Conference Finds Crime-Prevention Cooperation Improving
A ministerial conference on the prevention of crime and illegal migration has found that the security cooperation of countries in Southeast Europe is steadily improving. "Data by law enforcement authorities in the region suggests that cooperation is improving and we are getting better at providing security," Slovenian Interior Minister Dragutin Mate told the press on Friday.
The ministers of countries from SE Europe and their neighbours looked into the implementation of agreed measures in tackling migrations and organised crime on what is dubbed the "Balkan route".
The main measure adopted last year is being carried out, as working groups dealing with individual areas have been activated, concluded the conference held at Brdo pri Kranju.
"Progress is substantial," Mate assessed. What is more, the meeting has gone beyond its theoretical foundations to reach the operational level, he said.
Speaking about the effects of the cooperation, Liese Prokop, the Austrian interior minister, said that Austria has seen trafficking in persons drop by 50%.
Due to this cross-border cooperation, the dirty business of trafficking in persons has become less attractive, Prokop said.
Moreover, she revealed that the number of asylum seekers has gone down substantially. "This shows that our direction is correct," according to Prokop.
Despite the progress, there are still problems in the exchange of information. According to Mate, the speed of the exchange in particular needs to improve.
Prokop added that certain structures in some countries were also problematic, so it is essential that examples of best practice be considered.
Prokop also underlined the importance of passport security, which she said was crucial for the prevention of terrorism.
"We want to improve the flow of information to make it easier to discover weapons and control people who could carry out terrorist attacks," Mate added.
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