- Published: 19.02.2015.
Minister Ostojic says Croatia is ready to protect EU's external borders
Croatia is ready to protect the EU's external borders, but admission to the Schengen area of passport-free movement is a political issue, Croatian Minister of the Interior Ranko Ostojic said in Zagreb on Wednesday.
"Croatia is ready to protect the EU's external borders but it is a political matter where we have to meet the necessary technical requirements and to make effort with all our friends - and I believe Austria will support us in that - to get the opportunity to join the Schengen area," Ostojic said after meeting his Austrian counterpart Johanna Mikl-Leitner.
Recalling that Croatia had the right to apply to join the Schengen area as of July 1 this year, Ostojic said that before applying, the country would have to submit a declaration to the European Commission saying that it was ready to join the area. He was confident that Croatia would pass the evaluation.
A decision on a country's joining the Schengen area is made by countries that are part of the Schengen free movement area, the minister said, adding that at present Croatia was showing very good results in the prevention of illegal migration and a decrease in the number of asylum-seekers, which he said was not the case with other EU countries.
In 2014 the number of illegal immigrants in Croatia dropped by 17.8% from the year before, while in all other countries of the Schengen area the number of illegal immigrants was rising, he said.
Asked if the threat of terrorism and foreign fighters would delay Croatia's accession to the Schengen area, the Austrian minister said that it was a new threat that should not be ignored and that Europe had to take seriously, but that it was not something that would be crucial in deciding on Croatia's accession.
Croatia's evaluation is important and after it the results will be checked by all member-states and a decision will be made, Mikl-Leitner said.
The two ministers discussed during their meeting bilateral and regional police cooperation, illegal migrations and the fight against terrorism.
Asked by reporters if they mentioned Bosnia and Herzegovina as a possible source of problems and a route for jihadists from the east to Europe, Ostojic said it was impossible to single out one country because terrorism was a global problem and there was no country where individuals potentially posing a threat could not be found.
"Despite the fact that we are not in the Schengen area, the border regime enforced by other EU countries is already in force on the Croatian borders. The fight against terrorism and jihadists is not only about preventing their recruitment or their leaving to fight on the battlefield, one should also work on other programmes within European initiatives," said Ostojic.
Ostojic expressed hope that a conference on the prevention of extremism, which will be held in Vienna in March and to which he has been invited by his Austrian counterpart, would help identify mechanisms to contribute to the global fight against that problem.
Ostojic and Mikl-Leitner agreed that Croatian-Austrian cooperation at the operational and political level was exceptionally good.
Ministar #mupRH Ranko Ostojić dočekao je austrijsku kolegicu Johanne Mikl-Leitner cc @MFA_Austria pic.twitter.com/xgmHdMeGS2
— Vlada R. Hrvatske (@VladaRH) February 18, 2015
(Hina) rml