ZAGREB, Croatia – The Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration and the Ministry of Interior, within its capacity of MARRI Presidency-in-Office, organised the Round Table “Strengthening of Cross-Border Police Cooperation among the Countries in the Region,“ held in Zagreb on 14 March 2008.
There is an ongoing process of transformation and increasing of administrative capabilities of police services in South-East European countries, which also include the countries of the MARRI initiative, as well as of adoption of the “European” standards in the area of border management, illegal migration and prevention of all forms of cross-border crime. With a view to provide security and stability in the region and beyond and having in mind the fact that there are no borders for cross-border organised crime and illegal migration, a conclusion can be drawn that they can be suppressed only by means of successful cross-border police cooperation among all the countries in the region.
With regard to the above-mentioned, the aim of this Round Table referred to analysing the current situation as regards cross-border police cooperation focusing on border police cooperation, better understanding of European and Schengen standards in this area, the analysis of the effects that the current bilateral and multilateral initiatives and organisations have had so far, with a view to avoiding overlapping and doubling of the activities and projects, and all aimed at the maximum use of the past achievements in finding new and concrete cooperation mechanisms.