The 3rd meeting of the EU Hub for Internal Security and Border Management of the Republic of Moldova, organised by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the European Union, is being held today, October 20.
The event is attended by Ana Revenco (Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova), Jānis Mažeiks (Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova), Diane Schmitt (EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator) as well as representatives of the Moldovan authorities, European agencies (FRONTEX, EUROPOL, EUBAM) and EU Member States.
The event is divided into two sessions, namely: fight against trafficking in human being (THB) and illegal migration and smuggling of migrants.
Representatives of Internal Affairs from Europe and the Republic of Moldova will discuss about the state of play of the THB, participation of Moldova to the Operational Action Plan of the European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), opportunities for the EU support, as well as common indicators and analytical products.
’For over 6 months, our risk assessments, which stated that we are all experiencing a security paradigm shift, have been disseminated to the EU and other partners. I am confident that if we prioritise and improve cooperation, we will be able to ensure the safety of our citizens, both in Moldova and in Europe. Serious organised crime is not seen by the general public as being reported and victims do not call the police to complain. These are the crimes that we need to identify and investigate. In order to uncover these crimes, we need to develop proactive approaches’ said Minister of Interior Affairs Ana Revenco.
’We live an important historical moment; we have to remember that the Republic of Moldova was granted EU candidate status in June and this also has an impact on our activities here. Trafficking in human beings remains a threat, because it particularly targets vulnerable people, women and children. This has been accentuated by the war in Ukraine. I hope that today’s event is an additional step to put an end to the organised crime, and together with the Moldovan authorities and the EU, to offer support to those victims, who are often unidentified’ said the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova, Jānis Mažeiks.
’Thank you for the excellent cooperation we have had so far in the area of fighting human trafficking. The collaboration with the Republic of Moldova is very important for the EU and for the region, given the very large number of women and children who are fleeing Ukraine and who might become targets of human traffickers. We also have a new anti-trafficking plan which has had some concrete results. The risks remain and one of the lessons learned is that prevention, awareness-raising and cooperation do work. We have invited Moldova to attend two meetings of the network I chair, and we will continue the same practice to raise security on the European continent’ said Diane Schmitt, EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator.
The Security Hub is an operational mechanism that hosts regular meetings between EU representatives, European agencies, EU Member States and Moldovan authorities to support cooperation in the field of internal security and border management.
The main areas of activity of the EU Hub are focused on increasing the security of the Republic of Moldova and the EU space, by reducing risks and threats in the field of drugs, arms and human trafficking, illegal migration, radioactive substances trafficking and cybercrime.
