The alignment of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina's visa regimes with that of the EU would help reduce the pressure of illegal migrations on Croatia and that is one of the key preconditions for the two countries to make progress towards EU membership, Croatian PM Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday.

Plenkovic made the statement while visiting the border police station at Cetingrad and police forces controlling and protecting the state border.

Plenkovic said that a large number of nationals of third countries “arrive at airports as tourists, after which they become illegal migrants trying to enter other countries across the green border, with the help of smugglers.”

That is why the policy of visa regime alignment “is one of the main preconditions for the two countries to make progress towards membership in the EU,” Plenkovic said.

He stressed that “a vast majority of partners in the EU” are aware of this, as is the European Commission, and that Croatian representatives point to the need for visa regime alignment in every discussion on border protection.