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The meeting of the interior ministers of the European Union and the Western Balkans in Tirana ended on Thursday with calls for stronger cooperation in the fight against organized crime and against cyber attacks, as well as in border management.
The meeting, in which 26 delegations participated, took place in the framework of the preparations for the Berlin Process summit that will take place on October 16 in Tirana.
The Minister of the Interior of Albania, Taulant Balla, said that the meeting was an important step for the coordination of actions around these issues.
" We have defined several milestones, one of them is a greater focus on integrated border management, including the development of a strategy and the coordination of an initiative between the Balkan countries, and we ask for more support from the EU to increase our capacities . We have reconfirmed our determination in the fight against organized crime" , said Balla.
Balla said he has proposed creating joint forces and holding joint exercises "to fight against specific aspects of criminality."
The representative of the European Commission, Johannes Luchner, said that regional cooperation is an essential priority for the EU.
"Two factors have been the main factors for the positive results. First, the partners of the Western Balkans have had a better alignment with the visa policy of the European Union, and secondly, the approval of new status agreements with FRONTEX, which will continue with Albania (signed on September 15) and two with Serbia and Bosnia. Herzegovina.
He emphasized that the implementation of the European Union's plan for the Western Balkans from December last year brought a decrease in the flow of immigrants through the Balkan route this year.
" The second important issue is the fight against organized crime and we congratulate Albania for its achievements. As for the attack on criminal groups in drug trafficking, it will remain a priority between the Western Balkans and the European Union ", emphasized Luchner.
Luchner also underlined that cyber attacks remain a threat, adding that discussions will begin on a proposal by Minister Balla for the creation of a regional mechanism for their early warning "so that the reaction in such cases is not late."
He announced that the EU-Western Balkans dialogue will continue at the meeting of ministers for justice and internal matters, which will be held on October 26 in Skopje./ REL
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