ZAGREB, March 13, 2020 - The European Union must show its citizens that it has answers to their concerns, Croatian Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović said ahead of a regular meeting of EU ministers of the interior in Brussels on Friday.
The meeting is expected to discuss assistance to Greece in coping with the migrant wave from Turkey and ways of strengthening cooperation in civil protection to stop the spreading of the novel coronavirus.
"This is a regular meeting in extraordinary circumstances. As the county chairing the Council of the EU, we have to demonstrate leadership because citizens across the EU want to see Europe having answers to their concerns," Božinović said ahead of the meeting.
Only a few ministers arrived in Brussels for the meeting while other countries were represented either by state secretaries or ambassadors to the EU.
The meeting is taking place at a time when a number of EU countries have closed their borders, schools, restaurants and shops in an attempt to stop or slow down the spreading of the coronavirus.
Božinović underlined the need for decisions in the EU to be adopted in a "more uniform way", noting that that would enhance citizens' trust.
Asked if Croatia was prepared to take in unaccompanied migrant children currently staying on Greek islands, Božinović said that the matter had been discussed, that there was a willingness to do so, but that the matter should also be considered in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.
Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johannson recently visited Greece and she will inform the ministers about the result of her visit, he said.
EU ministers of the interior held an extraordinary meeting in Brussels two weeks ago at which they expressed support for Greece and concluded that illegal crossings of the border into EU territory would not be tolerated after Turkey opened its borders to migrants.
Today's meeting will discuss Germany's proposal to take in 1,600 unaccompanied migrant children from Greek islands, which has been supported by several member-countries.
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