Croatia to lift Serbia border blockade upon EU pressure
The Croatian prime minister says Zagreb will soon eliminate restrictions along the country’s frontier with Serbia, amid their ongoing border dispute triggered by the unprecedented refugee crisis in Europe.
“I’m holding intensive talks with my colleagues to remove today or tomorrow the measures that we had to introduce” on the Serbian border in attempt to tackle the refugee crisis, said Zoran Milanovic on Friday.
Milanovic, however, warned that he may impose new restrictions in the future, saying “I cannot and will not do otherwise.”
The remark came after the European Union called on Zagreb to provide explanation for its decision to seal all but one of its border crossings with Serbia.
“We are urgently seeking clarifications from the Croatian authorities,” a European Commission spokeswoman said earlier in the day.
Zagreb accuses Belgrade of intentionally diverting the unprecedented influx of asylum seekers towards Croatian borders. Serbia rejects the allegation, saying Croatia’s move to block the border crossings violates the EU’s regulations.
Reports also said that European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini held telephone conversations with the premiers of the two states, urging them to adopt “a constructive approach” to resolve the conflict.
Hungary to seal Croatian border
Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that Budapest will block its borders with Croatia to prevent the increasing number of refugees from continuing their journey towards northern Europe.
“The influx of migrants is not going to abate... We want to stop people crossing,” Orban said, stressing that he would first try to convince the international community before carrying out the plan.
Hungary is a transit zone for thousands of asylum seekers from the war-ridden countries of the Middle East and Africa who try to reach Western Europe. The country is notorious for adopting harsh policies against refugees, a stance that has greatly infuriated the international community and rights groups.
Last week, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said over 442,440 refugees have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean so far this year, 2,921 of whom have reportedly lost their lives during the perilous journey.
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