He held talks in Ilirska Bistrica with the Mayor of the Municipality, Emil Rojc, and his delegation. After the meeting, he stressed that its timing was intentionally chosen to be after the European elections, as the importance of security issues and the related dilemmas goes beyond the time of such votes. He continued by saying that the government is aware of the problem of illegal crossings of the border, and the related issues faced by the local population. This year the government has allocated considerable additional funds to the Slovenian police and will continue to do so in the future.

“Of course there are smugglers involved, in fact organised crime, and we understand that the police presence needs to be reinforced and obviously some other specific actions taken. The police have already purchased or will soon purchase additional technical equipment and fence panels to ensure that the protection of the border is in line with expectations.”

Furthermore, he pointed out that the government continues to stay in contact with the municipalities along the border. “We cannot accept any scare tactics whatsoever, sometimes motivated by daily politics. We will continue to work together, the talks we held were frank and I am certain that we will also cooperate in the future to address such issues, because local people deserve to be taken seriously.”