On September 9th, 2024, the meeting of Mr. Cătălin Predoiu, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Internal Affairs, with Mr. Atanas Ilkov, the new Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, took place in the videoconference system.
The main purpose of the talks was to analyze how bilateral cooperation is progressing, in particular the fight against illegal migration and organized crime in general. Moreover, the main aspects related to the fulfillment of the common objective of the two countries – lifting the controls at the internal land borders as soon as possible – were reviewed.
Bilateral cooperation, especially regarding the fight against organized crime and illegal migration, is going very well, it has been intensified recently and it was agreed that it should continue in the same parameters. For the implementation of the second stage of accession to the Schengen area, measures were taken at the level of the two ministries of the interior, the result being that the figures regarding illegal migration have reached minimum values, and the common results in combating various forms of organized crime are excellent.
The proactive approach of both sides was highlighted which, in view of the lifting of internal land border controls, further strengthened cooperation and information sharing.
In this sense, mixed patrols, exchange of information, joint risk assessments, contact points, exchange of experience, contacts at the top between the head of the Border Police and counterparts are organized, as well as in the case of the Romanian Police.
The two interlocutors established that it is important to maintain the same frequency of bilateral dialogue, both at the political and technical level, and also to continue, at the level of both parties, the discussions with the European partners for the full accession to Schengen. Given that both parties are aware that the decision will be one of the first political level, it is important that both ministries of the interior fulfill their necessary mission, i.e. to maintain illegal migration at the low levels it was brought to by the action of the border police and to apply, without incident, the decision of the JAI Council taken in December 2023.
