(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUN 9 - Slovenia's new government, led by Robert Golob, has recently promised to remove a fence erected along the country's border with Croatia during the 2015 European migration crisis, and the Slovenian Interior Ministry has assured Slovenian news agency STA that this is one of its top priorities, STA said today. The removal is expected to be carried out by the end of the year.

Slovenia intends to replace the fence with surveillance cameras and drones, and an operational plan is expected by the end of June. The fence stretches for 196 kilometres.

Locals, human rights activists, and environmentalists protested the fence's construction because it cut through communities, harmed tourism and business, and posed a life threat to migrants and wild animals. It also harmed relations with Croatia, which issued several calls for its removal. (ANSA).