Almost a third of the entire length of the wire mesh fence and more than half of the razor wire set up along Slovenia's border with Croatia in 2015-2016 to curb illegal migration has been removed, according to the Interior Ministry.

In the wake of the 2015-2016 migration crisis, Slovenia erected around 145 kilometres of wire mesh fence and around 51 kilometres of razor wire on what had been an external Schengen border until 1 January.

Since the Robert Golob government approved the removal of both types of barriers, around 42 kilometres of wire mesh fence and around 27 kilometres of razor wire had been removed by 10 November this year, the Interior Ministry said in a written response to a deputy question.

The wire mesh fence is being removed by the same company that was hired to erect it, Minis from Žalec, while the razor wire is being removed by the Slovenian Armed Forces. The removal of the wire mesh fence has cost the state €610,000 so far.

Removing the fence was a key priority of the former interior minister Tatjana Bobnar and the opposition wanted her ousted over the plan. She resigned in December 2022 over differences she and PM Golob had over staffing at the police force.

As illegal migration figures began to surge again, locals in the most affected area, the village of Rigonce, a hotspot during the 2015-2016 crisis, asked the current minister Boštjan Poklukar in September for the fence there to remain standing and even be expanded. He promised them the fence would remain standing.

To stop illegal migration, Slovenia has since re-introduced police checks on border crossings with Croatia and Hungary.