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Lifting of air & sea border controls on Home Affairs ministers Predoiu, Karner agenda
The implementation of the EU Council Decision on lifting air and sea border controls, combating illegal migration and intensifying police cooperation, as a basis for the prospect of lifting controls at land borders, were among the topics of discussions between minister of Internal Affairs Catalin Predoiu and his Austrian counterpart Gerhard Karner, reads a press release of the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent Friday .
"Minister Predoiu highlighted the very good bilateral intensified cooperation with Austria, in the field of Internal Affairs, which is carried out within the agreed parameters during the previous years. The Romanian official highlighted the measures taken by the Romanian side to ensure the smooth implementation of Romania's accession decision with the air and sea borders starting with 31 March 2024, as well as those related to the implementation of the trilateral declaration agreed in December 2023," the MAI release reads.
The sustained efforts of the Romanian side have had concrete results, namely the further reduction of the number of illegal arrivals at Romania's borders, a trend also confirmed by the Frontex Agency.
According to the source, the national measures, doubled by those implemented together with the Frontex Agency and the European Commission, reconfirm Romania's commitment to act with determination to ensure the protection of the EU's external borders and, implicitly, the security of EU citizens.
During the meeting with his Austrian counterpart, minister Predoiu expressed his full openness for continuing cooperation with Austria and other member states or partners in the region in areas such as combating illegal migration, border protection, the external dimension of migration and police cooperation.
"In his turn, minister Karner confirmed the very good cooperation between the two countries and the openness without reservations to continue working on all topics of common interest," the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.
The two officials agreed to continue direct bilateral meetings frequently and consistently to achieve common goals.