Hungary reacted to Slovenia’s demolition of the border fence
The Slovenian army will begin demolishing the fence on the border with Croatia in the second half of next week, Slovenian Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar announced at a press conference after the government meeting on Friday.
Slovenia’s new approach to migration
“Migration is part of modern societies, so the most effective migration policy is to ensure safe and legal migration,” said Tatjana Bobnar.
One of the priorities of the new left-wing government led by Robert Golob is the dismantling of the fence.
A fact
Already in 2015, Slovenia erected a 176-kilometer-long fence made of razor wire on the 670-kilometer border with Croatia in order to stem the flow of migration. This was later gradually replaced by a panel fence and extended. Currently, 135 kilometers of wire fence with blades and 60 kilometers of panel fence are stretched along the common border.
At Bobnar’s initiative, the ministry also established a new joint council to promote safer migration routes, more efficient asylum procedures and residence permits, and easier conditions for international protection and social integration.
According to Bobnarjeva, asylum seekers must be systemically integrated into society and the labor market, they must be given the opportunity to learn languages, and exploitation by workers must be prevented.
The committee has already instructed the police to pay particular attention to the protection of vulnerable groups, to ensure individual treatment of applicants for international protection and to record their awareness of their rights, the minister said, adding that the police will continue to ensure security and protect national borders with existing means and with its presence on the ground.
Hungarian reaction
“Well, that’s how it goes: the left came to power in Slovenia and as a result the border fence that protects the country from migratory pressure in a length of almost 200 kilometers is being torn down,” said Csaba Dömötör, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
In his contribution, Dömötör wrote that the Slovenian left plays with an open face instead of a “sneaky-backward” approach. “It is good that we follow the Slovenian example. They do what their mates at home would do if they could get close to the rudder,” he wrote.
He pointed out that the debate on migration has been with us for many years, but that does not mean that it has lost its importance. In addition, the effects of the war (such as rising food prices) will put more pressure on us in the coming months, he said.
Between January 1 and June 6 last year, 47,000 border crossings were apprehended at the southern border; 110,000 this year, a doubling of illegal arrivals and a 92 percent increase in the number of people smugglers apprehended, the secretary of state said.
He added that this is precisely why new border combat units are needed.
“There are many conditions for protecting the borders, but one of the most important is that the left cannot come back into the government,” said Csaba Dömötör.
Image shown: Razor wire fence on the Slovenian-Croatian border near Murafüred (Gibina) on December 3, 2015. Photo: György Varga/MTI