Božinović: No one can say how migrant situation will unfold

Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Wednesday that no one could say how the situation with Afghan refugees would unfold, but that the police were doling all in their power to keep Croatia safe.

He made the statement during Question Time in Parliament after MP Darko Sobota of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said that the public was concerned about the situation in Afghanistan and asked whether the concern about a new migrant wave was justified.

Božinović said that this year alone his ministry had received 1,700 asylum claims, half of which were filed by Afghan nationals. "Based on our experience, we think there will be more of them. It is mainly people without any documents."

Currently, 126 Afghans are seeking international protection, including 19 whom Croatia has evacuated, he said and added that the government is aware that the migration issue goes beyond the term of one government and that therefore the issue should be addressed strategically.

"We have done all in our power to strengthen our border, which is the external border of the European Union," Božinović said.

Croatia has over 6,500 border police, several hundred members of rapid response and criminal investigation police, and the focus is on the fight against organised crime, equipment and modernisation of the police service, he said and added that "this government alone has invested more than HRK 200 million in this."

Text: Hina

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