Risks in Danube Water Border Checks

Abstract

The diversity of novel security challenges emerging today is unprecedented. While tackling these challenges primarily belong to national competence, the international connectivity of the Danube creates common vulnerabilities across the countries of the region, and the cross-border nature of law enforcement is undeniable. The European Union has also voted in favour of early detection, analysis, raising awareness, increasing resilience, prevention, crisis management and consequence management, and this is where the common policy should focus in the future, since Hungary – as a full member of the Schengen Agreement – is the first location of control and risk management for threats coming from outside on the Danube. The paper focuses on the identification and management of risks in Danube water border checks, concludes that law enforcement cooperation and information exchange between Danube States should be strengthened and the border checks should increasingly become intelligence and risk analysis based.