site.btaBulgarian Interior Minister to Meet Austrian, Romanian, Hungarian Counterparts in Budapest

Caretaker Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov will attend a meeting with his Austrian, Romanian and Hungarian counterparts in Budapest on Friday, the Interior Ministry said here on Tuesday. The meeting will be organized by Hungary’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union to discuss forthcoming steps to abolish internal land border controls for Bulgaria and Romania.

The Council of the European Union is expected to adopt a decision on this by the end of this year.

The talks will review the current migration situation and the results of enhanced police cooperation in the region, as well as the compensatory measures applied following the lifting of controls at the air and sea borders on March 31 this year. On this basis, ministers will discuss possible future steps and commitments of the countries.

Bulgaria and Romania continue to work together to strengthen the security of the Schengen area and curb cross-border organized crime and illegal migration. In addition to the regular meetings at political level, there are regular contacts at strategic and operational level to discuss the current situation on the different tracks, the joint actions taken and to identify new measures where necessary.

The meeting in Budapest will be attended by Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, Ilkov and Romanian Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu. Hungary's Minister of the Interior Sandor Pinter will host, the statement said.