In the first eight months of 2017, 1,262 asylum requests were lodged in Croatia, with only 76 being accepted. The high influx of migrants into the country in 2015 and 2016 was a factor in the subsequent closure of the Balkan route.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has recently reported that only 76 people were granted protection Croatia in the first eight months of 2017 out of a total of 1,262 requests. As well, under the EU migrant relocation agreement, the country took 78 refugees from Greece and Italy, who had previously been granted asylum status in those countries.
In its report, HRW said that Croatian border authorities continually turned back asylum seekers who entered the country from Serbia, without examining any asylum requests and without respecting the right, under international law, for these people to request asylum in Croatia.
Government denies reports of violence
Croatian media has reported that there have been acts of physical violence towards migrants prior to their expulsion, although this has been denied by Croatia's interior ministry. The country's current policy on migrants is to respect the European Union's quota and redistribution system, even if, as the HRW report contends, asylum is only rarely granted.
The report also said that there is ongoing criticism of the border police, with accusations of abuse and violence against migrants who try to cross the Serbian-Croatian border. Croatia had to deal with large numbers of migrants from the Middle East and central Asia who poured into the region in 2015 and 2016. Around one million people traveled on the Balkan route during this period, with many choosing to continue on to northern European countries such as Germany, Austria and Sweden.
This created a political crisis, leading to the EU's controversial agreement with Turkey and the subsequent closure of the Balkan route at the borders of Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria. Hungary had closed its borders prior to this, by building a metal barbed-wire fence along the borders to Serbia and Croatia.
Croatia-Serbia standoff brought EU intervention
In fall 2015, there was a tense standoff between Croatia and Serbia over the number of people traveling through these countries. During this crisis, the government in Zagreb closed its eastern border for several days, after accusing Belgrade of improperly managing the incessant influx of migrants through its border, leading to thousands of migrant arrivals on Croatian soil. The European Union had to intervene which led to the reopening of the Croatian border with Serbia. Relations between the two countries have been strained since the armed conflict that took place between 1991 and 1995.