In the first six months of 2025, the Romanian Border Police continued its activity in a very special context: the complete integration of our country into the Schengen area. If on March 31, 2024, the air and sea borders were opened, starting with January 1, 2025, controls at land borders with Schengen member states were also eliminated.
In this new framework, the Romanian Border Police focused on two main directions: strengthening surveillance at the external borders of the European Union and adapting missions to the new realities within the Schengen area. At the same time, the institution continued to fulfill the tasks conferred by law, with an emphasis on combating illegal migration and cross-border crime.
Schengen - a new stage for the Border Police
The first six months of 2025 represented a period of adaptation and consolidation for the Romanian Border Police, in the context of Romania's full integration into the Schengen area.
Although border controls are no longer carried out for travelers coming from or departing to Schengen states, border guards, together with colleagues from the Police, Immigration and Gendarmerie, carry out specific actions to verify the identity and legal status of individuals. The eDAC application, interconnected to national and European databases, is used to support them.
A key element in the new operational framework at the internal border is the strengthened cooperation with neighboring states - namely Bulgaria and Hungary, through joint HOTSPOT and BLITZ-type actions, aimed at preventing illegal migration and combating cross-border crime.
A conclusive example of the efficiency of this type of cooperation is the action carried out at the end of March, when border guards identified 11 foreign citizens who did not have the right to travel to the Schengen area. These results confirm the efficiency of integrated interventions and the professionalism of the structures involved in protecting internal borders, in accordance with the new Schengen responsibilities..
External border
Romania's external border, the longest demarcation line of the European Union on the eastern flank, remains a strategic priority for our institution. In recent months, the process of securing, optimizing and operational adaptation has continued at all crossing points and along the entire green border.
The measures implemented aimed, first of all, at shortening waiting times for citizens and carriers, thus maintaining a high level of efficiency and vigilance, with increases in personnel and technical equipment also contributing to this effort.
Traffic of people and means of transport.
Statistics of people and means of transport
Starting with January 1, 2025, with Romania's entry into the Schengen area with land borders, the Border Police will no longer carry out systematic checks at the internal border, so that the records of persons and means of transport are kept exclusively at the external border. Therefore, in the first six months of the year, approximately 12 million persons and2.7millions of means of transport.
Illegal acts
Operationally, the Border Police found over 16,400 illegal acts, of which 9,300 were minor offenses and over 7,100 were criminal acts.
Most cases concerned:
- fraudulent border crossing,
- acts of smuggling,
- violation of traffic regulations,
- but also cases related to weapons, ammunition and false or forged documents.
Regarding contravention sanctions, fines worth over 6.6 million lei were applied, most of them in the border area with the Republic of Moldova (61% of total sanctions).
Illegal migration
An important result is the significant decrease in illegal migration – by approximately 73% compared to the same period last year. This development reflects the efficiency of the measures taken by the Border Police in terms of border surveillance and combating illegal migration, including through the use of modern technology and the implementation of integrated actions with other structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Most of the migrants detected come from Iraq, Syria, Bangladesh, Turkey and Iran. The main methods of illegal entry remained crossing the green border, hiding in means of transport and using false documents.
At the same time, in the context of the conflict in Ukraine, approximately 4,000 Ukrainian citizens were detected with illegal entry, a figure decreasing compared to the 5,550 cases registered in the first half of 2024. Most of them subsequently requested temporary protection or asylum in Romania.
Cigarette smuggling
Illicit cigarette trafficking continues to represent one of the main manifestations of cross-border crime, a phenomenon that has ramifications throughout the country. Thus, during the analyzed period, border police detained for confiscation 2,550,000 packs of cigarettes with a value of over 38,000,000 lei, over 2,100 kg of tobacco and 15 kg of hookah tobacco.
The people involved in illegal cigarette trafficking come from Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Great Britain, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, and Serbia.
Combating cross-border crime
The institution also acted on other operational lines:
- counterfeiting - 180 crimes regarding intellectual property rights were recorded– independently or in collaboration with customs workers.Approximately 280,000 items of clothing, footwear, cosmetics, glasses, watches and toys – all bearing counterfeit international brands – were seized.
- Trafficking in stolen vehicles– 87 vehicles (76 cars, 5 trucks, 6 minibuses) reported stolen in various EU countries were discovered. Involved: Romanian, Serbian, Bulgarian and Moldovan citizens.
- Fish poaching– 254 crimes and 451 misdemeanors, with fines of 345,700 lei. 20 boats, 15 boat engines, 5,620 kg of fish, including 12 sturgeons and over 29,000 meters of illegal fishing nets were seized.
The Romanian Border Police will continue its mission with professionalism and responsibility, to ensure the security of national borders and the entire European Union, protecting citizens and firmly combating any form of cross-border crime.
