Weapons from the former Yugoslavia had been found in the hands of jihadists. The EU will help Moldova control its borders.
THE EU today strengthened its cooperation with Moldova in order to help her control her borders with her Ukraine and avoid danger arms smuggling from the warring country.
THE European Commissioner for Home Affairs 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 in Prague of European interior ministers with their Moldovan and Ukrainian counterparts.
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 clues” for 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,” underlined the Swedish commissioner.
“So we have to prepare together from the beginning,” underlined.
In addition to smuggling, weapons from the former Yugoslavia found in the hands of jihadists which in recent years have launched attacks in Western Europe.
Cooperation with Moldova also concerns the fight against traffickers’ networks, human trafficking, drug smuggling and terrorism.
RES-EMP
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