The EU today stepped up its cooperation with Moldova to help it control its border with Ukraine and prevent the risk of arms smuggling from the war-torn country.
European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson announced the creation of a “support hub for internal security and border management in Moldova”, a candidate country for EU membership, during a meeting of European interior ministers in Prague with her counterparts from Moldova and Ukrainian.
It is a framework for information sharing and police cooperation on the ground involving EU member states Moldova and Ukraine, as well as Europol and Frontex.
The first meeting held today with the participation of 12 member countries was dedicated to arms smuggling.
“We have some indications” of smuggling, Johansson pointed out. “We know how many weapons there are in Ukraine and of course not all of them are always in good hands,” he added.
The EU is concerned that the scenario with the war in the former Yugoslavia will be repeated.
“We have always had problems with arms smuggling from (this region) for the benefit of organized crime which fuels the violence of criminal networks in the EU,” the Swedish commissioner underlined.
“So we have to prepare together from the beginning,” he underlined.
In addition to smuggling, weapons from the former Yugoslavia have been found in the hands of jihadists who have launched attacks in western Europe in recent years.
Cooperation with Moldova also concerns the fight against traffickers’ networks, human trafficking, drug smuggling and terrorism.
Source: RES-MPE
Source: Capital
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