Regional Interior Ministries Sign Deal on Border Security

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic noted the progress that has been made in the field of border security in south-east Europe in 2010, and the proposals for the strengthening of regional operational cooperation which should be implemented in the coming year, the Serbian Interior Ministry said in a press release.

"The goal of integrated border management is to enable an unobstructed and the easiest possible flow of people, goods and capital, but at the same time to stop the flow of criminal activities," Dacic stressed.

Interior ministers from Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia and Bosnia participated in the meeting and signed the declaration and the Action Plan for 2011.

Dacic also called on Croatia and Macedonia to allow the citizens of the three countries to travel across the borders with just their personal identification cards, and without passports.

Noting that Serbia already has such an agreement with Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, Dacic said that the ID cards idea was something the people of the three countries expected.

The conference also addressed the further development of integrated border management, harmonisation of national strategies for integrated border management in the regional countries and the regional training program for border staff.

The Slovenian Ministry of Interior and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, DCAF, organised the annual conference, which was also attended by the representatives of the European Commission, European Parliament, EUROPOL, Frontex, OSCE, and International Organization for Migration, IOM, the Serbian Ministry said.