Croatia to allow refugees passage into EU

Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said on Wednesday that the newest EU member state would allow refugees to transit through to their next destination.

"They will be able to cross Croatia and we have been working intensively on that," Milanovic told parliament.

"We are ready to accept and direct these people, regardless of their religion and the color of their skin, and direct them to the destinations where they wish to go, Germany and Scandinavia," the prime minister said.

'Not an answer, but a threat'

Croatia has become the latest flashpoint country in Europe's ongoing refugee crisis after Hungary sealed its border with Serbia on Tuesday and implemented harsh border control laws, arresting at least 519 migrants for "illegal border-crossing."

On Wednesday, an Iraqi man became the first person convicted by a Hungarian court of "illegally crossing the border." Domestic media reported that the judge ordered the man to be expelled from the country, and forbidden from returning for one year. Croatia's Milanovic argued that enabling passage was a more sensible approach for eastern European countries.

"These people are here…they do not want to come to Croatia or Hungary either and that is why I do not understand where is the problem of letting them pass through that country," Milanovic said, referring to Budapest's draconian approach to the refugee influx.

"I don't approve of Budapest's [migrant] policy. I consider it harmful and dangerous. Not that the walls that are being erected will stop anyone, but they are also sending a horrible message," Milanovic noted. "A fence in Europe in the 21st century is not an answer, but a threat."

Unforeseen challenges

Meanwhile, local authorities in Serbia and Croatia have raised concerns about mines left over from the Balkan Wars in the 1990s.

More than 550 square kilometers (210 square miles) of Croatian territory is still thought to be mined, although the areas are marked with warning signs.

According to DPA news agency, migrants have been directed to maps displaying potential no-go zones where mines may be more concentrated.

"They already called and were directed to the map that they can download to their smartphones," an official from the Croatian Mine Action center told DPA.

More than 300 people from mostly war-torn Middle Eastern countries entered the EU's newest member on Wednesday.

ls/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)