International cooperation needed to eliminate human smuggling rings, says PM advisor

The European Union’s southern borders are now better guarded thanks to cooperation among EU countries like Austria, Croatia and Hungary as well as non-EU states like Serbia and Montenegro, Gyorgy Bakondi told public current affairs channel M1.

Hungary’s law enforcement agencies are doing everything possible to repel human smuggling rings, Bakondi said, adding, at the same time, that they could only be eliminated through EU cooperation.

Hungary would support EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson spearheading such cooperation with specific steps, he said.

Bakondi said human smuggling rings are estimated to have collected over three billion euros last year.

European operative bodies, including that of Hungary, have detailed information about the human smuggling rings active on the Balkan migration route, he said. There are five large smuggling rings active near the Hungarian border which even compete against each other, Bakondi said, noting that their rivalries had recently led to armed confrontations among them.