Croatia ‘will move migrants on’ – PM

The refugee crisis is not threatening the security of Croatia, “but it creates a problem”, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic has said.

More than 14,000 have entered Croatia, with tensions high and many exhausted. “I’ll say it again – we have hearts, but we also have heads”. We will implement our Plan B, we will be more flexible.

Croatia’s interior ministry said it would no longer register those crossing its borders but would instead let people pass through freely on their way to other EU.

People have been trickling into the EU’s newest member state for several days, their path to their final destination in western European nations like Germany forced to change following the introduction of tough legislation by Hungary.

In an interview with The Associated Press early Saturday, President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic said that the country of 4.2 million people needs to be realistic about what it can do about the thousands fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. It was not clear were they were heading.

Asked to comment on the warning made by Serbian Minister Aleksandar Vulin that his country would take Croatia to worldwide courts if it shuts down the border and global roads, Milanovic replied that he had no comment – “because the eagle does not hunt for flies”. Hundreds of soldiers and police have been deployed to the area.