Romania has presented in Brussels home affairs priorities during its presidency of the EU Council
Migration, border management and strengthening the security of the Union are the home affairs priorities Romania has set for its presidency of the Council of the European Union, between January 1 and June 30, 2019. The interior minister Carmen Dan went to Brussels to present them on Thursday, at the last meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council under Austrian presidency.
The visit was preceded on Wednesday by a joint meeting of Viorica Dancila's Cabinet and the European Commission, whose president Jean-Claude Juncker voiced his confidence that Romania is able to hold the rotating presidency successfully.
According to a news release issued by the Interior Ministry, a central element in the field of migration and border management is the strengthening of the European border agency, Frontex, by means of enhanced personnel and logistical capabilities provided by the member states. Other aspects on which the Romanian Interior Ministry will focus include fighting online content that promotes terrorism and developing the concept of Community Policing across the EU.
Community Policing is an initiative of the Romanian Interior Ministry designed to facilitate relations between police and expat communities in EU member countries. According to the news release, Romania has considerable experience in the field, and is already conducting missions in countries like Italy, Spain, France and Bulgaria. Such operations have been quite successful in terms of preventing and fighting offences with Romanian victims or perpetrators living in the respective states.
On the sidelines of the JHA Council, Minister Dan also had bilateral meetings with her counterparts from Bulgaria, Germany and the UK. Key topics included the rights of the Romanian citizens in Britain and of the British citizens living in Romania after Brexit, which is scheduled to take effect during Bucharest's presidency of the EU Council. In turn, Romania and Bulgaria undertook to work together on sensitive issues such as migration. The two interior ministers also agreed to deploy Romanian police forces this month on a new mission in Bulgarian resorts, where many Romanian tourists are expected to spend their winter holidays.
The next informal meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council is due to take place in Bucharest on February 6-8, 2019. In the first 6 months of next year, Romania is also set to host tens of other high-level events in the field of home affairs, including the EU - US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting.
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