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As many as 56,400,000 people, including 46,970,000 EU citizens and 9,430,000 non-EU people, transited through Romania's border passing points in 2016, up 22.3 percent form the year before, according to a 2016 activity report by Romania's General Border Police Inspectorate. The Border Police are said to have denied entrance to Romania to 164 foreigners.
At the same time, thanks to the checks conducted by the Border Police, 2,959 internationally wanted persons, both Romanian and foreigners, were tracked down and handed over to the relevant authorities in connection with illegal migration; the officers also found 1,624 foreigners attempting to cross the border illegally. As many as 351 migration rings were uncovered and 140 smugglers/facilitators were identified.
The Border Police recorded 19,083 offences, including 8,084 infractions and 10,999 contraventions. Most of the offences were attempted or actual illegal entry; they were followed by forgery or use thereof (2,669 instances), as well as economic and financial improprieties. As many as 16,200,000 means of transportation reportedly crossed Romania's borders in 2016.
At the activity report meeting of the General Border Police Inspectorate on Tuesday, Interior Minister Carmen Daniela Dan praised the Border Police for their management of migration, saying that although pressure was high on Romania's borders, the country acted professionally to ensure security at the external borders of the European Union without affecting the European citizens' freedom of movement. "I have read very closely the evaluation of your last year's activities and synthetic data, all your impressive figures, achievements and fantastic outcomes point to a very important first conclusion: security at Romania's borders is in good hands!" Dan is quoted as saying in a press statement after the meeting.
Minister Dan also highlighted a significant contribution from Romania's Border Police to the common security of the European space by participating in FRONTEX and BESA missions.
