"That money is lost in that we will not be able to use it, because it was to be allocated by the end of this year. The European Commission has concluded that we will not build a permanent shelter for asylum seekers at the designated location in Stubicka Slatina and it will therefore not approve those funds," Interior Ministry spokesman Zlatko Mehun told Hina in an interview on Saturday.
The construction of a centre for asylum seekers at Stubicka Slatina, northwest of Zagreb, did not begin owing to strong opposition from local residents, and the government decided not to enter into conflict with the local population, the spokesman said.
Mehun noted that this was not unusual, citing similar situations in other countries at the time of allocation of certain CARDS projects.
"I do not see a spectacularly big problem here. The Croatian government will secure initial funds for the construction of a shelter for asylum seekers on its own and we are seeking the most favourable location on state-owned land that will not require so much money as the one at Stubicka Slatina," Mehun said.
The spokesman said that such a location could be designated soon, because it was also one of Croatia's commitments on the road to the European Union, and added that all transition countries had similar problems on their paths to the EU, including neighbouring Slovenia.
Citing as a favourable circumstance the fact that not many people had sought asylum in Croatia this year, Mehun said that the existing temporary shelter for asylum seekers at Sasna Greda near Sisak, about 50 kilometres southeast of Zagreb, could take in between 50 and 80 people and that it was meeting the needs for now.
"This year there have been about 130 applications for asylum, and none has been granted yet," Mehun said.