The interior ministers from Hungary, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia said in Budapest Thursday that they will strengthen cooperation in cracking down on illegal immigration and organized crime.
Under an agreement reached between the ministers during their one-day meeting here, working groups for specific tasks within the targeted crime areas will be set up, a statement from the meeting said.
Italy will focus on organized crime, Slovenia is responsible for mapping out the routes of illegal immigration and while Hungary is going to play an "important role" in promoting joint training for the police forces and border guards of the four countries, according to the agreement.
Croatian Interior Minister Sime Lucin said that closer cooperation between the four countries in the fight against organized crime conforms to the fundamental interests of Croatia, which is becoming a transit of drug trafficking and people smuggling.
The ministers also discussed the issue of public security in their countries, Hungary's Interior Minister Sandor Pinter told a press conference after the meeting.
Italian Interior Minister Claudio Scajola spoke of an Italian proposal to set up a joint force of frontier guards within the European Union.
The ministers also agreed to meet again during the first half of next year in Croatia.
( November 23, 2001)
