Danube states step up cooperation against organised crime, cyber-attacks and hybrid threats
The security situation in Europe is changing rapidly. Organised crime, people-smuggling networks, cyber-attacks and hybrid threats have long since ceased to be confined by national borders. This makes close international cooperation between security authorities all the more important. The 4th Security Conference of the Danube States in Sofia sent a clear signal in this regard, with the interior ministers and high-ranking representatives of the participating states agreeing to further deepen their cooperation.
For Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, the direction is clear: security challenges can only be tackled together. The Danube region stands for economic interdependence, cultural exchange and open borders – yet it is precisely this openness that is increasingly being exploited by criminal networks operating across borders. Organised crime, people-smuggling networks, cybercrime and hybrid threats are highly interconnected and therefore require equally interconnected security strategies.
Discussions centred on the current security situation along the Danube and the security policy implications of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. There was agreement that, in particular, the resilience of critical infrastructure, protection against hybrid threats, the fight against illicit arms flows and support for partner states will become increasingly important in the future. This brings into focus issues that have long been central to modern European security policy.
A key decision taken at the conference concerns the further expansion of operational cooperation between police authorities. Plans include a faster exchange of security-related information, the establishment of additional joint investigation teams, and more intensive use of shared data platforms. The aim is to restrict the scope of action of criminal networks across borders and to make investigations significantly more efficient.
Efforts to combat people-smuggling along the main migration routes are also to be further intensified. To this end, the Danube states intend to speed up the exchange of information, expand cooperation with countries of origin and transit, and further strengthen cooperation with European agencies such as Europol and Frontex. The European Commission’s announced increase in the Europol budget is regarded in this context as an important step towards further strengthening European law enforcement.
Another key focus was the joint defence against cyber-attacks and hybrid threats. In view of an increasingly tense geopolitical situation, attack patterns are to be shared more quickly in future, joint risk analyses drawn up, and protective measures for critical infrastructure coordinated more closely. The conference thus demonstrated once again that physical and digital security are now inextricably linked and can only be effectively protected through European cooperation.
The continuity of this cooperation is particularly noteworthy. For 15 years now, the Danube states have been continuously developing their security cooperation and have created robust structures upon which further progress can now be built. The European Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), to which 14 states – including five non-EU members – belong, provides an established framework for this. Bavaria, together with Bulgaria and the Federal Ministry of the Interior, coordinates the priority area of security and thus continues to play an important role within the European security architecture.
The outcomes of the conference demonstrate that international security cooperation is far more than just political dialogue. It lays the foundations for a faster exchange of information, shared situational awareness and coordinated measures against threats that have long since transcended national borders. The solidarity shown by the Danube states thus sends an important signal for greater resilience, greater capacity to act and a stronger European security community.
