Preventive Measures in the Refugee Crisis
The Romanian authorities are getting ready for the possible arrival of migrants in Romania. According to Interior Ministry sources an exercise is underway in Timis County.
Newsroom, 21.09.2015, 12:58
Even though it is not facing any migration pressure at the moment, Romania is preventively testing its response capabilities in the event of such crisis by holding an exercise at its border with Serbia. Two temporary camps have been set up for refugees, as part of an exercise currently underway in the towns of Lunga and Stamora Moravita, in Timis county, with the view to assessing the Romanian authorities’ ability to receive asylum-seekers. They are testing capabilities and resources for carrying out certain border operations, such as registrating, fingerprinting and identifying foreign citizens as well as the procedures involved by suchlike situations.
The exercise is being attended by border police troops, representatives of the migration structures, gendarmes, policemen and fire brigades who are carrying out specific missions as part of a concerted response to the challenges posed by the present regional situation. Here is Radio Romania journalist Florin Galescu.
The first refugee tents have been put up close to the Serbian border. The military camps in Lunga, Timis county are guarded by gendarmes and public access to them is restricted. The local prefect Eugen Dogariu explains that an exercise is held in the region, aimed at testing the operational response capability of the Romanian authorities to a situation similar to that in the neighboring countries, in the context of the refugee crisis. The number of forces and logistics close to the Serbian border has been increased in the past days. Two border police helicopters are flying over the green strip, while roughly 1000 border police troops are patrolling the Beba Veche area.”
The Romanian authorities have tightened security measures at the border with Serbia by deploying additional Interior Ministry logistics and troops. A communiqué with the relevant ministry says the exercise currently underway is a follow-up of the preventive and pro-active measures taken by institutions with the National Committee for Emergency Situations. According to deputy Prime Minister Gabriel Oprea, this exercise comes as all Romania’s neighboring countries have resorted to additional security measures at their borders. Concurrently, border police troops, gendarmes, firemen and policemen are also carrying out other specific missions as part of a concerted response to present security challenges.
