The meeting was attended by the ministers of the interior of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovakia – Gerhard Karner, Kalin Stoyanov, Davor Bozinović, Marian-Cătălin Predoiu and Matúš Šutaj Eštok. The Salzburg Forum was also attended by representatives of the interior ministries of Czechia, Hungary and Poland, representatives of the European Commission, the European Police Office (Europol) and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). Minister Poklukar expressed his satisfaction with the strong  attendance of this high-level event: “This is the result of Slovenian efforts and initiatives, which are constantly helping to shape European home affairs policies. Slovenia has been an active player in international matters since my first day in the office. Slovenia is an important and constructive partner within the European Union, as today's participation shows.”

Slovenia, as the current chair of the Salzburg Forum, has placed two very topical home affairs issues on the agenda. The first topic was the future of the Schengen area. “I am pleased that my Austrian counterpart has announced the gradual approximation of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area, starting with air travel from both countries within the European Union,” said Minister Poklukar. “I hope that we will be able to welcome these two countries as full Schengen members as soon as possible, as they have fulfilled all the criteria." By providing regular progress reports and agreeing to (additional) voluntary fact-finding missions, both countries have also shown a very constructive approach and strong commitment to the process. "I believe that their accession will only strengthen our common space, as only with full membership will they be able to make full use of some of the important tools of police cooperation and information systems that are key to ensuring security throughout the European Union - which is particularly important in the current difficult and unpredictable geopolitical circumstances,” Minister Poklukar added.

The ministers acknowledged that the Schengen area is not working as it should at the moment. The minister told the press that the Schengen area would be fully operational again only when an efficient legal framework was set up with as few exceptions as possible and only if it was implemented rigorously. ”These solutions must be incorporated in the legislative package of the Pact on Migration and Asylum so that migration and asylum matters can be managed comprehensively and abuses prevented, and reflected in the revised Schengen Borders Code. All of this must translate into more robust and resilient external borders of the European Union against various threats,” Poklukar stressed.

The ministers also talked about the fight against migrant smuggling. Slovenia considers this issue important and is strengthening police cooperation with countries in the region and beyond. “Migrant smuggling is a serious crime perpetrated on a large scale that generates huge illicit profits at the expense of victims’ well-being. The fight against migrant smuggling must be our common priority – we cannot and we will not allow criminal gangs to decide who can enter the European Union. All the countries of the European Union and the countries of the Western Balkans are fighting against migrant smuggling. Here, we want to take an important step towards working together in the Western Balkans, either with Frontex or bilaterally. At today's trilateral meeting of the interior ministers of Slovenia, Croatia and Austria, we committed ourselves to working in the Western Balkans in a trilateral format,” said Minister Poklukar.

Close international cooperation with countries of destination in the European Union and with partners in the Western Balkans is essential, and Minister Poklukar particularly emphasised the productive cooperation with our neighbours. "We also cooperate with our neighbours in the framework of joint patrols and coordinate our operational activities to detect migrant smuggling. We want to work even better and more constructively together here so that we can achieve results. That is why we will continue to meet not only at ministerial level, but also at the level of police chiefs. You will be familiar with the initiative of the Slovenian Police to bring together in trilateral format the Directors General of Police of Slovenia, Austria and Italy, as well as the Chiefs of Police of the Western Balkan countries," said the Minister.

On this occasion, Minister Poklukar also underlined the important support provided by Europol and its Migrant Smuggling Centre, in which we see an important partner. "Given Slovenia's geographical location, the crimes we investigate are often highly international in nature and require extensive cross-border cooperation. That is why we actively cooperate with Europol from the very beginning of our investigations, so that the information gathered is properly verified and built upon at the earliest possible stage."

In addition to fighting smuggling rings, we need to ensure the effective return of persons who have no legal right of residence in the European Union, in partnership with countries of origin and transit. The effective return and reintegration of these persons is crucial for the proper functioning of migration and asylum systems, as it helps to reduce the motives for irregular migration and can have an impact on reducing the demand for smuggling services. "I am convinced that with a robust joint response to these challenges, we can make significant progress in the fight against migrant smuggling."

The Ministers agreed that the current security and migration situation has clearly demonstrated the need for effective management of the EU's external borders. "Improving the quality of border checks and the consistent input of data into the relevant information systems is an imperative and a commitment that we have in this area. And this is where we want to do even better."

On the margins of the meeting, the Minister held bilateral talks yesterday with the Croatian and Bulgarian Ministers, and today a trilateral meeting of the Ministers of the Interior of Slovenia, Austria and Croatia took place. The Ministers reiterated their commitment to joint cooperation and action. "I consider Slovenia's cooperation with both Austria and Croatia to be good. With Croatia, we enhanced cooperation at the beginning of September, both at the political level between the two ministers, as well as in police matters. We also have excellent cooperation with Austria in various areas. I am pleased that we have reaffirmed these commitments today at the trilateral meeting," the Minister said.