Plenkovic for consensus to be made on targeted border checks by summer

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in Brussels on Friday after talks with European Council President Donald Tusk that a consensus should be reached before the summer on targeted border checks since the enforcement of a new European Union regulation on systematic checks has been causing long lines on the Croatian-Slovenian border.

"I think President Tusk is aware that this situation with systematic checks on the borders is neither good nor useful. My appeal was firm and clear that, before the summer season, it's necessary to find a consensus which will make it possible to switch from systematic to targeted checks to facilitate the flow across the border," Plenkovic told reporters.

On Saturday, on the fringes of an EU summit, Plenkovic is due to meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Slovenian PM Miro Cerar, who insists on systematic checks despite the problems in crossing the border.

"I believe the meeting will contribute to the finding of a solution," the Croatian premier said, reiterating that the current situation was untenable and that one could only imagine the lines during the busiest weekends in July and August.

"My task as prime minister is to get our friends' support for solving this problem because we will have a situation in which the enforcement of the regulation brings more damage than benefit. That's in nobody's interest, notably of a government and a member state which recently joined the EU and advocates European values. We can't allow such a contradiction," Plenkovic said.

Text: Hina

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