Baltic Sea Region Border Control Cooperation Presidency goes to Germany

On 3 – 5 December, the Danish National Police hosted the Baltic Sea Region Border Control Cooperation (BSRBCC) Heads Conference in Snekkersten, Denmark. The meeting concluded the Danish Presidency and marked the hand-over of the Presidency to Germany for 2020. 

The meeting reviewed the activities from the past year. Several joint operations took place during 2019; the “Baltic Approach” that was organised twice, with the purpose to step up the controls in an area of interest identified by each country, such as vessels, vehicles or people. The operation resulted in the detection of several crimes that were followed by criminal charges. Furthermore, “Operation Cruise Lines”, organised once during the year increased controls of the cruise traffic in the Baltic Sea. The third operation during the Danish Presidency was “Baltic Tracking” – a multipurpose maritime operation, where the aim was to get an overall insight on the current maritime situational picture. During this operation, a FRONTEX aircraft was used which increased the learning among the countries on how to use the assets offered by FRONTEX.  

Three training seminars were organised during the year as well. Germany hosted a training on detecting stolen vehicles, where two days took place in the classroom and one day was dedicated to practical training on the highway. Another training was conducted in Denmark, focusing on “breeder documents”. The third seminar, also in Denmark, focused on control of ships and crew members; one day was spent in class for the theoretical part and the second day consisted of training at the Navy Museum where Police students acted as crew members. 

The Annual Threat Assessment (ATA) report was presented and adopted during the meeting. The report highlights the latest trends related to irregular migration and cross-border crime in the Baltic Sea Region. The report also put forward recommendations for the next Presidency. 

Furthermore, presentations were provided by the BSRBCC Strategic Partners FRONTEX and the CBSS, and the member states updated each other on the latest developments in their respective country.