National authorities

The Romanian Border Police is a nation-wide body, acting as a police-type institution. It is the main institution in charge of border checks and surveillance of the state border, as well as preventing and countering cross-border crime, with special emphasis on illegal migration. Over 15 000 border policemen are the first to greet Romania's visitors, as they are responsible for monitoring 3 147 km of borders, out of which 2 070 km represent the second longest EU external border. Romania's border security is based on the “four-tier model” of the Schengen Catalogue. This construction is foreseen in the Border Strategy and represents the basis of the Integrated System for Border Security. After its accession to the EU in 2007, the Romanian Border Police became a full member of Frontex. The Romanian Border Police is thus Romania’s first business card, having as its motto “Secure borders for the citizens”.