Slovenia conducts softer execution of EU border directive|

Slovenia, along with Croatia, has started to conduct softer execution of European Union (EU) border directive at its border crossings with each other since Saturday evening, abandoning checks for groups like the elderly and children, the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) reported on Monday.

Slovenia coordinated with Croatia to take softer or flexible measures following extremely long queues on their border crossings that resulted from the systematic checks of all passengers introduced on Friday, according to an EU border directive.

The Slovenian Interior Ministry called for a larger number of exceptions, including children below 12 and minors traveling with parents, students and older people on organized trips, and holders of local border traffic permits, the STA report said.

The ministry rejected reports it had abandoned the implementation of the EU's new border directive during the weekend, but argued that it had merely temporarily suspended systematic checks for passengers who presented a low security risk, a measure compliant with the directive.

The ministry pointed out that the strict checks had led to a tenfold increase in the time spent on controls on the border and that traffic was getting heavier as it was in the face of the Easter Holidays.

As the waiting time got extended by several hours, police "decided on the basis of a risk analysis and an estimate of the situation on the external Schengen border" to take into account the principle of proportionality and abandon systemic checks for passengers presenting a lower security risk.

"The measure does not mean departure from the existing Schengen legal order, since such procedures are already envisaged in the mentioned directive," the ministry said. Endit