The number of illegal migrants entering the European Union this year is approaching the 2015 and 2016 levels, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Wednesday at a joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart. Pročitaj više

Bozinovic hosted Ivan Demerdzhiev, the Deputy Prime Minister for Public Order and Security and Minister of the Interior in Bulgaria’s caretaker government.

Bozinovic said that the main topic of their meeting was the migrant crisis, which “according to all indicators, not only is it not abating” in terms of illegal entry into the territory of the European Union, “but in the first months of 2023, the numbers are higher than they were last year” and are approaching the numbers of 2015 and 2016, especially when it comes to asylum seekers.

He added that the migrants are mostly coming from the Middle East and North Africa, but that due to the liberalisation of the visa regime in the Croatian neighbourhood, “primarily in Serbia and BiH,” people from countries such as Burundi and Cuba are also arriving.

“Last year alone, EU member states received almost a million requests for international protection,” the minister continued.

He underscored that one of the causes of the greater number of migration was the consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which disrupted the world’s economic trends and pushed a large number of people below the poverty line, but also threatened the food supply in the areas that were already faced with difficulties.

The large number of arrivals was also due to the disastrous earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, which occurred in the area where a large number of refugees from Syria and other countries found temporary refuge.

“That puts us all in front of a major challenge. Europe cannot be closed, but Europe must fight against illegal migration and against those who make money from this disaster,” said Bozinovic, stressing that neither Bulgaria nor Croatia can solve this issue alone.

Bozinovic said that it is in Croatia’s interest that Bulgaria and Romania join the Schengen Area as soon as possible, after Croatia joined the passport-free area at the beginning of the year.

Croatia is “working intensively” on this in cooperation with Sofia and Bucharest and in that regard Bozinovic expects his Romanian counterpart to visit Croatia soon.

Austria blocked the entry of the two countries into the Schengen Area at the end of last year and Bulgaria’s membership was also opposed by the Netherlands.

Demerdzhiev called the decision “insulting” at the time, given Sofia’s “extraordinary efforts” to meet Brussels’ demands.

He said that Bulgaria is seeing “more and more understanding” from the European Commission and other EU member states.

“Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen Area would not only be a sign of goodwill towards us, but also a benefit for all other countries,” Demerdzhiev said, stressing that Croatia’s support in that regard is “very important” and that its “experiences and good practices help a lot and are extremely valuable.”