The European Commission's position that Croatia is ready to join the Schengen Area remains unchanged after the latest report on the alleged ill-treatment of migrants on the border, spokesman Adalbert Jahnz said in Brussels on Friday.

The Commission gave an assessment in favour of Croatia’s accession to Schengen and it is now up to the Council to decide, he added.

He was responding to members of the press, who asked if the Commission would change the assessment following a report by the Council of Europe European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), published earlier today, which accuses Croatia of severe ill-treatment of migrants by the police and obstruction of cooperation.

Jahnz said the Commission took note of the report but could not comment because it had just arrived.

The Croatian Interior Ministry said the report was written after a visit to Croatia in August 2020 and that it was one-sided and based on unverifiable information.

After member of the press asked again if the Commission was considering the possibility of changing its position after the latest as well as previous allegations of ill-treatment of migrants, Jahnz said the position was as he had explained it and would stay so.

He said the Commission responded after similar reports in the past, contacting the Croatian authorities and opening a dialogue to establish a border monitoring mechanism. Also, Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson contacted the Croatian interior minister and was assured that investigations would be launched.

Jahnz said the monitoring mechanism was established in Croatia but that it was too early to talk about its effectiveness which, he added, would depend on its application.

Diplomatic sources confirmed today that draft conclusions confirming Croatia’s readiness to join Schengen will be on the agenda of next Thursday’s meeting of member states’ interior ministers.

The matter will be on the agenda of the Committee of Permanent Representatives on Wednesday afternoon, after a session of the Dutch parliament. According to diplomatic sources, the Netherlands has not yet given the signal that it will greenlight the conclusions.

The Netherlands has been cautious and critical about Schengen enlargement and currently has a caretaker government.

One diplomatic source said he was cautiously optimistic that the conclusions will be adopted on Thursday.

The conclusions on Croatia’s readiness to apply the Schengen acquis would formally confirm the completion of the evaluation.

The Council of the EU is also working on a draft decision on Croatia’s admission, which is expected to be on the agenda during the Council’s French presidency in the first half of 2022.

For the final decision it is necessary to obtain the opinion of the European Parliament, but the Council does not need to take account of it.

All 26 Schengen member states must approve the decision. The whole procedure could take six months.