During the Ministerial Meeting of the Salzburg Forum, organized by the Bulgarian Presidency on October 23rd-24th in Sofia, Cătălin Predoiu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs, had a bilateral meeting with Atanas Ilkov, Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The discussions were in the line of the consolidated dialogue with the Bulgarian side on the subject of the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area and aimed to coordinate, in the future, the positions of the two states for the accession to Schengen land by the end of this year, as well as the status operative bilateral cooperation, with an emphasis on combating illegal migration and organized crime.
The two dignitaries highlighted that the very good results on the ground and the successful operations carried out jointly to combat illegal migration and cross-border crime demonstrate that the decision regarding the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen with land borders must be taken in 2024.
With regard to bilateral cooperation in the field of internal affairs, the interlocutors emphasized that it is taking place at a very good level, considering the priorities of the two states in terms of securing the common border and the destruction of criminal groups that facilitate the trafficking of migrants in the region or at European level.
In conclusion, the two sides agreed to maintain frequent bilateral dialogue and continue, at the level of both sides, discussions with the Hungarian Presidency, the European Commission, as well as with European partners to support the full accession of the two countries to the Schengen area until the end this year.
„We have organized intense and close cooperation between the border and judicial police. We will continue to dismantle the networks of migrant smugglers. The statistical results of the last 12 months are very good, illegal migration has decreased in Romania by over 75% compared to the previous year. We have two strong arguments for „Land Schengen” in 2024: performance in combating illegal migration and flawless application of „Air and Maritime Schengen” procedures. The step taken last year with air and maritime borders is very important, in the perspective of full integration into Schengen. At the same time, we must be prepared to apply all the procedures of the Schengen codes also after the moment of integration with the land border, after the decision will be taken, including exercising border controls when the situation requires it. We continue to act diplomatically, offensively and constructively to capitalize on these arguments and generate a positive decision as soon as possible. We work very well with our Bulgarian, Serbian, Hungarian and Austrian colleagues on bilateral programs„, said the Minister of Internal Affairs, Cătălin Predoiu.
