Romanian, Bulgarian interior ministers meet at launch of four-nation joint guard patrols on Bulgarian-Turkish border

   Minister of the Interior Catalin Predoiu had an official meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Daniel Mitov on the occasion of the official ceremony for the launch of joint patrols conducted at the Bulgarian-Turkish border by a contingent of agents from Bulgaria, Austria, Romania and Hungary. The Bulgarian and Hungarian interior ministers, as well as representatives of the leadership of Austria's Federal Ministry of the Interior also attended the event."I came today to the Kapitan Andreevo crossing on the Turkish-Bulgarian border to meet the ministers from Bulgaria, Hungary, as well as officials from Austria, and to jointly deploy a special contingent of 100 Romanian, Austrian, Hungarian and Bulgarian border guards. We are thus continuing to take measures to prevent illegal migration and to protect the national territory in advance, through measures implemented as far as possible from our border, thus contributing to increased protection," Catalin Predoiu said, as cited in a statement by the Ministry of the Interior on Monday.The talks approached the bilateral commitment to work together for addressing the challenges of cross-border crime, for the protection of the EU's external and joint borders under the umbrella of a consolidated partnership."The two states' very good cooperation in the field of internal affairs, both at bilateral and European level, was highlighted, as well as the importance of maintaining and developing it in order to ensure a climate of security for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens, and respond to current security concerns," the cited source says.The exchange of views was an opportunity for the sides to review the most important aspects of Romanian-Bulgarian cooperation in the field of home affairs, with an emphasis on the most recent developments since the lifting of internal border controls on January 1, 2025, as well as the prospects for continuing the technical and strategic dialogue in this context.Ensuring public order and security in the common border area and in Bulgarian tourist resorts was also a major component of the dialogue, with the ministers agreeing to supplement the police personnel depending on the operational situation.Catalin Predoiu received from his Bulgarian counterpart the Honorary Award "For Valour and Merit" - First Class of the Republic of Bulgaria's Ministry of the Interior, for outstanding merits in the development and consolidation of security and home affairs cooperation. Predoiu is the first Romanian minister of the interior to receive this distinction."We will continue to cooperate with Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria in order to protect Romania and its citizens from the challenges of illegal migration and human trafficking, maintaining the current high level of public security," concluded Catalin Predoiu.  (Photo:https://www.mai.gov.ro/)