Border tensions rise between Croatia and Serbia

Migrants sleep inside a bus as they wait to be admitted into a registration center for migrants and refugees in Opatovac, Croatia, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. Serbia has banned imports of Croatian goods and Croatia has retaliated by barring vehicles with Serbian license plates from entering the country as relations between the two Balkan neighbors deteriorated over the influx of migrants over their border. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) Migrants sleep inside a bus as they wait to be admitted into a registration center for migrants and refugees in Opatovac, Croatia, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. Serbia has banned imports of Croatian goods and Croatia has retaliated by barring vehicles with Serbian license plates from entering the country as relations between the two Balkan neighbors deteriorated over the influx of migrants over their border. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

By Associated Press September 24, 2015 2 min read

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) – Tensions escalated between Serbia and Croatia on Thursday as the long-time foes struggled to come up with a coherent way to deal with tens of thousands of migrants streaming through the Balkan nations to seek sanctuary in other parts of Europe.

Serbia banned imports of Croatian goods to protest the closure of the border to cargo traffic. The closure has cut Serbia off from its main trading partners in Europe and is crippling the economy, costing both nations as much as €1 million euros ($1.1 million) a day.

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said the countermeasures were needed “to protect our statehood.”

Croatia retaliated by barring vehicles with Serbian license plates from entering the country. Croatia’s police said Serbian nationals were not let into Croatia because of “a problem” with the border information site.

“I planned to open the border … but now I won’t,” said Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic. “We have to react to this now.”