Minister does not rule out Croatia to take in more Afghan refugees, no new wave

After Croatia has taken in 19 Afghan refugees, Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović said on Monday that he could not rule out that the number of refugees to be accepted by Croatia would be higher, but not much, as well as that that would not change Zagreb and Brussels' position on illegal Afghan migrants.

"I will definitely not say that this is the final number," Božinović told a news conference, but added that Croatia would in future accept "individual cases" and that there would not be many.

Croatia has so far taken in 19 Afghan nationals fleeing the Taliban rule, including 10 minors.

The persons in question are three families, they have been accommodated at a centre for asylum-seekers in Kutina and are currently self-isolating.

Božinović said that they had all expressed a wish to seek asylum in Croatia and that their requests would probably be granted as they had already undergone "certain background checks."

The minister said that the reception of migrants would not change Croatia's position on illegal migrations on its borders, where, among others, also Afghan migrants had been arriving.

"We have been and will continue to be against illegal migrations, as will be stated by other EU members as well," he said.

Commenting on illegal migrants, he said they frequently lacked identification papers, which was why their identity could not be determined "and their motive is not, as in this case, to save their lives, they have a different motive."

Božinović today travels to Brussels where on Tuesday he will attend a meeting of EU member-states on the situation in Afghanistan and the EU's response. The meeting is expected to adopt a resolution on steps to be taken by the EU with regard to Afghanistan.

"The EU has learned the lessons from 2015 and 2016 and today you can see much stronger engagement by the EU and its external service," he said in reference to the years when a large number of refugees and migrants arrived in Europe, a scenario which, he said, would not happen again.

"Nobody in Europe will agree to invite and accept a larger number of people any more. That will certainly not happen this time," he said, adding that nobody was willing to bear the burden of new migrant waves.

He said that migrants were often manipulated by criminal organisations that wanted to see as many people as possible set out on a journey to Europe so they could financially exploit them.

The EU will step up its engagement in that regard, including development aid, and it is also cooperating with countries bordering Afghanistan regarding the reception of Afghan refugees so that they can "return to their home country once conditions have been created," said the minister.

Text: Hina

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