The Austrian COBRA special police unit, in cooperation with the Slovak police, will transport 188 million euro banknotes from Vienna to Slovakia, Slovak Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák and his Austrian counterpart Maria Fekter said at a joint press conference at the former Jarovce–Kittsee border crossing near Bratislava on July 15, the TASR newswire wrote.
The value of the banknotes is around €7 billion (Sk211 billion), but they will take on value only after they are issued by the Slovak central bank (NBS).
The two interior ministers praised joint Slovak-Austrian cooperation in patrolling the so-called green border area after Slovakia joined the Schengen zone in December 2007. As many as 450 joint patrols are active in this area. Both Kaliňák and Fekter welcomed a fall in crime in border areas, especially vis-a-vis car theft and illegal immigration. A contributing factor to this is the so-called Joint Contact Workplace and, above all, Slovakia's accession to the Schengen Information System, they said.
Kaliňák thanked his counterpart for Austria's help with Slovakia's preparations to join the Schengen zone.
"Austrian police officers spent weeks or even months on our eastern border," he said.
According to Fekter, apart from the transport of banknotes, Slovak-Austrian cooperation continues in terms of anti-terrorist activities, such as the protection of airports. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
