LJUBLJANA, Feb 5 (Hina) - The prevention of illegal migration and smuggling of human beings across the border were the main topics of Monday's meeting which the Croatian Interior Ministry's senior officials held with their Slovenian
counterparts in Ljubljana. During a joint press conference after the meeting, Croatia's Deputy Interior Minister Josip Vresk said the two ministry agreed on the establishment of expert teams that would tackle those problems. Members of the two countries' border police will also cooperate more closely in the prevention of trespassers on the frontier. Such cooperation in the operational and expert level should produce good results soon, Vresk predicted. Slovenian officials proposed the clarification of some segments of the bilateral treaty on the return of illegal immigrants. They complained that due to such segments referring to bids to prove whether illegal immigrants
LJUBLJANA, Feb 5 (Hina) - The prevention of illegal migration and
smuggling of human beings across the border were the main topics of
Monday's meeting which the Croatian Interior Ministry's senior
officials held with their Slovenian counterparts in Ljubljana.
During a joint press conference after the meeting, Croatia's Deputy
Interior Minister Josip Vresk said the two ministry agreed on the
establishment of expert teams that would tackle those problems.
Members of the two countries' border police will also cooperate
more closely in the prevention of trespassers on the frontier.
Such cooperation in the operational and expert level should produce
good results soon, Vresk predicted.
Slovenian officials proposed the clarification of some segments of
the bilateral treaty on the return of illegal immigrants. They
complained that due to such segments referring to bids to prove
whether illegal immigrants came in Slovenia from Croatia or other
country, only 20 percent of illegal immigrants were transferred
back to Croatia.
Slovenian Interior Minister Rado Bohinc said they also considered
possibilities of the set-up of joint Croatian-Slovenian border
police patrols. Slovenian hosts informed Croatians about their
plans to introduce the Schengen border regime at their frontier.
According to figures released at the meeting, last year Slovenian
authorities pressed charges for illegal crossing of the border and
smuggling of human beings in some 200 cases, while Croatian
authorities preferred such charges in about 300 cases.
Bohinc added that it was necessary for Slovenia and Croatia to take
some diplomatic activities in the third countries through which
illegal immigrants passed before they entered Croatia and Slovenia
on their travel towards the West.
Slovenia registered a fall from some 6000 immigrants who entered
that country in December to about 1,500 illegals in January. It,
however, is expecting a rise in their number this spring.
(hina) sb ms