Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic commented on Thursday Slovenia's announcement that it would apply "systematic checks" on its border crossings with Croatia, and announced that Chinese police officers will join Croatian police in patrolling tourist resorts during the summer season.

A senior official at the Slovenian Interior Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that Slovenia would apply more scrutinised checks on its border crossings during the summer months, due to “heightened risk of migration, crime, and terrorism.”

However, he added that in case of gridlocks, the border controls would go back to “targeted checks,” meaning only suspicious travellers would be scrutinised.

In response to the announcement, Bozinovic said that the tighter controls that Slovenia plans to temporarily adopt can be applied in the period from March 15 to October 31, and that the system has been approved by Hungary, Croatia, and Slovenia.

The announcement caused concern in Croatia as a large portion of tourists visiting the country arrive via roads passing through Slovenia, and any slowing down of traffic is likely to result in enormous traffic jams on Croatia’s western border. However, Bozinovic said there was no reason for concern.

“I’m certain that all border control agencies will do everything within their power to keep the traffic going with no major jams,” Bozinovic said.

He also confirmed that during this summer’s tourist season 87 foreign police officers from 17 countries would come to the country and patrol tourist sites to assist their local law enforcement colleagues. And this year will see police officers from China patrolling some coastal towns and resorts, in what is the first time that a non-European police force will help their Croatian counterparts.

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