ZAGREB, August 15, 2018 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović has said that Croatia cannot and will not tolerate unlawful acts of trespassing on its territory, and warned that irregular migrations are actually in the interest of criminal gangs, as evidenced by the fact that proceeds from the smuggling of human beings have reached the revenues from drug trafficking.
"In the circumstances of the tides of migrants in 2015 and 2016, all European Union member-states experienced a shift in the attitude and mood towards migrations, and now it is over with sending invitations to all refugees even from the addresses from which they used to be sent," Božinović said in a statement to Hina.
The minister warns that the policy which he labelled "send migrants further", which was pursued at the peak of the migrant tide when migrants were allowed to proceed further to the west and the north of Europe, proved to be unfeasible at the European level when it comes to dealing with the phenomenon of the latest migrations.
He claims that a majority of migrants who are trying to pass through Croatia on their way to the west and the north are not in need of international protection and insists that they are migrating for economic reasons.
Such people illegally pass the borders and abuse the system of asylum and in that way they can subvert the passport-free Schengen area and the EU asylum policy, Božinović explains in the statement released by Hina.
In order to achieve their goal of reaching some of the western or northern European countries, irregular migrants counterfeit data about their identity and they usually do not have identification papers on them, he says explaining that before entering Croatia, migrants have passed through at least one EU member-state where they could have requested international protection, if they needed that.
Underscoring that the earnings from smuggling of migrants have reached a level of earnings from illegal drug trade, Božinović warns that irregular migrations pose a threat to the security, and points out that the interior ministry tackles the issue with full attention.
Commenting on a rise in irregular migrations since the start of this year and also on increasing pressure on police officers "who are expected by some people to let migrants pass through Croatia", the minister says that Croatia will not tolerate such occurrences, as the country complies with its own and European legislation.
He explains that there is no possibility for migrants proceeding in a lawful way towards other EU member states. "Letting them (irregular migrants) proceed further, as is suggested by some circles in our public and media space, means that Croatia can turn into a sort of hot spot for a huge number of migrants who would then be forced by circumstances to stay here longer. It is not either in their or in our interest," he underscores.
Croatia will find answers based on the protection of national interests, which includes primarily fighting irregular migrations, he says recalling that the EU is determined to prevent recurrence of uncontrolled migration flows of the extent such was in 2015 and in 2016.
In parallel to the protection of its borders, Croatia is also implementing the measures which are requirements for the country's admission to the Schengen area, the minister said.
