Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman stated today that he expects a reaction from Brussels to the expulsion of Croatian citizens from Serbia and assessed that official Belgrade's actions are not in the spirit of good neighborly relations.
"Every country that aspires to EU membership absolutely needs to accept all EU values, and freedom of movement is one of the fundamental freedoms of the EU," Grlić Radman told reporters in Zagreb.
He said that the decision to expel Croatian citizens due to the alleged security threat to Serbia is unacceptable for Croatia, which is why the protest note demanded an explanation.
The minister specifically cited the case of Croatian citizen Arien Stojanović Ivković, a mother of a minor child, who graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, got a job, got married and started a family, and the Serbian authorities denied her hospitality after 12 years of living in Belgrade, expelled her from the country and banned her from entering for a year, because she allegedly poses an "unacceptable security risk".
"We also sought an answer, an explanation, and expressed concern about such behavior, because this is not an isolated case," said Grlić Radman.
He said that in recent months, 32 cases of expulsion or ban on entry into Serbia for Croatian citizens have been recorded, emphasizing that there may be more such cases, because not all Croatian citizens have informed Croatia about this.
"A candidate country (for the EU) is expected to develop and promote good neighborly relations, and this act does not demonstrate that," the Croatian minister stressed.
When asked by reporters whether he saw Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić's responsibility in these decisions, the minister replied that he would not go into that, but that it was certain that the authorities were involved in the expulsions. He said that it was an internal matter of each country to decide who to refuse hospitality to, but that these were ordinary citizens.
He also cited the case of a representative of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce who was also served with an expulsion order.
Grlić Radman said that he had not received a response from Serbia to the earlier protest notes, but that Serbia is a candidate for EU membership and that the representative of the EU delegation in Belgrade and the European Commission had been informed about everything.
"The most important thing here is dialogue and we are waiting for the Serbian side's response," said the Croatian foreign minister, adding that an informal meeting with the foreign ministers of the Western Balkan countries will be held in Luxembourg on Sunday.
Earlier today, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković condemned the expulsion of Croatian citizens from Serbia and demanded an explanation from the authorities in Belgrade.
"The expulsion of Croatian citizens from Serbia is an unacceptable practice worthy of condemnation, with the insinuation that our citizens are interfering in internal affairs in Serbia, which is certainly not the case," Plenković said at a government session.
He said that Croatia is seeking "clarifications from the authorities in Serbia" and added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also lodged a protest note, the government reported on the Iks network.
Plenković said at the government session that Croatia's partners in the EU have also been informed about everything.
Croatian citizen Arien Stojanović Ivković, who graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, got a job, got married and started a family, was denied hospitality by the Serbian authorities after 12 years of living in Belgrade, expelled from the country and banned from entering for a year.
On April 8, the police handed her a decision revoking her previously granted temporary residence in Serbia and banning her from entering the country for a year. The reasons for this were not made public, but Stojanović Ivković assumes that it is because of her support for students who have been protesting in Serbia for months.
Croatian Ambassador to Serbia Hidajet Biščević told the media in Serbia that in the last three days he had received notifications about the expulsion of three Croatian citizens from Serbia, including the head of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.
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