All News on Social Issues in Croatia
Croatia deploys mine clearing teams as migrants arrive
Croatia on Wednesday deployed demining teams to the border area near Serbia as refugees started entering that country on foot, avoiding border crossings.
"Police have contacted us and we sent a team to the border area in eastern Croatia," an official at the Croatian Demining Center told Reuters, "asking not to be named," the agency said.
Croatia "to let refugees pass through on their way to West"
The police in Croatia have started transporting refugees caught illegally crossing the border and those who already crossed it to Tovarnik.
The migrants are registered in this town close to the border with Serbia. On Wednesday morning, the Croatian police confirmed that about 20 had entered the country avoiding official border crossings.
Refugees seek new routes as Hungary seals border
As Hungary threw up the barriers to stop thousands of refugees trekking over its border from Serbia and into the European Union, undeterred migrants on the roads simply began to think of other routes to take.
The Hungarian decision might relieve pressure on itself, but also meant that new countries on the migrants' maps would be drawn into the crisis.
Serbia-Hungary Migrant Buses 'Diverted to Croatia Border'
Buses which until recently were in charge of bringing migrants from Southern Serbia to the border with Hungary have now been diverted to Croatia, Serbian media outlets report.
B92 radio cites its reporter in Presevo, who was allegedly told by a driver that all migrants should be transported to ?id, a northwestern town in Vojvodida located close to the Croatian border.
Croats Use Facebook to Help Guide Refugees
Croats have launched a Facebook page designed to guide refugees to Western Europe through the Balkans. "Dear refugees: Welcome to Croatia," it begins.
The page collects helpful ideas for refugees and has a direct phone number that refugees can call and ask for help and directions.
Croatia Prepares for Possible Refugee Wave
Zlatko Sokolar, head of the Croatian border administration, said on Monday that Croatia is prepared for a refugee influx and has dispatched 6,000 police to safeguard the borders.
Romania Opposes Mandatory EU Refugee Quotas
Romanian Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea said on Monday that Bucharest will reject the European Commission's plan for national quotas for refugees.
"I have a clear mandate from the president and from the prime minister to politely refuse the EC request," Oprea said before leaving for Brussels, where EU interior ministers will hold a meeting on the refugee crisis.
Balkan States Told to Take in More Refugees
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, on Wednesday proposed a new plan for accepting 160,000 refugees in the EU and at the same time proposed that non-EU countries in the Western Balkans be put on a list of safe countries.
The proposition presented to the European Parliament adds another 40,000 to an existing plan for quotas set in May.
Bulgaria to Take Part in EU Migrant Relocation Scheme
Bulgaria will be part of the EU's unified response to the migrant crisis, the country's Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov has said.
Juncker Unveils New EU Migrant Quotas Proposal
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has officially proposed the introduction of binding quotas of asylum seekers each member state is to fill.
In his first State of the Union speech as head of the EU's executive body, Juncker has said the distribution of migrants is to involve some 120 000 people more than had been previously planned.
Bosnia Told to Brace for Influx of Refugees
Bosnia's government, the Council of Ministers, has instructed state institutions to start preparingfor an increased influx of refugees following concerns that migrants could establish new routes through Bosnia to Croatia and the EU, Security Minister Dragan Mektic said.
The main route of refugees and migrants runs though Greece, Macedonia, Serbia to Hungary.
Croatian Church Answers Pope's Refugee Plea
The archdiocese of Zagreb told BIRN in a statement on Monday that it was ready to help arrange accommodation for refugees coming to Europe after the appeal from Pope Francis the previous day.
Croatia Prepares For a Rise in Refugees
Croatia is preparing to receive up to 3,200 refugees and migrants as part of an EU plan to share over 160,000 refugees and migrants currently in Italy, Hungary and Greece around the EU countries.
Croatia Unveils Raft of Measures to Help Poor
Months before the next parliamentary elections at the end of the year, Croatia's centre-left government on Thursday unveiled a new package of measures aimed at helping the poor.
Economy Minister Ivan Vrdoljak announced that a category of "vulnerable customers" will be created in terms of the energy system who will be protected from having their heating and lights cut off.
Vucic from Slovenia: "Serbia will accept a number of refugees"
Vucic from Slovenia: "Serbia will accept a number of refugees"
One of the main topics discussed by regional leaders during the Bled Forum in Slovenia on Monday was the refugee crisis.
Speaking during the gathering, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said his country approached this problem "as if it were an EU member."