Croatia joins call for joint EU response to protect external borders

The Croatian Prime Minister recently co-signed a letter from 22 EU leaders to European institutions calling for a coordinated response to protect the bloc's external borders. The decision was announced by the Croatian Government over the weekend, and came following the illegal entry of 60,000 migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.

The migrant and humanitarian crisis erupted when, according to Ceuta's government estimates, around 60,000 migrants illegally entered the Spanish autonomous city, mostly by swimming around the breakwater. 57 migrants died in the process. Those who reached Ceuta were left without food, water and other supplies.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković joined more than twenty EU leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in co-signing a letter calling for a coordinated response to protect the EU’s external borders.

“We must not allow uncontrolled mass crossings, the instrumentalization of migration or other hybrid threats to create the impression that illegal entry into the European Union is possible, or that illegal entry of migrants can be converted into legal residence. Such a perception would encourage further attempts, undermine trust in our common migration policy and have consequences for all member states,” the letter stated.

The letter's recipients include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin, whose country currently holds the EU presidency.

In July, Spain's Supreme Court ruled that migrants intercepted at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot be immediately returned to Morocco under the accelerated procedure applicable to the enclaves. However, in their letter the signatories said they were aware that the ruling had been used as "a pretext for this attack and abuse of the European migration and asylum system."

“At the same time, it is our duty to effectively deter and combat illegal migration uncompromisingly by coordinating activities, strengthening external borders and addressing all policies that may act as pull factors, such as the regularization of the status of a very large number of illegal migrants,” the letter added.

For its part the Croatian Government also emphasized the importance of shared responsibility and solidarity with EU member states exposed to particular pressure in order to avoid the introduction of internal controls between member states.

Source: HRT