In a joint announcement made on Tuesday in Buzet, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy announced their plans to extend their cooperation to the countries of the Western Balkans in order to combat illegal migration and people smuggling.
The first meeting of ministers Davor Božinović, Boštjan Poklukar, and Mateo Piantedosi was held in November in Trieste with an agreement to strengthen cooperation in the joint surveillance of the border on the Western Balkan migrant route.
On Tuesday, the trio said their joint action had been effective so far, with no major crowding at the borders. Croatia’s Davor Božinović said after the meeting in the western town of Buzet:
“Citizens of Italy, Croatia and Slovenia did not experience any problems in movement because of police controls introduced, especially in border areas. And just this year [in 2024], we arrested 90 traffickers already.”
The Ministry reports that Croatia recorded a 40 per cent increase in illegal border crossings in 2023, mostly from neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some 1,700 people were arrested for human trafficking.
Piantedosi said the recently introduced police controls had been successful, adding that Italian police had recorded 1,600 cases of illegal border crossings into Italy since last October. About 70 people suspected of criminal activity have been detained, including about 50 traffickers. In addition, Italian police are aware of several dozen people who attempted to cross the border for terrorism-related reasons.
Slovenian Interior Minister Poklukar reiterated the need for police control because “the current Schengen system is not working”. He added that the three ministers had agreed that border controls would not affect freight transport and all cross-border passengers.
The exact way of extending police co-operation to the Western Balkan countries will be decided at the next meeting in March.
