To accommodate applicants for international protection, the government will establish two branches of the Asylum Centre in the former border crossing points of Obrežje and Središče ob Dravi, in the facilities at its disposal. A decision to this effect was adopted by the government on Friday.
The two Asylum Centre outposts will be organised as temporary emergency facilities for the duration of the force majeure, but for a maximum of three years, the government said. This force majeure is the increasing number of migrants arriving in the country, as shown by police statistics, according to which a record has already been reached again in January this year. Police officers recorded and helped 3,430 migrants reach the centre of the country. This is the same number as in the previous three years combined.
The government has stated that the arrival and increase of irregular migration is due to external causes beyond its control. This is, of course, not entirely accurate, because by publicly proclaiming a policy of open doors and by tearing down the fence on the border, it has been telling smugglers since it took power that it will now be easier to get people into our country. The number of migrants has indeed increased rapidly, and the prisons are full of smugglers. The existing asylum centres are also full, and crime has increased in the areas where they are located.
The government believes that the reason for more migrants is the security situation in the wider region, as the situation in the main countries of origin is not improving. As a consequence, the number of people applying for international protection is also increasing. The Government of the Republic of Slovenia is coordinating its activities in this area with neighbouring countries and the European Union, as well as with countries along the Balkan route, and is adapting and coordinating its activities accordingly, they added.
