Slovenia refuses entry to 15 migrants.
Slovenian police has singled out 15 migrants, among more than 1,800 of them who have entered the country last night in two trains, because they do not meet the new criteria which were introduced on Thursday by the Slovenian government and has initiated the process of their return to Croatia. It has been determined that the migrants do not meet the new requirements to enter Slovenia, but the process of their return has not yet been concluded, reported the Slovenian police. The rejected migrants are nationals of Morocco, Syria and Iraq, and the entry has been denied because they have not expressed their intention to seek asylum in Slovenia, Austria or Germany, reports Index.hr and 24Sata on January 22, 2016.
According to the rules of the Slovenian government which came into force last night, Slovenia will admit only those migrants and refugees who wish to be granted asylum in Austria or Germany, with the possibility to request it in Slovenia as well. That was a reaction to measures which have been adopted on Wednesday by Austria, with a goal of reducing the influx of migrants. About 400 migrants who have already passed the new verification system on the Slovenian border have been sent on to the Austrian border.
Slovenian Interior Minister Vesna Gjerkeš Žnidar said yesterday that she was informed about the new Austrian measures by Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner, and that Slovenia successfully controls the Slovenian-Croatian border and the migrant wave. Slovenian government has not determined a limit for daily influx of migrants from Croatia, which remains an option if the situation gets worse. "Our government has worked out a plan for the possible escalation of measures to prevent Slovenia to become a pocket in which a large number of migrants would remain”, said Gjerkeš Žnidar, adding that the Slovenian government had already informed Croatian government about the new rules.
The new measures which Slovenia intends to implement will be presented this afternoon by the State Secretary for Migration in the Slovenian Ministry of Interior Boštjan Šefic. The European refugee crisis will be one of the topics of today’s meeting between Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban.
Outgoing Croatian Interior Minister Ranko Ostojić said at a press conference yesterday that more than 600,000 refugees and migrants have passed through Croatia since the beginning of the migrant crisis. Ostojić added that more and more countries are suspending the Schengen Agreement and are introducing border controls. He reiterated that Croatia will not in any way allow itself to become a hot spot for refugees. “Requests for asylum have been filed by a little more than 20 people. Slovenia and Austria demand that refugees indicate in which country they intend to claim asylum. This has caused a domino effect and Croatia has adopted similar measures”, said Ostojić.
