Romanian and Bulgarian officials discuss lifting checks at internal land borders

Delegates from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) from Romania and the Republic of Bulgaria had a meeting, on Wednesday, in videoconference format, to discuss the measures and activities carried out by both countries as part of the efforts to achieve the common objective regarding the lifting of checks at internal land borders.The meeting took place under the coordination of the Quaestor General of Police Bogdan Despescu, Secretary of State for Order and Public Safety, and Miroslav Rashkov, Secretary General of the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior and Director of the General Directorate of the National Police."The meeting represents a continuation of the bilateral meetings at the level of the secretary of state whose objective is to evaluate the implementation of the operative measures from the Joint Action Plan signed in June 2024, with an emphasis on the last two calendar months, respectively September and October 2024", informs a press release of the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent on Wednesday.The discussions highlighted the excellent cooperation carried out by the operative structures of the Ministries of the Interior of the two countries and the need to continue it by exchanging information in real time, by organizing joint patrols at the border, including road patrols carried out by the national police, as well as by cooperation at EU level within EUROPOL, EUROJUST - Joint Investigation Teams or Common Action Day actions.In the field of anti-corruption, the good collaboration between the DGA and the Department of Internal Security in Bulgaria was emphasized, as well as the role of the Joint Action Plan in order to make the efforts to combat the acts of corruption more efficient in which the MAI staff from Romania and Bulgaria can be involved."In terms of immigration, the actions of the competent authorities were primarily of a preventive nature, intended to contribute to deterring and reducing the numbers of illegal migration. In addition to the activities already carried out by the territorial structures for immigration and border police from the two countries, the cooperation will be intensified through the exchange of good practices and experience, activities that will continue in the coming months", the quoted source says.As to the facilitation of traffic at the common border, the delegations agreed to continue to pay more attention to cross-border road traffic, especially at the road border crossing Giurgiu-Ruse, in the context of the repair works of the Giurgiu-Ruse Bridge.The sides agreed to supplement, as the case may be, the personnel and the traffic lines depending on the operational situation.