Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu, on Wednesday and Thursday, at the ministerial meeting of the Salzburg Forum, promoted Romania’s objective to fully enter the Schengen area, with land borders included, this year, having obtained „a positive response” and „support” both in the informal discussions at the event and in the plenary session, according to the Interior Ministry.

„The Salzburg Forum is an important format of work and cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe for securing borders, combating smuggling of migrants, drugs and organised crime. We presented Romania’s results and discussed increasing cooperation between national police forces. We had several bilateral discussions with the member states present. We took the opportunity to continue promoting Romania’s objective to fully join Schengen, with land borders included, in 2024. We got a positive response and support both in the informal discussions in the Forum and in the plenary session. Things are going well, but we remain focused both on the work on the ground to protect borders and on the area of multilateral, bilateral, formal and informal diplomatic action,” Predoiu said, according to an Interior Ministry (MAI) press release sent to AGERPRES on Friday.

Catalin Predoiu highlighted Romania’s approach to combating migrant smuggling, which, by intensifying cooperation with its neighbours, but also with regional partners and European institutions, has managed to achieve important results in terms of border security and migration management. The implementation, together with the Commission and EU agencies, of a pilot project with Serbian partners, has contributed to a massive decrease in attempted illegal border crossings at the Romanian-Serbian border, the release reads.

According to Frontex data, in the first nine months of 2024, the number of detections on the Western Balkan route recorded the largest decrease of all migration routes (-79%).

According to MAI, Romania’s actions have strengthened the country’s role as a regional security provider.

The minister described organised crime, in particular trafficking in human beings and drug trafficking, as „the most serious” challenge facing member states.

In this context, it is important for all relevant actors (EU, member states, European agencies) to step up existing cooperation and develop new ways to fight it, the release points out.

A central element of law enforcement agencies’ activities should be financial investigations, which should become standard practice, through which they can deprive criminal networks of illicitly obtained profits. Asset recovery is another effective tool in the fight against financial crime and organised crime in general. Europol also plays a key role, the source explained.

Another topic addressed by the Romanian minister was that of technological progress which, although it has brought many benefits to societies, when used by criminals to commit crimes, represents a risk to internal security.

Thus, states must invest in the training of police officers and in equipping law enforcement agencies with the latest technology and tools to support policing. In the Romanian official’s opinion, the development of quality analytical products and their capitalisation should be a priority for states and a central element of cooperation with EU agencies.

Romania is among the first countries to be involved in the joint investigation teams at European level aimed at combating migrant smuggling.

A joint declaration was adopted at the ministerial meeting, which aims to continue cooperation among member states on topics of common interest addressed during the discussions.

AGERPRES