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Slovenian president proposes "national plan of action" over refugee crisis

Xinhua, November 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

Slovenian President Borut Pahor has proposed a "national plan of action" to deal with the refugee crisis in the absence of an EU-wide response, which would focus on protecting borders and restricting the daily arrivals of migrants, local media reported on Thursday.

The president's proposal came after nearly 7,700 refugees entered Slovenia on Wednesday, a figure that suggests the inflow of refugees continues apace. Since the surge began on October 17, over 148,000 refugees have crossed into the country, the latest police figures indicated on Thursday.

The main goal of the plan, according to the national Slovenian Press Agency (STA), is the "restoration of the normal order on the country's border. This is the right and duty of a sovereign Slovenia," Pahor wrote in a statement on Thursday at the request of the National Assembly.

This would involve "determining the approximate maximum number of refugees and migrants that Slovenia can accommodate and provide for more permanently", the STA report quoted him as saying.

According to Pahor, this means the daily number of arrivals should not exceed Slovenia's long-term accommodation capacity, a task that he describes as "ungrateful but inevitable".

Slovenia also needs to keep an eye on the numbers of refugees that Austria and Germany admit, and has to "proportionately step up control of the Slovenian-Croatian border" to avoid becoming a "pocket" in which West-bound refugees get trapped.

He said any wavering in this regard would be "irresponsible". Slovenia becoming a pocket would "turn a humanitarian crisis into a security crisis" as the authorities would struggle to cope, refugees and migrants would become restless, and "concern among our population would probably be too deep to normally manage the situation."

Accordingly, Pahor proposed increased funding for police and the military, which he describes as "one of the cornerstones of the national plan". "We can't expect the army and police to provide a lot while giving them inadequate budget funds."

Pahor also emphasised the need to work with neighbouring countries, the EU and the UN. The authorities must also keep an eye on the country's overarching strategic goal of "remaining in the most integrated part of the EU". Endit