In the year in which Croatia joined the Schengen Area, the Croatian police have broken a record by arresting over 1,850 people smugglers, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic has told Hina.

Croatian citizens as well as foreign tourists could best feel the benefits of Croatia’s membership in the common European area without borders during this year’s Easter holidays and the summer tourist season, he said, because there were no traffic jams at the border during those periods, unlike in the past.

Asked if he had expected congestion on the border with Slovenia before Christmas, given that Slovenia reintroduced temporary border controls due to the global security situation, Bozinovic said there had been no major change in relation to previous months.

He is confident that the Schengen Area will be even stronger with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania which, following Saturday’s Council of the EU decision, “have made a significant step” by the lifting of air and maritime internal border controls as of next March.

Croatia advocated their accession the whole time and will continue to participate in debates on the date for the lifting of checks at internal land borders, he said.

Croatia’s Schengen accession brought changes to policing, Bozinovic said, adding that the police were prepared for the accession and are dealing with all challenges more than successfully.

He recalled that this year alone Croatian police have arrested over 1,850 people smugglers, “which is an increase of more than 90% in relation to last year.”

Since the start of 2023, through compensation measures, the Croatian police have checked over 300,000 persons and nearly 180,000 vehicles as well as conducting 526 million checks via the Schengen Information System, Bozinovic said.

Bozinovic also wished for peace and welfare in 2024 and warned of the dangers of using fireworks during the New Year’s Eve celebrations.