The latest from the Croatian border with Slovenia.
Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar said that he did not know details about the measures which Austria would introduce this week on its border with Slovenia in order to curb the influx of refugees and migrants, but added that he was monitoring the situation closely. He said that Slovenia would immediately introduce similar measures on its border with Croatia, reports Tportal and Vecernji List on January 20, 2016.
"If Austria adopts measures to reduce the inflow of refugees, Slovenia will have to immediately react and we will notify Croatia about our measures", said Cerar. He does not expect that Austria will implement any new measures as early as Wednesday, but more probably later this week. "We are in contact with Austria and I hope that we will be informed on time about their decisions", said the Slovenian Prime Minister. "We should strengthen the control of external borders of the European Union and the Macedonian-Greek border, because any further waiting for a solution could jeopardize the Schengen area with more and more states opting for unilateral measures and greater control over internal borders", Cerar added.
"In accordance with the Schengen rules, Austria can introduce controls on its borders if it deems it necessary due to the security situation in the country, but such measures must be reported to all EU member states and the European Commission", says the statement by the Slovenian government.
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić said that Belgrade would follow the measures which are expected to be introduced by Slovenia and Austria. Vučić added that "we should expect that Austria will suspended the Schengen Agreement", and that "Slovenian measures would immediately follow".
"We are ready to help Macedonian police even more and to sent additional police forces there. In any case, we will protect our state and our national interests", said Vučić to reporters, adding that he would work closely with European countries and that he was convinced Serbia would manage to preserve peace and stability. "It will not be easy, even though the number of refugees is declining, but the reason for that are the winter weather conditions", said Vučić.
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić said earlier that Serbia would take appropriate measures if Croatia, Slovenia and Austria take unilateral steps in the management of the migration crisis. After a meeting with his Slovenian counterpart Karl Erjavec, Dačić said that it was important for all countries on the Balkan migrant route to be informed about the measures being taken.
Since the beginning of the refugee crisis, 598,839 migrants and refugees have passed through Croatia.
