Croatia is probably the most efficient EU member state in dealing with the problem of migrant smuggling, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Saturday.

“According to some information, about a third of the smuggles arrested by police forces at EU level are actually arrested by Croatian police. Already this year we may have made a thousand arrests or are close to that number, which shows how active we are,” Bozinovic told the press during a visit to Zapresic, just west of Zagreb.

He said he was pleased that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s police and security services had become more active in the past week, carrying out successful operations.

Citing Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Slovenia, Božinović said that if everyone contributed to the fight against illegal migration as much as Croatia did, the problem would certainly be less acute, not only for this part of Europe but for the European Union as a whole.

He said that the migration pressure has started to ease slightly in recent days.

People singing Ustasha songs are doing harm to football, society and country

Bozinovic commented on an incident that occurred at the Croatia-Turkey EURO 2024 qualifying match in Osijek on Thursday, when a small group of fans sang songs of the pro-Nazi Ustasha regime that ruled Croatia in the Second World War. He said that this was “absolutely unacceptable”.

“That does not reflect our value system and, more importantly, it does harm to us as a state in international relations. As for the sport itself and the national football team who made Croatian football famous, it can be sanctioned instead of glorified,” Bozinovic said.

“Today, in 2023, no one can convince me that these people don’t know that what they do actually harms both football and society and the state.”

Asked what can be done to prevent such incidents at sporting events, Božinović said that the police were doing a good job in protecting law and order and in detecting and prosecuting offenders. He said that 11 persons had been arrested the same night after the Croatia-Turkey match and banned from sporting events. He added that one more person had been arrested on Friday.

“We need a comprehensive approach to this matter, including education, which begins at home, in the family. Action by law enforcement authorities should come at the end of this process,” the interior minister said.