West Balkan Nations say No to Organized Crime

Ministers and officials from Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro all put their names to the document during a two-day conference. The document calls for better police action toward organized crime. “For Hungary, because of our European Union role and Schengen membership, it is very important that we work together against cross-border crime and illegal migration,” Hungarian Justice Minister József Petrétei told a press conference. Hungary, Slovenia and Romania form the EU's land border with the Balkans.
The Schengen zone is an area where EU member countries have agreed to remove all internal borders. Hungary is due to completely implement the agreement by March 2008, making it imperative that illegal immigrants are caught before they enter the zone and can move more freely. Organized criminals are regularly caught attempting to smuggle illegal migrant workers into the EU via Hungary. The workers' final destination is usually Italy, Austria or countries further west where higher wages can be earned.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has noted that the importance of the heroin smuggling route through Hungary via the Balkans had diminished, but Afghan heroin still made its way to Europe via this route.