Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said he would like to reopen Italy’s eastern border during a meeting with his Slovenian and Croatian counterparts on June 18 in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.
"We would like free circulation to resume at the border in 2025; the next few months will be crucial," said Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi on June 18. He noted that this is also due to the significant influx of tourists expected to travel towards the Balkan region, before the suspension expires on December 19 this year.
Piantedosi made these remarks at a press conference held after the fourth trilateral meeting with his Slovenian and Croatian counterparts, Bostjan Poklukar and Davor Bozinovic.
'Method reconciling circulation and controls', Piantedosi
The year 2025 is important as it marks the date when Gorizia (Italy) and the nearby Nova Gorica (Slovenia) will be European capital of borderless culture. "We are setting up an operational method between police forces, experimenting with how to reconcile circulation and controls during the suspension of border controls," Piantedosi continued. The Italian Interior Ministry announced in May that controls at Italy’s border with Slovenia would continue for another six months.
Once agreements on free movement are restored and borders are reopened, the intention is "not to lose the experience achieved and to maintain a form of cooperation between police forces," including joint patrols "assisted by technological and operational tools," the interior minister noted.
Friuli Venezia Giulia Governor Massimiliano Fedriga has pledged officers and civil protection officials for this purpose.
Piantedosi spoke about "effective controls at the borders between Italy and Slovenia and Slovenia and Croatia until today, carried out without creating problems to circulation," notably for border commuters. Ministers Poklukar and Bozinovic agreed, stressing the "proven effectiveness of the format over the past few months."
Also read: Italy praises border checks with Slovenia to curb migration rate
Numbers of operations at Balkan route border
Piantedosi in particular provided data on border controls. Since October 21, 2023, when Italy reinstated border controls with Slovenia as part of its strategy to improve home security, "422,000 people and over 224,000 vehicles were checked; 1,800 irregular foreigners – of various nationalities – were sent back and 190 people were arrested, including over 90 on charges of aiding and abetting illegal migration," said the interior minister.
According to the minister, "for Italy it is not important to push back these people, but to share the evaluation process of the entire Balkan area. We are increasingly moving forward, cooperating with Croatia for controls of the EU external border."
Given the "good results" of the "regional format", Piantedosi did not rule out that this type of agreement could “extend to other regional partners, always regarding the Balkan route”.
In this respect, the minister recalled that Italy inaugurated an office of the interior ministry in Sarajevo on May 28. The objective is "to strengthen the fight against human trafficking – an Italian-led European project", he said.