The Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe for Migration and Refugees, Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek, today hosted a webinar with Terezija Gras, State Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Croatia. The aim of the webinar was to address Council of Europe standards, discuss the challenges Croatia faces and to find channels for practical co-operation in the context of migration and asylum.

Introductory remarks were also made by Prof. Davor Derenčinović, PhD, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb and Ms Štefica Stažnik, Representative of the Republic of Croatia before the European Court of Human Rights.

The event also focused on how the Council of Europe can provide assistance to Croatia in the field of migration and asylum, including through the activities of the Special Representative. The participants discussed co-operation possibilities as a result of fruitful exchanges between the office of the Special Representative and the Ministry of Interior of Croatia. In this regard, the Special Representative presented the new Council of Europe Action Plan on Protecting Vulnerable Persons in the Context of Migration Asylum in Europe (2021-2025).