On behalf of Priority Area 11 the Directorate of the Bavarian Border Police organised an international conference with representatives of the border police in the Danube region. The conference took place within the framework of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) and was co-financed from the Danube Transnational Programme.

From 29 – 31 October 2019, senior representatives of the border police from 11 EUSDR-countries and a representative of FRONTEX met in the Bavarian Police Training Institute in Ainring (Germany / Bavaria). A total of 19 representatives got to know each other personally and exchanged information intensively over three days. The Participants welcome the international cooperation at the level of the EUSDR and called for further cooperation within this framework.

As a result the participants agreed on closer international cooperation in the Danube region. The conference thus marked the beginning of further cooperation. Initially, workshops at expert level will follow in the next two years, i.e. at the level of investigators and border guards who deal with the fight against cross-border crime and illegal migration on a daily basis.

The workshops should be a forum for the exchange of knowledge of the situation and best-practice approaches. Another important goal is to establish a strong international network at operational level along the Danube. The topics will be oriented towards the relevant phenomena of cross-border crime, such as property, drug and smuggling crime.