"Government doing its best to ensure people stay in Croatia"

N1

The government is doing everything in its power to ensure that people living in Croatia stay in the country, and those who wish to use the freedom of movement within the EU can do so, as in any other member country, said Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Friday.

“I believe that we’ve achieved our strategic goals, and that the four freedoms are the foundation of the EU. We must do our best to ensure that people living in Croatia are content and want to stay here, but at the same time make it possible for some of those who want to move freely within Europe to be able to do so just like in any other EU country,” Plenkovic said, and added that other eastern and central European countries have experienced the same trends as Croatia since they had joined the EU.

He dismissed the remark from the reporters that he and the president were quarrelling.

“Who’s quarrelling? You should follow my statements and analyse them. As far as I and my government are concerned, we stick to our constitutional authority, work on concrete projects to benefit Croatian people, and don’t waste time on bickering. I spend my time on political competition, but with the opposition, and by dealing with important social problems,” the Prime Minister said.

Asked about the possibility that a new migrant wave could hit Croatia, he said he and his government would do their best to make sure that those who enter Croatia, do so legally.

“Croatia is working responsibly to protect its borders. We did not put up a barbed wire fence or physical barriers on our borders. We believe that the problem of illegal migrations must be solved at its source,” Plenkovic said.

He added that the country was in full control of its borders because of the work to fulfil the criteria for accession to the Schengen Area, but that cooperation with the neighbouring countries was important, as well as with the countries from where the migrants come.

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