ZAGREB, May 21, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday the Security 19 exercise showed how the homeland security system and the synergy of all stakeholders acted successfully in crises and in inaccessible terrain.

Speaking at Divulje Air Base after the exercise was held, he said, "It was impressive to see the air and naval forces, the good vehicles firemen have, the army support and the police security. This was indeed high-tech progress."

He said the communication equipment of the Transmitters and Communications and Croatian Forests companies was integrated into the fire protection system.

Speaking of the upgraded homeland security system, Defence Minister Damir Krstičević said the system was a government brand and that only with it could Croatia deal with all the contemporary threats.

Interior Minister Davor Božinović said Security 19 was a great example of how to build a protection and rescue system. The system gets better, more coherent and more efficient by the year and more and more attention is paid to prevention, he added.

The coordination of all the forces which took part in today's exercise, held in Zadar, Šibenik-Knin and Split-Dalmatia counties, is excellent and Croatia is ready for the summer fire season, it was said.

More national security news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 17, 2019 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Thursday Croatia did not and would not let in illegal migrants, and that the police were complying with the law in handling migrants.

He was commenting on a Swiss Radio Television report the day before which showed Croatian police allegedly using force to return illegal migrants to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Over two days in late April, Swiss reporters allegedly documented, from concealed positions, four pushbacks in which 70 migrants, mainly from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Algeria, were transferred against their will to BiH.

Responding to the footage, Croatia's Interior Ministry said it showed "official action in line with the Schengen code, aimed at preventing illegal entry into the EU."

Speaking to reporters, Božinović said the TV report "was conceived so as to show that Croatian police use violence, and it's not the first time." He said the footage showed "everything but violence," and called it "another futile attempt to accuse the Croatian police which, I repeat, are enforcing national and European legislation."

For some time now, the Croatian police are faced with accusations of unlawfully returning migrants to BiH, instead of giving them a chance to apply for asylum in Croatia, and of beating them and stealing their property. The Interior Ministry has rejected the accusations, saying it "discourages" migrants from attempting to illegally enter the country.

Božinović said Croatia, as a sovereign country, did not and would not allow illegal entry. He said parts of the border regions, notably in Sisak-Moslavina County, were believed to contain leftover mines and that migrants risked being killed. "Croatia is enforcing the Schengen legislation by enabling people to seek asylum," he said, adding that 80% of those who applied for asylum left before their applications were processed.

"After being identified by the authorities of Austria, Germany or any other EU member state, they are returned to Croatia. They don't want to stay in Croatia but go to third countries which don't want to receive them and return them to Croatia, which should care for those who don't want to stay in Croatia."

"This return of secondary migrants to Croatia and the fact that Croatia keeps detailed records of all such asylum seekers, notably in the last 18 months, discourages them from seeking asylum in Croatia because they know they will be returned sooner or later," he said.

This year through May 1, there were 4,309 illegal attempts to enter Croatia and the police arrested and tried 251 perpetrators for people smuggling.

Božinović said that in every county there were enough police to deal with migrants, reiterating that migrations were not a local issue. "Migrations are managed at national level, from the national task force formed within the Police Directorate," he said, adding that "we can respond to any challenge."

Police Director Nikola Milina, too, said the Croatian police acted in line with the law when dealing with migrants. "Last year alone there were more than 1,000 asylum applications. It's not true at all that people are being prevented from seeking asylum."

He said the police were first and foremost focused on preventing people smuggling, and that they were also saving lives. He urged NGOs not to encourage migrants to expose themselves to danger, notably in potential mine fields.

More news about the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 15, 2019 - Addressing a forum on cyber security in the Western Balkans, organised by the French Embassy in Zagreb on Tuesday, Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović said that cyber security had become a security priority and a decisive factor of a country's overall development.

"Cyber-attacks pose a major threat to the security, stability of economic prosperity of the European Union, its member-states, the private sector and the entire community and citizens themselves. It is becoming increasingly clear that adequate protection of business premises and systematic upgrading are the only way to protect our way of life in the current digital age. We therefore must approach the problem together and more seriously," said the minister.

He noted that state institutions had the initial role in defining and strengthening a modern and adequate response to security threats and cyber incidents and that it was of the utmost importance to align laws with the latest technological advances to enable identification and prosecution of cyber criminals and protect the system.

"Considering the global nature of the Internet and digital business connectivity, information systems in the EU are not isolated as a target and the issue of their protection goes beyond national borders because threats to that system have negative potential that can jeopardise the survival of the common European project and our common values," he stressed.

Božinović said that the Ministry of the Interior was working on strengthening the capacities, education and specialisation of police and judicial officials for the prevention of cybercrime and that Croatia, as the host of the international forum, was recognised as a country which had the tools, know-how and skills as well as experts to deal with cyber security challenges.

"With the recent arrest of the owner of the biggest international illegal Internet service we have shown to Europe that we are ready, capable, trained and equipped to fight the most sophisticated security threats and we continue to develop in that direction," said Božinović.

The Zagreb forum on cyber security in the Western Balkans brought together around 50 representatives from 14 countries of the EU and the region, including cyber security experts and business people.

More news about the Interior Ministry can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 10, 2019 - "We will protect people who live in areas intersected by migrant routes," the state secretary at the Ministry of the Interior, Žarko Katić, said in parliament on Friday while responding to MP Saša Đujić's question as to how police intended to guarantee security to citizens in the mountainous Gorski Kotar region and the area of Rijeka, in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, where cases of migrants breaking into family homes have become frequent.

Do people have to hire security guards, Social Democrat Đujić asked during a parliamentary debate on a private protection bill.

Katić confirmed that the migrant pressure was the greatest in Karlovac, Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Lika-Senj counties, noting that additional police forces were being sent to those counties with state-of-the-art equipment.

"The problem does exist, we are aware of it and are dealing with it in the most appropriate way, we will protect people who live in areas intersected by migrant routes," Katić said, adding that police work in the areas in question was hampered by the fact that those areas were sparsely populated.

More news about the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 10, 2019 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović met with his Bavarian counterpart Joachim Hermann in Munich on Thursday and Hermann commended the work of Croatian border police in protecting Croatia's and the European Union's external border, a press release said.

Božinović is on a two-day official visit to Bavaria where he met with Hermann and discussed ways to strengthen police cooperation as well as border protection, migration, Croatia's membership of the Schengen area and preparations for and main priorities of Croatia's presidency of the Council of the European Union in the field of police work.

"Minister Hermann commended the work of Croatia's police in protecting the Croatian and the external EU border. He underlined that he is aware of the pressure Croatia is faced with due to its geographic and geostrategic position with regard to illegal migration and concluded that Croatia and Bavaria cooperate excellently, including cooperation between their police forces," the press release from Croatia's interior ministry said.

Božinović said that he entirely shared Hermann's stance of the high level of cooperation between Croatia and Bavaria regarding police cooperation and thanked him for recognising the work of Croatia's police.

"Croatia's border police force is one of the most trained European border police forces and efficiently protects our borders and deals successfully with illegal migrations on a daily basis. It prevents illegal entries into Croatia, that is, the European Union," Božinović said.

He recalled that Croatia's border was the EU's longest external land border and that cooperation with Bavaria in that regard was very important for Croatia. "I am pleased that the contribution the Croatian police are making is recognised in the European Union and here in Bavaria," Božinović underscored.

He also underlined that security challenges today are on the most part of a transnational nature, meaning that they can be responded to only through cooperation between countries and "Bavaria and Croatia serve and will continue to serve as an example in that regard."

More news about the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 8, 2019 - The chairman of the parliamentary committee on home affairs and national security, Ranko Ostojić of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), said on Wednesday that he would ask state agencies for their position on alleged plans by former police IT specialist Franjo Varga, a suspect in the fake text messages affair, to monitor Interior Minister Davor Božinović's emails.

Ostojić said that he was surprised that the president and the prime minister did not intend to call a session of the National Security Council despite an abundance of information on possible threats to state institutions.

Noting that he would request an opinion of the relevant state services, Ostojić said: "Ongoing proceedings in the fake text messages affair are confidential and yet we have information leaks in some weeklies and dailies."

Ostojić said that the committee would discuss the matter once the requested information was obtained but noted that he needed the consent of a part of the committee on home affairs and national security to call a thematic session on the fake texts affair.

"The president and the prime minister say that they have no information on what is going on. That's security for you, hearing the prime minister, who is in charge of all services that need to report to him, say that he has no information. It could be that I'm informed better than the prime minister. This definitely deserves a serious session and serious answers," said Ostojić. He added that he believed the current developments were due to infighting in the ruling HDZ party.

Ostojić also expressed dissatisfaction with cooperation with Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, saying that he had not attended any of the committee's sessions. "That says enough about his attitude to the parliamentary body in charge of overseeing the police's work," he said.

Prosecutors contend that Franjo Varga created fake text messages, including for former football mogul Zdravko Mamić, and that last September Blaž Curić, a close friend of Deputy Parliament Speaker and HDZ vice-president Milijan Brkić, warned Varga that he was under investigation.

The Nacional weekly, which has been following the fake texts scandal for months, said in its latest issue that in March 2018, Varga's co-defendant Curić, asked Varga to monitor Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović's emails, which Varga reportedly refused to do.

Police said recently they had brought charges against Brkić, his brother Jozo Brkić, Varga and Curić, for committing cybernetic offences against several persons.

The police allegedly found out about computer hacking by examining the computers and documents seized in the case against Varga and Curić.

The prosecutorial authorities have said that the investigation is confidential for the sake of protection of the private lives of the women whose computer systems were hacked.

More news about Interior Ministry can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 4, 2019 - On the occasion of the Feast Day of Saint Florian, the patron saint of firefighters, the Croatian Firefighting Association held a special meeting on Saturday in the town of Marija Bistrica.

Addressing the event, Interior Minister Davor Božinović said that the organised firefighting system had been existing in Croatia for some 150 years and added that this was one of the brands that made Croatia recognisable abroad.

"The task of the government is to help upgrade the system, and since large forest fires in 2017, we have been conducting activities and talks to this aim," Božinović said.

We have decided to connect and coordinate all emergency services so that they can be used most efficiently in cases of great disasters, the minister said.

"Being the strongest and the largest organisation, the Firefighting Association has a special place in that," he added.

Božinović said that last year, 38 million euro of non-repayable funds from the EU were transferred to Croatia's firefighting sector for the purchase of vehicles and telecommunication equipment.

The Firefighting Association president, Ante Sanader, said that 60,000 firefighters presented the strength and safety and security for citizens.

More news about fires in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, April 24, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday that 6,500 Croatian police officers have been deployed along the border to prevent illegal migration, adding that the police know very well where and how to respond to safeguard Croatia against illegal migration.

"Our migration policy, including towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, is based on cooperation between states and police. It is ongoing on a daily basis and is producing key results, preventing illegal migration," Plenković said during Question Time in Parliament, responding to a question from Bruna Esih (Independents for Croatia) about a migrant centre which Bosnia and Herzegovina plans to open near the border with Croatia and what Croatia should do to reduce the migrant pressure on its border.

The PM said that an increasing number of migrants were arriving in Bosnia and Herzegovina using the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkan routes, and that Croatia was adhering to the Schengen membership criteria and absorbing large amounts of EU funding to increase its ability to control illegal migration.

He recalled that Croatia had used 120 million euro in EU funds to strengthen the EU's external border, and that a Frontex aircraft, which is based at Zadar, monitored the entire region of Southeast Europe for illegal migration.

More news about migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 28, 2019 - A bill on road traffic safety which the government sent to parliament on Thursday, envisages a significant increase in fines for traffic offences and recommends the temporary confiscation of vehicles for repeated offenders.

Presenting the bill to the government, Interior Minister Davor Božinović said that the experts from the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences were engaged to draft this legislative proposal which is aimed at raising all traffic participants' awareness of the need to respect traffic regulations in order to reduce the number of serious offences that endanger lives on the road.

The bill proposes higher fines for traffic offences and a period of ban from driving a motor vehicle depending on the number of offences committed by an offender.

Grave traffic offences include driving in the opposite direction on motorway, fast access roads, exceeding the speed limit in built-up areas by more than 50 km/h, passing through a red light, refusing to take an alcohol test, driving with more than a 1.5 g/kg alcohol blood level or under the influence of narcotics, driving without a licence.

Other offences include driving without a seat belt, use of mobile phone while driving, leaving the site of an accident and the like.

The bill proposes the temporary confiscation of a vehicle for repeated gross offenders, Božinović said underscoring that temporarily means until the case is heard before a court which has to be within 15 days and would apply to drivers who have committed two previous grave offences.

A novelty is that drivers have to keep a safe distance between vehicles on motorways as well as the obligation to have a camera recording a driver when taking a driver's test for a licence in order to increase transparency and quality of driving tests.

Considering the controversy in public over the proposal for compulsory medical check-ups for elderly drivers when extending their licence and that an agreement has not been reached with pensioners' representatives, it is important to say that until a final draft of the bill is prepared, negotiations will continue and an additional analysis will be conducted with Health Ministry officials and a regulation will be adopted that will improve safety on the roads while taking account that it does not pose a too large financial burden for the elderly, Božinović said.

The government today sent to parliament a bill of amendments to the legislation of the police powers and jurisdiction.

More news on driving in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, March 25, 2019 - Police found in the Plješivica Mountain area on Sunday 15 persons from Libya and Tunisia who had illegally entered Croatia, including a Tunisian illegal migrant woman who they claimed was pregnant, and transferred them to Gospić – the woman to the hospital because of her poor condition and the rest to the police station.

In the evening, the hospital notified the police that the woman was not pregnant.

Speaking to Hina on Monday, hospital head Sandra Čubelić said the woman was born in 1985 and that she was brought in for emergency treatment because she was exhausted and mildly dehydrated. The woman was released after receiving intravenous therapy, she added.

Lika-Senj County police spokeswoman Maja Brozičević told Hina the 15 migrants had illegally entered Croatia from Bosnia and Herzegovina. "They will probably be deported, unless one of them says their life would be in danger upon returning to the country of origin and applies for asylum in Croatia."

Asked if the information that the woman was pregnant had been a misunderstanding or a deliberately false report, Brozičević said the border police in Korenica was notified around 1.30 p.m. on Sunday about several persons in the Plješivica Mountain area, including a heavily pregnant woman.

The police, she said, found "13 men, one child and one woman and the migrants were shouting and repeating that the woman was pregnant, and later we heard that she was wrapped in several blankets. Pregnant or not, we helped them all and are acting in line with national and European legislation."

More news about the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.