The JHA Council has approved an important regulation on migration

Europe is facing unprecedented challenges. The pandemic, migration, and war are issues that send shivers through the major European chancelleries. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Cătălin Predoiu, participated in the JHA Council meeting, Internal Affairs section, where discussions were held on the external dimension of migration, the Migration and Asylum Pact, cooperation with Latin America to combat organized crime and drug trafficking, as well as the consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Cătălin Predoiu stated, "The JHA Council has approved an important regulation on migration, specifically regarding crisis management. This regulation is part of a "package' of five migration regulations that will constitute the new EU legislative framework on migration, a framework that has been under negotiation for no less than 8 years at the European level." Predoiu clarified that the other four regulations are in dialogue at the European Parliament: "Recently, the European Parliament blocked discussions on the other four regulations, conditioning their adoption on the unlocking of discussions at the JHA Council level regarding the fifth regulation, the crisis regulation agreed upon yesterday, so that the Parliament can debate and adopt all five interconnected migration regulations together. Therefore, yesterday's discussion at the JHA Council was crucial because it practically unblocked the entire process at the European Parliament. The Roadmap for adopting the new EU legislative framework on migration foresees the approval of all regulations by February 2024 at the latest." According to him, "illegal migration has become a challenge and a test for the entire European Union": "This dossier, like other important European dossiers of interest to Romania, will only be successfully resolved through the unity and solidarity of the Member States. Romania has demonstrated this solidarity and is ready to support Member States under pressure, as Italy is today. Romania has demonstrated its efficiency in border protection and asylum and migration policies and is ready to provide its expertise, for example, in asylum and return procedures, an area in which it has already been requested by an important EU Member State." The Minister of Internal Affairs stated that "the external dimension of migration, meaning addressing the phenomenon directly in the countries of origin through cooperation with them, is the key to short- and medium-term success in reducing illegal migration."

Cătălin Predoiu also addressed the fight against drug trafficking and consumption: "Regarding drug combat, as I have repeatedly emphasized, a global phenomenon must be fought globally, through cooperation. We have started and will intensify the fight against drugs on all fronts at home until we gain control and drastically reduce the phenomenon in all aspects-production, trafficking, consumption. But at the same time, we will be very active in cooperation with EU Member States and beyond through information exchange regarding drug producers and traffickers and through cross-border police operations that will support our efforts in combating drugs in our country."

He stated that we will have strong allies in the fight against drugs in Romania. On the sidelines of the JHA Council, Predoiu held several bilateral meetings with Bulgarian Minister Kalin Stoyanov, Spanish Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gomez, the latter representing the current rotating presidency, as well as with Commissioner Johansson. A day before the JHA Council, during an informal meeting, he held discussions with Vice-President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas, Croatian Minister of Internal Affairs Davor Bozinovic, and Austrian Minister Gerhard Karner.