Approximately 40% of illegal migrants intercepted at Croatia's borders arrived by plane in neighbouring countries, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday, stressing that these countries need to align their visa policies with the EU.

The prime minister gave an interview to France24 and Radio France Internationale last night.

“We advocate for complete alignment of the visa policies of neighbouring states with the EU to stop the ‘unacceptable practice’ of people arriving in Belgrade and Sarajevo without visas and then becoming illegal migrants attempting to cross the green border. Forty percent of illegal migrants stopped by Croatian police arrived in the region this way,” Plenković told France24.

He said most EU member states wish to halt illegal migration at the external borders and prevent a migrant influx similar to that of 2015 and 2016, which had “negative consequences for the European political spectrum.”

Plenkovic said Croatia is “cautious” about an agreement between Italy and Albania to establish centres for illegal migrants on Albanian territory, which could host up to 30,000 people. “We need to see how this project will work in practice,” he said, pointing to legal challenges as Italian courts have issued conflicting rulings.

Last week, an Italian migration court ruled that 16 migrants sent to Albania from Italy must be returned.