ZAGREB, March 1, 2020 – Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Saturday Croatia was prepared for a potential new migrant wave and that for now there was no increase in arrivals on the Western Balkan route.
“For several years now, Croatia has had a plan for the situation we are faced with and for a situation we could be faced with,” he told reporters, adding that “at this moment there are no visible increases on the route called Eastern Mediterranean or Western Balkan” and that “there’s no worry” about Croatia’s preparedness.
Croatian police efficaciously protect the border, Božinović said, adding that “perhaps, unlike in some other countries, such situations are no surprise for us because we are constantly fully operational.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today that Turkey had opened its borders and that 18,000 migrants were en route to Europe.
The EU relied on Turkey to stop the migrant flow after more than a million people arrived in Europe from the Middle East in 2015.
Božinović said he was in contact with European institutions and that the EU was acting in two directions.
“On the one hand, a diplomatic effort is being made to deescalate the situation in Idlib, while on the other hand humanitarian action is being taken with the approval of €60 million… to ensure accommodation, food and medical care for Syrians” in that Syrian province, he said.
Aid envisaged under the EU-Turkey agreement continues, he added.
More news about the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.
