The Republic of Moldova is turning into a safety belt for the whole Eastern Flank of the European Union, Minister of Internal Affairs Ana Revenco stated in the first Eastern Forum on Security and Border Management held in Chisinau. According to the minister, given the war in Ukraine, the massive inflow of refugees and the threats related to the security crisis, the Republic of Moldova aims to learn from the experience of European states so as to cope with these challenges, IPN reports.
Ana Revenco noted that the aggression against Ukraine changed the action paradigm of the police. Being close to the combat zone, Moldova took measures and decisions that are not typical for the daily activity, the safety belt at the border with Europe being strengthened this way.
“During the ten months of war in Ukraine, we all had to be creative and inventive and identify legal leverage, new mechanisms for operational information exchanges. To be stronger and to protect Europe’s borders, our countries and homes need to further make common cause. We built this safety belt so as not to allow the threats that come together with the war, crime, all types of trafficking to break this belt and to affect our lives. We also witness hybrid threats. We have rockets falling on our land, our space is violated and propaganda radicalizes our society. We together learn to cope with these challenges,” said Minister Revenco.
The head of the Border Police of the Republic of Moldova Rosian Vasiloi said smuggling, illegal migration and rising crime are among the most serious threats caused by the war.
“The war in Ukraine and the hybrid threats influence border security. The risks and threats are related to illegal migration, trafficking in arms, trafficking in drugs, migration of crime. On these segments, we need to come up with innovative solutions so as to fight these phenomena and to ensure the peace and safety of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova and to also ensure the safety of the Eastern Flank of the European Union,” stated Rosian Vasiloi.
The first Eastern Forum on Security and Border Management brought together Police and Border Police chiefs and high-ranking officials from over ten European states. The Moldovan authorities said it is very important to study the experience of the European states so as to overcome the refugee crisis and the hybrid threats.
“Since February 24, most of our actions have been borrowed from the EU space. We aim to learn from the experience of the Estonians, who developed a broad system digitization process, of the Lithuanians, who earlier experienced a flow of migrants and refugees,” said the chief of the General Police Inspectorate Viorel Cernăuțeanu.
Alongside border security, the forum participants also discussed issues related to the prevention and combating of transnational organized crime and hybrid threats, such as disinformation and cyber-attacks.
