Romania's main concerns, presented at the Salzburg Forum, are strengthening border and national territories security in the context of illegal migration, drug, arms and human trafficking, Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu said on the first day of the ministerial meeting held in Egerszalok under the Hungarian Presidency of the Forum.
"In a context where organised crime increasingly operates like a global industry, and threats to internal security are becoming more complex and more strongly influenced by technology, the Romanian Minister of Internal Affairs supported the need for stronger European institutions, better connected and better prepared to respond to new challenges," according to a Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) press release sent to AGERPRES on Monday.
During the working meeting devoted to the future of European agencies, Catalin Predoiu highlighted recent developments in threats to internal security and said organised crime groups are evolving towards structures resembling "criminal corporations," with sophisticated operating methods amplified by technological progress.
He underlined the need to develop modern prevention and counteraction tools, as well as the importance of professional training for law enforcement personnel.
The minister underscored the importance of ensuring the necessary resources for European agencies to effectively fulfil their mandates, including measures to support the recruitment and retention of qualified staff. He also reiterated Romania's vision of an open, honest and pragmatic dialogue between European agencies and member states, for effective cooperation and a proactive approach to security challenges.
"In his intervention on the review of Europol's mandate, the minister of Internal Affairs underlined that, in the current security climate, the agency's role in supporting member states in combating crime is essential. In this regard, he supported strengthening Europol's information exchange and analysis capabilities, including through the integration of new technologies, as well as a clear delineation of responsibilities between relevant European instruments, in order to ensure efficient use of resources and increase operational impact," the release reads.
The Romanian side supported maintaining a clear and well-defined role for CEPOL - the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training, whose activities should remain focused, within its own institutional framework, primarily on the professional training of personnel in areas of strategic importance and high added value.
"The Salzburg Forum platform helped us a lot in joining Schengen. We had many friends of Romania within the Forum who supported us at the right time, including Hungarian Minister Sandor Pinter and Austrian Minister Gerhard Karner, among the most influential," Predoiu said.
According to him, organised crime has become a global enterprise through the connection of groups from different countries and continents.
Successfully combating this phenomenon in Europe requires, among other things, strengthening both national police forces and European agencies such as CEPOL, eu-LISA and Europol.
"I presented Romania's solutions for this European modernisation on the first day of the Salzburg Forum, and they were well received by colleagues. These solutions focus on improved management of agencies, better funding and greater use of technology. National states and European institutions must keep pace with the rapid changes in the area of public safety and national security," Catalin Predoiu also said at the end of the first day of the meeting.
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