On Sunday, Deputy Croatian Prime Minister Davor Božinović assessed the positive reaction of citizens who, in the first week of Croatia's entry into the Schengen system, thought about what Schengen means in practice and emphasized that "Croatia has convinced Europe that it is capable of guarding its external borders."

"We needed to convince Europe that we are capable of guarding the external borders, and at the same time show the awareness and practice that we know how to deal with a vulnerable population," said Božinović to Hina.

Božinović was on a visit to Istria in order, among other things, to see for himself how the Schengen zone functions in that county, where until December 31, 2022, border control operations on the border with Slovenia were carried out at a total of seven border crossings through which as he said, during the year 2022, 20,796,168 passengers and 6,366,279 means of transport crossed.

"The first test was the thousands of people who this weekend, like never before, went to the ski resorts in Slovenia and Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. This is a new situation for our people, for whom Schengen and the euro, which make them full and equal Europeans, will surely inspire new business ideas", emphasized Božinović.