ZAGREB - The Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Davor Bozinovic has criticised the actions of four Italian MEPs after a visit to the Croation-Bosnian border to inspect the conditions of migrants who have been held at the border for weeks.

  Speaking to local journalists, Bozinovic called it a “provocation,” continuing that “the behaviour of the four Italian deputies is to be condemned also because it was an evident attempt to discredit the reputation of Croatia and to not respect our laws.” 

  The Italians Pietro Bartolo, Alessandra Moretti, Pierfrancesco Majorino and Brando Benefei, all members of the Italian Democratic Party, and European Parliament, were exploring the state of the border, and the conditions of migrants held there, when they were stopped by Croatian police. They were accused of trying to cross the border at one of the points used by migrants, rather than the regular crossing points.

  “What use are border crossings if there are people permitted to enter and leave the country along rivers and through forests?", continued Bozinovic, who explained that none of them had permission to cross where they were attempting to cross, “since it is not possible to give permission to cross the border in an illegal way.” He accused them of wanting to making a show at the border while a group of migrants were trying to cross the border at the same time.

  The Italian politicians, who had spoken out against the action of the Croatian police in stopping them, replied that “we are surprised by the words of minister Davor Bozinovic, and we are waiting an apology for having stopped us doing our work, and these false accusations.” 

  They have said that they have “photos, audio and videos that prove that we were stopped when we were still far from the border… We informed the Croatian authorities of our visit with adequate warning, showing our respect for the current laws. We had received confirmation that we could go and see what is happening at the border, obviously without crossing it, which was never our intention, and which we reiterated many times to the police.”

  They were stopped hundreds of metres from the border “with no valid motive”. 

  “To accuse someone,” they added, “and even more to accuse members of the European Parliament, of trying to commit illegal acts without any proof in any democratic country would be grounds for penal action. It is a shame that a representative of a government of the EU is afraid of the work of politicians. We hope to receive an official apology, and we will certainly ask for an investigation on the part of the European authorities.”

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