Deputy PM Božinović with European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner

Minister Božinović stressed that the Croatian police are making great efforts, primarily for the safety of their citizens, but also of the citizens of the European Union, while Commissioner Brunner stressed that Croatia is doing an incredibly good job in protecting its borders.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia and Minister Davor Božinović met today with the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner.
 
Deputy Prime Minister Božinović and Commissioner Brunner visited the National Coordination Centre for Border Surveillance, where Commissioner Brunner was presented with the method of surveillance of the Croatian border, as well as the external borders of the European Union and the Schengen border.
 
In a statement to the media, Minister Božinović stressed that the topics of the visit were primarily the fight against illegal migration, as well as a number of other areas in the domain of home affairs, both at the European level and at the national level of the member states.
 
"I am pleased that on his first visit to Croatia and Zagreb, Commissioner Brunner had the opportunity to see and get a sense of the level of engagement of the Croatian police in protecting the external borders of the European Union and the external borders of the Schengen area," he stressed.
 
Minister Božinović emphasized that the number of illegal migrations is drastically decreasing, primarily due to the great engagement of the Croatian police.
 
Thus, last year there were 68% fewer illegal border crossings, and about 70% this year. The goal of the Croatian police is to provide additional training and additional equipment with technical means that can greatly assist the police in their work because they replace human resources that can then be deployed in a targeted manner, according to real needs in the field.
 
Minister Božinović also stressed put the innovativeness of Croatian border police, highlighting the mobile thermal imaging camera project.
 
"Some of the technical solutions that you have seen are actually the product of thinking and sketching by our police officers, for example, mobile cameras on vehicles are a response to the specificities of the Croatian border area, where large radar systems cannot pass. I don't think anyone else in Europe has done what we have done, we applied for this project and received funding from the European Union."
 
We are constantly thinking about new solutions, and we are also innovative in the fight against migrant smugglers, where the border police, in cooperation with the "Cobras", are actively working on preventive actions that are currently yielding great results that contribute to the ultimate goal - reducing illegal migration.
 
Commissioner Brunner thanked for the invitation and for the cooperation over the past four months.
 
“I think our cooperation is excellent and of crucial importance for the whole European Union, which can be seen here today. Croatia is doing an outstanding job in protecting our borders - the Schengen borders and the external borders of the European Union. It was very impressive to see the work done by the Croatian border police. We see that the numbers are falling, they have decreased by almost 70%, which is incredible. In fact, it is thanks to the excellent work of the Croatian border guards and the Croatian police. I would just like to say thank you very much. You are doing everything to protect us as Europeans”, Commissioner Brunner stressed.
 
He stressed that the European Commission also supports the work of the Croatian police through financial instruments: “It is our duty to help all Member States, but especially, of course, those that are most affected, and Croatia with an external European border is affected and is simply doing an incredibly good job in protecting its borders.”
 
He concluded that the number of illegal border crossings is falling across the European Union, not at the level of Croatia's results, but by more than 20%, which is also good. He stressed the importance of cooperation with third countries, for which the Pact on Migration and Asylum is a very good basis.

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