugee crisis. “After the beginning of the refugee crisis in Croatia, in connection with the costs incurred during crisis management, Republic of Croatia has requested financial assistance from the European Commission. This evening, the European Commission has informed Croatia that 16.4 million euros have been allocated from the crisis fund”, Croatian Interior Ministry reported yesterday evening on its website, reports Vecernji List and Jutarnji List on November 7, 2015.

The money will be used to pay for police officers who are deployed at the Croatian-Serbian border and to improve conditions in temporary detention centres. The European Commission has approved similar aid to Slovenia in the amount of 10.17 million euros.

From midnight to 9 pm on Friday, 2,151 migrants and refugees entered Croatia. There are currently 26 migrants located at the winter temporary refugee centre in Slavonski Brod. Since the beginning of the migration crisis, 332,472 migrants and refugees have entered Croatia.

The decision of the European Commission is definitely good news for Croatia, because the costs for the care of refugees are huge. Minister Ostojić in an interview with Deutsche Welle recently detailed the costs incurred by Croatia. “Full care which Croatia provides costs at least 2 million kuna a day. For 50 days, we have been relying on our own tents, equipment, people. Our commodity reserves, volunteers, Red Cross, all of this is paid by the taxpayer. However, we were ready for everything, we had tents, beds, everything that was needed.”

Converted to the kuna, the financial aid which has been approved by Brussels is around 125 million kuna. If Ostojić’s calculations are correct, then Croatia has spent about 100 million kuna from the beginning of the crisis. So, Europe has covered Croatian costs up to date, but they are certain to rise up again in the coming days.

According to sources from the Slovenian police, daily influx of migrants coming from Croatia to Slovenia has been reduced in recent days and cooperation between the police forces about the transport of migrants is good. Last night, a special session of the Slovenian Parliament was concluded. The debate showed that Slovenia is changing its previous policy of “open doors” and that in the next few days it could set up physical barriers on its Schengen border with Croatia, according to the Slovenian media.

Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar has denied accusations by the opposition that he was responsible for “massive illegal immigration”, “chaos” on the border with Croatia, that the government does not control the situation, and that Slovenia will be turned into a hotspot with thousands of migrants, including perhaps Islamic extremists. But Cerar also said that his actions in the migrant crisis will adapt to the situation on the ground and that “in the next few days a fence could be put up on the border with Croatia, which would be protected with appropriate police and other forces”.

The rumours that Slovenia will introduce greater restrictions for migrants is supported by the information that the country has already bought 125 kilometres of wire fence to defend the “Schengen” border. Slovenian government bought the wire for 12 euros per metre, and its construction would be assisted by the army, which would protect the fence from migrants.

The leaders of the ruling coalition parties in Germany, which is struggling with the biggest influx of migrants in recent decades, have reached an agreement yesterday on how to speed up the asylum process for those who have little chance of being allowed to stay in the country. The deal came after weeks of conflict inside the coalition, with official figures showing that the number of arrivals of migrants in Germany this year has already reached 800,000 in late October, which was the total number that the government expected for the whole of 2015.

Merkel said that they have agreed to establish special centres for immigrants who do not have a convincing right to asylum. “We have made a good and an important step forward”, Chancellor Merkel said. The agreed measures include plans for “three to five centres for registration” in the country for the newly arrived from countries which are considered safe. Migrants in these centres will be subject to accelerated asylum process that usually ends with deportation to their countries. They will be entitled to social assistance provided they do not leave the district where they have been registered.

 

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