The participation of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Cătălin Predoiu, at the Internal Affairs session of the Council of Justice and Internal (Home) Affairs (JHA)
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Cătălin Predoiu, attended, today, March 4th, 2024, the Internal Affairs session of the JHA Council, which took place in Brussels.
During the works of the Council, topics related to: the general state of the Schengen area were debated: the Schengen Barometer; the Council’s implementing decision adopting a recommendation on good practices identified in the thematic evaluation on the fight against drug trafficking; evaluation of the Border Police and Coast Guard Regulation; implementing interoperability; preventing and combating sexual abuse of children; the external dimension of migration; the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime; security aspects.
In the context of the evaluation of the current state of the Schengen Area, Cătălin Predoiu emphasized the fact that the report developed by the European Commission, known as the Schengen Barometer, appreciates the contribution of the Romanian authorities, highlighting, in particular, the significant percentage of acceptance of requests based on the Dublin Regulation, which stands at 79%. Also, a considerable reduction of migratory flows on the Western Balkans route was noted, with a decrease of 88%. This decrease had the direct effect of improving the operational situation at the border between Romania and Serbia, being attributed to the success of the Pilot Project implemented the previous year.
Regarding the thematic evaluation regarding the fight against drug trafficking, the Romanian dignitary highlighted the importance of the conclusions of this evaluation, although Romania was not the subject of the evaluation, stressing that the fight against drugs is a priority that he will address, in the future, with concrete actions at the level of MIA structures.
Referring to the evaluation of the Regulation on the Border Police and the Coast Guard, Cătălin Predoiu pointed out the commitment to continue supporting the activity of FRONTEX, underlining the fact that Romania ranks the 2nd place both in terms of staff at the Agency’s headquarters and operational staff of the permanent structure.
During the working lunch that addressed the implications of the conflict in the Middle East and the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine for the internal security of the EU, the representative of Romania mentioned the fact that the two overlapping armed conflicts we are facing generate, in addition to the devastating humanitarian consequences and unprecedented security problems at the level of the Union, a context in which it is necessary to continue joint efforts to ensure the security of European citizens.
During the exchange of views on the external dimension of migration, the representative of Romania emphasized the fact that this pillar remains an essential element for the functioning of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, underlining Romania’s interest in re-launching relations with African states, the positive evolution of bilateral collaboration with Tunisia, as well as the relationship with Serbia, permanently strengthened, with very good results obtained within the Pilot Project carried out in 2023 at the border with this state.
Within the JAI Council, the Romanian minister had meetings with his counterparts from Austria and Bulgaria, during which issues of interest on the bilateral and European agenda were addressed.
Also, in the same context, there was an exchange of letters between the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and the Romanian Minister of Internal Affairs, Cătălin Predoiu, which confirms the commitment of the parties to continue, in a more structural framework, the Pilot Project implemented by Romania at the border with Serbia, during 2023. The initiative is in line with the steps undertaken by Romania to contribute to the effective approach to the current challenges related to migration and represents Romania’s effective contribution to the implementation of the decisions formulated at the EU level, proposing and provide important lessons for the future, including the implementation of the soon-to-be-adopted Pact on Migration and Asylum.
