ZAGREB, November 5, 2018 - The Croatian People's Party (HNS), a junior partner in the ruling coalition government, said on Monday that it was unacceptable that President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović "is justifying and currying favour with hate-mongers and the notorious far-right," instead of co-creating the country's foreign policy with the government.

Co-creation of the country's foreign policy is in the president's job description rather than self-promotion and similar activities, the HNS said in a statement.

The party believes that it would be appropriate for the president to explain her decision not to travel to an international conference on migrations in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh to both the government and the public.

Acts such as the president's harm Croatia's reputation in the international community and the United Nations and we believe it is important that the president tells the public clearly why she has entirely changed her position and why she relayed her decision to hate-mongers instead of the government and the Croatian public, notably in light of the fact that she initially told the UN secretary-general that she would attend the conference in question, the HNS says in the statement.

Acts such as the president's additionally blur the public perception of migrants that is currently based primarily on disinformation disseminated by populists and radicals who portray them as a danger to the EU, the party said.

Responsible politicians have the task to find a way, with clear ideas and policies, to integrate migrants in European society, the HNS says. The purpose is to enable migrants to prosper, and open and tolerant societies can equally benefit from their competencies, skills and positive ambitions. That goal will not be possible to achieve by currying favour with hate-mongers and radicals, the HNS said in its statement.

For more on the activities of Croatian President kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, click here.

ZAGREB, November 5, 2018 - On Monday, the Jutarnji List daily published a letter which President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović sent UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres in August this year, in which she says, among other things, that she is very much pleased to be able to participate in the adoption of a document on migration in Marrakesh, Morocco.

"I am exceptionally pleased to be able to participate in the adoption of this important document which constitutes materialisation of the agreement from the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, as well as a response by the international community to the biggest movement of people in the history of the world," reads the letter which, according to Jutarnji List, the president sent the UN secretary-general on August 16.

Grabar-Kitarović's participation in the Marrakesh conference has caused a new disagreement between the Office of the President and the government after a controversial TV host published on his Facebook wall an alleged reply from the Office of the President saying that she would not sign the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in Marrakesh and that her office was not involved in talks on the Declaration.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said this past Friday that the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration regulated only legal migration and that he had been informed that President Grabar-Kitarović would go to Morocco in December for the ratification of the document. He would not comment on media reports that the president would not go to Morocco, saying that, as far as he knew, she planned to attend the Global Compact ratification conference in Marrakesh because she was invited by the UN secretary-general.

Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić told a news conference on Friday that she was surprised by announcements that Grabar-Kitarović would not attend the conference, and on that occasion cited Grabar-Kitarović's speech in the UN in which she expressed clear support for the Global Compact.

The Office of the President said on Friday that the president supported the completion of talks on the Marrakesh agreement but that she would not attend the ratification conference in Marrakesh and that she had informed the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry of her decision.

On Monday, President Grabar-Kitarović said that "I neither support nor don't support" the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, and severely criticised the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry over its failure to inform the public about the Marrakesh declaration on regular migrations which is now the issue that is causing disputes in the public.

Asked by the press about the document, she said "I neither support nor don't support it." The president is sure that a global response to migrations is necessary but that "it must not be a disputable issue among countries." "More and more countries give up on the agreement on a daily basis for various reasons. I am not led by the interests of the United States or Austria but by the interests of Croatia," she said.

She insists that putting the Marrakesh declaration on the front burner is an attempt to distract the public attention from Croatia's burning issues.

To read more about the migrant crisis as it affects Croatia, click here.

ZAGREB, November 4, 2018 - The MOST party's political secretary and lawmaker Nikola Grmoja, and a member of the party's main committee Nizar Shoukry, a Croatian citizen of Syrian descent, said on Saturday at a news conference dedicated to migrations that Croatia was a humane country but that it was also supposed to defend its borders from the flow of migrants.

"For us, two things are essential, to protect our state borders and to keep Croatian citizens safe," said Shoukry, a doctor who has been living in Croatia for 35 years and who has been decorated for his humanitarian work during the migrant crisis in 2015.

Shoukry, a vice-chairman of the Vukovar-Srijem County Assembly, said that he was in contact with migrants on a daily basis and praised the Croatian police for how they handle the situation along the borders. The police are doing a great job and prevent illegal crossings of migrants from Serbia, he said, underscoring that "while the migrants sleep in the open, police officers stand in the open."

"Migrants are given hot meals, whereas the police are given bread and pate, and that has been going on for three years."

Shoukry said that Croatia was in an unenviable position. "Being a Croat who also knows the mentality of those from the East, I propose that we immediately start working on fortification barriers, first along the southern border and then on the east," the MOST official said.

He said that the southern border should be safeguarded so as to create conditions for the next tourist season, explaining that tourists won't come to Croatia if they hear that migrants are entering the country without control.

He also criticised the foreign ministry for not having a firm stance towards Germany and the European Union, which he said had caused havoc and now they should find a solution for "all those unfortunate people who have passed thousands and thousands of kilometres in pursuit of peace and security."

Grmoja criticised both the foreign ministry and President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović over their attitude of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. He said that the MOST party would like to know why the president changed her mind and decided not to go to Marrakesh for a conference on that document.

He also criticised Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinovic Burić for claiming that the Global Compact was not meant to be signed but that she kept silent about the information that the document should be adopted.

For more on migrant crisis in Croatia, read here.

ZAGREB, November 3, 2018 - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović welcomes the completion of negotiations on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration but has decided not to go to Marrakesh for its endorsement, of which the Croatian Foreign Ministry has been informed, her office said on Friday.

Addressing the UN General Assembly recently, the president welcomed the successful completion of the negotiations and announced that she would attend the conference in Marrakesh in December, but in the meantime she decided not to attend, officially notifying the Foreign Ministry, the president's office said in a press release.

According to unofficial information, the president's office was therefore taken aback by Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić's statement at an extraordinary press conference earlier today that she was surprised the president would not go to Marrakesh.

The Global Compact will not be officially signed in Morocco next month but receive political support from heads of state and government. The president's office did not say why she decided not to attend the conference.

It reiterated that the president saw the migration problem as a long standing issue requiring a common approach to the very source of migration. "The president advocates the continuation of dealing with the root causes, while looking for sustainable and lasting solutions to conflicts and crises," her office said.

The issue of the Global Compact and the conference in Marrakesh has been in the focus of media attention in the last few days, as rightwing part of the political spectrum has launched a pressure campaign on the president and the government to join several other countries which have decided not to sign the document. The allegations that the Compact would force Croatia take in many thousands of migrant have been strongly denied by the Foreign Ministry.

For more on the migrantion crisis and the Global Compact controversy, click here.

ZAGREB, November 2, 2018 - The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration will advance cooperation between states in regular migration and not increase the migrant flow, as suggested by Croatia's far right, Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić said on Friday, adding that she was surprised by announcements that President Grabar-Kitarović would not attend a conference in Marrakesh where that document should be adopted.

The Global Compact is a catalogue of measures and not an agreement, it is not legally binding for UN member states and every state has the sovereign right to choose from it the set of measures suiting its situation, the minister said at a press conference called in the wake of media reports that Croatia's far right sees the document as contentious as the Istanbul Convention which Croatia ratified this year.

"The Global Compact represents a catalogue of measures defined in line with the goals of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants which are aimed at advancing cooperation between states in dealing with regular migration," Pejčinović Burić said, adding that no state could resolve the migration issue alone.

She said the Global Compact was the result of the international community's attempts to formulate a document which would encompass the best practices and measures for managing regular migration, helping to reduce migration pressures. Since it is not legally binding, "there is absolutely no obligation to accept migrants," the minister said, adding that any insinuations that the document would lead to uncontrolled migration were absolutely unfounded.

The minister recalled that the drafting of the Global Compact began with the adoption of the 2016 New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, which was endorsed by 193 UN member states, including Croatia, which was represented by President Grabar-Kitarović at the forum in question.

The president underlined the importance of that document at this year's UN General Assembly meeting, the minister said, citing the president's speech. The president said on that occasion that the successful completion of negotiations on the Global Compact for the Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was an "important step in the right direction to effectively deal with this challenge."

"We believe that this catalogue of targeted measures and best practices can guide us in searching for the best solutions in a more coordinated manner and with a better outcome. I look forward to our meeting in Marrakech in December and commend all the efforts of the UN Special Representative Louise Arbour," the president said then.

"According to official information, the president confirmed to the UN secretary-general that she would attend already in August, so we are surprised by the announcement that she will not attend the Marrakesh conference," said Pejčinović Burić.

Inter-departmental consultations are under way in Croatia on a draft conclusion on this document and the final conference in Marrakesh, at the level of heads of state and government, is aimed at politically confirming the common will to improve cooperation in line with the understanding reached in the Global Compact, she added.

If you are interested in how the migration crisis is affecting Croatia, read here.

Will Croatia accept the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in whose drafting it was actively involved? It is a comprehensive United Nations document which is not legally binding for member states and includes a series of recommendations and instruments that each country can – but does not have to – apply and incorporate into its legislation, reports Večernji List on November 2, 2018.

Even though it is not a legally binding document and all decisions regarding migration policies – including the number of migrants admitted – are entirely left to sovereign states, it has become controversial due to various interpretations, such as the allegations that Croatia would have to admit many – some even say millions – migrants. At the same time, petitions against the compact are being signed, and the political pressure is growing for the government not to sign it.

Criticism intensified after some countries, such as the United States, Hungary, and now Austria, have announced they would not accept the compact. It could very easily happen that the Global Compact will turn into a controversy similar to the Istanbul Convention.

The content of the compact was agreed upon by the UN General Assembly in July and aims to create an international framework for migration management. EU member states have authorized the European Union to negotiate the compact on their behalf.

In Croatia, the Global Compact is under the purview of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, but Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović-Burić has refused to clarify the Croatian position on the issue.

A few days ago, the right-wing MP Hrvoje Zekanović called on President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović not to sign the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration as he considers it “wind in the sails of new migration.” Although some of the rightwing portals have reported that the president allegedly said she would not sign the compact, the sources from the president’s office say that the president could not sign it anyway because the agreement is not to be signed at all and was entirely under the purview of the foreign ministry.

The agreement will not be signed by anyone because it is not a legally binding document. Instead, it will be accepted at the political level. It will be used for the heads of state and government to note the challenges faced by the international community and strive to contribute to the harmonisation of practices and the introduction of better controls over their consequences.

In Croatia, it is supposed to be accepted by the government, and the representatives of all the states which support it will officially adopt the document at a gathering in Marrakech on 10 and 11 December.

Critics note that the problem is that in the compact, migrations are defined as a human right. However, it is clearly stated that the compact does not impose conditions or obligations for any country to accept migrants. The sovereignty of each country in managing migration is emphasised as one of the main principles of the compact.

To read more about controversies in Croatia with the Istanbul Convention, click here.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Sandra Veljković).

ZAGREB, October 31, 2018 - The cabinet of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Wednesday decided to amend the government's decision of May 2014 on setting up barriers on roads along the borders with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia in a bid to prevent illegal passage outside border crossings, enhance the control of the borderline and curb off all forms of smuggling and trafficking.

Explaining today's amendment, Interior Minister Davor Božinović said that the state border supervision legislation envisaged that all roads and routes that were not in the function of crossing the borders could be obstructed by barriers so as to halt illegal border crossings outside the official border crossings and a decision to that effect was adopted by the Croatian government in April 2014.

The latest inspection on the ground has pointed to the need to set up barriers at 13 additional locations along the state border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Božinović said today.

The appropriate barriers could be cement blocks or ditches that can prevent vehicles from passing, according to the minister's explanation.

All this is supposed to help improve control of the state borders and thwart all forms of smuggling and trafficking along the borderline covered by the Croatian police in the four counties: Sisak-Moslavina, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Lika-Senj and Zadar.

Undoubtedly, the main reason for the decision is the recent increase in the number of illegal crossings of Croatia’s borders with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Of course, the fact that barriers will be put on roads will not prevent migrants from crossing illegally, they will just have to do it on foot. Given the number of migrants and their determination to reach Western Europe, this decision will certainly not prevent them from trying to enter Croatia.

Want to read more about Europe's migrant crisis? Click here.

ZAGREB, October 31, 2018 - The cabinet of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Wednesday decided to amend the government's decision of May 2014 on setting up barriers on roads along the borders with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia in a bid to prevent illegal passage outside border crossings, enhance the control of the borderline and curb off all forms of smuggling and trafficking.

Explaining today's amendment, Interior Minister Davor Božinović said that the state border supervision legislation envisaged that all roads and routes that were not in the function of crossing the border could be obstructed by barriers so as to halt illegal border crossings outside the official border crossings and a decision to that effect was adopted by the Croatian government in April 2014.

The latest inspection on the ground has pointed to the need to set up barriers at 13 additional locations along the state borders with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Božinović said today.

The appropriate barriers could be cement blocks or ditches that can prevent vehicles from passing, according to the minister's explanation.

All this is supposed to help improve control of the state borders and thwart all forms of smuggling and trafficking along the borderline covered by the Croatian police in the four counties: Sisak-Moslavina, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Lika-Senj and Zadar.

Undoubtedly, the main reason for the decision is the recent increase in the number of illegal crossings of Croatia’s borders with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Of course, the fact that barriers will be put on roads will not prevent migrants from crossing illegally, they will just have to do it on foot. Given the number of migrants and their determination to reach Western Europe, this decision will certainly not prevent them from trying to enter Croatia.

If you want to read more abour the migrant crisis in the region, click here.

ZAGREB, October 30, 2018 - Bosnian police on Tuesday afternoon started transferring by bus 150 to 200 migrants who were 200 metres from the Maljevac-Velika Kladuša international border crossing, the Croatian Interior Ministry said.

Since the border crossing was closed to all traffic for security reasons and movement was temporarily restricted on October 24, Croatian police have been monitoring the situation, the ministry said in a statement.

Allowing movement again will include the removal of barriers and bringing online of all information systems which the border police use to control the flow of people and goods. The Croatian police currently deployed near the border crossing will stay there until further notice, the ministry said.

On October 22, a group of 200-250 migrants tried to cross the border into Croatia but were stopped by Bosnian police. Migrants threw stones and other objects at Croatian police, lightly injuring two officers who sought medical attention. This was the third attempt by migrants staying in Velika Kladuša, Bosnia and Herzegovina to walk across the border into Croatia, but police stopped them every time.

The Maljevac border crossing was reopened to traffic at 6 pm on Tuesday, the Croatian Ministry of the Interior said, noting that the crossing on the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina was reopened after Bosnian police started relocating around 200 migrants who had been staying some 200 metres from the Maljevac-Velika Kladuša border crossing.

The border crossing was closed to all traffic for security reasons and movement was temporarily restricted on October 24.

The migrants protested demanding they should be allowed to enter Croatia and move further to western Europe. The situation has again drawn attention to the migrant issue in the region.

If you are interested in reading more about the migrant crisis and how it affects Croatia, click here.

ZAGREB, October 29, 2018 - Bosnia and Herzegovina's border police administration called on Monday on government authorities in the country and other police agencies to undertake measures they have at their disposal and create conditions to open the Maljevac border crossing to Croatia which has been blocked for seven days after a group of illegal migrants tried to enter Croatia on that route.

After local businesses and residents in the Velika Kladuša area, who are mostly feeling the effects of the Maljevac border crossing being shut down, held a protest rally on Sunday, the border police administration recalled that the situation at the crossing was under control, however, the problem was that about 200 illegal migrants were still located in the immediate vicinity of the crossing and that was why Croatia was refusing to open the crossing to passengers and goods.

A press release sent to the media notes that the border police have done everything they can that is their legal obligation and that now it is up to other law enforcement agencies and government authorities to resolve the problem of removing the migrants who have set up a make-shift tent settlement and who refuse to leave until they are allowed entry into Croatia or are provided with accommodation in Bosnia that will be appropriate for winter conditions.

The migrants don't want to return to Velika Kladuša where they were staying in a make-shift camp which in fact was just a 'muddy paddock' where they set up their tents.

That problem needs to be resolved by the entity and cantonal interior ministries and the border police can only assist in that however there doesn't seem to be any indication that authorities plan to take any action. "We have contacted them several times with the aim of removing the migrants from the said location and offered our assistance and support in line with our abilities. In Bosnia, we have less than 2,000 officers unlike our colleagues in Croatia whose border administration is staffed with 6,500 officers and who at any given moment can rely on Croatian special forces responsible for public law and order. The Bosnian border police have not had adequate support from their colleagues not even when 250 illegal migrants on October 24 tried to forcefully cross into Croatia," the border police said in the press release.

The statement added that a special task force at the state level responsible for monitoring the migrant crisis has not to this day made any decision regarding the situation at the Maljevac crossing.

The International Office for Migration (IOM) on Monday expressed concern over the situation at the crossing. IOM said that their mobile team was trying to convince the migrants to move away from that area however without any success.

The migrant crisis is a topic often covered by Total Croatia News. See here for further articles.