Croatian Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Saturday after his Austrian counterpart said it is not the time for Schengen enlargement, that nothing has changed in Austria's relationship with Croatia, and that the statement drew attention to a spike in illegal migration.

“Nothing special is going on,” Bozinovic told a press conference.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told ORF Radio on Friday “it would be inappropriate to vote on enlargement when the external border controls system is not working,” citing a large increase in the number of illegal migrants in Austria.

Karner said that 100,000 migrants have been recorded in Austria this year, 75,000 of whom were not previously registered.

“I spoke with him today and yesterday. It’s a fact that Austria has supported our membership of Schengen since the outset of our Schegen accession process and nothing has changed in that regard,” Bozinovic said, adding that Austria is among the countries that will benefit the most from Croatia’s entry into the Schegen passport-free travel area.

Bozinovic said that it is a fact that the number of illegal migrants has increased along the Eastern Mediterranean route, but “the vast majority” of illegal migrants in Austria did not arrive via Croatia but via Serbia and Hungary. This shows that “perhaps someone inside the Schengen area is not doing their job in accordance with the rules of the European acquis.”

“I know that Austria actually addressed this message to everyone participating and organising the meeting of interior ministers in Brussels next Friday to take into account the overall illegal migration crisis,” Bozinovic said.

“He (Karner) told me that Austria had, and has, nothing against Croatia. I am sure their concern about the increase in illegal migration on the Eastern Mediterranean route will be discussed on Friday,” he added.

The fact that Austrian Chancellor is visiting Croatia on Wednesday, when he is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, is “a good signal”, Bozinovic said.

“Austria does not see Croatia as a problem. Quite the contrary, we have enjoyed their support, and I am certain that we will have it on 8 December,” Bozinovic concluded.

The Austrian Ministry of the Interior told Hina on Saturday that Minister Karner’s statement was aimed at drawing attention to the difficult situation with illegal migration that Austria has been facing in recent months. It noted that the minister never explicitly mentioned the countries his remarks referred to.

Asked about the number of illegal migrants recorded in Croatia, Bozinovic said that there had been around 36,000 migrants this year, an increase of 145% from last year and that they mostly arrived via Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bozinovic noted that the increase in the number of illegal migrants was partly due to the liberalisation of the visa regime in Serbia, as a result of which nationals of Burundi had made up the second-largest number of illegal migrants for a while.