Law enforcement in Europe

Bulgaria will have to build trust with its European partners in order to enter the Schengen area. This was stated by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov after a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte.

The reform of the Schengen area must help EU countries create the necessary conditions for more effective control of external borders. This was stated on Wednesday in an interview with reporters by French President Emmanuel Macron, who is attending an informal meeting of EU interior ministers in the French municipality of Tourcoing.

Cooperating with international agencies such as Europol is crucial if North Macedonia and the rest of the Western Balkans are to win the fight against terrorism and extremism.

The Bulgarian Minister of Interior Boyko Rashkov plans to significantly increase the number of border guards. He has submitted a proposal for changes in the structural regulations of the Ministry of Interior, which create an opportunity to use the reserve of unallocated staff for the needs of the General Directorate of Border Police.

The specialized prosecutor's office is initiating pre-trial proceedings to investigate an international organized criminal group set up to commit financial fraud, the investigation said. Under the prosecution's leadership, an international joint investigation team has been set up between Germany, Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria.

Ljubljana – Interior Minister Aleš Hojs attended a two-day conference on migrations in Vilnius on Thursday and Friday, which discussed the issues of using migrations for political gains and common measures to strengthen surveillance at the EU’s external borders in light of increased migrations.

Croatia meets the necessary conditions to implement all parts of the Schengen acquis.

This is the conclusion reached by the Council of the EU.

The report on the issue was adopted at today's Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels. This was announced by Slovenian Interior Minister Ales Hojs, whose country holds the EU presidency.

Brussels – Coming out of a meeting of EU home affairs ministers, Slovenia’s Aleš Hojs said it had been agreed that Croatia meets the conditions for entering the Schengen Area, and that it was a key step towards a final decision on the expansion of the no-passport zone. Hojs believes other steps will follow relatively soon.

Brussels – Interior Minister Aleš Hojs expressed the hope that progress could still be made by the end of 2021 on changes to the European Asylum Dactyloscopy Database (EURODAC), a part of the new Migration Pact. He noted that there would not be a major breakthrough regarding the pact during the Slovenian EU presidency and it had not been expected either.

Ljubljana – Interior Minister Aleš Hojs hosted a meeting of the ATLAS Commanders Forum held in Ljubljana on Tuesday, attended by representatives of the special police units from the EU member states. Hojs said that terrorism was placed high on the EU priority list and that the role of ATLAS network was important as well.