An international seminar on “Prevention of Radicalization and Violent Extremism: Current Threats and International Response in the Danube Region”

On 25 of September Sofia is hosting an international seminar on “Prevention of Radicalization and Violent Extremism: Current Threats and International Response in the Danube Region.” The event is being held as part of a project funded by the INTERREG “Danube Region” program to support the coordinators of priority areas of the European Union Strategy for the Development of the Danube Region.

Representatives from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Croatia, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia participated, as well as the Southeast European Law Enforcement Center, the Strong Cities Network of the European Union Knowledge Centre, the Centre for the Study of Democracy, the Institute for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Association of Police Chiefs, the Sofia Municipality, the State Agency for Refugees, and the law enforcement agencies of the Ministry of the Interior.

In his welcome address to the participants, Deputy Minister of Interior Lyubomir Yosifov emphasized that the Danube Strategy transforms local experience into shared approaches and national efforts into coordinated regional solutions. He announced that next year Bulgaria will take over the rotating presidency of the Strategy for the second time and that the Ministry of Interior, in close coordination with the National Coordinator – the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, is preparing targeted events dedicated to security and sustainability in the Danube region.

The event aims to strengthen partnerships between institutions, local authorities, and the expert community and to lay the foundation for long-term coordination mechanisms in the Danube region so that the efforts of individual countries can be transformed into a common, sustainable framework for prevention and response to threats.