Romania and Bulgaria are able to cope with all the regulations of the Schengen area and have demonstrated that it was a very good step not only for the two countries, but for Europe as a whole, Romania’s Internal Affairs Minister Catalin Predoiu said on Wednesday before a meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council.

„This is the first JHA Council meeting after the passage of the decision to expand the Schengen area to include Romania and Bulgaria. I would like to say that, after the decision was taken, things are working very well at the borders between Romania and Bulgaria. We have shown that we can fully manage the Schengen system. Migration continues to decrease starting from the first weeks after the implementation of the decision and we will continue to progress with the application of the Schengen system,” said Predoiu.

He added that more attention should be paid to illegal migration, combined with the phenomenon of organised crime.

„Recent data show that illegal migration could fuel organised criminal groups; there is a connection between these two phenomena and we must pay more and more attention to that. And if we are talking about organised crime, we must also talk about drug trafficking. In Europe, that is a big problem.”

The minister drew attention to the fact that European ports are penetrated by smugglers and traffickers, and closer collaboration between national police departments and Europol is needed to create an extended front against organised crime, combined with drug trafficking.

„We cannot stay where we are; we have to evolve, allocate more funds, train the police, develop teamwork, share information and fight back, because it is a fight for the younger generations, for the future,” Predoiu said.

AGERPRES