State Secretary for European Affairs Andreja Metelko-Zgombić on 23 July 2020 met with Dutch Ambassador Henk Voskamp for talks over the Dutch government’s decision to put Croatia on the orange coronavirus list. The state secretary expressed displeasure with the decision, citing data by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which provides accurate daily data for all EU member states, including Croatia and its 21 counties.
Metelko-Zgombić commented on a statement by the spokesperson of the Dutch Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) that the decision had been made due to lack of data, which is a surprising argument. According to ECDC, some of Croatia’s counties are currently orange, but that does not apply to the whole country. Several other EU member states also have orange regions according to ECDC, which the Dutch government has singled out, reporting the rest of the country as yellow, i.e. safe for travel. Metelko-Zgombić requested of the Dutch authorities to present Croatia in the same manner.
Furthermore, the state secretary pointed out that the majority of Dutch tourists visit three Croatian regions – the northern, central and southern Adriatic. The average rate of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the seven Adriatic counties in the last 14 days was 23, with three counties in the northern Adriatic having the average rate of only 14,5. We expect the Dutch authorities to take into account these regional differences, as they did for other countries.
Metelko-Zgombić also recalled that since the outbreak of the pandemic, Croatia has been recognized on the European and global level as a country taking timely measures to protect both its own citizens and foreign visitors. She reiterated the urgent appeal for Dutch authorities to adjust the travel recommendation for Croatia to the actual data.
Ambassador Voskamp acknowledged Croatia’s arguments, saying he would immediately relay the main points of this meeting to the Dutch authorities.