Croatia recorded a sharp decline in illegal crossings along the European Union’s external border in 2025, a development officials say reflects a shift in migration patterns and intensified efforts against organized smuggling networks.
Speaking before the Croatian Parliament on Wednesday, Irena Petrijevčanin, a state secretary at the Interior Ministry, said police registered 44 percent fewer illegal border crossings last year compared with the previous period, a trend she described as continuing into early 2026.
“Previously, people were arriving individually. Today, it has become a business dominated by organized criminal groups,” Petrijevčanin told lawmakers as she presented the final amendments to Croatia’s Law on State Border Surveillance.
Croatian police detained approximately 16,500 irregular migrants in 2025, a figure Petrijevčanin said exceeded the total number apprehended across the entire Western Balkans migration route. On average, she added, around 150 people attempt to cross Croatia’s borders illegally each day, with authorities managing to prevent roughly 70 of those attempts.
Officials also highlighted Croatia’s prominent role in European anti-smuggling operations. Petrijevčanin said 40 percent of all human-smuggling cases detected at the Europol level originated from a joint operational task force known as “ZeBRa,” a 16-country initiative led by Croatia.
The legislative amendments under discussion, she said, aim to fully align Croatian law with European Union standards, particularly those governing the Schengen Area, where internal border controls have largely been abolished but mutual trust among member states remains essential.
As part of efforts to curb so-called secondary migration within the EU, Croatian police conducted checks on more than 138,000 vehicles and over 218,000 individuals in border regions last year.
“There is widespread abuse of the asylum system,” Petrijevčanin said, describing cases in which asylum seekers apply for protection in one EU country and move on to another before a decision is issued. “Under the revised system, such situations will no longer be possible.”
The amended law grants the Croatian government authority to temporarily reintroduce border controls at internal EU borders, fully or in part, and to limit or suspend operations at certain border crossings when necessary. It also allows for temporary restrictions on cross-border movement for specific categories of travelers, particularly in cases involving public health concerns.