The EP's plenary session in Strasbourg was marked by a strongly-worded debate on the humanitarian situation of refugees on the EU's external borders, and a large part of the debate was dedicated to the situation on the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"Four HDZ MEPs took part in the debate, but unfortunately no other Croatian MEP participated," Ressler said on Thursday.
He said that Croatia and Greece were faced with the greatest pressure of illegal migrations on their borders and that the problem did not concern only one political party but was rather of national significance and impacted the security of Croatian citizens and the country's accession to the Schengen area of passport-free movement.
"It is therefore entirely unacceptable that Social Democratic Party (SDP) MEPs did not want to state their position, as members of their political group were slandering Croatia, trying to harm its reputation before the European public," said Ressler.
He said that he expected SDP MEPs in future to join in the debates within their political group and at EP sessions and to oppose attempts to exert political pressure to change the policy of efficient protection of Croatian and EU borders from illegal crossings.
In the said debate, on the most part members of Green and left-wing groups criticised Croatia for inhumane treatment of migrants on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, calling on the European Commission to investigate those allegations and for an independent oversight mechanism to be established in Croatia, which, they said, Zagreb has refused.
HDZ MEPs Tomislav Sokol, Karlo Ressler, Suncana Glavak and Zeljana Zovko resolutely dismissed the allegations of inhumane treatment, stressing that Croatia had not put up fencing or barriers on its border unlike other countries and that Croatian police were ruthless only towards people smugglers.
Sokol said that last year 955 people smugglers were arrested on the Croatian border and that "perhaps some people here have something against that."
Ressler, who is also a member of the European Parliament's committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs, said that "neither Croatia nor the EU must give in to political pressure aimed at changing the policy of efficient protection of borders against illegal crossings, with clear respect for protection of human dignity."