Migrants are nowhere to be seen, but Slovenia keeps building a fence on its border with Croatia.
On the largest border crossing with Croatia, Bregana-Obrežje, Slovenia has started installing metal fencing, and yesterday it did the same on the other major border crossing Macelj-Gruškovje. The reason is possible reactivation on the so-called Balkan migrant route, reports Index.hr on October 22, 2016.
Slovenian news agency STA quoted a statement by state secretary at the Slovenian Ministry of Interior Andrej Špenge. “If there is a new migrant wave, the border crossings will be closed”, said Špenge.
According to information from the Slovenian Ministry of Interior, setting up the fence at the two major border crossings with Croatia is part of the planned installation of “temporary technical barriers” which should be constructed in the total length of 27.5 kilometres, in the areas of Murska Sobota, Maribor, Celje and Novo Mesto. The process will be implemented in coordination with local authorities.
In addition to the fence whose installation is in progress, Slovenia has already put up 183.5 kilometres of so-called technical barriers, which are mostly wire fences, to stop migrants along its border with Croatia. They say that it is a necessary and temporary solution that will enable effective police protection of the border in case of the reactivation of the migrant wave which originally passed through Slovenia in 2015. The Slovenian police claim that the process of putting up the fence is aimed primarily at protecting people and their property.
“In the next few days, temporary technical barriers will be put up in the areas that have proven to be crucial in the context of last year’s experience of mass attempt of crossing the border into the territory of the Republic of Slovenia”, announced the Slovenian police.
