News: Croatia, Italy and Slovenia expand cooperation on illegal immigration to the Western Balkans

The Interior Ministers of Croatia, Italy and Slovenia have decided to expand cooperation on border control to the countries of the Western Balkans. Ministers had already met last November in Trieste to coordinate efforts to combat illegal migration and human trafficking in the region.

The decision comes after the new Frontex report that indicated 2023 as the record year for the arrivals of irregular migrants in Europe. 2023 recorded the highest level of irregular entries since 2016, with 380,000 entries, 17% more than in 2022, of which 26% coming from the Balkan Route.

Photo credits: SV, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons