Božinović says the EU must learn from the Ceuta migrant crisis

Speaking to reporters after opening the newly renovated police station in Preko on the Island of Ugljan, Croatia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister said that some state sponsored actors are trying to destabilize the EU through illegal migration.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's urgent meeting of EU Interior Ministers to address the migrant crisis on the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Davor Božinović told reporters that Europe must learn from the Ceuta crisis if it is to avoid similar situations in the future.

"We need to talk about how to prevent something similar from happening at any other external EU border. We know that there are numerous actors, and not only organized crime, in some cases there are also state-sponsored actors who want to destabilize the EU area. I am convinced that they will not succeed. Croatia has its own border police and police in general. Every day we are more technically equipped thanks in large part to EU funds, and we will continue to monitor our borders 24 hours a day. And that will be my message at tomorrow's ministerial meeting," Božinović said.

Minister Božinović was also asked to comment on the situation at Croatia’s southern border crossings with Montenegro, where congestion at the borders is proving to be a serious inconvenience for local residents. This was especially evident this past weekend at Croatia's Karasovići and Vitaljina border crossings with Montenegro, where congestion at the border blocked local roads and brought traffic in the Konavle region to a standstill. According to Minister Božinović new infrastructural improvements are being planned to help ease the congestion at Croatia's southern border.

"The Prime Minister announced certain infrastructural improvements yesterday, both in terms of the expressway to Čilipi, but also the border crossing itself. We see this at almost all of our border crossings with neighboring countries, such as Serbia, where Croatia also has many more lanes and a much greater capacity, which are then forced into a smaller number of lanes making congestion inevitable."

Source: HRT