Joint patrols of Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy have started operating at the EU border with Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ljubljana – On the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is the external border of the EU, trilateral patrols of the Slovenian, Croatian, and Italian police have begun operations, the Slovenian Ministry of the Interior announced. The Slovenian police will send four officers to Croatia for a period of three months, who are expected to work in the area of the Karlovac police administration.

According to the ministry, the trilateral patrols are part of the joint activities of Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy to increase resilience, prevent security threats, and illegal migrations. They are also important in the fight against traffickers and in ensuring the smooth and full functioning of Schengen when conditions allow.

Some EU member states, including Slovenia, have been monitoring the internal Schengen borders for some time now in light of the deteriorating security situation in Europe and the world.

Slovenia introduced border control with Croatia and Hungary on October 21, 2023, after Italy implemented border control with Slovenia and has been continuously extending it, just like Slovenia. The Slovenian border control with Croatia and Hungary will be in effect at least until December 21 of this year.

In the past year and a half, the interior ministers of the three countries have been working towards joint patrols on the external border of the EU through a series of trilateral meetings.

The basis for the operation of the trilateral patrols is a memorandum of agreement signed by the police chiefs of Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy on the sidelines of the January trilateral meeting of interior ministers in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. (June 16)