Croatia lifts Serbian border blokade

Following a statement by a key EU official on Friday, Croatia put an end to the border restrictions that had soured relations with its neighbor Serbia, halted trade between the two countries and left refugees scrambling for another way into Europe.

"At 1700 (1500 UTC/GMT) the border was unblocked. All cars and trucks, regardless of their registration may enter Croatia," the country's interior minister, Ranko Ostojic, said.

Earlier that day, EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn addressed Croatian officials at a press conference in Belgrade.

"I urge the Croatian government to change their decision," Hahn said, insisting that lifting the blockade was the only way to solve the impasse.

Shortly thereafter, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic tweeted that he was considering the proposal.

"I am having intense discussions with my colleagues in the government to lift the border measures today or tomorrow," he said on his government's Twitter account.

Croatia and Serbia have been involved in an escalating trade dispute since Zagreb banned Serbian cargo traffic on Monday, in a bid to force Belgrade to send migrants in the direction of Hungary and Romania instead of Croatia. This resulted in a tit-for-tat series of policy implementations by both governments that left trucks and cars snarled along the border.

The influx of refugees into Croatia in recent days - estimated to be around 60,000 - has left Milanovic's government overwhelmed.

blc/msh (Reuters, AFP, dpa)