05 October 2018 - Effective border management and the fight against illegal migration, radicalisation, and terrorism remain priorities for both European Union and the Western Balkan countries, the EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs, taking place in Tirana, underlined.
The panel dedicated to migration and border management, chaired by the Minister of Interior of Austria Herbert Kickl, recognised the significance of the joint action of the countries of the Western Balkans and the European Union in terms of more intensive exchange of operational data, both through regional initiatives and through the institutions and agencies of the European Union for law enforcement and migration policy.
The meeting was an opportunity for Montenegro's Interior Minister Mevludin Nuhodžić to inform his counterparts about the activities undertaken by Montenegro regarding normative and operational basis in the previous period, but also to raise issues related to the return of illegal migrants and the challenges that accompany this issue. In that regard, he pointed to the lack of mechanisms for positive identification of migrants, which mostly come from countries outside our region and who often do not have any identification documents. Minister Nuhodžić said that it is necessary to work on strengthening the model for cooperation with non-regional countries or countries of origin of these migrants in order to shorten the process of identifying and increasing the possibilities for their successful return.
European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos pledged support for the speedy implementation of activities to sign the agreement between Montenegro and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX).
At the forum organised within Austria's presidency of the European Union, the ministers pointed to the importance of joint operations related to the seizure of arms and narcotics, and the panel devoted to security, police cooperation and the fight against terrorism particularly emphasised the strengthening of cooperation with EUROPOL in order to adequately respond to the challenges of terrorism and radicalisation. Furthermore, the Western Balkan countries voiced expectations for further financial support from the European Commission through pre-accession funds.
Participants of this gathering also signed the Joint Action Plan on Combating Terrorism, which defines common goals that the six partner countries of the Western Balkans will implement with the support of the European Union. The main objectives outlined in this Action Plan refer to the harmonisation of the legal and institutional framework with adequate EU instruments, effective prevention and combating violent extremism, intensive information sharing, and operational cooperation, as well as capacity building to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism and strengthening protection of citizens and infrastructure.
