Slovenia will set up temporary facilities for the processing of migrant arrivals at the border with Croatia citing the increase in arrivals as the reason, the government announced today.
The authorities will install a fence, two sanitary and three housing containers and three tents as temporary facilities at the former Obrežje border crossing, reported the state news agency STA.
In 2023, the number of unauthorized entries has increased significantly compared to the previous period, the government stated in a statement and indicated that the reason for the arrivals and increase in illegal migration is external and that the state has no influence on it and sees them as a force majeure.
The official Obrežje border crossing with Croatia was removed last year when Croatia joined the Schengen area of free travel. But some border controls have been reintroduced due to increased migration in the area, AP reports.
Slovenia has reported an increase in the crossing of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa seeking a way to reach Western Europe. Italy, Slovenia and Croatia have agreed to cooperate to curb migration through the three countries.
The Slovenian government stated that the temporary facilities for migrants are being set up because the local police stations in the area do not have the capacity to receive the influx of migrants. That arrangement will last a maximum of three years, the government said.
Migrants arrive in Slovenia from Croatia after crossing the so-called Balkan land route that leads from Turkey to Greece or Bulgaria and then to North Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
