ZAGREB, April 7, 2019 – The Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović said on Saturday that the issue of Croatia’s membership of the Schengen area was too important not only for the Croatian and European security, but for Slovenian as well, underlining that Croatian and Slovenian police cooperated well at the border.
“You saw the news from Greece, namely what is happening on the so-called Balkan route which is potentially the biggest migrant route in Europe. Croatian and Slovenian police have good cooperation at the border and I am confident that Slovenian citizens appreciate what the Croatian police are doing to protect the EU external borders,” Božinović said commenting on the statement by Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Šarec that Croatia is far from Schengen area membership.
Asked if Slovenia can make Croatia’s joining the Schengen area conditional on some sort of an agreement concerning the two countries’ arbitration issue, Božinović said there two issues were unrelated.
“This is an important security issue for both Croatia and Slovenia. I am talking about the migrant crisis and the EU. All EU member states, notably those still on that route, such as Germany and Austria, highly appreciate what the Croatian police are doing and I am confident that all stakeholders are aware of that.”
Slovenian Prime Minister Šarec said on Saturday that Croatia was still far from membership of the Schengen area, without ruling out a possibility for his government to tie Slovenia’s support to Croatia’s membership to the unresolved border dispute.
More news about Croatia and the Schengen issue can be found in the Politics section.
