Croatia should not be allowed to enter the Schengen area until allegations of ill-treatment of migrants on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina are clarified and contradicted.
This is the message relayed on Thursday 14 November by a number of MEPs, including Swedish MEP Malin Björk (GUE/NGL) and Dutch MEP Tineke Strik (Greens/EFA), during a plenary debate in the European Parliament on the situation in migrant camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The MEPs discussion with the European Commissioner for Migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos focused on the situation at the Vučjak camp, near the town of Bihac, where thousands of people live and where living conditions are considered particularly unacceptable by the EU. Since 2018, 50,000 people have crossed the country to come to the EU, with more than 13,000 migrants since the beginning of the year.
The Commissioner pointed out that, while the Commission is willing to help shelters in the country, it would not do so for Vučjak. On the contrary, it is waiting for the Bosnian government to implement its plan to create other temporary centres that the Commission will be ready to finance.
But the debate quickly focused on Croatia’s practices, accused by NGOs of refoulement of migrants seeking asylum and of brutally repatriating them to Bosnia and Herzegovina. A few weeks ago, the Commission recommended that the Member States integrate this country into Schengen, and the Commission continues to believe that the country has fulfilled its obligations.
MEPs also discussed the situation of migrants in the Greek islands, particularly in the Moria camp in Lesbos, which hosts nearly 14,000 people, nearly four times its supposed capacity, and where hygiene conditions are appalling, according to the outraged elected representatives. They asked for emergency measures. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)